The Big 12 were 6-0 in the NCAA Tournament Saturday night in the NCAA Tournament and were ready for a perfect first round. But when the Longhorns collapsed against their enemy from the Southland Conference, it began a difficult period for the rumored conference.
Although Baylor survived the first broadcast Baylor on Sunday, the Texas Tech no. 6, West Virginia No. 3, and Oklahoma State No. 4, which means the Big 12 is now just 1-4 past its last five games and is 7-4 in the Big Dance. As Oklahoma, the eighth seeded, face the challenge of a lifetime against Gonzaga, No. 1, on Monday, it may soon be up to the league’s traditional forces to carry the league.
Baylor are in the Sweet 16 series, and Kansas, No. 3, has a chance to get there on Monday against USC, No. 6. But with the Red Raiders, Mountaineers, Cowboys and Longhorns all bending within a 24-hour span , the Big 12 should let its remaining contestants go far if the conference turns out to be the best of the NCAA tournament out of the NCAA tournament.
We’re on our way to a historic first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The latest episode of Eye on College Basketball explains everything you need to know before Monday’s tip.
It was another wild day of the NCAA Tournament, so let’s be part of the winners and losers.
Winner: Oregon State
The Beavers are heading to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1982, having been selected to finish last in the Pac-12 in the preseason, and Oregon State is a perfect example of what can warm up at the right time. become for your team. Coach Wayne Tinkle and his team did not nearly quarrel all season for a major NCAA tournament, but they ran through the Pac-12 tournament to secure the league’s automatic bid and took the No. 5 and no. the Midwest Regional to secure their first Sweet 16 appearance in nearly 40 years. – Boone
Loser: See Cade Cunningham’s Run End
We’re all really the losers here, because it would have been compelling to see a player with Cade Cunningham’s star force advance deep into the tournament. In the end, we should be glad we got to see him in college basketball at all. When the state of Oklahoma was hit with a season-long ban during the summer, Cunningham could easily have decided that playing college ball was not worth it. Instead, he kept his commitment to the Cowboys. In doing so, he raised the status of the program and confirmed his status as the most likely No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. Eventually, Oklahoma State was able to play in the post-season. With the advent of the G League Ignite program for high school prospects, we may be seeing fewer and fewer one-time stars like Cunningham in the sport, so it was great to see a player of his caliber have a positive experience with ‘ a non-traditional power. – Cobb
Winner: Everywhere Roberts joins the exclusive list of 15-seed company
Oral Roberts stunned 7-seeded Florida 81-78 on Sunday, despite playing more than 30 minutes of play, and only becoming the second No. 15 in the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Sweet 16. The Golden Eagles got 28 and 26 points from Kevin Obanor and Max Abmas respectively, as the dynamic duo reappeared in the clutch. This is the second Sweet 16 appearance of the program and the first time since 1974, when there were only 25 teams in the tournament and there were no selections. – Boone
Winner: Houston takes out ugly win against Rutgers
With 8:45 left in the second half of Sunday’s second round game between Houston and Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights took their biggest lead in the game, 52-42. But over the last eight minutes, the Cougars methodically started to clear the gap in an unlikely 63-60 victory. They closed on a 7-0 run and shot Rutgers to 0-of-3 during the closing. – Boone
Winner: Arkansas is back
The Razorbacks won six Sweet 16 games – and a national title – under coach Nolan Richardson in the 1990s. But they have not been back since 1996, at least not until Sunday. Arkansas finally overtook the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament with an exciting 68-66 victory over Texas Tech’s No. 6. This is a remarkable turnaround for the program in the second season of coach Eric Musselman, and the Razorbacks may not have been done yet. They will be the Oral Roberts, no. 15, plays in the Sweet 16 and participates with the advantage of beating the Golden Eagles 87-76 in December. – Cobb
Winner: Loyola Chicago Do It Again
CBS analyst Bill Raftery said it best late in the second half 8-seeded Loyola Chicago’s 71-58 upset of No. 1 seed Illinois on Sunday. “It’s not just divine intervention,” Raftery said. “It’s great basketball.”
It was a perfect summary of Sunday’s action. Although the nation loves the Ramblers for their heartwarming persona as a mid-major darling presented by a spiritual force in the form of 101-year-old team chaplain Sister Jean, there is nothing awkward about the way this team plays . In fact, this team is considered by benchmark Ken Pomeroy to be higher than the Final Four group in 2018. Yet the Ramblers’ ruthless efficiency was somewhat surprising. Their only other game against a Big Ten team this season was a 14-point loss to Wisconsin. But the combination of divine intervention and good basketball was deadly on Sunday, and Loyola continues on to the Sweet 16. – Cobb
Loser: Illinois does not realize its potential
The Illini have won 15 of their last 16 games played Sunday, and their impressive run through the Big Ten Tournament suggested that a deep run in the NCAA Tournament was something of a foregone conclusion. Maybe the concern about Loyola Chicago deserving a better seed is legal, and maybe the Illini got a raw deal by having to play the Ramblers so early, but are we really supposed to have sympathy for Illinois? Illinois did not qualify as a number one on Sunday. In fact, it never led. A few days before an unknown enemy would be played in the Missouri Valley Conference, it would have been beneficial, but the splendor of this tournament is the unpredictability produced by single-elimination format. You can not deliver a dud performance and expect to continue, and the Illini learned that the hard way ended Sunday as their first NCAA tournament since 2013 bitterly. – Cobb
Winner: Baylor delivers sharp shooting performance
The no. 1 3-point shooting team (41.4% outside the arc) in the country, Baylor set up an effective offensive outing – as usual – to escape without a scratch against Wisconsin. The Bears win 76-63 behind an 8-of-17 performance from distance and four turnovers. Five different players fired shots from outside the arc when the Bears only advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in program history. – Boone
Loser: Big Ten fades into NCAA Tournament
No reputation of a conference received a bigger hit than the Big Ten during the first round of the NCAA Tournament, as Ohio No. 2, Purdue No. 4, Michigan State 11 all bowed early. . Ditto for the first day of Round 2.
The league was selected by several Final Four candidates throughout the season, but Illinois, the first-seeded Illinois, joined Ohio State No. 2 on Sunday when it fell ahead of the Sweet 16, 71-58 against Loyola Chicago, No. 8. Meanwhile, the 9-seeded Wisconsin also left the stage left and fell 76-63 to the No. 1 seed Baylor. Nr. 10-seed Rutgers also joined the exodus on Sunday.
There is still hope that the conference will redeem itself, but it will be difficult. Nr. 1st seed Michigan is indefinitely without star, Isaiah Livers, due to a foot injury, and number 2 seed Iowa is in the same region as the number 1 seed Gonzaga. If it can not make money out this year, it will be hard to digest as the Big Ten has been going on for more than two decades without producing a national champion. – Boone
Winner: Syracuse’s Zone Defense Advances Orange
The Orange dropped West Virginia in the first half when the climbers dug a 14-point hole 11 times and just 29 points into the opening frame. Eventually, West Virginia found its stroke and took a short lead. But Syracuse mustered and sealed a 75-72 victory to reach its seventh Sweet 16 in the last 12 NCAA tournaments. There is just something about the patented zone of this program that is difficult to deal with opponents at short notice. With Buddy Boeheim chasing three-pointers and his father, Jim, acquiring the wisdom gained through a life in the sport, this group exceeds expectations after barely sneaking into the Big Dance. – Cobb