NCAA Tournament 2015: Saturday's 3rd-Round Scores, Updated Bracket and Schedule
On the heels of a second round that featured plenty of twists and turns, the NCAA men's basketball tournament's round of 32 kicked off Saturday with eight Sweet 16 bids up for grabs.
The level of competition ran the gamut from teams like Kentucky and Villanova to the likes of underdogs such as UAB and Georgia State. There is seemingly a hug gap separating those programs, but they all entered Saturday with an equal opportunity to be among the final 16 teams remaining in the tournament.
With the March Madness field getting smaller by the day, here is a look at how the round of 32 has played out thus far, including a breakdown of the bracket as it currently stands.
TOP NEWS
NCAA Tournament Expansion Official 🚨
.png?w=256 "NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship")
UConn's STACKED Schedule ☠️
Report: Biggest Spenders in Men's CBB 🤑
Saturday's Round-of-32 Results
| Saturday, March 21 | UAB | UCLA | 92-75, UCLA |
| Saturday, March 21 | Cincinnati | Kentucky | 64-51, Kentucky |
| Saturday, March 21 | Ohio State | Arizona | 73-58, Arizona |
| Saturday, March 21 | Georgia State | Xavier | 75-67, Xavier |
| Saturday, March 21 | NC State | Villanova | 71-68, NC State |
| Saturday, March 21 | Utah | Georgetown | 75-64, Utah |
| Saturday, March 21 | Arkansas | North Carolina | 87-78, North Carolina |
| Saturday, March 21 | Butler | Notre Dame | 67-64, Notre Dame |
Sunday's Round-of-32 Schedule
| Sunday, March 22 | 12:10 p.m. | Michigan State | Virginia | CBS |
| Sunday, March 22 | 2:40 p.m. | San Diego State | Duke | CBS |
| Sunday, March 22 | 5:15 p.m. | Wichita State | Kansas | CBS |
| Sunday, March 22 | 6:10 p.m. | Dayton | Oklahoma | TNT |
| Sunday, March 22 | 7:10 p.m. | Iowa | Gonzaga | TBS |
| Sunday, March 22 | 7:45 p.m. | Oregon | Wisconsin | truTV |
| Sunday, March 22 | 8:40 p.m. | West Virginia | Maryland | TNT |
| Sunday, March 22 | 9:40 p.m. | Northern Iowa | Louisville | TBS |
Updated Bracket
Saturday Recap
No. 14 UAB vs. No. 11 UCLA
No. 14 UAB shocked the college basketball world Thursday when it knocked off No. 3 Iowa State in the round of 64, but the Cinderella run reached its conclusion Saturday, as the Blazers fell 92-75 in the third round to No. 11 UCLA.
Both teams overcame the odds to reach the round of 32, as UAB took down a chic Final Four pick, while the Bruins slipped past No. 6 SMU. Despite those parallels, it was clear from the start that UCLA was the better team Saturday.
According to Jerry Palm of CBSSports.com, UAB and UCLA met earlier in the season, and the round-of-32 result was very similar:
The fact that the Blazers made it to the third round was incredible, not only because they beat the Cyclones but also due to the fact that they were barely above .500 not too long ago, per Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com:
Even after its gutsy performance in the round of 64, it was clear that UAB was at a disadvantage against UCLA, as evidenced by this tweet courtesy of ESPN Stats & Info:
Things were pretty even for much of the first half, with UAB actually holding the advantage at various points. The Blazers led 21-15 just past the midway point of the half, but UCLA was able to seize a 25-23 lead just a couple of minutes later.
The final few minutes of the opening stanza were dominated by the Bruins, as they took a 46-37 advantage into halftime.
UAB's biggest issue was that it had no answer for junior forward Tony Parker, as he was nearly perfect from the field and on pace for a 38-point performance after the first half, according to NCAA March Madness on Twitter:
The Blazers continued to fight in the second half, but they didn't have the firepower needed to compete.
