When Sunday’s NCAA Tournament business closes, the men’s Sweet 16 will be set, while the women’s will have half of the Sweet 16 field decided.
Already, two No. 1 seeds have been knocked out on the men’s side, highlighted by No. 1 Purdue’s stunning loss to No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson. Now FDU aims to do what no 16 seed has ever done: Reach the Sweet 16.
The Knights will try to make that happen Sunday (7:45 p.m. ET, truTV) against Florida Atlantic, a mid-major powerhouse that is 32-3 on the year after its dramatic win over Memphis. But first No. 11 Pitt and No. 3 Xavier get the party started at 12:10 PM ET on CBS.
Women’s action gets underway with the defending champions as No. 1 South Carolina tries to improve to 34-0 against South Florida (1 p.m. ET, ABC). Iowa standout Caitlin Clark then takes the national stage in the next game on ABC as her No. 2 Hawkeyes take on No. 10 Georgia.
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Follow the madness: Latest Men’s NCAA Tournament College Basketball Results and Schedules
MEN’S TOURNAMENT: Complete scores and schedule
WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT: Complete scores and schedule
SATURDAY’S GAME: Follow all men’s, women’s action
Xavier opens a big halftime lead with an offensive flourish
In their Round of 64 win against No. 6 Iowa State, No. 11 Pittsburgh allowed a game-high 41 points. In the round of 16, it’s a different story. No. 3 Xavier had scored 42 points by the 5:01 mark … in the first half. The Musketeers opened up a 48-34 halftime lead on a blistering 19-of-36 performance (52.8%) from the field.
Much of the difference has been beyond the arc, where Xavier has converted half of its 14 attempts. In particular, guard Adam Kunkel is on fire, going a perfect 5-of-5 from 3-point range, with a team-high 15 points. Forward Jack Nunge is right behind him, contributing 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
The Panthers started hot, but then cooled off and were outscored by a 27-16 margin to close the half. Making matters even more concerning for Pittsburgh is Xavier guard Souley Boum, who led the Musketeers this season with 16.5 points per game. game, has yet to score a single point and is 0-of-6 from the field.
Sunday promotion underway
The first game of the day, a matchup in the men’s bracket between No. 11 Pittsburgh and No. 3 Xavier, tipped just after noon Sunday. And if the offensive pace to start is any indication of what’s to come the rest of the day, goals will be on display.
The Musketeers were the leading scoring team in the Big East this season and have separated themselves from Pittsburgh midway through the first half to open a 28-18 lead. Xavier ripped off a 14-3 run and is shooting 57.1% from the field on 12 of 21 attempts. Guard Colby Jones and forward Jack Nunge each have eight points to lead the Musketeers.
Pittsburgh is shooting 7-of-16 from the field at a 46.7% clip.
The game also provides an interesting bit of nostalgia and familiarity as Xavier head coach Sean Miller starred at guard for the Panthers from 1987-92, starting 124 of the 128 games in which he played.
This men’s tournament is really up for grabs
All season long, this promised to be the most open NCAA men’s tournament in a generation. Bluebloods weren’t so blue. The top ranked teams had obvious deficiencies. The combination of an extra COVID year for older players, an out-of-control transfer environment and a crop of rookies largely unready for prime time meant teams’ fortunes fluctuated from match to match, week to week.
Now here we are, almost done with the first weekend of March Madness, and there’s an important question to ask: Who will win the national championship?
Perhaps it would be better to say it another way. If you’re still alive Sunday night in this crazy tournament, go ahead and dare to dream. Even you, Princeton. That’s really what’s at stake.
– Dan Skye
Double trouble? Indiana and Miami will meet in the men’s and women’s games
No, you are not seeing double.
Indiana and Miami will play each other in the second round of both the men’s and women’s tournaments. The men’s game will be played on Sunday night in Albany, New York, while the women’s teams will meet on Monday in Bloomington, Indiana.
“It’s amazing. I mean, what an amazing situation,” Miami women’s coach Katie Meier said. “I know our athletic director was also on a plane going back and forth with someone from Indiana.”
The NCAA does not keep a record of how many times schools have played each other in each of the tournaments, let alone in the same round. But suffice it to say, it hasn’t happened very often. Meier had been asked about the potential for the double dip ahead of Saturday’s game, but she wouldn’t answer and jinx herself. Good thing, as the Hurricanes trailed by 17 before rallying to beat Oklahoma State.
