Late games help set up big NCAA tournament Round 2
The first day of the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament is complete and, says CBSSports.com's Matt Norlander, "Pretty much every game broke the right way.
"No, I don't mean for you and your bracket. Yes, I do mean for the best possible matchups in Saturday's second round slate."
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- How to watch the first round of March Madness
- Complete March Madness coverage on CBSSports.com
- Updated 2016 NCAA basketball tournament brackets
Here's a rundown of Thursday's four late games:
Wichita State 65, Arizona 55
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- It didn't take long for 11th-seed Wichita State to send a message to sixth-seeded Arizona that the Wildcats were in for a long night.
After Wichita State's Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker dived to the floor for a loose ball at Arizona's end in the first minute of their NCAA Tournament game Thursday night, Wildcats coach Sean Miller called a timeout.
It was evident from the outset that Wichita State's in-your-face defense was going to be a huge factor again.
"That was kind of a statement from the go that we were going to start the game playing hard," Baker said.
The Shockers' senior duo of VanVleet and Baker combined for 29 points and Wichita State's swarming defense did the rest in a 65-55 first-round victory. Arizona entered the game averaging 81.2 points.
"Big-time effort, big-time game plan," said VanVleet, who finished with 16 points and five steals. "Obviously, I was able to have some success early."
Wichita State (26-8) will play Miami (26-7), the third seed in the South Region, on Saturday.
The Shockers forced 19 turnovers they converted into 22 points and snared nine steals. And Arizona's big three of Ryan Anderson, Gabe York, and Allonzo Trier, each averaging 15 points, combined for just 28.
The Shockers didn't flinch at Arizona 7-footer Kaleb Tarczewski, limiting him to three shots. They were used to coping with big guys, using terrific team defense in the post to beat a Vanderbilt team with three 7-footers by 20 points in a First Four (play-in) game in Dayton, Ohio on Tuesday night.
"We tried to deny them (Arizona's big men) the ball as much as we could," Shockers coach Gregg Marshall said. "Our post players did a great job."
Baker and VanVleet, who were part of the Shockers' 2013 Final Four team, led the way against Vandy, combining for a triple double (28 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists).
It was more of the same against the Wildcats.
Wichita State built a 31-19 halftime lead behind 10 points from VanVleet and cruised behind its bench, which accounted for 28 points.
"We always try to come in and push the lead," said Conner Frankamp, who finished with 10 points in 14 minutes.
The peripatetic Baker, seemingly everywhere on the floor, set up Shaquille Morris for a rim-rattling slam that he converted into a three-point play for a 46-27 lead with 13:38 left.
Frankamp followed with a 3 from the left corner and drained two free throws after Arizona was whistled for a technical, boosting the lead to a daunting 22 points.
"We struggled," Miller said. "They forced the fifth-most turnovers in the nation. That's hard to do when you play man-man and you don't press. You feel it when you're out there. There's pressures everywhere."
The Wildcats staged a late rally, Gordon's 3 and a slam by Anderson moving them within 53-40 with 7:56 on the clock.
Five points from Kadeem Allen, a pair of blocks by Tarczewski, and two free throws by York moved the Wildcats within 60-51 with 96 seconds left. When the ball glanced out of bounds off York in the final minute, Baker yelled 'Yeah!' with the victory secure.
As CBSSports.com's Norlander put it: "The Shockers getting a No. 11 seed is understandable, but through two games, this team is showing it's much closer to a No. 4 than a No. 11. Arizona was held under 20 points for the first time since 2009 -- and then Sean Miller watched his team lose by double digits (65-55) for the first time since 2013.
"That's an amazing stat.
"But Wichita State has the No. 1-rated defense in the country. Gregg Marshall does not mess around.
"And get this: Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker have now won nine NCAA Tournament games in their career. These guys don't play at Kentucky, Duke, Carolina or Kansas. They're at freaking Wichita State. Let's remind ourselves of that, OK? This is an amazing legacy. Win or lose against Miami ... it's an amazing legacy."
