March Madness: Takeaways from the first day of the NCAA Tournament

March Madness: Top takeaways from the first day of the 2019 NCAA Tournament

By Brian Rauf | Mar 22, 2019

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT - MARCH 21: Ja Morant #12 of the Murray State Racers celebrates scoring at the end of the first half during the first round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Marquette Golden Eagles at XL Center on March 21, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

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DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 21: Caleb Martin #10 of the Nevada Wolf Pack reacts against the Florida Gators in the second half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

2) Nevada’s disappointment

Nevada’s season ended with a 70-61 upset loss to Florida on Thursday night, capping what can only be described as an extremely disappointing season for this Wolf Pack squad.

They began the season as a consensus top 10 team as they returned virtually everyone from last year’s Sweet 16 squad, and they lived up to that reputation for four months. They started the year 24-1 with notable wins over Arizona State and Utah State, both of whom made the tournament.

Then, something changed and Nevada self-combusted, losing four of their final nine games – twice to San Diego State, in a return game at Utah State, and to the Gators.

Inconsistent offense caused by a lack of quality three-point shooting and isolation-heavy sets played a major role in that. The Wolf Pack were held to 61 points or fewer in four of their five losses on the season, which were their four worst scoring outputs of the year.

They got into a rut they couldn’t get out of and now this experienced group is heading home much earlier than anyone thought in November.

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