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NCAA Tournament 2019: Thursday's Sweet 16 Scores, Updated Bracket and Schedule
March 29, 2019
The top seeds mostly dominated the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, with two No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 seeds opening up Sweet 16 action on Thursday.
No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 4 Florida State got things underway in Anaheim, California, while the South Region opened Sweet 16 play needing overtime between No. 3 Purdue and No. 2 Tennessee in Louisville.
No. 12 Oregon, the lowest remaining seed in the tournament, tried to send No. 1 Virginia packing from the South Region. Meanwhile, buckets were hard to come by for No. 2 Michigan against No. 3 Texas Tech.
Below is an updated guide to Thursday's action as well as the tournament bracket and schedule.
Thursday Matchups and Results
No. 1 Gonzaga def. No. 4 Florida State, 72-58
No. 3 Purdue def. No. 2 Tennessee, 99-94
No. 3 Texas Tech def. No. 2 Michigan, 63-44
No. 1 Virginia def. No. 12 Oregon, 53-49
Bracket
Schedule
Keep updated on the full schedule heading into the weekend at NCAA.com.
Recap
Gonzaga Bulldogs 72, Florida State Seminoles 58
Gonzaga got revenge on the Seminoles for upsetting them in the Sweet Sixteen one year ago—much to the delight of alum Johnathan Williams:
The Bulldogs entered halftime with a 38-27 lead and extended their streak of winning when holding a halftime lead to 29 games. They did so despite 14 turnovers and the Seminoles coming within four points with a little over four minutes remaining.
Every time Florida State would start to get the Bulldogs off their game, Gonzaga would quell it with a slam, such as this one from junior forward Brandon Clarke:
All season, Florida State had been pegged as a team capable of a deep run because of its accomplished senior class. However, the Seminoles were without senior forward Phil Cofer, who was home grieving his father's death, and senior guard David Nichols after he injured his foot in the second round.
Junior guard Trent Forrest put the team on his back with a career-high 20 points, leading all scorers, but he couldn't overcome Gonzaga by himself. The Seminoles have relied heavily on three-point shooting this season but only made three on Thursday.
Gonzaga advances to the Elite Eight and will face No. 3 Texas Tech.
Purdue Boilermakers 99, Tennessee Volunteers 94
The Boilermakers looked to have their Elite Eight ticket in hand, leading 51-33 with 16:18 to go in the second half. The Volunteers snapped Purdue back to reality with an 18-2 run to take a 70-67 lead with 5:21 on the clock thanks to a three-ball from senior guard Admiral Schofield.
Down the stretch, Purdue and Tennessee fired back and forth. With 38 seconds to go, Purdue senior guard Ryan Cline, who made a game-high seven shots from three-point land, drained a three-pointer to tie the contest at 80.
Senior guard Grant Williams, who finished with a team-high 21 points, put the Vols up 82-80 with an emphatic put-back slam and 8.8 seconds left.
Overtime was needed after Purdue junior guard Carsen Edwards was fouled while shooting a three-pointer with two seconds in regulation. Edwards made two-of-three.
In overtime, Purdue had all the momentum and advanced to the program's first Elite Eight since 2000.
Edwards continued to make his case for the tournament's MVP by leading all scorers with 29 points, including five threes. In three NCAA tournament games, Edwards has compiled 97 points and 18 made threes.
Purdue will next play No. 1 Virginia.
Texas Tech Red Raiders 63, Michigan Wolverines 44
The only Big 12 team left in the NCAA tournament did the conference proud in a complete demolition of Michigan, which shot an abysmal 1-of-19 from three-point land.
Red Raiders sophomore guard Jarrett Culver also struggled from three (0-for-5) but led all scorers with 22 points.
Texas Tech held a 24-16 lead at halftime, which led reigning NFL MVP and Red Raiders alum Patrick Mahomes to poke fun at the low-scoring affair:
The second half was all about style points for Texas Tech, as Michigan was never in the fight.
It was a stark contrast to Michigan's 2018 run, which saw head coach John Beilein's squad make it to the national title game before losing to Villanova.
Meanwhile, Texas Tech advances to the Elite Eight for a second consecutive year. In 2018, the Red Raiders fell to Villanova. This year, they will face No. 1 Gonzaga and try to advance to the program's first-ever Final Four.
Virginia Cavaliers 53, Oregon Ducks 49
"It wasn't a masterpiece," Virginia head coach Tony Bennett told Allie LaForce on TBS immediately following the win, "But as the saying goes, 'Survive and advance.' And we survived. That's a tricky defense, for sure."
The Cavaliers figured out the Ducks' signature defense just enough to hand them their first loss since Feb. 23.
The Virginia bench was held scoreless, and they needed an unlikely source of offense in freshman guard Kihei Clark to help boost past the No. 12 seed. Clark finished with 12 points, tying his season high and nearly tripling his average of 4.3 points.
Meanwhile, Ducks sophomore forward Kenny Wooten, who impressed with seven blocks in the second round, was kept in check with just two points, five rebounds and one rejection.
However, Oregon was within sniffing distance of an upset as the teams traded leads throughout the second half:
Bennett's squad is one year removed from becoming the first No. 1 seed in men's NCAA tournament history to lose to a No. 16 seed in the first round and will face No. 3 Purdue in the Elite Eight.