The thrilling first full day of the NCAA Tournament continued on Thursday evening as two games came down to the wire, with their defining plays happening just moments apart.
2015 NCAA bracket results: North Carolina holds off Harvard, Cincinnati tops Purdue in overtime
The evening session on Thursday started exactly how the afternoon games ended: in exciting fashion.
Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
First in Jacksonville, Wesley Saunders missed what would have been a game-winning three for Harvard, giving North Carolina a 67-65 victory.
But for a moment, it looked like Harvard was about to advance in the tournament for the third consecutive year. The Crimson had erased a double-digit deficit and taken the lead on a four-point play from Siyani Chambers with 1:15 to go.
The momentum was on Harvard’s side and North Carolina had scored just one field goal over the previous six minutes. But Justin Jackson answered with a quick four points, including a dunk with 27 seconds left to put the Tar Heels back ahead, setting up the final shot for Harvard
And just moments after Saunders missed, Cincinnati’s Troy Caupain made a layup at the buzzer to send the Bearcats into overtime against Purdue. The Bearcats had trailed by seven with 48 seconds remaining, but came storming back thanks to a stretch of seven seconds in which they scored six points.
The Bearcats held Purdue to just two points over the final 3:49 of the extra session to seal the 66-65 win.
Meanwhile in Portland, the No. 5 Utah Utes barely avoided the upset bug themselves with a 57-50 win over No. 12 Stephen F. Austin. Though the Utes led for most of the game, the Lumberjacks came storming back in the second half, as they held Utah without a field goal for almost seven minutes late. Despite the Lumberjacks' own cold shooting, they were able to pull within two with just 41 seconds left, when Utah was able to put the game away at the foul line.
Jakob Poeltl was a perfect 7-7 from the field, scoring 18 points and grabbing eight rebounds to lead Utah.
Here’s a look at where the bracket stands as we head into the late-night slate:
See More:
