NCAA Tournament 2015: Sunday's 3rd-Round Scores, Updated Bracket and Schedule
With eight Sweet 16 spots already taken, 16 more teams took the court Sunday in hopes of advancing past the third round of the 2015 NCAA men's college basketball tournament.
As entertaining as the round of 64 was, Sunday's slate provided even more intriguing and competitive matchups featuring many of the best teams college basketball has to offer. With the likes of Duke, Wisconsin, Gonzaga and many other national title hopefuls in action, all eyes in the sports world were on March Madness.
Here is a rundown of how the results have played out thus far, including an updated look at the NCAA tournament bracket.
Sunday's Round-of-32 Scores and Schedule
| Round of 32 | Michigan State | Virginia | 60-54, Michigan State |
| Round of 32 | San Diego State | Duke | 68-49, Duke |
| Round of 32 | Wichita State | Kansas | 78-65, Wichita State |
| Round of 32 | Dayton | Oklahoma | 72-66, Oklahoma |
| Round of 32 | Iowa | Gonzaga | 87-68, Gonzaga |
| Round of 32 | Oregon | Wisconsin | 72-65, Wisconsin |
| Round of 32 | West Virginia | Maryland | 69-59, West Virginia |
| Round of 32 | Northern Iowa | Louisville | 66-53, Louisville |
Updated Bracket
Sunday Recap
No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 2 Virginia
Michigan State's NCAA tournament magic was present once again Sunday, as the seventh-seeded Spartans upset No. 2 Virginia 60-54 to advance to the Sweet 16.
While it was clear that the Spartans and Cavaliers would engage in a highly competitive affair, Virginia was still a fairly substantial favorite entering the contest, according to ESPN Stats & Info:
Perhaps no round-of-32 game was more highly anticipated than this one due to the fact that Michigan State knocked off Virginia in the Sweet 16 last year. In addition to that, the Spartans have a penchant for raising their level of play in March.
Per SportsCenter, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo entered the game as the best round-of-32 coach in the history of the NCAA tournament:
That was quite apparent early in the first half, as the Spartans came out firing, while the Cavaliers struggled to get their wits about them offensively.
According to Spartan Basketball on Twitter, MSU's early success was spearheaded by guard Travis Trice, who scored 13 of the team's first 15 points:
That coincided with a 10-0 team run for the Spartans after Virginia made it 5-4 just over two minutes into the contest:
Virginia was incredibly stuck on four points for nearly six minutes of game action until Marial Shayok nailed a crucial three-point jumper to make things interesting again at around the 12-minute mark.
While the Cavs' own incompetence was a major reason for their struggles, ESPN's Jay Bilas pointed out that the Spartans certainly weren't making life easy for them:
With that said, Virginia had its fair share of second-chance opportunities. It took significantly more shots than Michigan State, but the Spartans still led 23-18 at the break, according to Ryan Krasnoo of Sports Illustrated:
UVA is no offensive juggernaut, but its 18-point performance in the first half was among its worst showings of the season, per ESPN Stats & Info:
There is no question that the first half was tightly contested, but it was far from a basketball clinic, as both teams struggled to maximize their possessions.
After watching such sloppy play offensively, ESPN's Dick Vitale suggested that college basketball should explore shortening the shot clock:
Izzo almost certainly would have preferred more crispness from his team on the offensive end, but it displayed great toughness and shut down Virginia in the first half despite being the underdog.
After a somewhat underwhelming opening half, the pace and energy started to pick up early in the second. Branden Dawson reeled off seven straight points for the Spartans to make it 34-25 at the 16-minute mark, including a monstrous dunk.
While Dawson has been an enigma at certain points, Seth Davis of CBS Sports applauded his effort Sunday:
Michigan State went up by as many as 12, but as the Cavaliers so often do, they continued to battle back throughout the second half.
The Spartans were able to stay ahead by a couple of buckets for much of the half, but they could never afford to relax, as Virginia continued to lurk.
Thanks to Michigan State's suffocating defense and clutch plays on the offensive end, though, the Cavs simply couldn't pull even or ahead.
Sparty did the little things needed to win in March, and that bodes well moving forward in a wide-open region that no longer includes No. 1 Villanova after it was knocked off by No. 8 NC State Saturday.
Many viewed Michigan State as a potential dark horse to go to the Final Four after its strong run through the Big Ten tournament, and that opinion was strengthened Sunday.
No. 8 San Diego State vs. No. 1 Duke
After watching ACC rival Virginia get upset in the first game of the day, top-seeded Duke refused to suffer the same fate, as it ran No. 8 San Diego State ragged in a decisive 68-49 victory in the NCAA tournament round of 32.
