March Madness: Takeaways from Day One of the 2018 NCAA Tournament

Shooting is the ultimate equalizer

Of course the ability to shoot will determine the winners and losers of games, but it was interesting to see how the shooting impacted these games.

Take UNC Greensboro for example. They were within striking range all game long against Gonzaga, and even took a small lead late in the game. Bu it felt like the Spartans were always behind the eight ball, because of their inability to hit the long ball. They finished just 3/22 for the game, with none made in the first half.

Another team who struggled badly was Oklahoma, who outside of Young (3/9) went 1/11. And of course, Kentucky snapped the longest streak of a three-pointer made in a game in D-1 history by going 0/6 in a close win over Davidson. To their credit, they did kill it from mid-range, while going 26/32 from the three throw line.

The two teams who killed it includes Villanova, whose 14 made three-pointers in a win over Radford broke a school tournament record. The other team was Buffalo, who broke the record for a MAC team in the NCAA Tournament by hitting 15 of 30 shots from deep.

If you love threes, then the OSU-South Dakota State game was for you. The Jackrabbits went 13/31, while the Buckeyes went 12/40. Other games had high volume numbers as well, so teams who shoot poorly can literally shoot themselves out of games. More teams who like to shoot the ball plays on Friday, so lets see how the three-ball will play out.