NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 67 NCAA Tournament games for 2020-21 season

25. #16 Texas Southern 60, #16 Mount St. Mary’s 52 (First Four)

It is bizarre that all First Four games are among the best in this tournament – and what a way to start the madness than with this battle.  A defensive struggle, this tilt was a tale of two halves – the Mountaineers dominated the first half, leading for the final 15 minutes and building a forceful 30-20 lead at halftime – before the Tigers kicked off the second half on an 11-0 run to reclaim the advantage.

The Mount quickly took another seven-point lead that Texas Southern quickly erased – and never relinquished to the Mountaineers.  Neither team shot better than 40% from the floor and 53% from the charity stripe – but each team featured their own double-digit duos, with John Walker III and Jordan Gilliam combining for over half over Texas Southern’s points, while Damian Chong Qui and Mezie Offurum tallied 24 of the Mount’s 52 points.

24. #8 Loyola-Chicago 71, #1 Illinois 58 (Round of 32)

If Oral Roberts’ win over Ohio State did not ruin enough brackets, then this one certainly wiped out the remaining survivors.  Few game plans in the tournament were executed as perfectly from the opening tip as Loyola-Chicago’s, as the Ramblers earned three jumpers from Cameron Krutwig in the opening two minutes – and never looked back against the Big Ten Champions.  After claiming a double-digit advantage about 11 minutes in, the Ramblers survived several Illini rallies and never allowed Illinois to get closer than six points in the second half.

Despite double-digit efforts from Illinois’ Adam Miller and Loyola’s Lucas Williamson and Marquise Kennedy, this was decidedly a post’s game – Kofi Cockburn led all scorers with 21 points, but it was not enough to silence Krutwig’s masterful performance of 19 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, and four steals, which ultimately sealed the Illini’s fate of becoming the first fallen one-seed.

23. #11 Drake 53, #11 Wichita State 52 (First Four)

In a First Four where the first three tilts were all low-scoring, ugly affairs, this may have been the worst culprit – but it still somehow turned out to be one of the most heart-pounding affairs of the tournament.  The last team selected for the field, Drake appeared as if it would be run out of the gym – twice – and fought back both times.  The Shockers defended from the get-go, quickly building up a double-digit lead that grew to 12 at the seven-minute mark – that was quickly cut down to one after Drake went on a 14-3 run to end the half.

Rinse and repeat the second stanza, where Wichita State raced out to another 12-point lead – which steadily evaporated thanks to a 21-8 run for the Bulldogs.  A Tremell Murphy three would put Drake ahead for good with two minutes remaining, but two turnovers by the Bulldogs led to points for Wichita State, including a Dennis Dexter bomb that cut the lead to one.  A missed free-throw gave the Shockers another chance, but the game-winning shot struck the front of the iron, giving Drake its first NCAA Tournament win since 1971.

22. #1 Michigan 86, #8 LSU 78 (Round of 32)

The Wolverines’ biggest test in the tournament prior to their loss to UCLA, LSU’s exhilarating offense was near-fatal for Michigan.  A long-range bomb would give the Tigers a lead that they would not give up for nearly 18 minutes before four freebies gave Michigan a halftime lead – and would produce a game that would go back-and-forth for the opening 10 minutes of the second stanza.

Another perimeter shot would give LSU a five-point lead, but the Tigers’ upset-bid was short-lived, courtesy of a 14-1 run from Michigan that created a lead that would never drop below six.  A collection of buckets from Franz Wagner and some clutch free-throws – which rounded out a Michigan offense comprised of four double-digit scorers – was enough to overcome two deadly offensive weapons in Cameron Thomas and Javonte Smart, with the duo finishing with 30 and 27 points, respectively.

21. #7 Oregon 95, #2 Iowa 80 (Round of 32)

No one could have predicted how brutal of a beatdown this would be for Iowa, and yet, this game was weirdly enjoyable to watch despite how much of a blowout it turned out to be.  Fresh off of advancing to the second round because of VCU’s no contest, the Ducks looked primed to make some noise in an NCAA Tournament that was filled to the brim with Pac-12 teams shocking the nation – and they fit right in with the festivities.