The Aztecs are among the toughest defensive teams in the nation, but they didn't offer much resistance as the Blue Devils marched into the Sweet 16.
Duke immediately jumped out to an 8-0 lead, which was an advantage it would never relinquish. The entire starting five contributed to the Blue Devils' hot start, but freshman forward Justise Winslow was especially potent, as he stuffed the stat sheet, according to Duke Basketball on Twitter:
It was difficult to not be impressed with Duke's offensive prowess in the first half, as everything seemed to be going right. Basketball Hall of Famer David Robinson was among those who commented on the Blue Devils' dominance:
The same goes for Seth Davis of CBS Sports as he watched Duke run the floor with ease, shoot with precision and do essentially everything a championship team needs to do:
As has often been the case this season, freshman center Jahlil Okafor was essentially unstoppable in the first half. Former Duke standout Christian Laettner implored his former team to continue getting the ball to the Naismith National Player of the Year candidate:
Okafor was nearly perfect from the field in the first half, with all of his attempts coming from inside the painted area, per ESPN Stats & Info:
The Blue Devils entered halftime with a 37-24 lead, and it looked as though the Aztecs would need a miracle to get back into it.
A hallmark of Steve Fisher-coached teams is their refusal to fold, and that was apparent during the early portion of the second half, as the Aztecs continued to battle.
According to SI College Hoops on Twitter, they even cut Duke's lead to just seven, although the Blue Devils were quickly able to regain their double-digit advantage:
San Diego State is a team that needs to play at a slower pace in order to have success, but Duke simply didn't allow that to happen throughout the contest.
After the Aztecs' mini burst in the second half, it was all Blue Devils.
Duke will now move to play a tough Utah team in the Sweet 16. The Utes have looked very good through two rounds, and they have played some top teams very well this season.
If the Blue Devils continue to play like they did against San Diego State, though, a trip to the national championship game could very well be in the offing.
No. 7 Wichita State vs. No. 2 Kansas
Wichita State waited a long time to get its hands on Kansas, and it made the most of that opportunity Sunday as the seventh-seeded Shockers upset the No. 2 Jayhawks 78-65 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons.
Despite how close they are geographically, the two schools hadn't met on the court in 22 years prior to the round-of-32 clash, according to ESPN Stats & Info:
While the Shockers were clearly amped up to face the Jayhawks, they struggled to score early in the game. They went more than four minutes between field goals at one point and trailed Kansas by as many as eight points.
The momentum started to shift in the final five minutes of the half, though, and a mini run pulled Wichita State to within one point of Kansas at the three-minute mark, per NCAA March Madness:
Trailing 26-23, the Shockers then ended the half on a 6-0 run to seize a 29-26 advantage at the break:
There was a great deal of discussion regarding the selection committee potentially manipulating the bracket in order to set up a third-round game between Wichita State and Kansas.
While it is impossible to tell if that was actually the case, Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports had no problem with it based on the drama present throughout the first half:
With the Shockers feeling good after a great close to the opening half, they continued to take the play to Kansas in the second.
After the Jayhawks made it 34-30 in favor of Wichita State, the Shockers went on another 7-0 run to make it 41-30.
In addition to outscoring Kansas, Wichita State was also outworking its favored opponent, according to Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo! Sports:
Also, the Jayhawks simply couldn't figure out how to slow down the Shockers' offensive attack, per ESPN.com's Jeff Borzello:
On some level, Jim Rome of CBS Sports believes the Kansas program has ducked Wichita State over the years knowing that the Shockers were capable of playing the way they did Sunday:
Wichita State continued to pour it on throughout the second half due to contributions from every member of their starting five. Tekele Cotton, Fred VanVleet, Ron Baker, Evan Wessel and Darius Carter all scored in double figures in the game with Cotton leading the way to the tune of 19 points.
The Shockers led by double digits from the 14-minute mark onward, and the listless Jayhawks never looked like they were a threat to mount a comeback.
Making it out of the Midwest Region won't be easy since that is where undefeated Kentucky resides, but the Shockers have a chance to make it to the Elite Eight if they can get past third-seeded Notre Dame in the Sweet 16.
Wichita State seemingly fed off being considered the underdog against Kansas, and if it can continue to do that moving forward, then it has a chance to accomplish something very special.
No. 11 Dayton vs. No. 3 Oklahoma
There will be no trip back to the Sweet 16 for the Dayton Flyers as they were beaten Sunday by the Oklahoma Sooners, 72-66.
Things were going well for Dayton to start the second half. The Flyers closed the first half out well and carried that momentum into the second frame, going ahead by as many as seven points, 56-49, with 10:23 to go in the game.