Per AL.com's Kevin Scarbinsky, UAB essentially had to rely on two players to do all of its scoring:
Brown was by far the Blazers' biggest scoring threat during the regular season, and he paced UAB with 25 points. Aside from William Lee's 10 points, though, no other Blazers player broke double figures.
UCLA, on the other hand, had extremely balanced scoring, with all five starters scoring at least 10 points, including 28 from Parker.
Remarkably, the Bruins shot over 60 percent from the field, as the Blazers yielded far too many easy looks in the paint to Parker and Co.
UCLA now advances to the Sweet 16 where it will face the winner of the game between No. 2 Gonzaga and No. 7 Iowa. It is a truly amazing accomplishment considering how many struggles the Bruins endured during the regular season, according to Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports:
Many were shocked when the selection committee put UCLA in the field of 68, and while the Bruins' resume was questionable, their performance in the NCAA tournament has been anything but.
UCLA is playing with supreme confidence right now, and it certainly won't be easy to end its March Madness run.
No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 1 Kentucky
It was anything but a walk in the park, but No. 1 Kentucky kept its hopes of an undefeated season and a national title alive Saturday with a 64-51 victory over a feisty Cincinnati squad.
With the win, the Wildcats improved to 36-0 and made some history in the process, according to ESPN Stats & Info:
Fresh off a hard-fought win against Purdue, the No. 8 Bearcats came out with plenty of vim and vigor. They were in the lead for a large portion of the first half before the Wildcats were finally able to seize the advantage after the midway point, per SportsCenter:
A Shaquille Thomas dunk put Cincy on top 24-21 with under four minutes remaining in the half, but the deep and talented Wildcats flipped the script quickly by going on a 10-0 run to enter halftime up by seven, according to NCAA March Madness:
Perhaps the biggest reason for Kentucky's slow start was its inability to make shots from outside the painted area, as noted by SportsCenter:
The Wildcats' shooting improved in the second half, but they were also aided by Cincinnati going cold. Some of that had to do with the length and defensive acumen of Kentucky's players, but the Bearcats hit just three of their first 16 attempts in the second half, per ESPN College Basketball:
"Cincinnati is struggling from the field. They are shooting just 3-16 in the 2nd half & Kentucky has a 42-34 lead with 11:28 to play.
— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) March 21, 2015"
Guard Aaron Harrison was Kentucky's only outside threat in the first half, and he continued to give Cincinnati fits in the second.
With the Bearcats continuing to hang around, Harrison buried a three to put the Wildcats up by eight with less than 12 minutes remaining.
According to Nicole Auerbach of USA Today, those types of moments have become commonplace for the talented star:
Despite Cincinnati's best efforts, the Wildcats continued to widen the gap throughout the second half. As pointed out by ESPN's Cari Champion, the Bearcats simply couldn't contend with Kentucky's size:
Cincinnati finished shooting a miserable 32 percent from the field, and ESPN's The Dan LeBatard Show offered a humorous explanation for why the Bearcats struggled:
The game certainly didn't come easily for the Wildcats, but they proved capable of winning a tough and gritty contest, per ESPN analyst Jalen Rose:
Even though it wasn't pretty, Saturday's win was a big one for Kentucky since it will likely have to get through some more close games in its journey toward perfection.
The level of competition will inevitably get higher, so the Wildcats will have to get better offensively, but they displayed the type of defense that champions are made of.
No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 10 Ohio State
Arizona wasn't about to let D'Angelo Russell knock them out of the tournament.
Led by T.J. McConnell (19 points, six rebounds, six assists), Gabe York (19 points) and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (11 points, 10 rebounds, five assists), the Wildcats stymied Russell and rolled to a 73-58 victory over Ohio State.
Russell was held to just nine points on 3-of-19 shooting from the field, a frustrating evening for the future NBA star and likely top-five selection in this year's draft should he choose to make the jump to the NBA.
Of course, Arizona also dominated Ohio State inside, grabbing 18 offensive rebounds (to Ohio State's seven) and out-rebounding the Buckeyes by a 43-26 margin. The Wildcats also forced nine steals, living up to their hype as one of the top defensive teams in the land.
