The opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament was littered with dismay, dramatic finishes and underlying feel-good stories, leaving us with a historically irregular Sweet. While Sunday’s lead sees the only number 1 seed survive and move forward, we continue the Sweet 16 with many Cinderellas and a number of highly sown teams on their way home.
Between the 15-seed Oral Roberts, the 12-seed Oregon State and the 11-seed UCLA and Syracuse, the four double-seeded teams in the Sweet 16 came two of the NCAA Tournament record of six. But this year the field set its own record in a different way by eclipsing the highest sowing time to reach this point in the tournament – with a sum of 94 which set a long record of 89 set in 1986 . possible Monday included surprising results by the no. 2-seed Iowa and no. 3-seed Kansas, which took losses to the 7th seed Oregon and US 6-seed USC, respectively.
Biggest takeaway during the opening weekend and cover of the Sweet 16 table: Listen now to the latest episode of Eye on College Basketball.
Although there was a lot of upset, it was not all madness. Three of the four number 1 seeds progressed to the second weekend, with only the Midwest region’s number 1 seed, Illinois, washing out after a round 2 in the hands of Loyola Chicago. Michigan and Gonzaga, respectively, the best in the East and West, overcame shortages on Monday to secure Sweet 16 spots. Baylor, the No. 1 seed in the Southern region, traveled past Wisconsin on Sunday to become the first No. 1 seed to make a spot in the Sweet 16. The 2nd seed Alabama and Houston also survived the opening weekend.
Here are some quick takeaways from the action on Monday as we look forward to the Sweet 16 this coming weekend.
No. 1 seed survives scare
Both Gonzaga, No. 1 and Michigan, trailed by eight points on Monday. Both won comfortably, while the Zags scored a 16-point victory, and the Wolverines an eight-point victory.
For the top-seeded Bulldogs, it was an early scare. Oklahoma led by eight points in the first few minutes, but Gonzaga beat quickly. It led at halftime with a dozen and never really lost the reins, despite OU star Austin Reaves, who kept things gently interesting.
For Michigan, it could withstand an incredible – almost flawless – first half of LSU to a 86-78 victory. The Tigers did not achieve a single turnover in the first 20 minutes and got 19 first half points from Cameron Thomas. But Michigan’s Chaundee Brown was late making the difference, as he had 14 of his 21 in the second half to accelerate the Wolverines to the Sweet 16 for a fourth consecutive tournament.
Alabama makes an easy victory
If Alabama is locked up from a distance, it has the strongest attack in college basketball. Look no further than it did Monday with the 10-seed Maryland. The Tide reached 16 of 33 from three points and wiped out the Terrapins. Maryland actually had a nice day on offense, but if Alabama makes nearly half of its 3s and takes over thirty of them, it’s almost always a lost proposition for the other team. Nate Oats and his Alabama team then face UCLA, a No. 11 series that had to compete in an in-play game to advance to the first round. It feels like they’re on a collision course to face the overall seed Gonzaga, number 1, as long as they can shoot just like Monday.
Luka Garza’s university career comes to an end
Iowa star Luka Garza played his last game at college level on Monday when the second-seeded Hawkeyes bowled out of the tournament with a 95-80 loss to No. 7 selected Oregon. But, who boy, he went out with a bang. Garza shot with 14 points and nine shots on 14-of-20 in the losing effort, which made an arc in a brilliant university career.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Garza said through tears after the game. “It’s so surreal that it’s only hit me once, that it’s the last time I put on this jersey. It’s very painful. I feel bad I could not lead the team where it had to go. We have this year “A lot of good things done, it just hurts that we could not have done it if it mattered most. It’s something that will haunt me forever.”
NCAA Tournament Scores Monday
CBS Sports kept updating this story all Sunday with the latest from every second round match. Keep it closed here for scores, analyzes and highlights throughout the evening.