NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 67 NCAA Tournament games from 2019
By Joey Loose
9. #1 Duke 75, #4 Virginia Tech 73 (Sweet Sixteen)
They faced an impressive effort from their ACC rivals, but once again the Blue Devils narrowly avoided upset. The Hokies led by 4 at the half, but a 9-0 Duke run gave the Blue Devils the lead for good in the middle of the second half. Virginia Tech had multiple shots at the win in the final seconds, but couldn’t sink either 3-point attempt and watched their season end. Zion Williamson (23 points) and Tre Jones (22 points) starred for a Duke team that hit 55.4% of their shots and held on late. Kerry Blackshear Jr. had 18 points and 16 rebounds but his Hokies just couldn’t get over the hump late. This game could have absolutely gone Virginia Tech’s way if any of those three chances late would’ve rolled in, but instead the Blue Devils moved onwards.
8. #3 Purdue 99, #2 Tennessee 94 (Sweet Sixteen)
The shots were falling for both teams, while Tennessee’s resilience was on full display. Despite holding leads of 15 in the first half and 14 later in the second, the Boilermakers couldn’t prevent the Volunteers late charge, leading to a fierce overtime battle. Carsen Edwards (29 points) hit two of three free throws to force overtime, where the Boilermakers did enough to advance to the Elite Eight. Edwards came up in the clutch with those free throws a few seconds after a Williams’ dunk gave Tennessee the lead. Ryan Cline (27 points) had seven 3-pointers for Purdue. Both teams shot at least 50% from the field, though 21-point efforts from Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield weren’t enough for the Volunteers to prevail.
7. #5 Auburn 78, #12 New Mexico State 77 (Round of 64)
Auburn made the Final Four, but it all should’ve come apart three games earlier against the Aggies. A close battle early, the Tigers pulled away before a late New Mexico State run tightened the game. New Mexico State had the final possession down 2, with Terrell Brown fouled attempting a three-pointer with just 1 second left. He would make just 1 of those 3 shots and Auburn would hold onto the win. The Aggies shot 49% from the field but needed those free throws late to pull the upset. Auburn got 17 points from Jared Harper and did just enough late to hold onto this game, despite being significantly outrebounded by the WAC champions. If Brown makes those free throws, we have a very different Final Four.