With the ridiculous round of 64 now out of the way, the real NCAA March Madness tournament got underway with a couple of second round matchups early Thursday afternoon, with the West Virginia Mountaineers the first team to advance. The Mountaineers dropped the Clemson Tigers 84-76 to make the third round, with Darryl Bryant and Kevin Jones leading the way with 19 and 17 points respectively. West Virginia started slow but worked hard to eventually come back and wear down a Clemson team that appeared much more fatigued as the game wore on.
The Mountaineers were outplayed in the early going, perhaps because Clemson was already in a rhythm with momentum from their first round matchup win, but as the game progressed they really got their legs under them. Five different players scored as West Virginia closed the gap, and they never looked back. Many wagering services prognosticators will argue that the Mountaineers were the better team but there has to be some stock but in that they trailed by nine at halftime before the gap was closed.
West Virginia was joined by the Butler Bulldogs in the third round shortly thereafter, as the Cinderella team from last season dropped the Old Dominion Monarchs with a buzzer-beater to prevail 60-58. Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack each scored 15 points in a matchup of teams that many projected could be underdog teams to make a deep sports betting services run in the tournament. The fact that their were an incredible 21 lead changes in the contest testified to just how well these teams matched up. The Bulldogs will play the winner between the top-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers and UNC Asheville.
The biggest upset of the afternoon came in one of the final games, with the Moorehead State Eagles taking down the Louisville Cardinals 62-61. The reaction for many watching the game was that the Cardinals deserved a trip to the free throw line on their missed shot at the buzzer, but as it went it was Moorehead State prevailing in a shocker. Terrance Hill was absolutely lights out for the Eagles, hitting six of his nine shots from the field to finish with 23 points. Hill also grabbed eight rebounds and led the team with three steals. The Cardinals managed to climb back into the game a couple of times, but in the end it wasn't enough as the first team from the Big East to lose went down hard. The call was close at the end of the game, but the bottom line remains that this Moorehead State team put on a strong show with its defense, and just seemed to be more comfortable in their pay per head rhythm.
The Madness continues Friday with a couple of key matchups to look forward to, but for some the tournament may already be over in terms of projecting how it will play out. The Mountaineers were the first team to advance, but it was Moorehead State that provided the biggest upset of the afternoon.
The Mountaineers were outplayed in the early going, perhaps because Clemson was already in a rhythm with momentum from their first round matchup win, but as the game progressed they really got their legs under them. Five different players scored as West Virginia closed the gap, and they never looked back. Many wagering services prognosticators will argue that the Mountaineers were the better team but there has to be some stock but in that they trailed by nine at halftime before the gap was closed.
West Virginia was joined by the Butler Bulldogs in the third round shortly thereafter, as the Cinderella team from last season dropped the Old Dominion Monarchs with a buzzer-beater to prevail 60-58. Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack each scored 15 points in a matchup of teams that many projected could be underdog teams to make a deep sports betting services run in the tournament. The fact that their were an incredible 21 lead changes in the contest testified to just how well these teams matched up. The Bulldogs will play the winner between the top-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers and UNC Asheville.
The biggest upset of the afternoon came in one of the final games, with the Moorehead State Eagles taking down the Louisville Cardinals 62-61. The reaction for many watching the game was that the Cardinals deserved a trip to the free throw line on their missed shot at the buzzer, but as it went it was Moorehead State prevailing in a shocker. Terrance Hill was absolutely lights out for the Eagles, hitting six of his nine shots from the field to finish with 23 points. Hill also grabbed eight rebounds and led the team with three steals. The Cardinals managed to climb back into the game a couple of times, but in the end it wasn't enough as the first team from the Big East to lose went down hard. The call was close at the end of the game, but the bottom line remains that this Moorehead State team put on a strong show with its defense, and just seemed to be more comfortable in their pay per head rhythm.
The Madness continues Friday with a couple of key matchups to look forward to, but for some the tournament may already be over in terms of projecting how it will play out. The Mountaineers were the first team to advance, but it was Moorehead State that provided the biggest upset of the afternoon.
