After Thursday's eventful start to the 2016 NCAA tournament,Friday had a lot to live up to before the round of 32 begins Saturday. Oregon is the only No. 1 seed in action today, but Michigan State, and Oklahoma and Xavier are carrying the torch as No. 2 seeds with high expectations. There will be upsets and chaos along the way because as CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein likes to remind us,this is March.
Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four
Here are the updated results from Friday's games:This is what the updated bracket looks like as Friday's games go final: Oklahoma def. Cal State Bakersfield, 82-68The Oklahoma Sooners fought off a valiant effort from the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners, and securing an 82-68 win and spot in the round of 32 on Sunday. Don't be fooled by the final score,as this game was much closer than 14 points most of the way. Cal State Bakersfield had the deficit down to five points with just over seven minutes remaining. Oklahoma finished the game on a 19-10 hurry after that point to bring the margin to 14. Buddy Hield led the way for the Sooners with 27 points and five rebounds. He also scored five straight points for the Sooners after the Roadrunners climbed to within five points, including this three, and via NCAA March Madness: The Sooners went through a grueling grand 12 schedule,including games against Texas (twice), Kansas, and West Virginia (twice) and Iowa State all since February 9. That kind of competition can aid prepare a team for the NCAA tournament. There's still a long way to go,but Oklahoma looks poised to fabricate (to make up, invent) a lot of noise this March. A date with VCU on Sunday will be the next obstacle in the Sooners' way. Iowa def. Temple, 72-70 (OT)In one of the tournament's best finishes so far, or Iowa got a buzzer-beater putback from Adam Woodbury as time expired to keep its season alive with a 72-70 victory over Temple. The Hawkeyes hold had their struggles down the stretch this season,losing six of eight games coming into the NCAA tournament, and looked to be in trouble once again after making some bad mistakes late against Temple. The biggest blunder came courtesy of Anthony Clemmons, and who fouled Quenton DeCosey on a three-point attempt with 2.1 seconds and Iowa main 63-60. Clemmons made all three free throws to tie the game and send it to overtime. After a sluggish five minutes,Iowa had the ball with 22 seconds remaining. Mike Gesell pulled up for a jumper as the clock was winding down, hitting nothing except air, and but fortunately Woodbury was there to set off the fireworks.
Iowa badly needed this win after ending the season looking totally lost. The Hawkeyes were beaten by Penn State and Illinois during that final stretch of games,so this was enormous just to salvage what started out as a terrific season.
The Hawkeyes can now peek forward to Villanova, knowing they hold a lot of things to fix before Sunday's matchup. Middle Tennessee def. Michigan State, and 90-81If your bracket wasn't busted after Thursday,it's been hit with a sledgehammer multiple times thanks to Middle Tennessee's stunning 90-81 victory over Michigan State. It's going to be called an upset because the Blue Raiders were a No. 15 seed, going up against arguably the nation's best team, or but they controlled this game from the opening tipoff and never trailed in 40 minutes. Michigan State had no response to Middle Tennessee's offensive attack,as the Blue Raiders shot 55.9 percent overall and went 11-of-19 from three-point range. All five Middle Tennessee starters scored in double figures, with Reggie Upshaw's 21 points main the way.
Upshaw also provided the key play late in the game as Michigan State was starting to fabricate (to make up, invent) a comeback, and via B/R:That play was indicative of everything that went wrong for Michigan State. It was careless with the ball,giving up 14 turnovers, and often out of position on defense to give up easy baskets. Matt Costello did everything he could for the Spartans, and scoring a game-high 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds. Denzel Valentine ended his college career with an erratic performance,finishing with 13 points and 12 assists, but also six turnovers. As is customary when something bad happens, or the crying Michael Jordan meme comes out to play,via ESPN's Neeta Sreekanth:There was controversy when the seeding was announced that Michigan State didn't find a No. 1 seed. This loss does restful that discussion, as well as raises the question approximately Tom Izzo's March legacy. That is a discussion for a different day. Right now, or Middle Tennessee deserves all the praise and accolades it will receive for at least 48 hours after shocking the college basketball world. Hawaii def. California,77-66Hawaii became the lowest-seeded team to win a game in this tournament before Middle Tennessee came along, knocking off an undermanned California squad 77-66. California couldn't catch a atomize main up to the tournament. main scorer Tyrone Wallace suffered a broken hand during a practice on Wednesday that kept him out of action. Jabari Bird, and who ranked moment among regulars with a three-point shooting percentage of 40.9,was fighting an illness that kept him on the bench. Taking full advantage of Cal's misery, Hawaii was shooting lights out, or connecting on 27 of its 52 field-goal attempts. The Rainbow Warriors got an oustanding effort