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Late Night Snacks: Tournament-record four overtime games on Thursday

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GAME OF THE NIGHT: No. 7 Texas 87, No. 10 Arizona State 85

After Jonathan Gilling tied the game with two free throws, Arizona State’s season ended in cruel fashion as a Cameron Ridley basket as time expired gave the Longhorns the win in Milwaukee. The individual matchup between Ridley and Jordan Bachynski was entertaining to say the least, with Ridley finishing with 17 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots and Bachynski countering with 25 points and seven boards. Six Longhorns finished in double figures including Martez Walker, who scored 16 points off the bench. Next up for Texas is Midwest Region No. 2 Michigan.

IMPORTANT OUTCOMES

1) No. 12 North Dakota State 80, No. 5 Oklahoma 75 (OT)

When star guard Taylor Braun fouled out with 1:18 remaining in overtime it seemed as if the Bison were in trouble in the West Region matchup. But what ultimately occurred was freshman Carlin Dupree taking advantage of his opportunity to shine, making two free throws and then converting a critical layup with 42 seconds remaining. From there NDSU would go on to pick up the school’s first-ever NCAA tournament victory, advancing to play either No. 4 San Diego State or No. 13 New Mexico State. Lawrence Alexander led the way for the winners with 28 points.

2) No. 5 Saint Louis 83, No. 12 NC State 80 (OT)

The Wolfpack, a trendy pick to beat Saint Louis, led by 14 points with 5:03 remaining and looked poised to make prophets out of many. But then NC State started missing free throws and doing other things teams looking to close out a game should not do, allowing Saint Louis to pick up an improbable comeback victory. T.J. Warren scored 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds but he fouled out in the final minute of overtime, robbing NC State of its best scoring option. Rob Loe led SLU with 22 points and 15 rebounds, and Jordair Jett played very good defense on Warren down the stretch in regulation as well as in overtime.

3) No. 11 Dayton 60, No. 6 Ohio State 59

Vee Sanford’s basket with 3.9 seconds remaining was the difference in the first game of the day, advancing the Flyers into the Round of 32 where they’ll face South Region No. 3 Syracuse. Dyshawn Pierre scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the balanced Flyers, who won despite shooting just 3-for-13 from beyond the arc. Sam Thompson scored 18 points and Aaron Craft 16 for the Buckeyes, with the latter having his college career come to an end in Buffalo.

STARRED

1) Adreian Payne (Michigan State)

Payne shot 10-for-15 from the field and 17-for-17 from the foul line, scoring a career-high 41 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the Spartans’ 93-78 win over Delaware.

2) Lawrence Alexander (North Dakota State)

Alexander scored 28 points on 10-for-15 shooting from the field to go along with eight rebounds and four assists in North Dakota State’s 80-75 overtime win over Oklahoma.

3) Rob Loe (Saint Louis)

Accounted for 22 points, 15 rebounds and three assists in the Billikens’ 83-80 overtime win over NC State.

STRUGGLED

1) Jordan Aaron (Milwaukee)

Aaron shot 1-for-15 from the field, scoring six points in the Panthers’ 73-53 loss to Villanova.

2) Askia Booker (Colorado)

Scored six points on 2-for-9 shooting to go along with five rebounds and four turnovers (no assists) in Colorado’s 77-48 loss to Pittsburgh.

3) Sam Rowley (Albany)

Rowley made just one of his eight field goal attempts, finishing with three points in the Great Danes’ 67-55 loss to Florida.

NOTABLES


  • After getting off to a slow start West Region No. 2 Wisconsin built its lead over American to ten points at the half, and they would go on to win 75-35.
  • South Region No. 9 Pittsburgh jumped out to a 13-0 lead on No. 8 Colorado and never looked back, beating the Buffaloes 77-48 in Orlando. The 29-point margin is the largest for a Pitt team in its NCAA tournament history.
  • Wesley Saunders scored 12 points and Siyani Chambers added 11 as East Region No. 12 Harvard established an early lead and held off No. 5 Cincinnati in Spokane, 61-57. Seniors Sean Kilpatrick and Justin Jackson led the way offensively for Cincinnati, scoring 18 and 13 points respectively.
  • Trevor Cooney shot 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, scoring 18 points in South Region No. 3 Syracuse’s 77-53 win over Western Michigan.
  • West Region No. 7 Oregon proved to be too much for No. 10 BYU as the Ducks won 87-68 in Milwaukee. The star of the day for the Ducks: forward Elgin Cook, who finished the game with 23 points and eight rebounds.
  • South Region No. 1 Florida didn’t put forth its best effort against scrapping No. 16 Albany but they were able to establish some distance in the second half, beating the Great Danes 67-55.
  • Adreian Payne’s career afternoon will receive much of the attention as East Region No. 4 Michigan State beat No. 13 Delaware 93-78 in Spokane, but Travis Trice’s 19 points off the bench were important as well.
  • Amida Brimah’s three-point play with 39 seconds remaining in regulation forced overtime, and with Saint Joseph’s forward Halil Kanacevic having fouled out East Region No. 7 UConn took over in the extra session to win 89-81.
  • Midwest Region No. 2 Michigan didn’t get to play as fast as it may have wanted to against No. 15 Wofford, but the Wolverines managed to shoot 47.8% from the field in their 57-40 win over the Terriers. Nik Stauskas scored 15 points and Glenn Robinson III 14 for the Wolverines.
  • East Region No. 2 Villanova didn’t get off to the best of starts against No. 15 Milwaukee, but the Wildcats woke up in the second half to beat the Panthers 73-53 in Buffalo. The Wildcats will face former Big East foe UConn Saturday.
  • Midwest Region No. 4 Louisville, a trendy pick to reach the Final Four, had its hands full with a Manhattan squad coached by former Rick Pitino assistant Steve Masiello. But the Cardinals managed to win 71-64, with Luke Hancock hitting two critical three-pointers down the stretch.
  • In spite of some shoddy play in the late stages of regulation, West Region No. 4 seed San Diego State managed to beat New Mexico State 73-69. This was the fourth overtime game of the day, something that hadn’t happened in the NCAA tournament prior to Thursday.

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