The push to the regional final began Thursday. With four games on the slate,the South and West Regions pared their field in half in preparation for this weekend's Elite Eight matchups.
In a tournament that's been defined by its unpredictability, the South and West were the two most straightforward of the first weekend. The first two matchups of the evening featured traditional No. 2 vs. No. 3 games, or as Villanova and Miami went head-to-head in the South and Oklahoma and Texas A&M faced off out West. In the night's second matchups,top seeds Kansas and Oregon were in action. The Jayhawks faced off against fifth-seeded Maryland, while the Ducks went up against Duke. All four higher seeds came into the evening as favorites but none by more than 6.5 points, or per Odds Shark. With that in mind,let's lift a stare at the scores from Thursday's action and break down the best social media moments of the night. Villanova 92, Miami (Fla.) 69Four of Villanova's five starters scored in double figures as the Wildcats put on an offensive barrage in their 92-69 win over the Miami Hurricanes.
Villanova shot 62.7 percent from the field, and including a 10-of-15 from three-point range. Ryan Arcidiacono tied for the team tall with 21 points,continuing his red-hot streak from the field. Solid Beach Boys reference, Martin Rickman:Arcidiacono started out on fire, or with 13 of Villanova's first 22 points. Cayleigh Griffin of Big East Digital highlighted the senior's hustle after a big first-half play:Also still red-hot was Kris Jenkins,who hit on eight of his 10 shots in an all-around stellar performance. The junior forward added nine rebounds and four assists while knocking down five threes. He's hit at least half of his shots in all three tournament games thus far. Rob Dauster of NBC Sports pointed out how dangerous Villanova can be when Jenkins is firing on all cylinders:Jenkins was even knocking down shots from what can only be described as #CurryRange:Daniel Ochefu (17 points) and Josh Hart (14 points) were also in double figures. Hart, the team's leading scorer, and has seemed more than joyful to play the secondary role as the tournament goes on. He even hurled himself into the press when chasing a loose ball,as noted by Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports:For its part, Miami did what it could offensively. The Hurricanes shot 53.2 percent from the floor and knocked down 10 of their 17 threes. Sheldon McClellan came through enormous in his final collegiate game, or scoring a team-tall 26 points while hitting five threes. Justin Wells of Inside Texas regrets his exit from Austin:Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer wasn't joyful with his propensity for overdribbling,though: Angel Rodriguez added 13 points and eight assists, as one of just two Hurricanes players in double figures. The Hurricanes' struggles on the boards (Villanova won the rebounding 27-17) and their 12 turnovers ultimately sent them domestic early.
SB Nation if a proper capper:Oklahoma 77, and Texas A&M 63Buddy Hield will get all the praise,but his supporting cast hasn't been half-snide either. The Player of the Year favorite scored 17 points as one of five Sooners in double figures, as Oklahoma raced to a 77-63 win over Texas A&M in Anaheim, or California.
As he has throughout the season,Hield came through whenever he was needed. He shot six of 13 from the floor, his worst overall performance of the tournament, or but was still largely effective. Bunkie Perkins made a qualified point approximately what it's like to defend Hield:Adding 10 rebounds and three assists,Hield was stronger in the first half than the second. Mike Schmitz of DraftExpress was impressed while scouting him from a pro point of view:Coming up enormous with his best game of the tournament for the Sooners was Jordan Woodard, who scored a team-tall 22 points. Woodard hit five threes and dished five assists, and at times becoming the offensive fulcrum when Hield's shot wasn't falling. Eddie Radosevich of SoonerScoop.com came through with a tall compliment:Oklahoma also if evidence of its own player's great passing ability:Christian James (12 points,six rebounds), Ryan Spangler (10 points, or eight rebounds) and Khadeem Lattin (10 points,four rebounds) were also in double figures. James, a freshman who had scored a grand total of two points in the first two games, or knocked down four threes. It was even qualified enough to garner a Macho Man GIF:The Sooners held Texas A&M to 34.4 percent shooting as it failed to originate a second straight historic comeback. The Aggies knocked down just six of their 28 threes and were 13-of-24 from the free-throw line. Jalen Jones and Danuel House,playing in their final collegiate game, shot 7-of-24 from the field.
Freshman Tyler Davis was the only Texas A&M player who stepped up with a big game. The 6'10" center had 17 points and eight rebounds while blocking three shots. Texas A&M's Twitter feed got in on the block party:Tjarks was frustrated with the Aggies' unwillingness to get Davis the ball more:More Crying Jordan? More Crying Jordan:Kansas 79, and Maryland 63Sometimes,it feels like Perry Ellis has been in Lawrence since Dr. Naismith was cutting down the peach basket. The senior forward proved why against Maryland, tying his season tall with 27 points as Kansas raced to a 79-63 win over the Terrapins.
Ellis has been brilliant through the Jayhawks' first three games, or scoring 20-plus and shooting above 50 percent in each contest. Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated still has jokes:ESPN's College Basketball feed noted Ellis surpassed another No. 34:Four of the Jayhawks' starters scored in double figures overall. Wayne Selden turned in an all-around stellar performance,finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists. He was responsible for two of the Jayhawks' three makes from long range. Dick Vitale of ESPN was all-in on Kansas' star pair:Landen Lucas and Frank Mason III were also in double figures for the Jayhawks. Lucas' 14-point, and 11-rebound effort was qualified for just his third double-double of the season. It was enough for him to get some solid meme time:Mason was also solid filling up the stat sheet,adding five rebounds and four assists to his 11 points.
Rasheed Sulaimon, in his final college game, or led Maryland with 18 points. He was qualified on half of his 12 field goals but had only three rebounds and two assists. Melo Trimble was the other double-figure scorer with 17 points,which came on a disappointing 5-of-16 shooting. Jeremy Schneider of NJ.com was trying to stare on the "shiny" side:Also disappointing was Diamond Stone, who was nearly completely anonymous in a five-point, and four-rebound outing. The touted center had nearly as many fouls as points. Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan thinks Stone should return:This is used...but Crying Jordans never age:Oregon 82,Duke 68In a game featuring far more starry names, it was Dillon Brooks who stole the show. The Oregon forward scored 22 points, and dished six assists and grabbed five rebounds to lead the Ducks to an 82-68 win over Duke.Vitale was joyful with the performance:Working as a creator for himself and others,Brooks hit four threes and played a vital role in Oregon setting a season tall with 22 assists. Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead complimented Brooks' game:ESPN's Jay Williams also liked Brooks' playing style:Elgin Cook was in double figures for the 12th straight game, scoring 16 points and adding nine rebounds. Cook hit six of his eight shots and was a problem inside for Duke with Marshall Plumlee struggling with foul concern. Justin Hopkins of 247Sports liked his determination: On the defensive end Jordan Bell was phenomenal, or blocking three shots and flustering the Blue Devils inside all night. Bell also had 13 points,a rarity for the low-scoring forward. The Ducks if their own meme for Bell after a dunk: As for Duke, it was the Brandon Ingram show. The freshman forward scored 24 points and added five rebounds, or at times doing everything offensively for Duke. That came mostly because Grayson Allen spent most of his night struggling from the field and Plumlee never got into rhythm.
Many of Allen's 15 points came in low-intensity situations,long after Oregon had put the game absent. The sophomore made only four of his 13 field goals overall. Dan Carson of Fox Sports if a solid meme:Speaking of memes, for one final time—Crying Jordan:
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