The second round of the tournament was filled with interesting match-ups that resulted in absolute madness. First beginning with the SMU Mustangs against the UCLA Bruins. On first thought a 6 seed verses an 11 seed, would easily result in the a six seed blow out. We can't forget this isn't a regular season game. It's March Madness. Little did we know the Mustangs wouldn't show up ready to play. Yes, they won the American Athletic Conference title but that was no excuse for how they came out against the Bruins. The mustangs from the tip were lethargic and slow and allowed the Bruins to stay in the game. The controversial call at the end of regulation did not determine the outcome of this game. The mustangs were not having a great shooting night, that is to be understood, but to shoot 60 percent from the line. That is unacceptable, especially when you have 6 more free attempts then your opponent. That would have gave you some room of comfort. Fans wouldn't have to say what if. The Bruins played a solid defensive game because they stepped up their intensity while the mustangs treated this as a regular season game.
To take a line out of the mustangs book, the Baylor Bears faced the same fate as their other Texas team. The Baylor Bears different than the Mustangs came out strong, but allowed the Georgia State Panthers to stick around. The Bears took their gas off the pedal and believed they could cruise to the finish line. Little did they know it was March Madness. The Bears began the game 16-6 and would be up 56-44 with 2:54 left in regulation. So how did this team lose? Clearly the Madness got to them before regulation ended. The fact R.J. Hunter was able to hit a three pointer in the final three seconds of regulation to give Georgia State the lead, speaks for its self. This isn't to take anything away from the Georgia State Panthers but their guard R.J. Hunter was not having a good game. The fact that he hit the shot showed two things. The Bears had took their foot completely off the pedal believing they had won. The Panthers saw an opportunity and capitalized on it.
The first day was just beginning as high tournament expectations were in the sights of the Iowa State Cardinals. The cardinals similar to the Mustangs from the game tip were lethargic. They seemed to not have a passion or spark. The Cardinals were not getting back on defense. It was just an over all bad performance by the Cardinals against UAB. While the Cardinals played far from a perfect game it came down to the last seconds as UAB hit a few late shots to give them the slight edge.
Another notable game that came down to the final seconds was LSU Tigers verses NC State Wolfpack. This game similar to Baylor verses Georgia State had a clear winner after the first half. The madness and the prize on the line got to this LSU team. The Tigers had to earn the win by playing two solid half's. LSU allowed NC state to get back into this game which resulted in a lost for the Tigers. Not making their free throws down the stretch hurt the Tigers. At one point the Tigers were up by 16 to begin the second half. The tigers handed this game over to NC State in the second half which lead to a sweet sixteen appearance by the Wolfpack.
Now on to round three of the tournament where some of the lower seeds had their share of trials and tribulations as some prevailed and others failed.
The first match-up resulted in complete disappointment as NC State crushed pasted Villanova 71-68. This score might have shocked many but wasn't as surprising to me. Villanova over the season had the tendency to skate by teams that weren't ranked in the top 25. They underestimated their appointment in those games. While they had statement wins against teams that were ranked in the top 25, Nova scraped by Creighton and Syracuse in an over time victory. This team should not have been ranked as the number one seed, even though they had staple wins this season. They only showed up when the bright lights were on. To be a great team you have to show up all of the time no matter who you're playing. In NC State's defense, they played a tough solid game and capitalized on the careless mistakes by Nova. This game from start to finish belonged to the Wolfpack. That day they were the better basketball team.
The second upset match-up made a statement, as number two over all seed in the East Region Virginia fell to Michigan State. Virginia is a defensive geared team, so their offense dried up to the point they weren't able to score. When your shots aren't falling its understood you have to play defense, but when you can't get anything going you can't win. At the end of the day its a score driven game and at the end of regulation its who has the most points. Virginia couldn't produce that, which is why they struggled to only shoot 30 percent from the field. This gave Michigan State the edge in this situation because they can can get to the free-throw line and shoot. At some point the style Virginia plays was prone to hurt them as they played better teams. Defense is exhausting as well and Michigan State can wear a team down defensively because they can score from practically anywhere.
A team that did not look to hot the third round of the tournament were the Wisconsin Badgers. Some might recall in the tournament last year the Badgers faced off against the Oregon Ducks in round 32. This was a rematch to see would the ducks show up this time around? While last season the badgers flew past the Ducks with ease, this year it was dog fight to the end. This was because the PAC -12 player of the year happened to be on the opposing team. Joseph Young gave the Badgers problems the entire night, as he scored jumper after jumper. Young would go for 30 in this game on 12/25 shooting for the Ducks. The Badgers wouldn't pull away until late with 4:13 left in regulation. The Oregon Ducks played a solid game but weren't talented enough to beat the Wisconsin Badgers team.
The key here is just because you a lower seed does not mean you can just walk away with title. In the round of 32 the number 1 and 2 seed went out in the East Region which means you have to respect your opponent and play hard until the last second.
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