They'll face Xavier on Thursday.
No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 14 Georgia State
Say goodbye to Ron and R.J. Hunter, America. The country's favorite father-son duo in college basketball ran into a tough Xavier team on Saturday, losing 75-67.
Hunter did all he could on the court, scoring 20 points, but Georgia State didn't have an answer for Xavier's dynamic duo off the bench, Jalen Reynolds (21 points, six rebounds) and Myles Davis (17 points). Dee Davis added 15 points and five assists.
Xavier just did everything right in this one. The Musketeers shot an impressive 67.6 percent from the field, made seven of their 13 three-point attempts and got to the line 25 times, converting 22 free throws. Most Cinderella stories aren't going to survive that sort of performance.
No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 8 NC State
The first No. 1 seed is going home, as NC State pulled off the shocking upset of Villanova.
The Wildcats simply couldn't handled the interior combination of Abdul-Malik Abu (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Lennard Freeman (11 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks) down low, while Trevor Lacey (17 points, six rebounds, five assists) hit some huge shots down the stretch for the Wolfpack.
The Wildcats wasted a golden performance from Darrun Hilliard II (27 points, 6-of-10 from beyond the arc) and missed a slew of easy buckets and layups throughout the contest that came back to bite them. NC State's interior presence clearly gave the Wildcats fits, and their defense frustrated the 'Nova shooters, rarely giving them clean looks.
It was an impressive performance from the Wolfpack, though the Wildcats will feel they could have played much better as well. Up next is the winner of No. 4 Louisville taking on No. 5 Northern Illinois for NC State.
No. 4 Georgetown vs. No. 5 Utah
When five players score double-digit points and six players have nine or more, well, you're going to be tough to beat. Indeed, Utah pulled off that feat against Georgetown on Saturday night.
The Utes put on the consummate team performance on Saturday night, as
Brandon Taylor (14 points), Delon Wright (12 points, five rebounds, five assists), Dallin Bachynski (nine points, eight rebounds), Jakob Poeltl (12 points), Dakarai Tucker (11 points, five rebounds) and Jordan Loveridge (10 points) all played huge roles for the Utes.
L.J. Peak led the Hoyas with 18 points, but Utah held Georgetown's D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera and Joshua Smith to a combined 20 points, and Smith-Rivera was a disappointing 0-of-7 from three. Utah's defense really tightened up in the second half, while the Utes continued to play excellent team basketball on the offensive end.
Utah is going to be a tough out for either Duke or San Diego State; that much is certain.
No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 5 Arkansas
North Carolina and Arkansas may have played the most exciting, breathless half of basketball in this tournament, as the first half between the teams was brilliant, non-stop action. In the second half, the Tar Heels pulled away, winning 87-78.
Marcus Paige (22 points, six rebounds, five steals) was brilliant for North Carolina, though the Tar Heels had a scary moment in the second half, as Kennedy Meeks had to leave the game and didn't return after suffering a knee injury. That could be a killer blow for the Tar Heels, though they were able to finish off the Razorbacks down the stretch despite Meeks' absence.
Michael Qualls (27 points, 10 rebounds) and Bobby Portis (18 points, 14 rebounds, five steals) played huge for Arkansas, but it simply wasn't enough to get past UNC's offensive firepower. The Tar Heels next face the winner of Wisconsin versus Oregon.
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Butler
It took overtime and some clutch defensive plays, but Notre Dame was able to survive a close matchup that neither team deserved to lose, winning 67-64.
Steve Vasturia (20 points, six rebounds), Jerian Grant (16 points, five rebounds, five assists) and Demetrius Jackson (13 points) all came up big for Notre Dame, spoiling huge nights from Butler's Roosevelt Jones (23 points, five rebounds) and Andrew Chrabascz (20 points, three steals).
Pat Connaughton may have come up with the biggest play of the night, however, blocking a Butler shot with less than two seconds remaining to help force the overtime session.
Up next for Notre Dame will be the winner of No. 2 Kansas versus No. 7 Wichita State.
Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.
.png?w=480 "NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship")
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
