Day two brought three more double-digit seed wins and more action! The remaining #1 & #2 seeds advanced to the round of 32.
#13 Yale came back from a nine-point halftime deficit to beat #4 Auburn 78-76. Chad Baker-Mazara was ejected 3 minutes into the game for Auburn after sliding an elbow across a players head. John Broome had 9 points and 3 rebounds already by that point on his way to 24 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block. It wasn’t enough as John Poulakidas finished with 28 points on 6/9 three point shooting. Auburn was up 4 at the under 4 media timeout with 3:29 to go, but the Bulldogs went 9/9 from the free throw line the rest of the way and John P hit a three to push the Bulldogs ahead. Tre Donaldson could tie at the free throw line with 6 seconds left but he missed the first, intentionally missed the second, and Auburn had two shots at the bucket off offensive rebounds and still couldn’t put it in.
#10 Colorado won 102-100 over #7 Florida in an awesome shootout. KJ Simpson hits a jumper with 2 seconds left after a slight pushoff on the defender. The Buffs go 28/33 at the line and a modest 6/10 for three and 63% from the field overall. Florida shoots 51%, 44% on threes and 19/22 from the line.
#9 Northwestern outscores #8 Florida Atlantic 19-7 in OT to win 77-65. Ryan Langborg scores 27 and Boo Buie scores 22 on a game that was 20-19 Owls in the first half before things opened up in the 2nd. A 21-12 turnover discrepancy for the Owls was gross. It only lead to a 21-16 points off turnover advantage for NW though.
#12 seeds James Madison and Grand Canyon pulled nice wins while UAB came close. All three games were free throw shows that were difficult to choke down. All six teams shot below 44% from the field. Walter Clayton hits two huge threes for the Gators late to tie up the game but misses the game winner. He leads all scorers with 33 and five Gators in double-figures. KJ Simpson has 23, Lampkin Jr has 21 as all five Buffs starters are in double-figures.
James Madison lead the entire game by forcing turnovers and scoring in the paint. The teams combine for a whopping 53 free throws with the advantage the Dukies way. Grand Canyon won 75-66 over Saint Mary’s and 48 free throws were shot in this game but the lead was GCU’s going 28/36. San Diego State held on 69-65 over UAB. 44 free throws in the game.
#15 Western Kentucky pushed the pace and capitalized on a top-10 paint scoring offense against #2 Marquette’s weakness inside. The Hilltoppers outrebounded the Golden Eagles 44-37 on the game and outscored them 16-10 in the paint in the first half for a 43-36 halftime lead. Marquette exploded with 8 threes in the 2nd half and pulled away for a 87-69 blowout.
#4 Duke also played a weird game against #13 Vermont in a 64-47 win. Neither team shot well and star center Kyle Filipowski had three shot attempts, twice he went to the free throw line, and finished with only 3 points but 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.
#3 Baylor hammers #14 Colgate from the beginning in a 92-67 rout. Freshman Ja’Kobe Walter crushed 8 of the team’s 16 three pointers.
#6 Clemson was impressive in a 77-56 destruction of #11 New Mexico thanks to a defensive effort that held the Lobos under 30% shooting
#9 Texas A&M murdered #8 Nebraska shooting 13/23 from three. Huskers are 0-10 in tourney all-time.
#8 Utah State was shockingly efficient shooting 55-42-93 in a 88-72 win over #9 TCU. The Horned Frogs were +16! On the offensive boards but struggled to shoot. Utah State was actually +20 in points in the paint despite TCU’s outrageous advantage in grabbing offensive boards.
#4 Alabama won 109-96 over #13 Charleston in the shootout everyone expected. The Tide led by 31 points and was never really in danger. 23 three pointers were made in the game. Mark Sears had 30 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists for Alabama while Charleston took a team approach with six guys in double-figures.
All #1 seeds won by 21+ points after
#1 Purdue beat #16 Grambling 78-50 behind a 30-21 Edey game
#1 Houston smothered #16 Longwood 86-46
#1 Uconn wipes #16 Stetson 91-52