Louisville, Georgetown cruise; 'Nova pulls 5-12 upset, UConn shocked by San Diego

The term March Madness lived up to it’s billing for a couple of Big East teams. In the night cap, No.12 Villanova dumped the fifth-seed Clemson 75-69 behind super sophomore Scottie Reynolds, who led all scorers with 21 points, and freshman Corey Fisher, who added 17. Arguably, one of the best teams all season playing come-from-behind basketball, this game was no different for Villanova, who trailed 36-18 at one point in the first half and then proceeded to cut Clemson’s lead to just one in the second half, 50-49, behind a 32-13 run. Villanova withstood a late Clemson push by sinking 9 of their final 10 free throws in the final 90 seconds of play. Villanova was the third double-digit seed to advance to the second round of the tournament in the Midwest Region on Friday: No.13 Siena defeated No.4 Vanderbilt and No.10 Davidson knocked off No.7 Gonzaga earlier in the day. Villanova will play Siena in the second round on Sunday afternoon.

First UConn lost point guard A.J. Price, and then the Huskies went on to lose the game. De’Jon Jackson hit the game-winning jumper with 1.2 seconds left in overtime to help the No.14 seeded Toreros of San Diego stun fourth-seeded UConn 70-69 in the opening round of the tournament on Friday in the West Region. Gyno Pomare and Brandon Johnson helped San Diego get their first ever tournament victory in four trips to the big dance, by scoring 22 and 18 points respectively. Johnson also added five boards, four assists and three steals to go along with his 18 points, but with both players fouling out in the overtime session, UConn couldn’t take advantage. Jeff Adrien led UConn with 18 points and 12 rebounds, but the Huskies were never able to get a timely bucket or a crucial defensive stop when needed. Price injured his left knee with nine and a half minutes to go in the first half. San Diego took full advantage, jumping all over UConn, taking an 11-point lead. UConn was without their offensive maestro and top playmaker, and for the first time under head coach Jim Calhoun, and the first time since 1979, UConn was eliminated in the first round.

While high-seeded UConn struggled and stumbled, fellow high-seeds Georgetown and Louisville romped. No.2 Georgetown blasted UMBC 66-47 in their first round matchup in the Midwest Regional. Roy Hibbert led the Hoyas with 13 points and seven rounds, and Georgetown’s defense limited UMBC to just 32 percent shooting from the field. No.2 Georgetown will face No.10 Davidson on Sunday afternoon.

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Meanwhile, in the East Regional, No.3 Louisville easily advanced to the second round, thrashing 14-seeded Boise St 79-61. Earl Clark led three Louisville scorers in double figures with 15, and Terrence Williams filled the stat sheet with nine points, eight boards, and six assists. The Cardinals shot 56 percent from the field, and drained 12 3-pointers to bury Boise St. Louisville faces sixth-seed Oklahoma on Sunday in the second round.

by Frank Minniti
BigEast-fans.com Director of Content

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