[Sport] What We Learned From the First Weekend of the N.C.A.A. Basketball Men’s Tournament

[Shyloo]

What We Learned From the First Weekend of the N.C.A.A. Basketball Men’s Tournament

 

The first five days of the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament in Indiana were filled with upsets and thrilling endings that busted many brackets across the nation. The last perfect bracket was shattered when Maryland knocked off UConn in the first round on Saturday, according to the N.C.A.A.

As the tournament moves toward the Sweet 16 on Saturday and the start of the Elite Eight on Monday, here’s what we have learned so far:

Gonzaga is every bit as potent as advertised.
Gonzaga, the top seed over all, averaged 92.5 points in its two games — a 43-point win over Norfolk State and a 16-point win over Oklahoma — as it advanced to the round of 16 for the sixth consecutive season under Coach Mark Few.

Gonzaga will next face No. 5-seeded Creighton, which beat No. 13-seeded Ohio, 72-58, on Monday. But whoever the Bulldogs meet the rest of the way will have their hands full with Gonzaga’s high-octane offense. In wins this season over ranked opponents — Kansas, Iowa, West Virginia and Virginia — the Bulldogs averaged 96.5 points while allowing an average of just under 84.

“They’re a special team, no question about that,” Oklahoma Coach Lon Kruger said after his team lost, 87-71, on Monday. “Baylor is a special team. But those two, through the course of the year, have separated themselves, I think deservedly so.

“Would be an interesting final game if it turns out that way, for sure.”

Drew Timme, who scored 30 points against Oklahoma, and the Bulldogs are on a mission and don’t want to be tripped up like Illinois, Iowa and Ohio State, all of which did not make it to the second weekend of the tournament.

You have 4 free articles remaining.
Subscribe to The Times
“We’ve got a lot of things we can work on,” he said. “We’re not satisfied with this. This is not the end goal. We’re excited for the next challenge that presents itself.”