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The NCAAM Basketball Tournament has emerged from four days and 48 games of action with all four No. 1 seeds and 12 of the top 16 overall seeds still intact.
There will be no repeat title winner as Florida ended two-time defending champion Connecticut’s 13-game tournament winning streak in a 77-75 victory. The Gators head to San Francisco to face Maryland, which provided the only buzzer-beater in the tournament’s opening two rounds when freshman phenom Derik Queen banked in a winner against Colorado State for a 72-71 Terrapins win on Sunday.
Florida wasn’t the only No. 1 seed tested in the second round, as Gonzaga took Houston to the wire before the Cougars won, 81-76. Coach Kelvin Sampson’s squad reached the Sweet 16 for the sixth straight year, ending the Bulldogs’ streak of nine straight trips to the second weekend.
Auburn handled Creighton late in an 82-70 victory, and Duke had no problems with Baylor in an 89-66 win. John Calipari led his fourth program into the Sweet 16 when his Arkansas Razorbacks defeated Rick Pitino and St. John’s, 75-66. The Red Storm are the only #1 or #2 seed going home after the opening weekend.
There are still seven SEC teams in action, followed by four Big Ten and Big 12 teams each, with Duke as the lone remaining ACC representative. Cinderella has left the building as Arkansas, the No. 10 seed in the West Region, is the only double-digit seed remaining. This is the first time in 18 years that a team seeded #11 or lower has reached the Sweet 16.
Let’s break down two of the four Sweet 16 matchups on Thursday evening and make two Sweet 16 picks.
The 27-8 Terrapins, the No. 4 seed in the West Region, dominated Grand Canyon in the first round before Queen hit the winner against Colorado State late Sunday night to send Maryland to the Sweet 16 for the first time in nine years.
Queen, a 6’10” Baltimore native recently named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, had 17 points and is averaging a double-double in the tournament. Julian Reese is averaging a double-double, as he had 15 points and 11 rebounds against the Rams. Maryland’s starters, known as the Crab Five, have scored 90% of the Terrapins’ points through two rounds, including 70 of 72 points against Colorado State. Scoring depth has been an issue all season, and Florida will look to attack that depth tomorrow.
The 32-4 Gators continue to get consistent performances from first-team All-American Walter Clayton Jr., who scored 23 points in each of the team’s first two tournament games. Clayton Jr. leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.9 points, but five other Gators are averaging eight or more. Florida has won eight straight, including the SEC Conference tournament. The Gators have beaten teams soundly this season, winning 25 games by double digits. In his third season at the helm, Coach Todd Golden has the team back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017.
Both teams have high-octane offenses, with Florida third in the country at 85.4 points per game and Maryland 23rd at 81.4. The Gators should have the advantage with Clayton leading the way. Look for him to score 20 or more points for the seventh time in his past eight games.
Coach Tommy Lloyd and the 24-12 Arizona Wildcats are back in the Sweet 16 for the third time in his four years in Tucson. However, he has yet to get his team, the No. 4 seed in the East Region this year, past this point. It won’t get any easier this time, as top seed Duke should have an extremely biased crowd in its favor at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey tomorrow night.
Caleb Love led the way with 29 points and 9 rebounds, as Arizona defeated Oregon last Sunday night, 87-83. Four other Wildcats reached double figures in the tight affair between former Pac-12 rivals. Arizona went 5-6 down the stretch but hung tough with Houston before losing in the Big 12 Conference Tournament championship game. Love, a first-team All-Big 12 selection and the team’s leading scorer at 16.8 PPG is averaging 19.5 points this tournament, and his team will need every one of them in the next round.
The 33-3 Blue Devils are the favorites to win the national championship for the first time since 2015. Now in his third season, Coach Jon Scheyer is poised to lead his team back to the Elite 8 for the second straight year. It all starts with Cooper Flagg, the ACC Player and Rookie of the Year, who was named an All-American as a freshman. He leads the Blue Devils in every major category, including scoring (18.7 PPG), rebounding (7.5 REB), and assists (4.2 AST). He scored 14 points in Duke’s 93-49 opening-round win over Mount St. Mary’s before contributing 18 points and 9 rebounds in an easy, 89-66 dispatching of Baylor over the weekend.
Duke should advance easily to the next round with another blistering offensive performance. The Blue Devils are averaging 91 points in their first two tournament games, and Arizona will be hard-pressed to keep the difference under double digits.
Flagg looks completely healed from an injury suffered in the ACC Tournament. Look for him to score 19 or more points in a Duke win tomorrow night.
Brian has been writing about sports professionally for 25 years, specializing in the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, men's college basketball and football, and soccer. He covered high school, collegiate and professional sports in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area for two decades. His written work has appeared in several print and online publications since 1999.