Providence 70, USC 69
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Providence expected Southern California to focus on stopping either the Big East's player of the year, or perhaps that league's top scorer.
Not Rodney Bullock.
So with a critical inbounds pass in the final seconds, the Friars slipped Bullock under the bucket and he hit the shot that kept them in the NCAA Tournament.
Bullock's layup with 1.5 seconds left helped Providence beat USC 70-69 on Thursday night in the first round.
The reason Bullock was so open was because Big East player of the year Kris Dunn and top scorer Ben Bentil drew so much of the Trojans' attention.
"Kris is a focal point, Ben's a focal point and you take advantage of what the defense gives you," Providence coach Ed Cooley said. "On this stage, to end the game like that, that's that one shining moment."
Bentil scored 19 points and Bullock finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds to help the ninth-seeded Friars (24-10) earn their first win in the tournament since 1997. They will face top-seeded North Carolina (29-6) on Saturday in the second round of the East Regional.
Jordan McLaughlin had 15 points for eighth-seeded Southern California (21-13), which missed the front ends of two one-and-ones in the final minute.
"We just looked very immature at the end," guard Julian Jacobs said. "We had the game in our hands, and we just let it fall right through.
Jacobs' missed free throw with 11.6 seconds set up Providence's last chance. Dunn missed a jumper with about 5 seconds left and the rebound went out of bounds to the Friars.
Drew Edwards then inbounded the ball to Bullock and he banked in the go-ahead layup.
"I was supposed to curl off of Kris, and both of the defenders went with Kris," Bullock said. "I was wide open under the basket."
Jacobs took the inbounds pass for USC and let it fly from midcourt but failed to draw iron.
Dunn finished with 16 points despite persistent foul trouble. He hit a 3-pointer over McLaughlin that tied it at 68 with about 90 seconds to play.
Nikola Jovanovic had 14 points for the Trojans. Bennie Boatwright finished with 11 and hit a free throw with 58.7 seconds left that gave Southern Cal a 69-68 lead.
After the teams traded misses on the three possessions that followed, the Trojans' Elijah Stewart missed the front end of a one-and-one with 27.6 seconds to play before Providence wound up giving the ball right back to USC.
Kyron Cartwright finished with 10 points for the Friars, who went one-and-done in the tournament in each of the last two years. Their previous victory came during their God Shammgod-led run to the Elite Eight in 1997.
"It means a lot. I know what it feels like to be on the other end," Dunn said. "I think Providence College as a whole and as a community, they've been waiting for a long time for something like that."
Elijah Stewart finished with 10 points for the youth-dominated Trojans, whose first tournament appearance since 2011 wound up being a short one.
Kentucky 85, Stony Brook 57
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Maybe John Calipari was onto something when he suggested Kentucky was under-seeded.
Jamal Murray led five players in double figures with 19 points and the fourth-seeded Wildcats, behind an NCAA Tournament-record 15 blocked shots, routed Stony Brook 85-57 on Thursday night to set up a showdown with rival Indiana in the second round on Saturday.
Isaiah Briscoe scored 13 and added 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (27-8), who haven't faced the Hoosiers since beating them in the Sweet 16 in 2012. Indiana is seeded fifth this time around, making for an opening-week meeting for the two blue-blood programs.
"It's kind of unfortunate that this game is being played this early. It should be a round or two later. But it is what it is and we'll have to play," Calipari said.
Kentucky opened the second half on a 20-6 run and was ahead 53-25 with 14 minutes to go. The Wildcats hit 13 of their first 16 shots after the break.
Jameel Warney had 23 points and 15 rebounds for Stony Brook (26-7), which was making its first NCAA Tournament appearance. The Seawolves, who shot 47.6 percent entering the game, was just 20 of 76 from the field and played like a team not used to the big stage.
