Thursday was the beginning of the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament, who knew that Day One would bring so much excitement and people’s brackets going to shreds. But if you do not remember what happened yesterday, here are three takeaways from Day One of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
1. The Big 12 conference was a huge letdown
As my fellow colleague Adio Royster put it on Thursday, “If Oklahoma goes down, the Big 12 cannot be called the best conference in college basketball.” The reason why he said that was because both Baylor and Iowa State laid huge eggs in their 3 vs. 14 seed matchups. In terms of Baylor, they were taking on 14th seed Georgia State and played not to lose.
Baylor had 21 turnovers in the game, while junior guard R.J. Hunter was heating up for Georgia State eventually knocking down a game winning three-pointer from distance and sending the Panther faithful into a frenzy and his father/head coach Ron Hunter literally putting him on the floor. After the game, Baylor head coach Scott Drew said, “All year we’ve executed down the stretch. We’ve been a tough team, and I feel bad the way the last five minutes went.”
Yes, the last five minutes were horrible for Baylor but great for Georgia State as they won 57-56 and will be taking on sixth seed Xavier for the right to go to the Sweet 16.
Finally, let’s forget Iowa State who also blew their game against 14th seed UAB. Are you starting to see a trend here with the Big 12 yet? Iowa State could not pull away from UAB and that was because the Blazers dominated them in on the glass winning the rebounding battle 52-37. The Blazers, who lost their football program have something to cheer about as they will be taking on 11th seed UCLA for the right to go to the Sweet 16.
2. Arizona, Kentucky, Villanova all dominated in their quest for a national championship
Yes, while there were upsets on Thursday, the powerhouses took stage as the second seed Arizona Wildcats in the West region dominated 15th seed Texas Southern 93-72. Arizona super freshman Stanley Johnson had 22 points and five rebounds on 8 of 11 shooting from the field, his teammate sophomore forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson stole the show, scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Wildcats now have a date on Saturday against freshman guard D’Angelo Russell and the Ohio State Buckeyes, who I will talk about in my last takeaway.
The second powerhouse that was in action was the Villanova Wildcats, who showed tonight that they are on a mission dominating the 16th seed Lafayette Leopards 93-52. The Wildcats got off to a hot start in the first quarter and never looked back as they set the tone early as senior guard Darrun Hillard made an acrobatic layup which signaled it was going to be a long day for the Leopards.
Nova shot 63.2 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range as every starter scored in double figures. The Wildcats pursuit for a national title continues on Saturday as they will be taking on eighth seed NC State.
Finally, the last powerhouse, who is on a road to perfection, the Kentucky Wildcats handled business against 16th seed Hampton 79-56. Give credit to the Pirates of Hampton, as they tried to hang with Kentucky early in the first half but you saw the glaring mismatches and the Wildcats took advantage. Freshman forward Karl-Anthony Towns had a double-double consisting of 21 points and 11 rebounds. Coach Calipari used his entire bench Thursday night because he knows the road now gets harder as they have a date with eighth seed Cincinnati coming up.
3. Ohio State freshman guard D’Angelo Russell showed why he is going to be a top three pick in June
If there was one freshman, who put the team on his back and showed why he is going to be a top pick in the NBA Draft, on Thursday that was Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell. Russell, whose draft stock is surging, showed why he can be a guy to lean on in the clutch moments. He willed his team to victory on Thursday by sometimes driving to the basket or setting up his teammates for them to make key plays. Russell finished with 28 points and six rebounds while playing 44 minutes.
On Saturday, college basketball fans get a treat as his Buckeyes will be taking on Stanley Johnson’s Wildcats in the battle of potential top five picks in this summer’s NBA Draft.
Thursday was an amazing day in college basketball as we saw upsets, dominating performances and close calls. Friday should be another great day for the tournament as the rest of the field gets to showcase their talents for the world to see.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
