Look away Duke fans, look away.
(14) Mercer over (3) Duke 78-71
As if Thursday’s insane action wasn’t enough, it took only one game Friday afternoon to quickly remind us yet again why we love the NCAA Tournament. Led by Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood, Duke entered the game as clear favorites against a senior-laden Mercer squad. Mercer’s defensive plan to “pack the paint” and force Duke to win with outside jumpers was a huge success. Despite giving up 15 made three pointers, the Bears held Hood and Parker to a combined 20 points on 6-24 shooting. The game was tight throughout, but Mercer’s experience and composure prevailed in the end as they pulled off a shocking win. Mercer was led by forwards Jakob Gallon (20 points, five rebounds) and Daniel Coursey (17 points, four rebounds) while the Blue Devils were led by Rasheed Sulaimon (20 points, 5-12 from three) and Quinn Cook (23 points, four assists, 7-10 from three). This loss ended a very disappointing and frustrating season for Duke.
(11) Tennessee over (6) UMass 86-67
The second game from the Midwest region on Friday wasn’t near as exciting as the first. Despite being the considerably lower seed, Tennessee steamrolled Massachusetts in a game that was never really close. The Volunteers dominated from the get-go and led by a comfortable margin of 41-22 at the break. Tennessee made a living at the free-throw line today converting on 24 of 31 attempts from the charity stripe. Jarnell Stokes (26 points, 14 rebounds) and Jordan McRae (21 points) led the Volunteers in their route today, the Minutemen received valiant efforts from Chaz Williams (12 points, five assists) and Maxie Esho (12 points, six rebounds) but in the end it wasn’t anywhere near enough. Tennessee will move on to play Mercer Sunday afternoon with a bid to the Sweet-16 on the line.
(1) Wichita State over (16) Cal Poly 64-37
Cal Poly made a shocking run to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but today the entire nation saw why they finished the regular season with only 10 wins. The Mustangs simply could not get into any type of offensive rhythm all night; they shot 12-58 from the floor (20.7 percent). On the other hand Wichita State looked like the ferocious, dominant team. They simply got an easy draw for their first game and were able to coast to a victory. This was not an exciting or well-played game of basketball by either team. Wichita State foward Cleanthony Early (23 points) was the only player from either team to score in double figures, the Shockers also received nice efforts off the bench tonight from Chadrack Lufile (eight points, five rebounds). Maliik Love (9 points) came off the bench and proceeded to lead the Mustangs in scoring.
(8) Kentucky over (9) Kansas State 56-49
It wasn’t pretty or overly impressive, but the Kentucky Wildcats took care of business tonight and will advance to the next round. After a disappointing regular season, the Wildcats still have a chance to prove their full potential when it really matters. While they only won seven, the game felt in Kentucky’s control entire contest as they dictated a lead for much of the entire game. Both teams struggled mightily from the floor as neither shot above 40 percent, the big difference is that Kentucky converted on 14-21 shots from the free throw line while Kansas State was only 6-12. Kentucky also handily won the rebounding battle as they collected 40 boards compared to only 28 by Kansas State. As he was for much of the regular season, Julius Randle (19 points, 15 rebounds) was the go-to guy for UK tonight. Aaron Harrison (18 points) also stepped up big for UK. Marcus Foster (15 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists) had a solid outing for Kansas State. Kentucky will move on to play Wichita State Sunday in what looks to be a very interesting match-up on paper.
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