Men’s Basketball Sweet Sixteen: Cinderella Keeps Dancing
We told you yesterday to buckle up for last night’s games. That proved to be a good statement.
In the last four games of the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen round, Kansas held on in a close game against Providence to become the only 1-seed to make it to the Elite Eight. In a battle of basketball bluebloods, North Carolina sent UCLA home. Iowa State played a close first half but couldn’t keep pace with Miami in the second.
But the game of the day was played in Philadelphia. On National Peacock Day. It sure was; fire up the Googler if you think we are just making this up. The St. Peter’s Peacocks, the might underdogs, spread their feathers and strutted their stuff to become the first 15-seed in NCAA history to make it to the Elite Eight. Yes, Cinderella, it’s not midnight yet.
Here’s a look at Friday’s games:
(15) St. Peter’s (22-11) vs. (3) Purdue (29-4) – East Region
St. Peter’s wins 67-64
Do you believe in miracles? The boys from Jersey City, New Jersey, keep shocking the basketball world. First, they took down the 2-seed Kentucky, then the 7-seed Murray State. And last night, it was the 3-seed Purdue. Watch out, Tar Heels; they are coming for you. The nation has become Peacocks fans as St. Peter’s became the first 15-seed in the tournament’s history to make it to the Elite Eight.
St. Peter’s had three players score in double digits – Daryl Banks III (14), Clarence Rupert (11), and Doug Edert (10, off the bench). Purdue became the last of the nine teams from the Big Ten that made the tournament to go home. They had four scorers reach double digits – Trevion Williams (16, off the bench), Sasha Stefanovic (11), Zach Edey (11), and Mason Gillis (10).
(4) Providence (27-6) vs. (1) Kansas (31-6) – Midwest Region
Kansas wins 66-61
This game was not easy for the only remaining 1-seed. The Jayhawks were up by 13 in the second half. But Providence just chipped away and took a 1-point lead. Kansas responded and went on a 7-0 run and maintained its lead until the end. Kansas escaped with the win. They are the only 1-seed on to the Elite Eight and the only remaining Big 12 team.
Remy Martin came off the bench to lead the Jayhawks with 23 points. Jalen Wilson added 16. For Providence, Al Durham was the leading scorer with 21. Noah Horchler added ten more.
(8) North Carolina (27-9) vs. (4) UCLA (27-8) – East Region
North Carolina wins 73-66
It was a battle between two legendary basketball programs. And it was a battle until the end. The Tar Heels were down by three points at halftime. They resorted to a Gary Patterson trick. Caleb Love changed his shoes at the half, and it worked. He made both the game-tying and go-ahead 3-pointers just 37 seconds apart to give North Carolina the win.
North Carolina had four players score in double digits – Love (30), Armando Bacot (14), Brady Manek (13), and RJ Davis (12). Four of UCLA’s starters also reached double-digit scoring – Jules Bernard (16), Tyger Campbell (15), Johnny Juzang (14), and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (10).
(11) Iowa State (22-13) vs. (10) Miami (FL) (26-10) – Midwest Region
Miami wins 70-56
Not many double-digit seeds make it to the Elite Eight. But when a 10-seed plays an 11-seed, the Elite Eight was guaranteed at least one. St. Peter’s win means there will be two. Iowa State was looking forward to a conference re-match with Kansas in the Midwest Regional final, but they forgot that basketball games were 40 minutes long. They had a close game with the Hurricanes for the first 25 minutes of the game. Then they let it slip away. Miami’s 14-point margin of victory was the largest of all eight games in the Sweet Sixteen round.
Miami had three players score in double digits – Kameron McGusty (27), Jordan Miller (16), and Sam Waardenburg (13). For the Cyclones, Tyrese Hunter and Gabe Kalscheur had 13 points, with Kalscheur’s coming off the bench. Izaiah Brockington added 11 more.
Next up: Miami takes on Kansas in the Midwest Region Final Sunday at 1:20 p.m. on CBS. The East Region Final will then follow that game with St. Peter’s and North Carolina at 4:05 p.m., also on CBS.
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