A high-octane, back-and-forth affair for the opening 18 minutes, the Hawkeyes and Ducks were knotted at 46-all – before a quick 10-0 spurt in the closing minutes of the half gave Oregon all the momentum it needed, building up a lead that would grow to as dominant as 21 in the second half.  The Ducks were beyond efficient, shooting 55.9% from the floor and featuring four double-digit scorers in Chris Duarte, LJ Figueroa, Will Richardson, and Eugene Omoruyi – with all four combining for 80 points on 32-51 (62.7%) shooting.

Most notably, however – and quite obviously – this game was the swan song for one of the all-time greatest collegiate careers in Luka Garza, who finished his time in a Hawkeye jersey with an absurd 36 points on a 14-20 clip.  Despite this tilt being an easy, decisive win for Oregon, the high level of offense on both ends of the court made this a fun game to watch – and it was weirdly emotional seeing Garza’s career come to an end so abruptly.

20. #12 Oregon State 80, #4 Oklahoma State 70 (Round of 32)

This may have been the most absurd game of the entire tournament, and one that was both beautiful and ugly to watch – for all the right and wrong reasons.  This game appeared to be an easy, runaway victory for the upstart Beavers, who denied Oklahoma State any momentum in the opening 20 minutes, running out to an 18-point lead late in the second half and a 14-point advantage at halftime.

Then, the second half happened – where Oregon State, holding onto a 50-37 edge three minutes in, allowed the Cowboys to embark on a 15-4 run to climb to within two.  Oklahoma State, in the ugliest fashion possible, nearly reclaimed the lead on multiple occasions, courtesy of 20 turnovers by Oregon State in a game that saw both teams combine for 53 turnovers and an obscene combined mark of 58-73 from the charity stripe.

The Beavers shot just 41.2% in the victory, which included an 0-10 clip from beyond the arc in the second half – which somehow managed to be even better than the Cowboys’ mark, which was an abysmal 27.7% from the floor for the game.  Despite the ugliness, the battle between Ethan Thompson and Cade Cunningham was a thrilling one to watch, with Thompson pouring in 26 while Cunningham supplied 24 in his final collegiate game.

19. #11 Syracuse 75, #3 West Virginia 72 (Round of 32)

A battle of old Big East rivals nearly saw Syracuse repeat the same impressive performance that the Orange put on against San Diego State just days prior.  A quick three-pointer from Buddy Boeheim less than a minute in set the tone early, paving the way for a quick double-digit advantage – but one that West Virginia would gradually cut into, trailing by just six at the half.

Momentum finally shifted in favor of the Mountaineers halfway through the second, thanks to three straight long-range bombs from Sean McNeil that would catapult West Virginia in front for the first time all game.  It was not to be, however – late-game heroics from Boeheim and Marek Dolezak would give Syracuse the advantage, although the Mountaineers would continue to gradually chip away.

After a free-throw from Boeheim put Syracuse up three with two seconds remaining, West Virginia had a chance – but in one of the more bizarre endings of the tournament, Miles McBride traveled nearly immediately on the inbounds, preventing the Mountaineers from getting a shot up.  If this game gave us anything, it gave us a glimpse at two of the best shooters in the entire nation go head-to-head, with Boeheim drilling six threes to finish with 25 points, while McNeil went 7-13 from long range for 23 points.

18. #16 Norfolk State 54, #16 Appalachian State 53 (First Four)

Justin Forrest and Appalachian State put on one of the most inspiring comebacks in this entire tournament – and turned what was once a blowout into one of the most thrilling games of March.  After hanging around with Norfolk State in the early goings, the Mountaineers were left for dead after the Spartans turned a four-point advantage into a 15-0 run that eventually produced a 36-20 edge heading into halftime.

Behind 20 points from Jalen Hawkins in the opening stanza and a defense that held Appalachian State to 19.4% shooting, the Spartans appeared primed to run away with this one – but the tables were flipped in the second half.  Forrest went off for 13 points, sparking a 26-9 run that gave the Mountaineers their first lead of the stanza.  After extending it to six, Appalachian State eventually ran out of gas, as Norfolk State went on a quick 9-2 run to win the game, capped off by two go-ahead free-throws from Devante Carter with eight seconds remaining.