Saturday's 2nd Round Action Wraps with Gonzaga Advancing out West and a Pair at The Palestra
Publisher's Note: This is our go at Mythical March Madness and now it enters the second round. The tournament and results are determined using all-time odds for each seed in NCAA Division I Men's Tournament history for advancement in each round. The roll of dice with rolls of six or below representing the higher-seeded team and rolls of seven or greater representing the lower-seeded team determine the results. If the game is written up as close then the roll of the dice went to the eighth, ninth, or tenth roll. If it is written up as a blowout then it was decided with few rolls needed.
Oklahoma State played Oregon and that story can be found here.
Duke is used to being a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, but in Mythical March Madness the Blue Devils got demoted and rightfully so with their season to a No. 2 seed. However, they are playing like a No. 1 seed and Stanford caught it full force on Saturday.
#2-Duke 101 #12-Stanford 49
Duke started fast, stayed strong, and finished with five players in double digits and a commanding advantage on the glass with 44-to-25 rebounds. The Blue Devils, averaging 8.3 steals a game, took the ball from the Cardinal 15 times. The final score was Duke 101 and Stanford 49.
Vernon Carey was again the scoring leader for Duke in the second game of Mythical March Madness.
USA Today Sports Images - Rob Kinnan
Vernon Carey had 18 points for Duke with Tre Jones scoring 17 points and he had six steals with 11 assists. Jones had eight rebounds so he was in kinds of contention for a triple double, but settled for a double-double. Cassius Stanley had 14 points, Mathew Hurt finished with 12, and Javin DeLaurier had 10 points.
This was never a game as Stanford was led in scoring by Tyrell Terry with 12 points and he was the only player in double digits. . Stanford finishes with a 21-13 record.
Dukes moves on to play Ohio State next Thursday and they are now 27-6 on the season.
#3-Ohio State 71 #11-Wichita State 54
The Buckeyes didn't have it much more difficult than the Blue Devils as Wichita State had an horrendous shooting night. The Shockers managed to connect on just 17-of-43 shots in the game and were fortunate to go an almost opposite 18-of-20 from the free throw line. That combination including just two made three-pointers left the underdog with 54 points total.
Ohio State was pretty much average on the night for them hitting 45 percent from the field and scoring 71 points.
Kaleb Wesson was tough inside for the Buckeyes in a rout over Stanford.
USA Today Sports Images - James Maiorana
It was that simple as the Buckeyes made more shots with Kaleb Wasson and C.J. Walker scoring 18 points each. Rebounds were close, turnovers were even, but shooting was a continental divide.
Ohio State advanced 71-54. The Buckeyes will play Duke and own a 23-10 record, while Wichita State heads home with a 24-9 mark. The Dayton Regional at The Palestra advanced the No. 1-4 seeds to the "sweet 16."
#1-Gonzaga 58 #9-Iowa 50
A cold wind seemed to breeze through McArthur Court on the final game of the evening for the second round of Mythical March Madness. Neither No. 1 seed Gonzaga or No. 9 Iowa could do anything easily on offense and some of that had to do with the defense that coaches Mark Few and Fran McCaffery had their teams playing.
At the third media time out in the first half, 12 plus minutes into the contest the score was 8-7 in favor of Iowa. It got fast and furious in the final three minutes plus with Gonzaga guard Ryan Wooldridge dropping a pair of three pointers and Iowa's C.J. Frederick and Connor McCaffery each knocking down one for the Hawkeyes.
The halftime score was a robust 21-18 for Gonzaga. Needless to say, the second half was a score-a-thon compared to the first half as the defenses loosened up a little.
The changes came primarily inside the paint where a number of fouls had been called on big men like the Bulldogs Filip Petrusev and Killian Tillie, as each had four at the end of the game. Corey Kispert also had four for Gonzaga. Iowa had five players nursing foul trouble as All-American Luke Garza had four along with Joe Weiskamp, Ryan Kreiner, and Cordell Pemsyl alos having four fouls. Guard Bakari Evelyn fouled out.
Woldridge led Gonzaga in scoring with 18 points and freshman C.J. Frederick had 15 to lead Iowa.
Gonzaga advances with a 33-2 record, while Iowa finishes with a 21-12 resume'.
Gonzaga will meet up with Cinderella Yale next Thursday in Mythical March Madness.
