NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 67 NCAA Tournament games from 2019

By Joey Loose | Jul 9, 2019

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: Jarrett Culver #23 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers battle for the ball i2g during the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 22: Tommy Rutherford #42 of the UC Irvine Anteaters controls the ball against Makol Mawien #14 and Barry Brown Jr. #5 of the Kansas State Wildcats in the second half 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 Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

21. #6 Villanova 61, #11 Saint Mary’s 57 (Round of 64)

The defending champions clearly didn’t have the same potent roster as last year, but they still had enough in the tank to take care of a feisty Gaels team. Saint Mary’s led at the half, but the Wildcats quickly took back the lead and led for the last 18 minutes of the game. Both teams shot well, though Saint Mary’s defense wasn’t enough to quell Villanova. Phil Booth led all scorers with 20 points for the Wildcats while the Gaels just couldn’t get over the hump in the second half. This was a close, exciting game throughout, though this defensive struggle went Villanova’s way with clutch shooting down the stretch.

20. #13 UC Irvine 70, #4 Kansas State 64 (Round of 64)

On a day when the Wildcats really needed injured star Dean Wade, UC Irvine took advantage and played one hell of a game. Despite trailing by double digits in the first half, they brought this game back to a tie and fought in the second half, gutting out the victory. Evan Leonard and Max Hazzard both had 19 points for the Anteaters, while Leonard’s 3-point shooting ignited the Anteater’s late run that put them over the top. The Wildcats were led by Kamau Stokes (18 points) and Makol Mawien (14 points, 12 rebounds), but just couldn’t hit the shots late to avoid a stunning upset. They had their chances late, though UC Irvine did lead the last 8 minutes of this game.

19. #11 Ohio State 62, #6 Iowa State 59 (Round of 64)

They weren’t exactly comfortably in the Tournament, but the Buckeyes showed they belonged by scoring the first round upset win over the Cyclones. After grabbing a lead at the half, Ohio State led most of the second period, though the Cyclones couldn’t take advantage of several chances, even after taking the lead with four minutes left. Iowa State shot 43.4% but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to overtime. Marial Shayok’s 23 points weren’t enough for the Cyclones, bested by the efforts of Kaleb Wesson (19 points, 12 rebounds) and these feisty Buckeyes. Iowa State absolutely had chances late in this game, but couldn’t take advantage and watched their season come to a bitter end.

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