Photo by: Omer Khan
A ripped jersey and superstar appearance came with day two of the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas. And no, this is no April Fools joke. The remaining eight teams of the tournament played in the First Round. Who will be returning to MGM Grand Garden Arena for the quarterfinals on Thursday?
Cincinnati Bearcats 83 – DePaul Blue Demons 61
Cincinnati (Big 12, 19-15, 7-13) is no newbie when it comes to postseason games. This was the team’s 47th postseason appearance in program history. On the other hand, the Blue Demons (Big East, 14-20, 4-16) made their first postseason appearance since the 2018-2019 season.
Before we even talk about the game, shoutout to The Wolf of Wall Street star and DePaul alumnus PJ Byrne for making an appearance!
The Bearcats now lead DePaul 36-15 in the all-time series. Cincinnati brought out a strong defense and danced around the Blue Demons while on offense. The men’s defense became a little too handsy when DePaul forward NJ Benson’s jersey got ripped, though. Cincinnati’s biggest lead was 27 points in the second half with a score of 74-47. The Bearcats had a 58.3 3FG% in the second half, making seven from behind the arc.
Dillon Mitchell led Cincinnati with 15 points and seven rebounds. The Bearcats held DePaul to six assists and forced 19 turnovers. CJ Gunn led the Blue Demons for the eighth time this season with 16 points and five rebounds.
UCF Knights 76 – Oregon State Beavers 75
East Coast met West Coast. Big 12 met Pac 12. The UCF Knights entered the game with a 17-16 overall and 7-13 conference record. The Oregon State Beavers showed up with a 20-12 overall and 10-8 conference record to their name.
The score was tight for the majority of the first half, with nine lead changes and tied seven times. The Knights were hot behind the arc, making eight three-pointers. Nils Machowski made three of the eight. Oregon State was able to keep a close score with a FT% of 100.
UCF held the lead for the first 10:37 minutes in the second half until a 2+ and 1:30 minute scoring drought and multiple free throws led the Beavers to tie the game. The Knights were struggling to connect on their layups, which kept OSU within just 2-5 points of them. In the last minute of the game, Moustapha Thiam made a free throw to put the Knights in the lead and win the game.
Each team had four players in double-digit scoring. The game-changing difference? UCF’s 38.5% 3FG% compared to OSU’s 21.1%.
Villanova Wildcats 85 – Colorado Buffaloes 64
The University of Colorado (14-21, 3-17) of the Big 12 Conference fell to Villanova University (20-14, 11-9) of the Big East Conference. Back in 1999 was the first time the teams met. With Villanova’s victory, the all-time series is tied at 1-1.
Consistency was key for the Wildcats in the first half. Villanova shot 52.8% from the field and made five three-pointers. Three of those baskets from behind the arc put the Wildcats in a big lead during Colorado’s almost three-minute scoring drought. Eric Dixon is now Villanova’s All-Time Leading Scorer, as he reached 2,245 career points in the first half.
In the second half, the buffaloes had yet another scoring drought for four minutes, and Villanova went on a 10-0 run. The Wildcats held the lead for 37:06, with their largest lead being 27 points. Wooga Poplar led the team with 24 points, and Dixon was right behind with 22. For the Buffaloes, Elijah Malone led the team with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
USC Trojans 89- Tulane Green Wave 60
The American Athletic Conference made an appearance in the tournament as the Tulane Green Waves (19-14, 12-6) faced the Big Ten USC Trojans (16-17, 7-13).
The first half started as a close game but slowed down when multiple fouls, turnovers and steals with missed shots led to a halt in scoring for each team. The Trojans extended their lead to double digits during a Tulane scoring drought of three minutes and another of four minutes.
The game cleaned up in the second half with less turnovers. The Trojans were strong on offense, finishing the game shooting 63.6% from the field, 50% from behind the arc and 58.8% at the charity stripe. Rashaun Agee led the game with 27 points. The Green Waves had four players in double digits.
Quarterfinal Games on April 2:
Butler vs. Boise State @ 4pm PT
Nebraska vs. Georgetown @ 6:30pm PT
Quarterfinal Games on April 3:
Cincinnati vs. UCF @ 4pm PT
Villanova vs. USC @ 6:30pm PT
