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March Madness: Top takeaways from 2019 NCAA Tournament Round of 64

By Brian Rauf

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 22: Evan Leonard #14 of the UC Irvine Anteaters celebrates a three-point shot with Max Hazzard #2 in the second half against the Kansas State Wildcats during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 22, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 22: Evan Leonard #14 of the UC Irvine Anteaters celebrates a three-point shot with Max Hazzard #2 in the second half against the Kansas State Wildcats during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 22, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Kristian Doolittle #21 of the Oklahoma Sooners drives to the basket against Dominik Olejniczak #13 of the Mississippi Rebels in the second half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Kristian Doolittle #21 of the Oklahoma Sooners drives to the basket against Dominik Olejniczak #13 of the Mississippi Rebels in the second half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

8) Oklahoma‘s explosion

You won’t hear much about Oklahoma’s blowout win over Ole Miss in the daily recaps, but I want to point it out because what the Sooners did was incredibly impressive.

For starters, it was unexpected. OU entered the game with just four wins in their previous eight contests and had only beaten one team (Kansas) that made the NCAA Tournament field since Thanksgiving.

They saved their best performance for the biggest stage, shooting 58 percent from the field as four different players scored at least 18 points. The Sooners aren’t exactly balanced – only three players average over seven points per game – but this was the kind of special performance that got everyone involved.

It ended a great season for Ole Miss who made the tournament after being picked to finish at the bottom of the SEC this year. They just didn’t have an answer defensively for the Sooners, which was clear early as the Sooners opened the game on a 12-0 run.

Next. Top takeaways from Thursday's first-round games. dark

This first round has set us up with several exciting high-profile matchups in the second round. And, if the first round showed us anything, we know the weekend will be filled with plenty of drama as well.

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