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NCAA Tournament South Region: What We Learned Thursday

By Beaumont Rand

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The NCAA Tournament‘s second round kicked off Thursday and there was a lot of knowledge to be gained from the match-ups in the South Region

1. Early Upsets

The second round games in Louisville served up two of the NCAA Tournaments earliest upsets. What is likely the biggest upset to date is 14-seed UAB’s 60-59 win over 3-seed Iowa State, the first of two 14-over-3 surprises.

Coming off a Big 12 Tournament title and a regular season where they remained in the top-twenty, the Cyclones were a popular Elite Eight pick and a possible spoiler to Duke in the region. That narrative ended today, as the Blazers held Georges Niang in check nearly the entire game. Credit freshman William Lee (14 points, 12 rebounds) and UAB for overwhelmingly winning the rebounding battle and ensuring Niang was not a factor.

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Mirroring the previous upset in score was UCLA’s 60-59 statement over SMU. The Gottleibs of the world have been quick to condemn the Bruins this week as unworthy for a safe at-large bid in the Dance. Though Yanick Moriera’s untimely goaltend was certainly the deciding play, untimely turnovers by SMU down the stretch doomed the Ponies.

Still, Bryce Alford’s 27-point game including going 9-11 from 3, is ultimately the difference. He and his dad will lead the Bruins into a third round game against UAB in which they will unexpectedly be favored.

2. Georgetown, Utah Prove Naysayers Wrong

It’s no question that a good chunk of brackets had either Utah or Georgetown (or both) falling in the second round. Suffice to say, both teams proved their seeding in the Big Dance and now have a date Saturday for a chance at the Sweet 16.

Utah’s, and in particular freshman Jakob Poeltl’s inside game was too much for Stephen F. Austin – the Austrian big man went 7-7 from the field against the Lumberjacks. Having only dropped seven games in the past two seasons, Brad Underwood’s squad was a trendy pick to go deep into the South Region. However, 33 percent shooting and 19 percent from three won’t do it for just about any team.

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    • Georgetown has to be glad about finally moving past their recent second round setbacks. The Hoyas took over in the first half, led by ten at halftime, and really didn’t look back as they build a 20-point lead.

    Though John Thompson III’s squad took their foot off the gas at the end en route to an 84-74 victory, the Eagles and Tyler Harvey (27 points) could never really make it a game. This can certainly be attributed to a 26-point explosion from D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, who will definitely be a player to watch in the NCAA Tournament moving into the third round. Many didn’t expect the Hoyas and Utes would both make it past the first matchup; now they present a compelling matchup with a trip to Houston on the line.

    Next: NCAA Tournament: Day One Winners and Losers

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