An opening two days largely devoid of pulsating action and punishing upsets set the stage for a weekend of high-level basketball in the NCAA Tournament. On paper, the matchups in this year’s Round of 32 were about as mouthwatering as fans could hope for, and the first half of that slate delivered a handful of thrillers.
There was John Calipari getting the best of Rick Pitino. There was an absolute shootout between Wisconsin and BYU. There was a second-half comeback from Michigan that kept this dream season under first-year head coach Dusty May alive for at least a few more days. And there’s a good chance Sunday’s lineup of games might be even better.
Here’s a rundown of the biggest storylines and moments from Day 3 of the NCAA Tournament:
BYU holds off Wisconsin, ends Big Ten’s perfect run
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Here’s how the Big Ten looked entering this year’s Big Dance: Second-seeded Michigan State, which won the league title, had been bounced by Wisconsin in the semifinals of the conference tournament; fourth-seeded Maryland, which was arguably the league’s second-best team during the regular season, was upended by Michigan in the semifinals of the conference tournament; fourth-seeded Purdue, which reached the national title game last year, had lost six of its previous nine games; Illinois, which battled injury and illness problems for months, was pummeled by the Terrapins in the Big Ten tourney; and fifth-seeded Michigan, which won the conference tournament, had lost four of its final six games in the regular season.
In other words, momentum wasn’t exactly on the Big Ten’s side as its participants entered March Madness in pursuit of the conference’s first national title in 25 years.
All of which explains why the league’s 10-0 record to begin the NCAA Tournament widened so many eyes across the sport, especially as the SEC’s mid- and lower-tier teams limped through the opening weekend with almost as many losses as wins. An event that many expected to be a coronation for the SEC, which set an NCAA record by sending 11 teams to the field, was transforming into the Big Ten Invitational.
But all good things must come to an end, even when Wisconsin star John Tohnje sets a school record for points in an NCAA Tournament game with 37. The conference’s run of dominance finally expired on Saturday evening when No. 3 Wisconsin was dumped, 91-89, by No. 6 BYU in a thrilling battle of high-level offenses. The Cougars, who rank ninth in offensive efficiency, built an 11-point halftime lead by shooting 47.2% from the floor and making all seven of their free-throw attempts in the opening stanza. A plus-12 rebounding margin produced a 12-2 advantage in second-chance points despite a distinct height disadvantage against the Badgers. They produced nearly twice as many assists (11) as turnovers (six) through the first 20 minutes.
By the thinnest of margins, that 11-point lead proved a large enough cushion to stave off Wisconsin in the second half. The Badgers were unable to slow BYU’s balanced offensive attack until the waning moments, with seven different Cougars chipping in at least seven points, including four players in double figures. Dynamic forward Richie Saunders led the way with 25 points and seven rebounds on 9-of-16 shooting, tormenting the Badgers at all three levels: in the lane, at the free-throw line and beyond the arc. He scored six points in the final five minutes to preserve the win and push BYU into the Sweet 16 as a desperation heave from Tonje went awry just before the buzzer.
This marks the fifth time in Wisconsin’s last five NCAA Tournament appearances that the Badgers have failed to reach the second weekend under head coach Greg Gard.
Former Buckeye Roddy Gayle Jr. plays role of hero for Michigan
For Roddy Gayle Jr., the negative discourse surrounding his junior season began on April 21, 2024, the day he decided to transfer to Michigan and play for new head coach Dusty May. There was nothing inherently wrong with Gayle’s decision — Michigan is a great place to be a student-athlete and May had taken his old team, Florida Atlantic, to the Final Four — but any change in allegiance from Ohio State to the Wolverines will be met with scrutiny. And Gayle had spent the first two years of his career with the Buckeyes, whose fans weren’t thrilled with his new locale.
Gayle quickly won over Michigan’s fan base with a series of impressive scoring efforts in the first few weeks of the season. He netted 13 points in his debut against Cleveland State and 11 points in his second game against Wake Forest. A few days later, in mid-November, he scored 10, 16 and 20 in consecutive outings while proving himself as a reliable perimeter shooter.
