The Rhode Island Rams are still dancing after beating the Creighton Bluejays, 84-72, in the first round. The Rams are a No. 11 seed, but they didn’t look anything like one, controlling most of the game against the Jays. It’s their first NCAA tourney win since 1998, and alum Lamar Odom was even on hand to watch it.
March Madness bracket update: Rhode Island beats Creighton. You should have picked them
Congrats if you did.
This is a relatively neutered Creighton squad, to be frank. After losing their best player (guard Maurice Watson) early on in the season, the Jays haven’t been the same after a red-hot 17-1 start.
The Rams are 12-2 in their last 14 games, including a squeaker loss against Dayton. They trailed for under a minute total in the A-10 tourney they won, and have won eight straight. In advanced metrics, the Rams rank No. 38 in KenPom rating (just a tick higher than their No. 44 true seed). If you’re looking for a team to get behind as a Cinderella ...
Get to know guard E.C. Matthews as the sentimental star of this team, recovering from a torn ACL last year to have a nice comeback campaign. Hassan Martin is great in the middle as an enforcer[.]
The first day of the NCAA tournament was pretty uneventful, but things have kinda started to get back to what we’re used to seeing, with at least a few games coming down to the wire during the day session.
Michigan and Oklahoma State swung back and forth throughout, and there was actually some late-game histrionics with USC and SMU.
We’ve got the full slate below, and here’s hoping for some Friday night fireworks.
Friday’s full schedule is below (all times Eastern)
You can stream every game in the tournament on NCAA.com, and the TV destinations for each game are listed alongside them on this schedule.
Michigan def. Oklahoma State, 92-91
Baylor def. New Mexico State, 91-73
Arkansas def. Seton Hall, 77-71
Oregon def. Iona, 93-77
Louisville def. Jacksonville State, 78-63
USC def SMU, 66-65
North Carolina def. Texas Southern: 103-64
Rhode Island def. Creighton: 84-72
Kansas vs. UC Davis: 6:50 p.m., TNT (Tulsa)
Dayton vs. Wichita State: 7:10 p.m., CBS (Indianapolis)
Duke vs. Troy: 7:20 p.m., TBS (Greenville)
Cincinnati vs. Kansas State: 7:27 p.m., truTV (Sacramento)
Miami vs. Michigan State: approx. 9:20 p.m., TNT (Tulsa)
Kentucky vs. Northern Kentucky: approx. 9:40 p.m., CBS (Indianapolis)
South Carolina vs. Marquette: approx. 9:50 p.m., TBS (Greenville)
UCLA vs. Kent State: approx. 9:57 p.m., truTV (Sacramento)
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