The Road to MSG: NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional Tracker
No matter what the New York Knicks do for the rest of the 2022-23 NBA season, championship basketball will return to Madison Square Garden this spring.
The World's Most Famous Arena will be hosting the latter stages of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament's East Regional action on Mar. 23 and 25. Modern metropolitan basketball fans didn't have to wait as long for March Madness' return to MSG, as the famed tournament returned to Manhattan hardwood in 2014 after a 53-year departure. Upsets ruled the day in the last visit, as the lower seed prevailed in each of the three matchups. Seventh-seeded Connecticut ruled the day en route to its fourth national title trek, upsetting Iowa State and Michigan State en route to the Final Four.
Keep track of the road to MSG below...
MIDNIGHT STRIKES FOR FDU, FAU DANCES ON
One magical season's continuance cut short another's in Columbus. The Florida Atlantic Owls are moving on to their first Sweet 16 in program history, holding off the famed, 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson Knights 78-70. Johnell Davis led the way with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and five steals to keep an unprecedented Owls season going, one that has produced a program record in victories and just its second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in three-plus decades. FDU (21-16) kept pace for the majority of the game after falling behind 11-3 in the early going and they even took the lead on a 14-2 session to open the second half. Seven straight points for Demetre Roberts helped the Knights earn their biggest lead of the night at five but a triple from the Owls' first-round hero Nicholas Boyd with just over nine minutes remaining was the first chime of midnight, as a Davis layup off a steal gave created a permanent lead. The Owls (33-3) will now move on to face Tennessee in their regional semifinal on Thursday.
THIS IS SPARTY! MICHIGAN STATE CLIP BIG EAST CHAMPION GOLDEN EAGLES
A return to MSG for championship affairs was not to be for the Marquette Golden Eagles, as the second-seeded Big East Conference champions fell victim to a 69-60 upset at the hands of No. 7 Michigan State. A familiar face helped spell Marquette's doom: transfer Joey Hauser earned a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double. Tyson Walker led all scorers with 23 as the Spartans (21-12) pulled away with a late 10-0 stretch in just under three minutes that saw the latter account for all but two points in the clinching run. The win proved historic for head coach Tom Izzo who broke a tie with Jim Boeheim for most Sweet 16 appearances as a fifth seed or lower and his first since a Final Four run in 2019. Michigan State will now battle third-seeded Kentucky on Thursday night in Manhattan.
KENTUCKY LETS SECOND CHANCES GO TO WASTE VS KANSAS STATE
Another brilliant rebounding showcase from Oscar Tshiebwe wasn't enough to get Kentucky back into the Sweet 16, as third-seeded Kansas State took a 75-69 decision in a battle of Wildcats. Tshiebwe and KSU's Markquis Nowell reprised their roles from the first round as the team MVPs, with the latter's 27-point, nine-assist performance helping his side over a drastic disadvantage on the glass: paced by 18 further boards from Tshiebwe, No. 6 Kentucky (22-12) won the paint game 45-26, including a 19-4 tally in offensive rebounds alone. But with 23 points and four assists over the final 20 minutes, Nowell was involved in 33 of Kansas State's 46 tallies in the second half. Granted its first entry to the Sweet 16 since 2018. The victorious Wildcats (25-9) now await the winner of Marquette and Michigan State.
VOLS CLEAN UP, BANISH BLUE DEVILS EN ROUTE TO SWEET 16
The Tennessee Volunteers became the first team in the East Region to punch their ticket to Manhattan on Saturday afternoon, getting by the Duke Blue Devils 65-52 in Orlando. Unlike their narrow first-round victory over Louisiana, the fourth-seeded Volunteers (25-10) made sure that drama was kept at a premium: after Duke (27-9) made it a two-point game shortly before the first media timeout of the second half, the Vols' lead never became lower than four the rest of the way. Olivier Nkamhoua took over the affair in the second half, earning 23 points over the last 20 minutes. Tennessee now awaits the winner of the Florida Atlantic-Fairleigh Dickinson battle of the underdogs on Sunday night.
OWLS CAP OFF FIRST ROUND WITH THRILLING, HISTORIC WIN
Florida Atlantic certainly played like they've been there before despite lacking a certain brand of NCAA Tournament progress: in just its second appearance in its 35-year history, No. 9 FAU (32-3) kept a dreamy season alive by coming out of a final 2:26 stretch that featured five lead changes clean, creating the last when Nicholas Boyd sank a winning lay-up with two second left, the difference in a 66-65 win over Memphis. Thus continues the winningest season in FAU history as the Conference USA champions now become the nation's enemies when they battle newfound tournament darling Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday night in Columbus (7:45 p.m. ET, truTV).
FAIRLEIGH RIDICULOUS UPSET MAKES HISTORY
The primarily unthinkable occurred in the top spot of the East Region's bracket, as No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson became only the second such seed to earn a victory beyond the First Four, getting by top-ranked Purdue 63-58 on Friday night in Columbus. FDU (21-15) overcame brutal odds as 23.5-point underdogs to join the 2018 UMBC group as the authors of the greatest upsets in NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament history. It was, almost appropriately, a Cinderella story within a Cinderella story that set the pace for the win, as Knights junior Sean Moore, who reached double-figures on only eight occasions entering Friday's game, had a season-best 19, with 14 alone coming in the thrilling second half. Defensively, FDU kept Big Ten Player of the Year Zach Edey in heck to the tune of allowing no field goals from the big man over the last eight minutes.
