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Updated 2015 NCAA Tournament Bracket: Survive and Advance

By Daniel Tran

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I guess they call it the Wild West for a reason.The 2015 NCAA Tournament Bracket almost received a two-fold shock tonight when four schools tipped off with hopes of making it to the West Regional Finals of the NCAA Tournament.

The Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, played host to two of the most intense games of the NCAA Tournament so far. The first teams to grace the court were the Wisconsin Badgers and North Carolina Tar Heels.

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North Carolina dictated the pace from the beginning of the game, running Wisconsin ragged and getting easy transition baskets. At the half, the Tar Heels were actually ahead against the No. 1 seeded team in the West Region, 33-31, which would have been 33-29 had it not been for a last second tip-in by Wisconsin’s Sam Dekker. This would not be the only time Dekker would spoil North Carolina’s fun.

Dekker kept the game close while Frank Kaminsky and Nigel Hayes were struggling from the field. By the end of the game he finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, on 66.7 percent shooting from the field. They needed every bit of his production until Kaminsky returned to form.

Though he started off the game slow, Kaminsky finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Zak Showalter also helped the cause by scoring six points in eight minutes of play and ignited a Wisconsin team that looked to be on the ropes. Instead, they persevered once again and advance to the Elite Eight 79-72.

The next game at Staples Center, the Arizona Wildcats faced off against a Xavier Musketeers team that no one believed would give the Wildcats a fight. Instead, Xavier showed their resolve by pummeling Arizona right where their strength lies, in the paint.

Matt Stainbrook, Xavier center and Uber chauffer, finished the night with 17 points and 10 rebounds against the fearsome frontcourt of Kaleb Tarczewski, Dusan Ristic, and Brandon Ashley. The Musketeers actually held a 53-49 lead in the second half before Arizona began clamping down.

Arizona went on an 11-2 run and held Xavier without a field goal for an 8:35 stretch at the end of game. The easy baskets that they were getting in the first half were shut down by Arizona’s tenacious defense and Arizona went on to win 68-60.

Oh, the other games? Geez, I almost forgot about them because of the absolute slaughter that took place in Cleveland. Fueled by an untimely quote by West Virginia’s Daxter Miles, Jr., Kentucky broke the Mountaineers vaunted press, held them to 24.1 percent shooting from the field, and doubled them up on the scoreboard 78-39. Seriously, all you can do is go home after shots like these.

Notre Dame, often criticized for not being able to handle a quicker paced game, outran a Wichita State team looking to speed them up and finished the game on top 81-70. The Fighting Irish held Ron Baker and Tekele Cotton to 2-10 shooting, while Pat Connaughton, Zach Auguste, Demetrius Jackson, and Steve Vasturia all scored 15 points or more.

The Elite Eight will be rounded out tomorrow with the South and East Region’s teams battling it out for spots in the Regional Final. Fans will be in for treat if the results bear any sort of resemblance to today’s action.

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