The Sweet Sixteen topped off on Thursday, March 23rd, showcasing the first set of games between teams looking to reach the Elite Eight.
The day began with No.7 Michigan State taking on No.3 Kansas State in a highly competitive game. Kansas State pulled away late with an outstanding performance from new NCAA single-game assist record holder senior Markquiz Nowell. Noweel racked up 19 assists during the game and still managed to score 20 points. “Today was a special one, man,” Nowell said.
Thursday ended with another great game as No.3 Gonzaga faced off against No.2 UCLA. The Bruins, who were title favorites entering this season, were short-handed without star guard junior Jaylen Clark and came up just short thanks to a near half-court shot with 7.2 seconds left from Gonzaga guard sophomore Julian Strawther.”It’s moments like that you can’t make up,” Strawther said.
As the second day of the Sweet Sixteen began, the last two one seeds were ready to prove themselves. Alabama and Houston faced off against No.5’s Miami and San Diego State.
Alabama opened the day off with a “dud”, scoring only 64 points and falling to the Aztecs. Shortly after Alabama’s unexpected loss, Houston looked to take down the underdog Hurricanes. Houston, who were now favorites to win the National Championship, started the game off slow, barely keeping up with the Canes. When halftime hit, the Cougars were down six and their lead quickly slipped away. Finally, with excellent closing defense from Miami, the Cougars fell and for the first time in NCAA history, the Elite Eight would not contain any one seeds.
As the weekend began eight teams remained: Florida Atlantic(FAU), Kansas State, Uconn, Gonzaga, Creighton, San Diego State, Miami, and Texas. No.9 FAU, the “Cinderellas” of the tournament, played No.3 Kansas State. Kansas State came into the game heavily favored with no player hotter than senior Markquis Nowell. Nowell delivered again with another double-double, scoring a game-high 30 points and assisting his teammates 12 times. “ I gave my heart and soul to this university, to this team,” Nowell said.
Nowell was named the most outstanding player in the region, but FAU turned out to be the better team. FAU battled down to the wire until eventually, senior guard Michael Forests sealed the game at the free throw line. “ They can say whatever they want [about us], but we’ve constantly proven people wrong all season,” FAU guard Bryan Greenlee said.
Later that day, the second game of the Elite Eight tipped off between No.3 Gonzaga and No.4 Uconn. Uconn has dominated this tournament, outsourcing their opponents by the highest margin among teams remaining in the tournament. The Bulldogs came into the game hot, looking to knock off the red-hot Huskies. However, the Huskies had other plans, outshooting the Bulldogs by 21 points in the second half, pushing them to an 18-point win and a trip to the Final Four for the first time in nine years. “Uconn was just terrific tonight, and we didn’t have any answers,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.
As Sunday began, No.5 San Diego State took on No.6 Creighton in an unexpected Elite Eight matchup. The game was back and forth until eventually, the Aztecs muscled through with a last-second game-winning free throw from sophomore guard Darrion Trammell.
“I feel like I’ve shot probably a thousand free throws in the last week, and then today, I feel like I put in the work to be able to step up and have confidence that I’m going to make it,” said Trammell.
To close the weekend and set our Final Four athletics powerhouses, Miami and Texas faced off. No.2 Texas had quickly become title favorites after the Alabama and Houston losses. After their upset against Houston, No.5 Miami came into the game ready to ruin more brackets. The Canes hung with the Longhorns in the first half but were slowly falling out of the game. The Hurricanes were down twelve with just less than twelve minutes left when ACC player of the year junior Isaha Wong caught fire after only having two points in the first half. Wong and Miami climbed back into the game and beat the Longhorns in spectacular fashion.
“ We came together. We stuck together. We showed really good perseverance and the will-the will to just want to get there,” Miami guard Jordan Miller said.
The Final Four is set, and for the first time, no one or two seeds remain. Uconn are now tournament favorites and Cinderella FAU are looking to make history and become the first nine-seed to make a national championship.