The first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was marked by massive upsets, and the madness continued in the Round of 32 on Saturday, as another No. 1 seed fell. Will more chaos occur on Sunday?
We’ll have much more coming today on all the action, but first, make sure you check out a few key items: our NCAA Tournament bracket, NCAA Tournament schedule, 50 reasons to be excited for March Madness and top plays of the first round.
Here is a complete recap of Day 3.
Stay tuned for exclusive interviews, running analysis and more from Day 4.
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No. 4 UConn 70, No. 5 Saint Mary’s 55
Here is my instant reaction to the game:
No. 7 Michigan State 69, No. 2 Marquette 60
SPARTY MARCHING ON: Michigan State takes down Marquette
March belongs to Tom Izzo, and he reminded the country of that on Sunday evening in Columbus.
Squaring off with Big East champion Marquette, which entered the matchup on a 10-game winning streak, the Spartans’ defense rose to the occasion en route to victory to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.
Izzo told FOX Sports in an exclusive interview ahead of the game that defense would be mandatory against the nation’s sixth-most efficient offense or else his team would be heading home.
Michigan State silenced Big East Player of the Year Tyler Kolek, holding him to seven points on just two made field goals. The Spartans cut off the head of the snake for a Golden Eagles team that won 29 games this season.
On the offensive end, it wasn’t a work of art from Sparty, but Michigan State has won the way it did on Sunday plenty of times in the tournament, as Izzo advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 15th time in his 28-year head coaching career.
The Spartans won because of their main offensive trait: veteran guard play. With Michigan State up 56-55 with 3:36 left and Marquette climbing back in, Tyson Walker said goodnight. The senior, in his second year with the program, scored eight of the 10 unanswered points to put the Golden Eagles away. He capped it off with an uncontested dunk with 40 seconds left, sending the sea of green into a frenzy and Izzo into a fist pump.
For everything this team has been through this year, with the on-campus mass shooting in February that resulted in the tragic death of three students, it led to high emotion in the final seconds and celebration that ensued in Columbus.
There’s no shortage of experience for this Michigan State team, and even on a day when they shot 2-for-16 from 3, the Spartans prevailed with toughness and a 32-16 advantage in the paint.
Markquis Nowell and Kansas State are next, and that will be no easy feat.
But Izzo has led the Spartans to the Final Four in each of the last two trips they’ve made the Sweet 16 (2019, 2015).
Why can his team get there?
Experienced backcourt players, a stretch-4 in Joey Hauser (14 points on Sunday), and an alpha in Walker who has embraced the role of alpha. Last fall, Izzo said Walker had the best offseason of any player he had ever coached.
On Sunday, the Spartans felt that reward, and they’re heading to New York.
No. 3 Kansas State 75, No. 6 Kentucky 69
The Little Apple is heading to the Big Apple.
The Kansas State Wildcats, who were picked dead last in the Big 12 preseason poll, are Sweet 16-bound in the East Region after beating Kentucky, a team many considered to be a national championship contender heading into the season.
Jerome Tang has authored arguably the best story in college basketball this season in large part because nobody saw it coming.
If this result doesn’t sum up the meaningless nature of preseason polls and the climate in college hoops in general, nothing does.
Just when it looked like John Calipari and Kentucky were going to advance to the second weekend and silence the haters, Kansas State punched back in an unlikely way — with 3-point shooting!
K-State went 2-for-18 from downtown in the opening 36 minutes of the game. Trailing 60-56 with 3:58 to go, the man who guided them all day rose to the occasion. Markquis Nowell was in control of the game all day, and buried a huge triple. The All-American point guard finished with 27 points and nine assists. He was the best player on the floor.
This game, which was one of the best of the weekend, had serious March magic, too.
With Kentucky up 62-61 with 2:43 on the clock and Big Blue Nation in raucous form, the ball ended up in the hands of junior role player Ismael Massoud. The New York native hit his only shot of the day from the right wing, helping his Wildcats to the trip back home this upcoming week.
Off an ensuing stop, Keyontae Johnson fittingly put it away. The comeback player of the year buried his only triple of the day to put Kansas State up five with just over a minute left.