Top-seeded Indiana had rolled earlier in the day, while IU and Miami’s men’s team both clinched their spots on Friday.
“We’re looking forward to playing Indiana,” Meier said, “and hopefully the ‘Canes come out on top in two.
– Nancy Armor
Princeton men, women win first-round games same year, makes Ivy history
This was a tournament to remember for the Ivy League, even before Princeton’s men reached the second round.
This is the first year Ivy’s team has won the first round of both tournaments. A day after the Princeton men stunned Arizona, the 10th-seeded Princeton women upset NC State Friday night on a 3-pointer with seven seconds left.
“We watched (the men) in the locker room right before practice,” Julia Cunningham said Friday night. “Watching them, all the coverage they get from the media, it was so well deserved. We looked at each other and thought, we’re next, now it’s our turn.
“It’s special,” she added. “A special week to be a tiger.”
– Nancy Armor
Ranking of Sunday’s matches
How many teams do you want in your Sweet 16? We know who will advance after Sunday’s eight games with some of the highest seeds still standing after a crazy and unpredictable start to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
But we’ll all be paying close attention to the outlier as No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson looks to build on Friday night’s historic upset of No. 1 Purdue with a second-round matchup against No. 9 Florida Atlantic.
Remember this, though: Of the eight games played on Sunday, six feature the highest possible seeds — No. 6 vs. No. 3, No. 5 vs. No. 4 and No. 7 vs. No. 2.
Here is a list of Sunday’s games ranked by how watchable they are:
1. No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. No. 9 Florida Atlantic (7:45 p.m. ET)
2. No. 5 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 4 Connecticut (6:10)
3. No. 6 Kentucky vs. No. 3 Kansas State (2:40)
4. No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 6 Creighton (7:10)
5. No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 6 TCU (9:40 a.m.)
6. No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 2 Marquette (5:15)
7. No. 5 Miami vs. No. 4 Indiana (8:40 a.m.)
8. No. 3 Xavier vs. No. 11 Pittsburgh (12:10 p.m.)
– Paul Myerberg
Merrimack coach rooting for Fairleigh Dickenson
With its upset of No. 1 seed Purdue, the Knights gave the Northeast Conference its first first-round win in the NCAA men’s tournament in four decades. But the Knights wouldn’t be here without Merrimack, which won the conference title but was ineligible because of the move to Division I — NCAA rules say a school must sit out four years after such a move.
So Merrimack coach Joe Gallo and the rest of the team stayed home and watched Fairleigh Dickenson pick Purdue — and big Zach Edey — apart. So is there jealousy among its northeastern enemies?
“To quote my 6-year-old, ‘Dad, we beat them so we want them to win,'” Gallo told CBS Sports. “People have been hard on our league all year, too, so I’m happy with the win.”
– Heather Tucker
UMBC finds a friend on Twitter
The UMBC Twitter account finally has a best friend. This is the Farleigh Dickinson men’s basketball team’s Twitter account. What do they have in common? They both thrive on creating absolute chaos and blowing up brackets.
The UMBC Twitter account celebrated Fairleigh Dickinson’s win over Purdue, which likely ruined many NCAA men’s tournament brackets. The FDU Twitter account caught wind of this and declared their new friendship together.
It was always going to be hard for UMBC to find someone who understood that. After all, it’s not often you get a 16 seed upsetting a 1 seed. UMBC was the first men’s program to do so when it knocked off No. 1 Virginia in 2018. But if anyone understands the feeling, it’s FDU.
— Mike D. Sykes II, For the Win
Final USA TODAY Sports Coach Poll
Houston entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll, despite losing the American Athletic Conference championship just before the bracket was revealed last Sunday.
The Cougars, who were without leading scorer Marcus Sasser in the loss to Memphis, retained 21 of 32 No. 1 votes to stave off second-ranked Alabama. The Crimson Tide received eight first place finishes after winning the SEC title in impressive fashion.
Houston handled Northern Kentucky in its first-round game and Auburn in its second-round game, while Alabama routed Texas A&M Corpus Christi in its tournament opener. The Crimson Tide beat No. 8 seed Maryland late Saturday.
—Eddie Timanus
