However with Twelfth-seeded Colorado State’s fearless begin towards fourth-seeded Maryland, the potential of a double-digit mid-major reaching the Candy 16 started to really feel considerably actual. To that time, the one double-digit seed to achieve this yr’s second weekend was No. 10 Arkansas, although the Razorbacks had begun the season ranked Sixteenth within the AP Ballot after hiring Corridor-of-Fame head coach John Calipari from Kentucky, undercutting a number of the heat and fuzziness of a low seed making an NCAA Match run. The Rams, nevertheless, definitely match the outline of a possible Cinderella as champions of the Mountain West.
And for the higher a part of 40 minutes on Sunday night — for 39 minutes and 57 seconds, to be extra exact — Colorado State was unquestionably the higher workforce. Head coach Niko Medved’s group had constructed a 12-point benefit within the first half on crisp 50% capturing and a plus-three rebounding margin. The Rams remained in entrance for greater than 31 minutes of sport time total earlier than the Terrapins’ shooters lastly got here to life. Even when Maryland took a four-point lead with 2:30 remaining after 4 fast factors from Julian Reese, who completed with 15 factors and 11 rebounds, Colorado State clawed again on a panoramic 3-pointer from Jalen Lake with :06 remaining, the play fantastically drawn up by Medved in a timeout. His workforce led, 71-70.
However Maryland head coach Kevin Willard drew up a high-quality play of his personal, albeit a easy one, that obtained the ball to star middle Derik Queen, a real freshman and presumptive first-round choose on this yr’s NBA Draft. Queen caught the in-bounds go close to the highest of the important thing and dribbled twice to his left towards Colorado State ahead Ethan Morton, a switch from Purdue. Two lengthy strides introduced Queen inside 10 or 12 ft of the ring, at which level he pale away and delicately kissed a jumper off the glass as the ultimate buzzer sounded. He clenched his fists and flexed whereas the Terrapins sprinted off the bench to hitch him. Maryland 72, Colorado State 71.
Similar to that, a dulling iteration of the NCAA Match roared to life.
Florida survives as UConn’s pursuit of three-peat ends
The back-to-back nationwide championship runs that had been plagued by one blowout victory after one other gave option to this: A second-round NCAA Match matchup that nearly nobody anticipated Connecticut and Dan Hurley to win. Not towards Florida, arguably the most well liked workforce within the nation after it gained the SEC Match final week. Not after such a laborious common season wherein a roster that’s far much less proficient, far much less deep than what UConn put forth the final two years, had its quite a few shortcomings uncovered. Not after the Huskies barely knocked off ninth-seeded Oklahoma within the first spherical whereas the Gators racked up 95 factors towards Sixteenth-seeded Norfolk State.
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