KENTUCKY EXORCISES FRIARS TO CREATE SECOND-ROUND CATFIGHT
Behind a downright historic performance from Oscar Tshiebwe, the sixth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats took down the Providence Friars in Greensboro by a 61-53 final. With a jaw-dropping 25 rebounds, 11 of the offensive variety (compared to only eight total for No. 11 Providence), the senior forward became the first player to pull down at least 25 boards since Phil Hubbard did so for Michigan in the 1977 regional semifinal. Kentucky (22-11) also shut down former comrade and Providence import and leading scorer Bryce Hopkins, who was limited to only seven points on 2-of-7 shooting. It'll be Wildcats against Wildcats in the second as Kentucky battles Kansas State in the Round of 32 on Sunday (2:40 p.m. ET, CBS).
KSU'S INSIDE JOB TAKES DOWN MONTANA STATE
In Greensboro, third-seeded Kansas State held off a big challenge from Big Sky champion Montana State but prevailed in a 77-65 advantage in its first NCAA Tournament game since 2019 on Friday in Columbus. The Wildcats (24-9) used their noticeable size to their advantage, bullying the Bobcats to the tune of a 48-30 dominance in terms of points in the paints. In the frontcourt, Markquis Nowell posted a 17-point, 14-assist double-double. Though Kansas State never trailed in the second half, Montana State lingered thanks primarily to a 27-point showing from Raequan Battle.
GOLDEN EAGLES DECLAW CATAMOUNTS, INCH CLOSER TO MSG RETURN
No stranger to winning at MSG, the Big East champion Marquette Golden Eagles disposed of the Vermont Catamounts with relative ease by a 78-61 final in Columbus. The Golden Eagles' leading men struggled in the first half, as leading scorer Kam Jones was held to a single shot attempt while Big East Player of the Year Tyler Kolek shot 3-of-10 over the first 20. But, armed with a 39-30 lead, Jones recovered in the second to the tune of 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting to secure the first NCAA Tournament win for second-seeded Marquette (29-6) since 2013. The Golden Eagles now face a challenge for an MSG ticket from Michigan State on Sunday (5:15 p.m. ET, CBS).
SPARTANS' SPICY SECOND STIFLES SOCAL
In the first game of Friday action, the seventh-seeded Michigan State Spartans earned their 54th NCAA Tournament victory under head coach Tom Izzo to the tune of a sterling second half that led to a 72-62 victory over No. 10 Southern California. Izzo himself perhaps played a physical, inspirational role in the victory, going viral for snapping his demonstrational whiteboard in half during a timeout caused by a defensive lapse in the middle stages of the second. From that point forward, MSU (20-12), leading 52-47 went on a 15-4 run over the next seven minutes to build their largest lead of the day. That stretch saw them keep the Trojans off the board for five full minutes.
VOLS SLOPPY YET SECURE VICTORY OVER RAJIN' CAJUNS
The Tennessee Volunteers held off the upstart Louisiana Rajin' Cajuns to take a 58-55 victory in Thursday's Orlando nightcap. Tyreke Key led UT with 12 points off the bench. Seeded fourth in the East, Tennessee (24-10) had entered the tournament as losers of seven of its prior dozen after reaching the second spot in the Associated Press poll at the start of February. The Volunteers led by 18 eight minutes into the second half before holding off a furious rally from the Sun Belt Conference champions, who fought back with 13 second-half points from Kobe Julien, whittling the gap to as close as the final margin of three. Despite those efforts and losing 18 turnovers, the Volunteers hung on to force a Saturday matchup with Duke on Saturday afternoon (2:40 p.m. ET, CBS).
ROACH, DUKE EXTERMINATE ORU'S UPSET BID
Junior guard Jeremy Roach tied his career-best with 23 points, allowing the fifth-seeded Duke Blue Devils to stave off an upset bid from No. 12 Oral Roberts, crushing the Golden Eagles 74-51 on Thursday in Orlando. The game marked Duke's first NCAA Tournament game without Mike Krzyzewski at the helm since 1979. It was smooth sailing for first-year head coach Jon Scheyer and Co., as the Blue Devils (27-8) opened the game on a 15-0 run. The Summit League champions never got closer than 13 the rest of the way.
FAIRLEIGH FREED FROM FIRST FOUR, TAKES DOWN TEXAS SOUTHERN
Behind 11 three-pointers, the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights earned the second NCAA Tournament win in program history to the tune of an 84-61 triumph over SWAC champion Texas Southern in First Four play in Dayton. Ansley Almonor sank five of those triples to build a foundation for his game-high 23 points as the Knights (20-15) earned their second victory in the NCAA's opening round, previously topping Prairie View A&M in the 2019 edition. With the win, the Knights, granted the Northeast Conference's automatic bid due to champion Merrimack's ineligibility, now face the East's No. 1 seed Purdue on Thursday (6:50 p.m. ET, TNT).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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