Kyle Guy and Virginia don’t want to make first-round history again. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
There wasn’t much Madness on Thursday: The first full day of NCAA tournament games featured no buzzer-beaters, virtually no dramatic endings, and only four wins by lower seeds. Let’s see if Friday offers a course correction.
Friday’s games of the day
• No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 16 Gardner-Webb, approx. 3:10 p.m. Eastern, truTV: We’re only putting this here because it can’t happen again, right? RIGHT? The Runnin’ Bulldogs currently rank 165th in Ken Pomeroy’s statistical rankings. UMBC’s rank last season: 166. Gulp.
• No. 11 Arizona State vs. No. 6 Buffalo, approx. 4 p.m. Eastern, TNT: Sporting their highest-ever NCAA tournament seed, the Bulls get their shot at Sun Devils Coach Bobby Hurley, who put Buffalo on the college basketball map as its coach earlier this decade before leaving for Arizona State.
• No. 9 UCF vs. No. 8 VCU, approx. 9:40 p.m. Eastern, CBS: The Knights have tall human Tacko Fall, who is 7 feet 6. The Rams might not have a fully healthy Marcus Evans, the team’s leader in scoring and assists who suffered a knee injury during the Atlantic 10 tournament.
Latest updates
The most recent news and highlights from the 2019 men’s NCAA tournament.
No. 7 Cincinnati vs. No. 10 Iowa
Friday’s NCAA tournament opener between the Bearcats and Hawkeyes followed a pattern in the first half: Cincinnati would make a run, jumping out to leads of 18-5 and 32-21, and Iowa would at least partly answer after ramping up the pressure. At halftime, the Bearcats’ lead was five, 36-31.
The Hawkeyes stumbled on offense early, making 2 of 10 shots and committing four turnovers as Cincinnati took their initial lead eight minutes in. Iowa righted itself and cut its deficit to six, but the Bearcats roared right back and led by 11 at the under-four timeout, gaining numerous second chances thanks to nine offensive rebounds. Then it was the Hawkeyes’ turn again.
Justin Jenifer led Cincinnati at the break with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Luka Garza and Joe Wieskamp both had 10 for Iowa.
No. 8 Mississippi vs. No. 9 Oklahoma
The Rebels’ first NCAA tournament appearance in four years didn’t exactly go as planned: The Sooners jumped out to leads of 12-0 and 19-9 after making eight of their first nine shots and 15 of their first 22.
Wade doubtful
Kansas State forward Dean Wade, an all-Big 12 first-team selection, is considered doubtful to play Friday against UC Irvine and for the rest of the tournament after a recurrence of a foot injury that sidelined him earlier this season. Wade, who averaged 12.9 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game, also missed last season’s NCAA tournament with a broken foot, though the Wildcats still advanced to the Elite Eight.
Izzo gets after one of his players
One of the more notable images from Thursday’s tournament openers was the sight of Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo yelling at Spartans freshman Aaron Henry to the point where he had to be restrained by guard Cassius Winston. And while the sight of Izzo getting heated on the sideline during a game hardly is unusual, the degree to which he tore into Henry certainly seemed to be. Izzo insisted he simply was being a coach.
“What’s wrong with challenging a kid that makes some mistakes?” he said after Michigan State outlasted Bradley, 76-65, per ESPN. “Aaron Henry — trust me — did some things that you can’t do as a starter on a top 5 team at the end of your freshman year. They were effort-related.
“I did get after him. He did respond. He did make a couple of big buckets. He did make some big free throws but that’s not good enough. It’s one-and-done time. The ‘my-bads’ are out the window.”
Said Henry: “I’ve heard worse from him. I’ve got it worse in practice before.”
A tragedy for Florida State
Florida State’s celebration of its 76-69 win over Vermont on Thursday was muted after senior forward Phil Cofer learned immediately after the game that his father had passed away. Mike Cofer, a former Pro Bowl linebacker with the Detroit Lions, suffered from a rare disease that affects organs and tissue, according to ESPN. Phil Cofer, who didn’t play Thursday because of a foot injury, received a phone call notifying him of his father’s death in the locker room following the game, breaking down in tears. He did not speak with reporters.
