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NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 67 NCAA Tournament games from 2019

By Joey Loose

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)
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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COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 24: Tacko Fall #24 of the UCF Knights blocks Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 24: Tacko Fall #24 of the UCF Knights blocks Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

6. #5 Auburn 77, #2 Kentucky 71 OT (Elite Eight)

Though the Wildcats scored the first 7 points and grabbed an early 11-point lead, the Tigers fought back and kept coming. A layup by Jared Harper in the final minute forced overtime, where Harper would add 12 more points to lead Auburn to the victory. In topping their SEC rivals, the Tigers got great efforts from both Harper (26 points) and Bryce Brown (24 points). Kentucky big man PJ Washington (28 points, 13 rebounds) put on a show, but it wasn’t enough for the Wildcats to prevail. The Wildcats had multiple shots to win the game at the end of regulation, but came up just short. Though they definitely missed injured big man Chuma Okeke, the Tigers played hard enough to make the program’s first Final Four appearance.

5. #1 Duke 77, #9 UCF 76 (Round of 32)

They were vast underdogs against the impressive Blue Devils, but UCF had two game-winning shots roll off the rim in the final seconds of this game. This was a back and forth affair all game long, with hot shooting and impressive play from the big men on both teams. 7’6 center Tacko Fall’s 15-point outing was outdone by Zion Williamson (32 points, 11 rebounds). Aubrey Dawkins led the Knights with 32 points as the team shot 50% from long-range. They did just about everything necessary to upend the Blue Devils, but couldn’t hold onto a 3-point lead in the final minute and just couldn’t get the ball to roll in the hoop as the horn sounded, sending Duke to the Sweet Sixteen by the skin of their teeth.

4. #2 Michigan State 68, #1 Duke 67 (Elite Eight)

There were some fantastic efforts from both sides in this game, but the highly touted Blue Devils came up just short in the end. Michigan State used a 15-0 run to get back into the game after trailing by 9 in the first half, but Duke answered back. A big 3-pointer by Kenny Goins gave the Spartans the lead with 39 seconds left. RJ Barrett then split a pair of free throws in the final seconds and Duke never got another chance. The Blue Devils were sloppy with the ball but got great efforts from Zion Williamson (24 points, 14 rebounds) and RJ Barrett (21 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) in their final collegiate games. For the Spartans, Cassius Winston (20 points, 10 assists) put the team on his back while Xavier Tillman added 19 points of his own. The title favorites saw their dreams fade away as the Spartans marched on to the Final Four.

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