However, Dayton went the next nine minutes of game time without a single field goal, which allowed Oklahoma to overturn the deficit and grab a comfortable lead. Once the Sooners got back on top, they never relinquished the lead, with a big block by Buddy Hield securing the victory:
Hield was one of OU's best players. He struggled to find his shooting stroke but finished with 15 points. He added three rebounds and five assists to a solid all-around performance.
Jordan Woodard also provided an offensive spark, contributing 16 points to the overall effort. Frank Booker's four three-pointers off the bench can't be overlooked, either.
Through two games, the Sooners have looked far from convincing, which could be an ominous sign for the Sweet 16.
No. 7 Iowa vs. No. 2 Gonzaga
Not since Adam Morrison has Mark Few had a player as talented as Kyle Wiltjer, and it's no coincidence that this is also the best Gonzaga team Few has had since Morrison left in 2006.
Wiltjer put his skill on full display in the Bulldogs' 87-68 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes Sunday. The junior forward went 10-of-12 from the field, scoring 24 minutes in just 25 minutes on the court.
Wiltjer's biggest contribution on the day, however, was the video of the post-game celebrations inside the team locker room, which featured Few doing a handstand:
Domantas Sabonis' performance can't be overlooked, either. The freshman big man came off the bench to score 18 points and grab nine rebounds. At times, the Iowa defense didn't even bother to guard him, as The Cauldron's Jamie O'Grady noted:
"Iowa left Sabonis WIIIIIIDE open pic.twitter.com/Dh6L1cq3Ac
— Jamie O'Grady (@JamieOGrady) March 23, 2015"
SB Nation's Bill Connelly pointed out Sabonis has large shoes to fill, and so far, he's doing exactly that:
Under Few, Gonzaga hasn't gone any deeper than the Sweet 16. With the array of talent he has at his disposal, anything less than a trip to the Elite Eight would be a massive disappointment for the head coach.
No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 1 Wisconsin
Wisconsin's 72-65 win over Oregon was a typical Wisconsin game. The Badgers didn't necessarily look the prettiest as they dispatched the Ducks, but they got the job done all the same.
Frank Kaminsky wasn't quite himself—at least by his extreme standards—shooting 6-of-13 for 16 points. He added seven rebounds, two assists and one steal.
With Kaminsky struggling just a bit, Sam Dekker and Nigel Hayes picked up the slack, scoring 17 and 14 points, respectively. Bronson Koenig added 12 points, with seven coming at the free throw line.
Compare the Badgers' balance to the Ducks' attack, and you can see why Oregon faltered.
Joseph Young was marvelous, scoring 30 points on 12-of-25 shooting, but the rest of the team was a combined 14-of-34. Only one other Oregon player scored in double figures, with the team's short bench and over-reliance on Young exposed in a big way.
No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 4 Maryland
Two things really worked against the Maryland Terrapins Sunday.
For one, their luck finally caught up with them. According to KenPom.com, Maryland is the second-luckiest team in the country, a metric which illustrated the Terps' volatility when it came to their potential in the tournament. It wouldn't take much for things to go very wrong for Mark Turgeon's team.
Making matters worse was the fact that team lost its leading scorer, Melo Trimble, at a critical juncture in the second half. The team's comeback bid was essentially dead in the water once Trimble exited.
In the end, though, what killed Maryland was the fact that it turned the ball over a whopping 23 times, with Dez Wells the biggest contributor:
It's nearly impossible to give the ball to the other team that many times in the NCAA tournament and still win. Those turnovers wiped out what was an impressive shooting performance from the Terrapins.
West Virginia undoubtedly capitalized. Four different Mountaineers starters scored in double figures, with Devin Williams taking the spotlight. The sophomore forward registered a double-double—16 points and 10 rebounds.
No. 5 Northern Iowa vs. No. 4 Louisville
When you shoot 39.1 percent from the field, it's gonna be tough for you to win.
The Louisville Cardinals' defense was in peak form on Sunday, choking the paint and stifling the Northern Iowa Panthers. It's rather fitting that a defensive play essentially sealed the win for Rick Pitino's team.
With Louisville holding onto a 55-49 lead in the final four minutes, UNI's Wes Washpun looked set to trim the deficit to four points. Then, Wayne Blackshear comes from out of nowhere to knock the ball away and deny the Panthers' two critical points.
Blackshear had 10 points and six rebounds, but no one action he made was more important than that swat.
Terry Rozier was the standout performer offensively. He led all scorers with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting, throwing in five rebounds and seven assists as well.
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