On the other side, it’s more of the same song and dance for a Kentucky program that has underachieved over the last four seasons. The Wildcats have not made it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2019, and this team’s biggest wart reared its ugly head down the stretch on Sunday.
Kentucky couldn’t shoot the ball consistently all season. It shot 4-for-20 from downtown on Sunday, with Antonio Reeves going 1-for-15 from the field.
An aside: I feel bad for Oscar Tshiebwe. He had 21 points and 18 rebounds. He really commanded the way the game was played inside, charging UK to a 44-25 advantage on the glass.
Cason Wallace was tremendous with 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists. He will be drafted this summer. But there just wasn’t enough from Kentucky’s supporting cast. That was the case all season, and that’s why the season ended at a disappointing 22-12.
There’s also some history to this result:
As for K-State, the Wildcats booked the Big 12’s second ticket to the Sweet 16, joining Texas. Baylor and TCU will look to join that pair later today.
There’s not enough that can be said about Tang and the DNA of toughness he’s brought from being Scott Drew’s right-hand man in Waco to the head job at Kansas State.
The Wildcats went 14-17 a year ago, saw Bruce Weber out, and had a total rebuild to spring with Tang. The power of the transfer portal, and at the forefront of it, a returnee in Nowell, has resulted in an incredible ride for Kansas State.
They will meet either Michigan State or Marquette on Thursday in New York City.
No. 3 Xavier 84, No. 11 Pitt 73
When Xavier was a 1-seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, the Musketeers were widely considered one of the best programs in college basketball.
They were a staple to the Big Dance, making 16 of 18 appearances on college basketball’s grandest stage. But then, Chris Mack left for Louisville, and his right-hand man, Travis Steele, was given a chance.
The four years that ensued for the program led to February collapses, and not a single appearance in the Big Dance.
One year ago today, Xavier decided to pull the trigger and hire Sean Miller. It was perceived to be a slight risk, as Arizona was charged with five Level I violations from incidents that allegedly took place during Miller’s tenure there.
In the end, Miller did not face any sanctions, and now, one year later, he has the Musketeers back on college basketball’s national map.
In just 365 days, the program has gone from greatly needing a winner to bringing back a man who loved his time in Cincinnati, serving as an assist at Xavier from 2001-04, before taking over the head coaching role from 2004-09.
Xavier showcased its high-scoring offense in the first half Sunday, outscoring Pitt 48-34 in the opening frame and rolling to an impressive 84-73 win over the Panthers.
The victory sends the Musketeers to their first Sweet 16 since 2017, where they will head to Kansas City to meet 2-seed Texas on Friday.
Xavier blitzed the Panthers from the jump, assisting on 17 of its 19 made field goals and getting a combined 29 points from Adam Kunkel and Jack Nunge in the first half.
The Musketeers had six players in double-figures and showed that with their offense, they’re capable of beating anyone because they can overwhelm teams on that end of the floor. Colby Jones continues to show why he’s deserving of NBA Draft looks, as the versatile junior wing had 10 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists.
Kunkel could not miss in the first half, drilling his first five 3-point attempts and finishing with 15 points, while Nunge had 18 points to lead the charge. Indiana transfer Jerome Hunter continues to play his best basketball of his career, adding 14 points in the win. Hunter has now totaled 38 points in two NCAA Tournament games.
In the second half, Souley Boum found a bit of a rhythm as well, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
With the victory, Miller improved to 8-0 in Round of 32 games.
The Big East improved to 5-1 in the NCAA Tournament, with Marquette, Creighton and UConn still in action today.
On the flip side, Pitt’s magical season concluded, but give credit to Jeff Capel for resurrecting the Panthers program and winning multiple NCAA Tournament games.
As for Xavier, the Longhorns lie ahead in a matchup of teams with opposing styles. Watching the Musketeers’ offense against the Texas defense should be highly entertaining.
But for today, it’s a celebration for Xavier and Miller, who reinvented the way he’s done things in his year away from the sidelines and adapted his offense.
What a difference a year makes for the Musketeers.
COMING SOON:
No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 6 Creighton | 7:10 p.m. ET
No. 9 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 16 FDU | 7:45 p.m. ET
No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 5 Miami (Fla.) | 8:40 p.m. ET
No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 6 TCU | 9:40 p.m. ET
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.
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