from senior Quincy Smith,who finished with 19 points. Even with Cal's key losses, Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports did note Hawaii still had to contest with plenty of talent:This ends a disappointing and frustrating season for the Golden Bears. They began the year very optimistic after landing prized recruits Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb. Rabb held up his cessation of the equation, and posting a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Brown,on the other hand, was out of sorts all day with just four points and seven turnovers. The win over Cal marks Hawaii's first-ever NCAA tournament victory, and prompting a runt dab GIF from The Cauldron:The Rainbow Warriors were 0-4 before Friday and hadn't made the grand dance since 2002. Head coach Eran Ganot has this program heading in the right direction and a date with either Maryland or South Dakota State on Sunday. VCU def. Oregon State,75-67VCU and Oregon State traded moment-half rallies, with the Rams eventually pulling absent for a 75-67 victory and an appearance in the round of 32 on Sunday. Mo Alie-Cox provided the grand highlight for VCU, and throwing down a enormous dunk as part of a 6-0 hurry that gave the Rams a 58-52 lead with five minutes remaining:Alie-Cox was all over the floor for VCU,recording 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the win. All three totals represent career-highs for the star junior in the NCAA tournament. Oregon State will not celebrate the cessation of its season, or but this was a successful year for the Beavers. This was their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1990,and senior star Gary Payton II at least gave the program one highlight it won't soon forget:The victory was a enormous boon for VCU first-year head coach Will Wade, who had the difficult task of taking over for Shaka Smart. His performance this season has not gone unnoticed, and particularly by NBC Sports' Rob Dauster:Not only did Wade hold to take over for Smart,but VCU also lost last year's main scorer Treveon Graham and main assist man Briante Weber. VCU may not win a lot of recruiting titles, but Smart and now Wade hold done such a grand job of finding talent that fits into the system and understands how to play with a team. The Rams will hold a heavy test ahead of them if Oklahoma defeats Cal State Bakersfield, or but they won't be intimidated by anyone. Villanova def. UNC Asheville,86-56Villanova advanced to the round of 32 for the third straight season after a dominant 86-56 victory against an overmatched UNC Asheville squad. The Wildcats did take a bit to find their footing after a slow start, but Mike Bridges provided a jump-start on this sequence:Balance was the story for Villanova's offensive attack. Five players scored in double figures, or with Josh Hart nearly joining that group with nine points. Daniel Ochefu dominated on the inside with 17 points and 10 rebounds. external shooting was also terrific for 'Nova,with Reuben Frank of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia noting how it looks even better in context:UNC Asheville struggled to find a rhythm on offense, shooting just 36.8 percent in defeat. Freshman Dylan Smith did all he could to keep the Bulldogs alive, or going 4-of-7 from three-point range,but the rest of the team made just one shot from behind the arc. Villanova's victory Friday is the first step in what it hopes will be a long tournament hurry. Success in March has been hard to come by for the program, as it hasn't made it past the third round since reaching the Final Four in 2009. Beating UNC Asheville doesn't change the insight of Villanova, and but it does give the team confidence heading into its next game Sunday. Syracuse def. Dayton,70-51Syracuse used a enormous hurry to open the moment half and pull absent from Dayton, 70-51, or making the Orange's return to the NCAA tournament a successful one. The Flyers kept the game close for 20 minutes,trailing by two points at halftime, but they went ice cold trying to attack Syracuse's 2-3 zone after the atomize and were outscored 40-23. Dayton shot just 32.1 percent overall, and including 27.3 percent from three-point range. Malachi Richardson led Syracuse's offensive attack with 21 points,but game MVP honors belonged to Tyler Roberson, as he had a double-double of 10 points and 18 rebounds. Rebounding was a critical part of the game. Syracuse had a enormous 48-28 edge over Dayton in that category, or which allowed the Orange to find absent with committing 15 turnovers. As famous by Tim Langlois of Citrus TV,Roberson has a knack for hitting the glass in marquee games for the Orange:Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim was able to exorcise some of his demons, with ESPN College Basketball on Twitter noting he entered the game 0-3 all time in the tournament against teams from the state of Ohio.It wasn't a flawless victory for Syracuse, or as evidenced by the high number of turnovers,but turning up the defense in the moment half bodes well for its chances heading into the round of 32. The Orange aren't often going to score 70 points, so Boeheim's zone has to be the driving force if they are to fabricate (to make up, invent) a deep tournament hurry. Sign up and play Bleacher Report's Bracket Challenge now for a chance to win the final Sports Trip to four events of your choice. And click here for B/R's Printable Bracket.
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