Just a quick recap of what I saw in my Sportz Room -- filled with TVs that I can watch all games going on at the same time.
GAME OF THE DAY: Kentucky vs Santa Clara. The ending of this game was insane. Big shots from both sides, including a 50-footer by Kentucky to tie the game and send it into overtime. These are the kinds of games you love to watch if you have no rooting interest in either team. Otega Oweh's shot will likely be the best play of this entire tournament.
UPSET OF THE DAY: Utah State vs Villanova. There were no upsets really today. All the betting favorites won, even though two of them were No. 9 seeds. But to see Utah State come back and beat Villanova -- a Big East team -- seems like the most obvious "upset".
CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: BIG 12. The Big 12 went 4-0 on the day, with Arizona, Kansas, Texas Tech and Iowa State all winning their games ... with only Kansas having any trouble disposing their opponent. The Big Ten went 3-0 while the SEC went 4-1.
CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: MAC. Both Miami-OH and Akron lost their games on Friday, ending the magical season for both the league's regular season and tournament champions. The difficult part is both were blown out (though Akron put up more of a fight). Mid-majors in general had an awful day, but the MAC went out with a whimper.
DUD OF THE DAY: Tennessee vs Miami-OH. After Miami-OH's outstanding performance over SMU in the First Four, everyone was waiting to see what this team could do against a really good Tennessee team. Well, it didn't go very well. The Redhawks were overmatched early and this was never a game. The Volunteers understood to not take Miami-OH lightly, and they overwhelmed the Redhawks.
DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Florida vs Prairie View. There were a few blowouts on Friday, but none like what Florida did to Prairie View A&M. The Gators chomped their way to a 114-55 victory ... one of the largest margins of victory in the history of the NCAA tournament. Florida looks ready to defend its title and has a chip on their shoulder after losing to Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament.
UPSET OF THE DAY: Utah State vs Villanova. There were no upsets really today. All the betting favorites won, even though two of them were No. 9 seeds. But to see Utah State come back and beat Villanova -- a Big East team -- seems like the most obvious "upset".
CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: BIG 12. The Big 12 went 4-0 on the day, with Arizona, Kansas, Texas Tech and Iowa State all winning their games ... with only Kansas having any trouble disposing their opponent. The Big Ten went 3-0 while the SEC went 4-1.
CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: MAC. Both Miami-OH and Akron lost their games on Friday, ending the magical season for both the league's regular season and tournament champions. The difficult part is both were blown out (though Akron put up more of a fight). Mid-majors in general had an awful day, but the MAC went out with a whimper.
DUD OF THE DAY: Tennessee vs Miami-OH. After Miami-OH's outstanding performance over SMU in the First Four, everyone was waiting to see what this team could do against a really good Tennessee team. Well, it didn't go very well. The Redhawks were overmatched early and this was never a game. The Volunteers understood to not take Miami-OH lightly, and they overwhelmed the Redhawks.
DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Florida vs Prairie View. There were a few blowouts on Friday, but none like what Florida did to Prairie View A&M. The Gators chomped their way to a 114-55 victory ... one of the largest margins of victory in the history of the NCAA tournament. Florida looks ready to defend its title and has a chip on their shoulder after losing to Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament.
UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: Favorites dominate the day. Yesterday I remarked that it is interesting to follow the narrative that NIL and the transfer portal has been bad for the Cinderella role in the NCAA tournament. Well, Friday certainly held that line of thinking. The betting favorite went 16-0 on Day 2 of the tournament, with no double-digit seeds winning. Sure, all four of the No. 9 seeds won their games, but those are hardly any upsets. Of the four double-digit seeds to win over the last two days, two of them (Texas, Texas A&M) are SEC schools, VCU and High Point. All four play on Saturday.
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