Day 2 of the NCAA men's tournament did not have the fireworks of the first day, but the final moments of regulation in the Kentucky–Santa Clara game reminded us what month it is. Otega Oweh banked in a buzzer beater from near half court to force overtime as the Wildcats pulled away with an 89–84 win. Elsewhere, the higher seeds controlled most matchups. The spotlight expands as the women's tournament is underway under the backdrop of a new CBA in the WNBA. Now on to the newsletter. |
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By Pat Forde
With four minutes and 18 seconds left in the No. 13-seeded California Baptist v. No. 4 Kansas NCAA men's tournament game Friday night, Darryn Peterson took his last shot of the night. At the time, the Jayhawks led 66–52. What happened the rest of the way was another enigmatic chapter in Peterson's one-and-done season at Kansas. The massive underdog Lancers kept chipping away at a lead that had been as high as 25 points, sending Viejas Arena into a frenzy. Meanwhile, the Jayhawks' offense stagnated—and Peterson, the most unstoppable offensive player in the nation, stopped getting the ball. It was quite odd. From that 4:18 mark, here were Kansas's next five possessions: a turnover on a bad pass by big man Flory Bidunga; a missed three-pointer by Tre White; another missed three by White; a missed three by Melvin Council Jr.; and yet another missed three by White. Peterson, who scored 28 points on the night, was a complete nonfactor. |
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Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images |
By Kevin Sweeney Tattooed up and down Labaron Philon Jr.'s left arm are detailed pictures of horror movie villains. Michael Myers is there, as is Chucky and the ghostface killer from Scream. Inscribed in between them are two words: Bad Guy. Philon certainly played the part of villain Friday, taking over in the second half for No. 4-seeded Alabama to foil an upset bid from No. 13 seed Hofstra and putting on one of the most electrifying performances of the NCAA men's tournament to date in the process. His final stat line: 29 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals, with 21 of those 29 coming after halftime. That helped the Crimson Tide finally get some separation after trailing by 10 early and entering the halftime locker room up just two. Philon simply wasn't going to let Alabama's March Madness run end early. "Labaron told me he wasn't going home," head coach Nate Oats said. Alabama has become a fixture in the later rounds of the Big Dance under Oats, going three straight second weekends with a Final Four in 2024 mixed in. If you're bullish on the Tide making yet another deep run in this tournament, the argument likely starts and ends with Philon, who has as strong a case as anyone to be considered college basketball's best point guard. And Friday's second half was a perfect illustration of what makes him so special, a dazzling display of difficult drives, clutch three-point shooting and impressive playmaking for others. Philon completely commanded the game and got just about everything he wanted whenever he wanted it. The lone exception was a missed front end one-and-one in the final two minutes that prevented him from a 30-point day, though he insists the reason he was looking up at the scoreboard before that shot was to check his chances at a 10-rebound day or even a triple-double. |
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Matt Pendleton/Imagn Images |
By Kevin Sweeney The only drama in No. 1 seed Florida's dominant 114–55 opening-round win over 16-seed Prairie View A&M was when the Gators would finally give 7' 9" Olivier Rioux a chance to make his NCAA men's tournament debut. Rioux, who was redshirting last season during Florida's run to the national championship, is the tallest player in college basketball history. He wears size 20 shoes and quite literally towers over his teammates, even the Gators' four players who are 6' 10" or taller. And while he's still very much a developmental project without much of a place in Florida's rotation, he often checks into games in the final minutes … much to the delight of fans everywhere. The chants started to rain down from the upper deck with nearly 10 minutes to go in the game, result well in hand already with Florida more than doubling up the Panthers at the time. "We want Oli! We want Oli!" |
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Christine Tannous/Imagn Images |
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Men's Schedule
Friday's Key First Round Matchups No. 7 Kentucky 89, No. 10 Santa Clara 84, OT No. 6 Tennessee 78, No. 56 Miami (Ohio) No. 9 Iowa 67, No. 8 Clemson 61
No. 7 Miami 80, No. 10 Missouri, 66 Saturday's Key Second Round Matchups No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 6 Louisville, 2:45 p.m. ET (CBS) No. 1 Duke vs. No. 9 TCU, 5:15 p.m. ET (CBS) No. 2 Houston vs. No. 10 Texas A&M, 6:10 p.m. ET (TNT) No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 11 VCU, 7:50 p.m. (CBS) | | Women's Schedule
Friday's Key First Round Matchups No. 8 Oregon 70, No. 9 Virginia Tech 60 No. 5 Ole Miss 81, No. 12 Gonzaga 66 No. 7 NC State 76, No. 10 Tennessee 61 No. 7 Texas Tech 57, No. 10 Villanova 52 Saturday's Key First Round Matchups No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 14 Vermont, noon ET (ESPN) No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Fairfield, 2 p.m. ET No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 USC, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2) No. 8 Iowa State vs. No. 9 Syracuse, 5:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2) |
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By Madison Williams Basketball runs in Hannah Hidalgo's blood. Both of her parents are basketball coaches, and her brothers played before her. For the Notre Dame guard, it was inevitable for her to pick up the orange ball, too. "Thank God it worked out really good," Hidalgo told Sports Illustrated. "I'm happy where I'm at now." And just how good has it been for her, you may wonder? Hidalgo is one of the best women's college basketball players right now. In her third season with the Fighting Irish, she is a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award for the third time. Her freshman season she was up against winner Caitlin Clark, and last year the honor went to JuJu Watkins. Hidalgo is up against tough competition yet again, especially with UConn's Sarah Strong as the favorite. But the Notre Dame junior still thinks this season is a memorable one. |
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