"You can do all the drills and try to go around them. But they're just so big and athletic," Stony Brook guard Rayshaun McGrew said.
Stony Brook opened the game with an epic stretch of bad shooting, hitting just three baskets in 27 tries with 14 straight misses at one point. That allowed the somewhat disjointed Wildcats to pull things together and take a 33-19 lead into halftime.
Having survived some rough moments with the lead in hand, Kentucky finally started playing like the team that won a share of the Southeastern Conference title yet again.
Murray, who went a ghastly 1 of 9 in the first half, scored 15 points in 10 minutes to help the Wildcats coast to a win that ensures a fresh shot at Indiana, which cruised past Chattanooga 99-74 earlier Thursday.
"I thought they played really well. Unfortunately we didn't. I thought we could kind of hang around a little bit," Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell said.
Alex Poythress and Skal Labissiere each had 12 points for the Wildcats, and Labissiere led the way with six blocks.
"To be able to hold a team like we did, to block the shots we did and follow a game plan, which this team has struggled with at times (was good)," Calipari said. "They know what's at stake now."
Gonzaga 68, Seton Hall 52
DENVER -- Two losses in the span of three games can send the world off its axis at Gonzaga.
That was February. This is March.
Not only did the Zags make their 18th straight NCAA Tournament, they're moving on, thanks to a pullaway 68-52 victory over Seton Hall on Thursday night that looked every bit as good as anything this program's done.
This victory came thanks to a 21-point, 16-rebound effort from Domantas Sabonis and a shutdown defensive effort on Seton Hall's Isaiah Whitehead. It marks the eighth straight time Gonzaga has won its first game of March Madness.
"This group of guys, as well as the guys before them, have just done an unbelievable job of making streaks that just seemed impossible when you look back at them," coach Mark Few said.
In the bracket, this one goes down as an upset. Gonzaga (27-7) was an 11 seed, while Seton Hall (25-9) was a 6. Vegas knew better; the Zags opened the week as a 1-point favorite.
Favored or not, Gonzaga was no sure thing to make the tournament until it won the West Coast Conference tournament last week. It looked particularly bleak after a Feb. 20 loss at home St. Mary's. It was Gonzaga's second 1-2 stretch in the span of five weeks, and it marked the Zags' seventh defeat of the season. At that point, they were a bubble team, at best.
They haven't lost since and, suddenly, this looks like the sort of Gonzaga team hoops fans - and everyone else - have come to know during March.
"They're a good basketball team. You know, a really good basketball team," Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said.
The team's leading scorer, Kyle Wiltjer, had an off shooting night - 5 for 14 - and finished with 13 points.
But the Bulldogs are more than one player.
They started relying on Sabonis more when their premier big man, Przemek Karnowski, went out with a back injury in December. On Thursday, Sabonis took over early and never let up. He was a force in the post, but also stepped outside for a few mid-range jumpers. Nobody could beat him on the glass. This marked his 21st double-double of the season.
"He was much more physical than he looked on film," Willard said. "He battled in there. I thought he did a really good job of being physical on the rebounding aspect. That's what I was really impressed with him about."
Gonzaga guards Josh Perkins and Eric McClellan, maligned for a large part of this season, helped put the hammer down on Whitehead, who had scored 130 points over his last five games - 70 of those in the three wins that gave Seton Hall its first Big East tournament title since 1993.
Whitehead's numbers on this night: 10 points on 4-for-24 shooting, including 0 for 10 from 3-point range.
"I think the common theme was just making it tough (on him)," Wiljter said.
Whitehead insisted it wasn't all Gonzaga.
"I've faced some of the toughest defensive groups in the country, playing in the Big East," Whitehead said. "This is probably my worst shooting performance but I think it was just more missing shots. I had some good looks, just was an off night."
It came on the worst night possible for the Pirates - and wrapped up a day in which seven of 16 higher-seeded teams won, including two 11s and two 12s.