Friday’s upset watch
• No. 13 UC Irvine vs. No. 4 Kansas State, 2 p.m. Eastern, TBS: As noted, the Wildcats will be without one of their top players in Wade. The whimsically nicknamed Anteaters have held opponents to 40.6 percent shooting from two-point range, the best mark in the nation. UC Irvine also has a roster full of NBA pedigrees, including the sons of Caron Butler, Doc Rivers and Chris Welp. (Read more)
• No. 12 Oregon vs. No. 5 Wisconsin, approx. 4:30 p.m. Eastern, TBS: 12-5 games usually don’t pit power-conference teams against each other, but the Pac-12 stunk this year so here we are. The Ducks are only here because they won their conference tournament, but their stingy defense could keep the Badgers in check.
• No. 12 Liberty vs. No. 5 Mississippi State, 7:27 p.m. Eastern, truTV: The Flames are higher than a No. 16 seed for the first time, operate at one of the slowest paces in the nation and are exceptional shooters from both two-point range and the free throw line.
Schedule and results
Game times and TV information. All times Eastern.
Afternoon games
- No. 10 Iowa vs. No. 7 Cincinnati, 12:15 p.m., CBS
- No. 9 Oklahoma vs. No. 8 Mississippi, 12:40 p.m., truTV
- No. 14 Northern Kentucky vs. No. 3 Texas Tech, 1:30 p.m., TNT
- No. 13 UC Irvine vs. Kansas St., 2 p.m., TBS
- No. 15 Colgate vs. No. 2 Tennessee, 2:45 p.m., CBS
- No. 16 Gardner-Webb vs. No. 1 Virginia 3:10 p.m., truTV
- No. 11 Arizona St. vs. No. 6 Buffalo, 4 p.m., TNT
- No. 12 Oregon vs. No. 5 Wisconsin, 4:30 p.m., TBS
Evening games
- No. 9 Washington vs. No. 8 Utah St. 6:50 p.m., TNT
- No. 16 North Dakota St. vs. No. 1 Duke, 7:10 p.m., CBS
- No. 14 Georgia St. vs. No. 3 Houston, 7:20 p.m., TBS
- No. 12 Liberty vs. No. 5 Mississippi St., 7:27 p.m., truTV
- No. 16 Iona vs. No. 1 North Carolina, 9:20 p.m., TNT
- No. 9 UCF vs. No. 8 VCU, 9:40 p.m., CBS
- No. 11 Ohio St. vs. No. 6 Iowa St., 9:50 p.m., TBS
- No. 13 Saint Louis vs. No. 4 Virginia Tech, 9:57 p.m., truTV
Tournament news and notes
With all-time assists leader Justin Robinson back on the court, Virginia Tech will attempt to win its first NCAA tournament game since 2007. The Hokies already have the highest NCAA tournament seed in program history. (Read more)
For Turgeon and Maryland, an escape and a chance to exhale
Maryland’s tournament is about Maryland’s coach, and the support he either has or doesn’t have in College Park and beyond. The Post’s Barry Svrluga writes that Thursday’s narrow win over Belmont means the pitchforks won’t be at Mark Turgeon’s gate on Friday. (Read more)
“A year later, a hundred miles away, Virginia grinned through the horrible memories,” writes Post columnist Jerry Brewer. “The first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament morphed into the first No. 1 seed to return as a No. 1 the year after losing to a No. 16. It takes a strange, hardwearing creature to do such a symmetrical thing. The Cavaliers, humble and seeking catharsis, welcomed reporters to rip open the wound.” (Read more)
Iowa’s coach isn’t like the other coaches in Columbus, for a lot of reasons. Iowa is the fourth school he has taken to the tournament after Lehigh, UNC Greensboro and Siena. He was a head coach at 26. Now approaching 60, he is looked to as one of the leaders in the college coaching community, writes John Feinstein. But it is his temper, especially this season, that often has brought McCaffery unwanted attention. (Read more)
As the annual Sad Locker Room Month in America began again in earnest Thursday, the first sad locker room of the final 64 of the NCAA tournament turned out to be Louisville’s. If the truest fabric of March is its tears, its recurring finality as team after team completes months of collaboration and locker room after locker room goes hushed, Louisville provided a modest example. (Read more)
The March Madness oddities that could actually happen this year
A North Carolina-Duke tournament matchup? Three No. 1 seeds ousted before the Sweet 16? A team lower than a No. 11 seed in the Final Four? Here are the odds. (Read more)
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/03/22/march-madness-ncaa-tournament-updates/
2019-03-22 16:12:31Z
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