March Madness: Week Three
The Sweet 16 and Elite 8 rounds have been finished. Now what is left are the semi-finals and the finals. These games will be held at the Cesar Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
There were some big losses during the Sweet 16 and Elite 8. During the Sweet 16 games Arkansas beat Gonzaga with a final score of 74-68, Houston beat Arizona with a final score of 72-60, and North Carolina beat UCLA with a final score of 73-66.
Another loss was Michigan v.s Villanova. Michigan lost 63-55. #1 Hunter Dickinson was the top shooter for Michigan with 15 points. Villanova’s top shooter was Jermaine Samuels with a total of 22 points.
A big loss during the Sweet 16 was Texas Tech v.s Duke. It was a close game but Duke took the win, 78-73. 22 of Duke’s points were made by #5 Paolo Banchero. #11, Bryson Williams got 21 points for Texas Tech.
Iowa State and Miami (FL) played against each other in the Sweet 16. The final score was 70-56. Miami (FL) took the win easily. Miami’s top scorer was Kameron McGusty with 27 points. Iowa State had Tyrese Hunter and Gabe Kalscheur with 13 points each.
During the Elite 8 games, Saint Peter’s played North Carolina. Saint Peter’s didn’t play their best and ended up losing to North Carolina with a final score of 69-49.
During the Elite 8 games, Houston and Villanova faced each other. Both teams did not play their best and it was a very low-scoring game. Villanova was leading the game against Houston with a score of 27-20 at the end of the 1st half. In the last half, Villanova took the lead at the end of the game, winning with a final score of 50-44. The top scorer for Villanova was #4 Taze Moore with 15 points. Houston’s top scorer was #23 Jermaine Samuels with a total of 16 points.
During the final minutes of the Houston v.s. Villanova game. Villanova lost one of their best guard players, Junior Justin Moore to an Achilles tear. Now, since Moore is out, Senior Caleb Daniels will be taking his spot in the final four game.
Arkansas and Duke played on Saturday, March 26. Duke had control throughout most of the game and beat Arkansas 78 to 69. #21 Aj Griffin was leading the team with 16 points. Arkansas was led by #10 Jaylin Williams with 19 points.
Duke will be advancing to the final four where they will play North Carolina (UNC). Duke and North Carolina have one of the biggest rivalries in men’s basketball. Currently, Duke is having the better season having won 19 conference tournaments compared to North Carolina who have won 17. Duke has won the most conference tournaments of any team this year.
Saint Peter’s won the Sweet 16 game against Purdue with a final score of 67-64. Saint Peter’s was the first number 15 seed to make it to the Elite 8. They lost their Elite 8 game to North Carolina with a final score of 69-49.
There is only one number one seed advancing to the final four, Kansas. In the Sweet 16 round, Kansas beat Providence with a final score of 66-61 and in the Elite 8 game, Kansas beat Miami (FL) with a final score of 76-50. Kansas will be playing Villanova and Duke will be playing North Carolina.
Duke and North Carolina have one of the biggest rivalries in men’s college basketball. They will be facing each other in the Final Four. This season is the last season for Duke’s coach, Coach K. Coach K is the coach with the most number of times going to the final four with a total amount of 13 times.
These last two games are valuable games leading up to deciding who will be the champion of the Men’s 2022 NCAA Tournament. Two teams will be left in the Final Four and two will advance to the Finals.