Saturday, March 18, 2023

Sportz' NCAA Tournament Recap - First Round, Day 2




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: TCU vs Iowa State. There were so many good games today, but I'm going to take the one that had the game winning shot at the end. Iowa State was dominating TCU most of the day but the Horned Frogs kept chipping away at the lead and eventually made a runner to take the lead with two seconds left. It barely clips the FAU-Memphis game. And this other one.

UPSET OF THE DAY: Farleigh Dickinson vs Purdue.  For the second time ever, a No. 16 seed beats a No. 1 seed. Wow! There is so much about this game that is amazing. FDU was the biggest underdog to win a tournament game (-23.5). They were a team that had to win a First Four game. They are only in the tournament due to Merrimack's ineligibility in the NEC. But what I like the most is that they went punch for punch with Purdue. When UMBC beat Virginia in 2018, they got hot and just rolled. This was more of a thing were FDU had to make plays to win and they did it.

CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: Big East. Reminds us of the old days. Marquette won easily, Xaver pulled out their fight with Kennesaw State, UConn blew out Rick Pitino's Iona Gaels and Creighton blew by NC State. Providence fell, but the Big East really performed well.

CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: Pac-12. The Pac-12 are down to just one team in the second round. USC got rolled by Michigan State and Arizona State blew a big lead against TCU. Add in Arizona's upset loss yesterday and the Pac-12 had yet again let us down. UCLA is the lone solider.

DUD OF THE DAY: UConn v Iona. There was a feeling that Rick Pitino's squad would have a little something for UConn in Albany. They did for a half, but then the Huskies ran away with it in the second half.

DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Pitt vs Iowa State. Man, the Panthers put the clamps down on Iowa State -- they didn't reach 40 points until garbage time in the final minute. Pitt has become the latest First Four winner to advance to the second round. Oh, and FDU

UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: Can't trust Purdue. Yesterday I mentioned how Arizona and Virginia failed us yet again come tournament time. But Purdue is a much bigger offender. This year they lose the No. 16 Farleigh Dickinson. Last year they lost to No. 15 seed St. Peter's. The year before that they lose to No. 13 seed North Texas. What is going on with Purdue? This isn't normal. 

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