Men's NCAA Tournament 2024: Saturday's Round 2 Winners and Losers
The second round of the 2024 men's NCAA tournament is off to a fascinating start.
If you hoped for upsets, the entirety of Saturday's slate lacked shocking results. That, however, doesn't mean the opening day of the weekend didn't have a string of nerve-testing finishes.
During all eight games, the favored team pulled out a victory. Arizona didn't put away Dayton that quickly, for example. Iowa State struggled to find a bucket early on against Washington State. North Carolina State needed an extra session to take down Oakland, and Creighton survived two overtime periods in a triumph over Oregon.
But it doesn't have to be pretty. Saturday's eight winners are alive and headed to the Sweet 16.
Winner: Arizona Returns to Sweet 16
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Last year, Arizona endured an opening-round nightmare and lost to Princeton. Long Beach State put a scare into the Wildcats on Thursday, but they pulled away after halftime to win relatively comfortably.
And now, they're headed to the second weekend.
Save for the early stages of the game, Arizona never trailed Dayton in a 78-68 victory. Caleb Love scored 19 points, and Pelle Larsson provided a well-rounded impact with 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Arizona's next challenge is snapping a drought. The program hasn't advanced past the Sweet 16 since the 2015 tourney.
That opportunity will happen against either No. 3 Baylor or sixth-seeded Clemson, pending Sunday's result.
Loser: Kansas in the 2nd Half
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The opening half? Awesome. Little bit wild, whole lot of fun.
Second half? Not so much.
Yes, the Jayhawks didn't have Kevin McCullar Jr. to counteract a talented Gonzaga team. They still managed to take a one-point advantage into the locker room. There was real optimism that KU might be able to figure out a way to survive and advance.
But then, yeesh. Kansas had a total meltdown, missing 23 of its initial 27 shots in the latter frame. Gonzaga, unsurprisingly, took advantage of that Antarctica-level cold streak and raced out to a 27-point lead.
The moment it was announced McCullar would miss the NCAA tourney, expectations for KU plummeted. That's the reality.
Going out like that, however, is certainly a disappointment.
Winner: UNC's Supporting Cast
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All season long, RJ Davis has carried North Carolina. He averaged an ACC-leading 21.4 points, propelling the Tar Heels to a regular-season conference crown and a No. 1 seed.
The issue? One player doesn't win a national title.
UNC's complementary pieces stood out as a substantial concern. Armando Bacot, Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan are quality players, but they need to produce at a decently high level because the Tar Heels' reserves typically don't score much.
Fortunately for the Heels, Saturday's win over Michigan State was a solid example of their best-case scenario. Bacot had 18 points, while Ingram drained five threes in his 17 points and Ryan added 14 more.
Thanks to that quartet, UNC is moving to the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in the last decade.
Loser: Over Bettors in Iowa State, Wazzu
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If you dropped a little wager on Iowa State and Washington State hitting over 127 points, my thoughts are with you.
That one looked bleak quickly.
Washington State jumped out to a 7-0 lead, which doesn't look ridiculous when devoid of context. Iowa State, however, failed to score for nearly five minutes and didn't make a field goal until six minutes into the game.
By far, the most demoralizing moment was the under-eight timeout in the first half. The teams had combined for 24 points.
Iowa State ultimately won 67-56 and advanced to the second weekend for the second time in T.J. Otzelberger's three-year tenure. That, more than anything, is the important takeaway of the night.
But, uh, hopefully you weren't on the over.
Winner: NC State Kills the Vibe
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After the upset of Kentucky, newfound Oakland star Jack Gohlke said the Grizzlies weren't a Cinderella. Absolutely love the confidence, even if that's not something we actually believe.
I am, like many of you, not ashamed of joining a bandwagon. Gohlke's 10 threes against Kentucky made Oakland an easy choice, too.
North Carolina State ruined the fun.
Instead, the Wolfpack continued their spectacular late-season surge and eliminated 14th-seeded Oakland before an iconic run could get started. They pulled out a 79-73 triumph in overtime, extending an improbable winning streak that began in the ACC tournament.
It seems every Big Dance has an unexpected squad in the second weekend, and NC State has the earliest claim in 2024.
Loser: Tennessee's Range, Despite the Win
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The only thing that matters, to some degree, is the scoreboard, and Tennessee clipped Texas 62-58.
As much as we focus on single-game samples in March Madness—and why wouldn't we celebrate Oakland or Yale?—the ultimate goal is winning a national title. As a No. 2 seed, Tennessee did not enter the NCAA tournament hoping to simply make the Sweet 16.
So, yeah, the Vols gladly will take the victory. Still, it's fair to have concerns after Saturday's win over Texas.
Dalton Knecht and Zakai Zeigler both finished 1-of-8 from long range, and Santiago Vescovi missed his three attempts. As a team, Tennessee mustered a 3-of-25 mark. That's an extreme of a bad night, of course, but we've watched this movie for the Vols in previous years.
If that happens again in the Big Dance, the Volunteers very likely will be going back to Knoxville on a sour note.
Winner: Illinois Sets Cruise Control
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I understand this sentence is reaching a national audience, but I am currently speaking to a niche crowd.
This game was a Saturday morning on I-57 south of Champaign.
Duquesne pulled off a lovely upset on Thursday against BYU, sending soon-to-be retired coach Keith Dambrot into his next chapter with a wonderful gift. The seventh-year boss oversaw the program's first NCAA tournament victory in a remarkable 55 years.
However, the 11th-seeded Dukes basically never had a shot in the second round. They didn't hold a lead on Illinois, which rolled to a 24-point halftime edge and sailed to an 89-63 victory.
Terrence Shannon Jr., who scored 30 points, will lead the Illini into their Sweet 16 matchup with a stingy Iowa State defense.
Loser: Oregon's Second OT
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Oregon made it difficult. My word, did the Ducks give third-seeded Creighton a massive test.
Creighton only survived initially because star forward Baylor Scheierman hit a last-second tying shot in regulation. And then, Oregon's Jermaine Couisnard—who popped off a 40-point game in the first round—drained a clutch three during the first overtime.
The second extra session, on the other hand, was nothing short of an absolute showcase for Creighton.
Steven Ashworth hit a three, Ryan Kalkbrenner drilled another and Jasen Green slammed home a putback dunk to kickstart a decisive 15-0 run that slammed the door on Oregon. Creighton ended with an 86-73 win.
Oregon was the underdog, sure, but—similar to Kansas' late letdown—the memory of such a quiet finish will be disappointing.
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