#1 UConn was up 9 at the half but doubled up on San Diego State in the second to win 82-52. Clingan was pushed out of the paint for a good chunk of the game finishing with 8 points and 8 rebounds. The Huskies were 10/26 from three (38.5) to help put the game away. They held SDSU to 36% shooting and 22% from three. LeDee was 8/18 from the field with 18 points and 8 rebounds and was uncomfortable most of the night. Uconn did finish +21 rebounds, +9 offensive and +20 points in the paint as SDSU didn’t have many answers for the onslaught.

#6 Clemson knocked off the wobbly #2 Arizona Wildcats 77-72. Caleb Love struggled 5/18, including 0/9 from three. As a team the Cats shot 5/28 from three. Two attempts were made by Jaden Bradley off the bench whom lead the team with 18 points….and 4 turnovers. Ballo’s 15-15 game looks good in the stat box but he struggled at times too. Three turnovers for the big and 1/7 from the line. The Tigers didn’t have a great night from the charity stripe of the three line, but shot 49.2% from the field. Hunter had 18, Hall 17, and Schieffelin 14 points. An eight point halftime lead dissolved as the Wildcats took their first lead of the game with 14:33 left. The game would be played within 6 points the rest of the way. AZ was +11 on offensive rebounds but just couldn’t produce. Sometimes it was Clemson’s zone, sometimes it was sloppy turnovers, and sometimes it was just missing shots.

#1 North Carolina fell 89-87 to #4 Alabama as the Tide come back from eight down and trade blows with the Tarheels in the 2^nd half. The lanky Grant Nelson, a 6’11 transfer from North Dakota State, doubled most of his season averages and posted 24 points 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks. He made key plays on both sides of the ball in the 2^nd half and might have played the most impactful half of basketball for an individual player in the tournament! 19 second half points and two key blocks late, in addition to turning the Heels away from the basket multiple times made him a critical disruptor. It was the first time ACC POTY RJ Davis didn’t hit a three all season.

Terrance Shannon Jr explodes for 29 points as #3 Illinois knocks out the top defense of #2 Iowa State 72-69. ISU was down early again with awful shot select early in the first half. The Cyclones cut a 36-26 halftime lead to four a couple minutes into the 2^nd half but the game was never closer. Illinois was awful from the line shooting 15/29, so the margin could have been worse. ISU finished shooting 39% from the field and 6/13 from three. Illinois shot 42% and 9/29 from three. Domask was 2/11 from the field and had 4 turnovers but chipped in 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Hawkins was 4/8 for 12 points. The Cyclones greatest weakness was its lack of go-to scorer and anemic offense during long intervals. The teams 3^rd leading scorer Curtis Jones had 26 points off the bench as only three players scored in double figures for ISU. It’s tough to watch elite defensive teams lose because they can’t score.

Speaking of elite defense, Houston’s small lead evaporated when 2^nd leading scorer Jamal Shead went down with an unknown injury and didn’t return. LJ Cryer finished right on his season average with 15 points on 7/14 shooting and Jwan Roberts had 13 and 8 rebounds. Roberts wasn’t healthy himself and was clearly struggling after limited action in previous games. With Roberts banged up, and Shead being added to Terrance Arceneaux, Roman Walker, and Joe Tugler, the team was thin to finish out. Filipowski for Duke hit a couple big shots, but missed a big jumper that could have closed the game earlier and finished 6/14 with 9 boards. He had three of Duke’s six 3-pointers. Jeremy Roach was the only other Duke player in double-figures with 14. Ryan Young was the only player off the bench who logged some time as Schreyer went with two bigs. Duke won’t player a tougher defense, but this doesn’t look like a National Championship team. The game was played in a phone booth, within six points the whole way. Roach hit a big Jumper with 1:15 to push the game to six and the Cougars just couldn’t quite get over the hump as they scrambled and continuously made desperation plays in the final minutes to keep the game alive. Both teams shot 40% from the field in an awful showing.

#2 Tennessee went on a 18-0 run in the 2^nd half against #3 Creighton to take a 16-point lead. Creighton was able to construct a comeback and got within 4 before succumbing to the Vols. Tennessee only had four turnovers and snatched 10 points off Creighton’s mistakes. Both teams hit 11 threes and shot comparable numbers from the floor. The Vols 18-5 fast break edge really showed during the big run that put them ahead permanently. Dalton Knect led all scorers with 26 points. He chipped in 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Scheierman lead the Bluejays with 25 points and 6 rebounds. Santiago Vescovi the starting guard was ruled out sick for the Vols just before the game started.

Zack Edey logged another double-double with 27 points and 14 rebounds as #1 Purdue dumped #5 Gonzaga 80-68. Braden Smith had 14 points and 15 rebounds. The team shot 57% and 45% from three. Gonzaga shot 49% and 31% from three as some of the hot shooting continued and Graham Ike’s 18-10 double-double lead the Bulldogs that just ran out of juice.

#11 NC State blew the doors off of #2 Marquette. 67-58 was the final, but the Wolfpacks biggest lead was 16 and it was 13 at half. NC State was +7 on the boards and shot 46% from the field. DJ Burns was a modest 2/4 for 4 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. DJ Horne led the team with 19. Diarra had 11 points and 15 rebounds. Marquette was 33% from the field and an eye-gouging 4/31 from three that explains everything. Kam Jones had 20 points.