March Madness Live Scores: Who Will Secure the Final Spots in the Sweet 16?

Who will secure the final spots in the 2019 NCAA tournament's Sweet 16? Tennessee punched its ticket in dramatic fashion.

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Mar 24, 2019

After the first day of the 2019 NCAA tournament's second round was full of blowouts, will Day Two go differently? Florida State steamrolled upstart Murray State, Carsen Edwards shot the lights out in Hartford and Auburn left no doubt in making Kansas the second 2018 Final Four team to head home on Saturday night.

Below, we recap every game of Sunday's second-round action as it goes final.

No. 1 North Carolina 81, No. 9 Washington 59

The top-seeded Tar Heels are off to the Sweet 16 after taking care of Washington, 81–59, in Sunday’s second round. The Huskies’ defense, led by Matisse Thybulle, did enough in the first half to stay within striking distance, but North Carolina’s offense overpowered it over the final 20 minutes to win comfortably. Luke Maye, Coby White and Nassir Little combined for 57 points and 27 rebounds, with Little’s contribution being the most notable. The freshman’s 20-point day on 8-for-11 shooting marked his second strong game in a row, and his first game with at least 20 points since January. Thybulle had four steals and two blocks in the loss, but the senior finished with just two points and Washington as a team shot just 28.6% from three.

No. 2 Tennessee 83, No. 10 Iowa 77 (OT)

The 2019 tournament's first overtime game did not disappoint, and the two-time SEC Player of the Year ultmately created the separation that lifted a fourth team from the conference into the Sweet 16, as Grant Williams scored six of his team's 12 overtime points in a 83–77 Tennessee win over Iowa. Tennessee came out of the gate firing and led by as much as 25 in the first half before Iowa trimmed the lead to 21 at the break and slowly began to work its way back, finally tying it at the foul line with under three minutes to play after a controversial foul call on a blocked three-point attempt. With Admiral Schofield in foul trouble, Grant Williams took over in overtime, working inside for the first points of the extra session, kicking out to Jordan Bone for a three and then hitting a midrange jumper himself to pilot a 7–0 run. After Iowa hit two free throws, a turnaround jumper by Williams pushed it back out to seven, and at the other end he stripped Tyler Cook inside to spoil the Hawkeyes’ last real chance. Another Big Ten team, hot-shooting Purdue, awaits the Vols in the Sweet 16.