By Mike Rifkin
- Kansas def (16) Texas Southern – 83-56
- Auburn def (15) Jacksonville St. – 80-61
- Wisconsin def (14) Colgate – 67-60
- Providence def (13) South Dakota St. 66-57
(12) Richmond def (5) Iowa 67-63
(11) Iowa St. def LSU :59-54
(10) Miami def (7) USC : 68-66
(9) Creighton def (8) San Diego St. 72-69 OT
Kansas, the top seed in the Midwest advances to the second round with a 83-56 victory over Texas Southern who defeated Texas A&M Corpus Christi to play. The Jayhawks had a balanced attack led by Christian Braun who scored 14 points and was 4-5 from three. The Jayhawks as a team were 11-23 (47.8%) from behind the arc. Defensively they held the Tigers to 32.8% from the field and 3-14 (21.4%) from three.
The Jayhawks advance to take on the Creighton Blue Jays who defeated San Diego ST 72-69 in overtime. Creighton found a way to win this game, and that is what has to happen in the NCAA tournament. They shot 44 % from the field and were 2-14 from three. Trey Alexander led the Blue Jays with 18 points but also made some big plays defensively. The Aztecs struggled from three going 5-19 (26.3%) and from the free throw line 10-17 (58.8%).
The two seed Auburn Tigers advanced by defeating Jacksonville St. Gamecocks 80-61. Potential first overall pick Jabari Smith led the Tigers with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Walker Kessler chimed in with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 9 blocks. If Auburn wants to make a deep run they need to shoot the ball better. They went 9-24 (37.5%) from three and missed seven free throws. The Gamecocks shot 47.2 % from the field during the season and shot 31.1% against Auburn.
The Tigers will play the Miami Hurricanes who defeated USC Trojans 68-66. Miami won this game with their defense as they forced 18 Trojan turnovers and only turned the ball over three times. Isaiah Wong led the way with 22 points, but Charlie Moore who had 16 points made some big shots down the stretch. Miami went 1-14 from three in this game. USC outscored Miami 46-37 in the second half but it wasn’t enough. The Hurricanes were -12 rebounding in this game, if they want to compete with Auburn they have to rebound.
The third seeded Wisconsin Badgers survived a scare from Colgate and advanced into the second round. The Badgers were led by player of the year candidate Johnny Davis who had 25 points and eight rebounds. Wisconsin’s defense forced 12 turnovers. For the Raiders Nelly Cummings led the way with 20 points.
Wisconsin will play the Iowa St. Cyclones defeated the LSU Tigers 59-54. Tyrese Hunter had 25 points including seven three pointers to lead the Cyclones to victory. Iowa State as a team made 12 threes, while LSU only hit four (4-19). Iowa State forced 19 turnovers in the victory.
Providence defeated South Dakota St. 66-57. Noah Horchler and Al Durham had 13 points each to lead the Friars. South Dakota St. averaged 86.7 points per game and were held to 57 in this game. South Dakota St. shot 30.4 % from three, during the regular season they shot 45 % as a team.
Providence advances to play the Richmond Spiders. Richmond upset the fifth seed Iowa Hawkeyes 67-63. Jacob Gilyard led the way with 24 points, six rebounds and six assists. The Spiders defense held the Hawkeyes to 36.4% shooting from the field, and 20.7% from three.
RD 2 Matchups
- Kansas vs (9) TCU
- Auburn vs (10) Miami
- Wisconsin vs (11) Iowa ST.
- Providence vs (12) Richmond.
The Sports Insanity Network 