Sunday, March 24, 2024
ALL #1 AND #2 SEEDS ADVANCE, NOT EASILY THOUGH
Larzby stays in 1st again; Bigtenfan3 jumps 65 spots to a tie for 19th
HOME, CA (smt) – Despite drama, the Sweet 16 will feature all #1 and #2 seeds for just the 5th time. With two #3 and two #4 seeds also advancing, 12 of the top 16 seeds won, the most since 14 did so in 2019. About as chalk as it could get. While #1MW-Purdue, #1E-UConn, #4S-Duke, and #5E-San Diego St all won by 17 or more (though UConn did lead by 30 in the second half before winning by 17), the other four games played to the final minutes.
#1S-Houston had a 13-point lead with 3:53 left and a 10-point lead with 1:26 left and yet, #9S-Texas A&M rallied to tie it on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer off an inbound with 1.2 seconds on the clock. It was a clutch shot but how did Houston allow a 3-pointer to be taken? Had it not been for a couple of sneakers on the 3-point line (one a few inches, one a few millimeters), Texas A&M might have closed the gap faster. In a foul-fest where bodies were falling everywhere, somehow Texas A&M outscored Houston 12-3 in about 45 seconds with the clock stopping so many times. The Cougars had four (!) players foul out (all starters) including their top 3 scorers and held on in overtime. Houston won 100-95, becoming the 5th team in triple digits this tournament and making their 5th straight Sweet 16.
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