2024 NCAA Tournaments South Region Day 2 Recap
After yesterday's big upset day in the South Region, it was a polar opposite sight to see on day two other than one underdog. The one upset that was in the region was the 12-seeded Dukes of James Madison. The Dukes took down the Wisconsin Badgers, 72-61. The Sun Belt Champions finished their season 31-3 going into March Madness. As they were a winning culture all year, it was a mirror image of the “Big Dance.” In another wire-to-wire effort, the Dukes saw themselves winning the whole way, not giving the Badgers any room to make a move. TJ Bickerstaff helped the Dukes control the upset with 12 points and nine rebounds. James Madison will look to start this Cinderella run next against the ACC powerhouse Duke Blue Devils. In what will be a 4/12 matchup, it should be a close one with a winning culture tested against a Blue Blood.
Prior to the upset, the Duke Blue Devils took down the American East champion Vermont Catamounts 64-47. The defense was no match for Vermont, where they could not sniff 50 points in the whole contest. Shamir Bogues gave the Catamounts 18 points in the loss, leading the way for the 13-seed. The upset was never in sight, and Duke wanted it to be that way all game. Jared McCain was an All-ACC Selection for a reason, scoring 15 points while adding six boards in the blowout. Duke will look to continue their momentum into the field.
What kicked us off today was the Marquette Golden Eagles facing the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. A first half to perfection was in place for the 15-seeded squad, leading by seven at the break. The catalyst in the losing effort was Tyrone Mitchell who went for 21 points and six rebounds. In his first game back, All-American Tyler Kolek pulled the Golden Eagles back into the game where they went on to outscore Western Kentucky by 25 in the second frame. Kolek finished the game with 18 points, 11 assists, and six rebounds, looking to build momentum into their next matchup versus the Colorado Buffaloes.
In one of the more exciting games of the first round, the “Last Four” 10-seeded Colorado Buffaloes took down the 7-seeded Florida Gators 102-100. A high scoring fast-paced game saw Florida controlling the tempo all game, until the last eight-minute frame. Despite Walter Clayton’s 33-point performance, the Gators fell short at the buzzer to KJ Simpson's mid-range jumper. A back-and-forth affair saw many lead changes and ties throughout the 40 minutes. KJ Simpson led Colorado with 23 points and five assists. They will meet the highly competitive Marquette team, led by Kolek and Kam Jones on Sunday. An interesting 2/10 matchup to book a ticket to the Sweet 16, with pace versus flow.
At the FedEx Forum, a star was shown on the national stage in Wade Taylor, scoring 25 points in a blowout win over the 8-seeded Nebraska Cornhuskers, 98-83. Texas A&M put together a wire-to-wire performance, not giving up the lead once they got a hold of it in the first half. Keisei Tominaga went off in the early minutes, scoring 9 straight points. The Aggies’ SEC defense made Tominaga uncomfortable in the middle stage, limiting him on offense. He finished with 21 points, going cold in the second half where the last blow was given. Watch out for Manny Obaseki’s next game versus the Houston Cougars, scoring 22 points and keeping up with the leading scorer.
In the two rollover games that we saw, Houston expectedly ran the Longwood Lancers out of the gym in the 1/16 matchup. The suffocating defense from the Cougars was too much for Longwood, who could not keep up with the strength or pace from the Big 12 team. The final was 86-46, with a balanced scoring effort from Houston. Emmanuel Sharp contributed 13 points, while Shead added another 11 points with nine assists. LJ Cryer continued his double-digit streak with 17 points as they look ahead to the Fightin’ Aggies of Texas A&M.
The first two days are all wrapped up in one of the most exciting regions in the field. Oakland, James Madison, and NC State will look to keep their hot streaks going to book a ticket into the Sweet Sixteen. A coveted award awaits, and there are many good matchups highlighting Saturday and Sunday. Oakland and NC State will face one another in the 11/14 matchup, solidifying a double-digit seed into the last sixteen. Who will it be? As always, This is March.
