2024 March Madness Tournament Round of 64 Day One: Midwest Region
The first day of March Madness is one of the if not the, best days of the year. There will be 16 college basketball games from noon until midnight, what could be better than that? There is nothing like this tournament in all of sports. All the games today proved why the NCAA March Madness tournament is the best post-season event in all of sports.
#2 Tennessee vs #15 Saint Peter’s
Charlotte, NC - Dalton Knecht got the party started right away as he knocked down a three-pointer in the opening possession for the Volunteers. Rick Barnes and company wanted to shut down the narrative that they can’t win in March. By the 10-minute mark, Tennessee had built a 14-point lead against St. Peter’s. Jonas Aidoo was the star player of the first half. Saint Peter’s did not have someone who could match his size and mobility which allowed Aidoo to score at will.
Frustration started to settle in with the Peacocks as Brent Bland picked up a flagrant one-foul. It was easy pickings for Tennessee as their whole team scored at will. This was obviously not the same St Peter’s team that made an Elite Eight run back in 2022. There were also double technical fouls issued on Jordan Gainey and Latrell Reid as emotions were high and some jawing between each other took place.
The second half wasn’t any different. Tennessee was able to score pretty much at will, it was just a matter of how badly they wanted to beat the Peacocks. Dalton Knecht finished with 23 points, a game-high, and eight rebounds. Zakai Ziegler put up a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists. Saint Peter’s never stood a chance as Tennessee advanced to the Round of 32 with a score of 83-49
#3 Creighton vs #14 Akron
Pittsburgh, PA - Creighton is a popular sleeper team to make it to the Final Four and potentially win the whole thing. Unfortunately for the Bluejays, no team has been knocked out of the first round of their conference tournament and won the National Championship. Both teams were synchronously knocking down the three-ball. Akron’s Enrique Freeman scored nine points (all threes) within the first six minutes of the game. It was a very high-scoring first half as Akron did not back down from the challenge to keep up with the explosive Bluejays offense. Creighton went on a 7-0 run to end the half up, 39-34. Enrique Freeman led all scorers at the half with 15 points, already scoring a career-high with three three-pointers. Trey Alexander led the charge for the BlueJays with 11 points.
Again, both teams were going shot for shot. No matter the amount of contestation, it seemed like neither team was going to miss. Creighton’s defense finally started playing to their potential which allowed them to extend that halftime lead. With less than 10 minutes to go, the Bluejays had extended their lead to 20 points as they were showcasing their explosive offense. The starting five for Creighton continued their claim that they have the best starting lineup in the nation as they combined to score all 77 of their points. In the end, the Bluejays won comfortably, 77-60. They will need more help from their bench the farther they go in the tournament. They are a dangerous team and don’t be surprised to see them continually advancing.
#4 Kansas vs #13 Samford
Salt Lake City - Kansas had ruled out Kevin McCullar Jr. for the whole tournament. Their lack of depth has been an issue all year and missing their leading scorer was going to cause problems. Samford plays a system called “Bucky Ball”, named after their head coach. They play a ferocious style of the full-court press, rotate 10+ guys, and play with a high intensity the entire game. This proved to be their downfall early as Kansas was able to escape the press and score a two-on-one most possessions. Hunter Dickenson was feasting in the paint. Due to the full-court press, he was left open underneath the basket and his teammates were able to find him early. KJ Adams was also benefiting as his physicality was unmatched.
Luckily for Samford, their style of play allows them to run up and down which is a good recipe for staging a comeback. First things first though, they have to keep their composure. Samford’s head coach, Bucky McMilan, picked up a technical foul for talking too much with the referees. Kansas was severely outrebounding Samford, 24-12, which made up for their number of turnovers (11). At the end of an exciting first half, Kansas led 48-38.
Kansas strengthened that lead in the early going as Dickinson proved to be a man on a mission. It is really difficult to stage a comeback when your opponent is shooting outstanding from the floor. That didn’t stop the explosive offense of the Bulldogs as they started jacking up threes and hitting them. They had erased a 21-point Jayhawk lead to just two points with four minutes remaining. The last couple minutes of the game felt like a game on its own. Neither team was giving up anything easy as both teams were determined to see it through to the end.
March is full of magic and Samford almost harnessed it with their comeback. It was a resilient comeback but after what looked to be a clean block that was called a foul, that was it. As fast as Samford scored, it just wasn’t enough as their defense couldn’t get the final stop. You have to feel for Samford as they gave it literally everything they had. Hunter Dickinson finished with an incredible stat line of 19 points and 20 rebounds. The Jayhawks clawed it out with the final score of 93-89.
