Two comeback victories and #1 seeds proving their dominance, this past weekend was must watch television for basketball fans. Let’s dive right into some of the top games that happened in both the Sweet Sixteen and the Elite Eight.
#1 Auburn vs #5 Michigan (78-65)
Auburn relied heavily on 3 separate 20+ point scorers, one getting heavy minutes off of the bench (Tahaad Pettiford). The other two 20+ point scorers were Seniors, Johni Broome and Denver Jones. These three players carried Auburn to the win as Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford nearly doubled their average scoring numbers. Star player Johni Broome is used to these scoring numbers however he also got 16 rebounds. An incredible performance just with the Tigers needed it. Michigan fought hard this game, however couldn’t keep up with the top scorers with only Danny Wolf scoring 20 points and two other players scoring 10 a piece (Vladislav Goldin and Nimari Burnett). The Wolverines also struggled to rebound as they were outrebounded by 15. Stats like these dictate the game and the Wolverines just couldn’t compete with the Tigers.
#6 Ole Miss vs #2 Michigan St. (70-73)
This game proved to be a tough matchup for both teams. Starting with Ole Miss, they shot a solid 40.6% from the field, 33.3% from 3 point land, and 90% from the freethrow line. They were led by senior guard Sean Pedulla with 24 points and 2 other players in double digits (Matthew Murrell and Malik Dia). The Rebels also had 20 personal fouls this game giving the Spartans 22 free throw opportunities. Michigan St. had 4 double digit scorers; Jase Richardson with 20, Coen Carr with 15, Jaden Akins with 13, and Tre Holloman coming off the bench with 10 points. Michigan St. shot 50% from the field, 35.3% from 3, and 86.4% from the line. (FG% and 3PT% both better than Ole Miss). This game was a close contest with the main difference being the amount of fouls and free throws in favor of the Spartans. Without this, there may have been a different result in this close Sweet Sixteen matchup.
#1 Florida vs #4 Maryland (87-71)
Once again the #1 Seed proves its dominance, Florida beats Maryland by 16. Florida has had consistent games with many different scoring options. For this game they had 6 different double digit scorers. They had this while also dominating the rebound battle having over double the number of rebounds that Maryland had (Florida REBS: 42 Marland REBS: 20). With these two factors Marland had no chance of winning. Maryland had a strong performance from freshman star center Derik Queen. Queen had 27 points along with 5 rebounds. This wasn’t enough for the Terrapins and Florida moves on to the next round.
#3 Texas Tech vs #10 Arkansas (OT 85-83)
An overtime thriller ends with a Texas Tech comeback, coming back from a 16 point deficit. This was the second largest comeback in Sweet Sixteen history. Texas Tech was led by 3 20+ point scorers (Christian Anderson, Darrion Williams, and JT Toppin). JT Toppin also had 10 rebounds helping the Red Raiders out rebound Arkansas by 12. The Razorbacks were led by senior Johnell Davis with 30 points. Another key factor in this game was rebounding as Texas Tech had 22 offensive rebounds against Arkansas’ 11 offensive rebounds. Another difference was 3 pt shooting which kept the Razorbacks alive shooting 40% from 3 against a struggling Texas Tech with 25%. Overall this was an instant classic for March Madness with an entertaining comeback, being the second biggest in Sweet Sixteen history.
#1 Duke vs #4 Arizona (100-93)
A highly anticipated matchup between the Wildcats and the Blue Devils proved entertaining. Arizona leading scorer Caleb Love put on a show with 35 points in his 40 minutes of play time. He got some help from Jaden Bradley scoring 15 points and Henri Veesaar off the bench with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Duke had good performances from star Cooper Flagg with 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. Kon Knueppel chipped in 20 points shooting 5 of 7 from the field and making 8 free throws. The Blue Devils shot a terrifying 60% from the field and 57.9% from three point. The Wildcats fell just short, not being able to handle Duke’s impressive team chemistry with 20 assists. Once again, Duke moves on, proving their dominance and why they are ranked number 1.