Three nailbiters and a blowout. That’s an incredible thriller-to-dud ratio for the first day of Sweet Sixteen madness, with only the Kansas Jayhawks wiping away the Purdue Boilermakers 98-66 giving us time to relax.
NCAA Thursday scores: No. 11 Xavier shocks Arizona, Gonzaga barely survives
An 11th seed is moving on, while two more No. 1 seeds prevail.
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The Gonzaga Bulldogs and the West Virginia Mountaineers traded the lead back and forth throughout the game, with the game being tied at 55 with 2:26 left after an unnecessarily long review. West Virginia, seeking an upset of the No. 1 seed in the West region, proceeded to surge ahead with a three from Jevon Carter — which turned out to be the Mountaineers’ final points.
Gonzaga nailed a couple free throws, and then Jordan Matthews — after sitting on the bench for four minutes with foul trouble — came in to nail what might be the ballsiest three we’ve seen in the tournament so far.
On the game’s final possession, WVU’s Carter missed two threes and couldn’t even get a shot off on a third attempt despite his team’s offensive rebounds.
In the Oregon Ducks vs. Michigan Wolverines, the Ducks survived another upset bid thanks to a Tyler Dorsey layup with just over a minute left. They clung to that lead — plus two missed Michigan jumpers — to take the win on Thursday.
Finally, with the Arizona Wildcats facing off against the Xavier Musketeers, Alonzo Trier couldn’t deliver a game-winner for the Wildcats despite helping carry the team to this point. Xavier, a No. 11 seed, moves on as the lowest seed that will be in the Elite Eight this tournament.
For a full, updated bracket of the tourney so far, check this out here.
Thursday’s scores
(3) Oregon 69, (7) Michigan 68
(1) Gonzaga 61, (4) West Virginia 58
(1) Kansas 98, (4) Purdue 66
(2) Arizona 71, (11) Xavier 73
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