#5 Gonzaga vs #12 McNeese
Salt Lake City - This was the first time in 22 years the McNeese Cowboys have been in the NCAA tournament. One of the most popular upset picks was the Cowboys over the Zags. Gonzaga took this personally as they shot the lights out from three-point range early in the game. The Cowboys were looking to score in the mid-range often but due to the Zags’ length, it made it very difficult to score. Credit to Gonzaga for blocking out the noise and playing their best ball when it matters. Mark Few is a great coach and got his guys ready to play. At the end of one, Gonzaga led 48-25.
The biggest difference between the two teams was three-point shooting. The Zags dominated this department as they knocked down 8 of them in the first half. The Cowboys have never under this big of a deficit all year as they are used to being on the other end. They beat their opponents by an average of roughly 19 points, so this was unfamiliar territory for them.
McNeese forced some early turnovers but just lacked the urgency to score. They came out of the half looking defeated. As we know about March, it ain’t over till it's over. The Cowboys must have forgotten about the magic in March as the Zags continued to roll in the second half. Even when Gonzaga subbed out all their starters, they continued to dominate the game. Mcneese ran into a brick wall and had no idea what hit them. Gonzaga easily advanced to the Round of 32 with the final score of 86-65. Mcneese had a fantastic season, winning 30+ games, and Will Wade has put himself back on the map as an elite head coach.
#6 South Carolina vs #11 Oregon
Pittsburgh, PA - Dana Altman, head coach for Oregon, has never lost in the Round of 64 with Oregon and the trend continued. As expected, this game was extremely tight-knit as Oregon moved to a -2 point favorite at the closing line after they were originally a +1.5 underdog. The big men of Oregon proved to be an early difference-maker for the Ducks. N’Faly Dante is the true meaning of being a man among men. South Carolina did not back down from the challenge as their own big men showcased their talents. Down the stretch, Jermaine Couisnard took over offensively for Oregon as he scored 14 points in the first half. He is the do-it-all kind of guy as his bag of skills is limitless.
According to KenPom statistics, South Carolina is the luckiest team in the nation. This was on display as Talon Cooper hit a 3/4 quarter shot as the time expired in the first half to shrink the lead to 34-29. Historically, teams that are lucky during the regular season do not fare well in the NCAA tournament. The Gamecocks were trying to change the narrative, but this only proved to be true.
Dante continued to be a beast on the boards as nobody was able to box him out inside the paint. B.J. Mack nor Colin Murray-Boyles could contain him, as Dante’s physical strength and size were just far too great to deal with. Couisnard, a former Gamecock, lit up from deep as his scoring ability was not hindered whatsoever in the second half. The combo of Dante (23) and Cousinard (40) nearly outscored the Gamecock offense, as the combo scored 63 and South Carolina scored 73.
Cousinard has joined Stephen Curry as the only player to score 38+ points in a win as a double-digit seed in the NCAA tournament. That is some elite company. Oregon, the Pac-12 champions, will go on to face the scorching-hot Creighton Bluejays in the Round of 32. The coaching battle between Altman and McDermott will be one for the ages.
#7 Texas vs #10 Colorado State
Charlotte, NC - Neither team could get going offensively. At the under-16-minute media timeout, there were a combined 10 points. The Longhorns struggled the most as they missed eight three-pointers before hitting their first one. So logically, they started to attack the paint and add another forward into the lineup to gain an advantage inside. Colorado St went over eight minutes straight without scoring which allowed Texas to go on a 14-0 run and take the lead away. Then they went on another stretch without scoring that lasted over six minutes. It was unbelievable.
It looked like there was a little “Freaky Friday” situation going on as Colorado State’s offense looked like it traded places with Virginia’s. The Ram’s offense only scored 11 points in the first half. It was the fewest points scored in the first half of an NCAA tournament game since 2008. The Rams never had a shot to pull off the upset after their first initial burst to start the game.
The second half was just as equally poor. Neither team could score efficiently. Joel Scott did get elbowed in the jaw by Brock Cunningham which did build a small amount of momentum for the Rams. Cunningham did pick up a flagrant one-foul for this action, but it didn’t matter all that much. In an extremely low-scoring game, Texas won 56-44. The Mountain West conference continues to disappoint in this tournament.