But the adoration began to fade toward the latter stages of the regular season, with Gayle receiving a hailstorm of criticism from fans when his shooting percentages dipped and his turnovers mounted. May even dropped him from the starting lineup in favor of Rubin Jones, another newcomer from North Texas. From Jan. 27 through the end of the regular season, Gayle only reached double-figure scoring twice in the span of 12 games. To outsiders, his confidence seemed shot.
Which is why Michigan’s 91-79 victory over fourth-seeded Texas A&M must have been so satisfying for Gayle, who poured in a season-high and team-high 26 points when May needed him most. Gayle shot 7-of-14 from the field overall, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range, and made all eight of his free throws in what was unquestionably his finest performance since a 32-point outburst with Ohio State on Dec. 30, 2023, in an overtime win against West Virginia. By scoring 21 of his points in the second half of Saturday night’s game, Gayle helped Michigan erase a 10-point deficit over the final 13 minutes.
The production from Gayle and starting center Vlad Goldin, who chipped in 23 points and snagged 12 rebounds, was enough for the Wolverines to overcome modest scoring efforts from some of their other stars. Power forward Danny Wolf and point guard Tre Donaldson only combined for 22 points, but the latter converted a beautiful, swooping layup in traffic with :59 remaining that all but put the game out of reach.
And now, after two years of futility under former coach Juwan Howard, the Wolverines are bound for the Sweet 16 in May’s first season.
St. John’s goes ice cold in second-round loss to Arkansas
Ever since the midway point of the season, by which time it had become clear that St. John’s was deserving of consideration among the best teams in the country, analysts have wondered what would happen if the Red Storm’s proverbial Achilles’ heel truly reared its ugly head. In other words, could head coach Rick Pitino’s group — which entered the Round of 32 ranked 329th in 3-point field goal percentage at 30.8% — persevere in a game when their statistically chilly perimeter shooting turned extra icy? Could the Red Storm still find a way to win?
What had been nothing more than a thought experiment for the better part of the season was finally examined in earnest against 10th-seeded Arkansas on Saturday afternoon, a trip to the Sweet 16 at stake. St. John’s, which had erupted for 14 made 3-pointers in a comprehensive 83-53 win over Omaha in the opening round, suddenly began to miss. And miss, and miss, and miss. Just one of the Red Storm’s 13 attempts from 3-point range found the target during a grating first half against the Razorbacks, who themselves were similarly inefficient from beyond the arc. That the only player who connected on a 3-pointer for St. John’s was reserve guard Lefteris Liotopoulos underscored how dire the situation was becoming. Starters Kadary Richmond, Aaron Scott and RJ Luis Jr. tried and failed on all six of their shots.
The result was a three-point halftime lead for Arkansas, whose coach, John Calipari, assembled a roster with enough length and athleticism to neutralize — or at least offset — the advantages St. John’s most often enjoyed in the Big East. Calipari’s team matched the Red Storm with 18 points in the paint during the opening stanza and nearly equaled them on the glass (29-25 in favor of St. John’s). The groundwork had been laid for a potential upset of seismic proportions; after all, the Razorbacks nearly missed the NCAA Tournament entirely following a swerving 19-12 regular season in which they lost more SEC games than they won.
And somehow, someway, amid some confluence of unknown reasons, the performance from St. John’s only worsened from there. The Red Storm missed 11 consecutive field goal attempts from the 3:40 mark of the first half to the 18:00 mark of the second, by which point their deficit on the scoreboard had increased to 11 points. Richmond fouled out with 6:28 remaining in just 16 minutes of playing time, his final stat line featuring the same number of points (five) as fouls (five) in a shocking display. Luis, who was named Big East Player of the Year, spent the final 4:56 on the bench for reasons that weren’t immediately clear, though he did endure a horrific 3-for-17 shooting effort.
But it wasn’t as if the Red Storm were without chances, especially in the last few minutes. As Arkansas’ players tightened under pressure — eschewing half-court offense for meandering, clock-draining possessions long before such a strategy would be generally advisable — the Razorbacks settled for worse and worse shots, missing six of their final 10 from the field. Had Pitino’s team been able to connect on any of its myriad attempts from 3-point range down the stretch, the outcome of Saturday’s game would likely have been different. But St. John’s missed seven 3s in the over the final 6:14, including six bricks in the last two minutes alone.
It was too much futility for the Red Storm to overcome: Arkansas 75, St. John’s 66.
A dream season for Pitino and his team had expired.
Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.
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