College Basketball 🏀

Sweet 16 Day 1 Recap

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Texas loses heartbreaker on last-second tip-in from Purdue

With 11.9 seconds remaining, Texas tied the game at 77. Braden Smith drove for the go-ahead layup but missed, and teammate Trey Kaufman-Renn was there for the putback to give the Boilermakers a 79-77 victory. Longhorns guard Tramon Mark scored 29 points on 11-for-15 shooting and played most of the game injured, but it wasn’t enough.

9-seed Iowa is going to the Elite Eight 🔥

Down three with under a minute remaining, Nebraska allowed an easy layup on a full-court inbounds play after mistakenly having only four players on the court.

After the game, Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said, “I've never been in a situation like that. I know they always count to make sure there's not six," Hoiberg said. "I don't know the rule on that with four.”

Here’s the play:

Nebraska led by as many as 10 points, but Iowa rallied for a 77-71 victory, fueled by 38 points from its bench and 20 points off turnovers.

Illinois takes care of Houston

There was a lot of talk about Houston getting to play a regional in its own backyard, just minutes from campus.

And in the end, it simply didn’t matter - as Illinois dominated the Cougars from start to finish.

The Fighting Illini led by as many as 18 points and went on to win 65-55 in what you could call “a true road game” at the Toyota Center in Houston.

The Illini led by one early in the second half before going on a 17-0 run to take a 44-26 lead with about 12 minutes remaining.

The victory marks Illinois’ 11th Elite Eight appearance and its second in three seasons under Brad Underwood.

Illinois balanced the scoring attack, with David Mirkovic, Keaton Wagler and Andrej Stojakovic all finishing in double figures.

Freshman Kingston Flemings struggled, scoring 11 points on 4-for-10 shooting, while teammate Milos Uzan made just 2 of 11 shots.

Arizona DOMINATES Arkansas

Well folks, Arizona shot the lights out. 64% from the field & 63% from three. The Wildcats also shot 39 free throws, making 30 of them. The pair of star freshmen Koa Peat & Brayden Burries combined for 44 points. On the other side, freshman Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 28 points. The fact is all three of these standout freshmen will likely be top-10 picks this year. When asked what he’ll remember most about the season, here’s what Acuff Jr. said:

College Basketball 🏀

Officially official. Will Wade back to LSU

And he says he’ll try to follow the rules this time. 😅 For context, he was fired by LSU three years ago for alleged NCAA recruiting violations.

Quick Hitters:

  • UConn assistant Luke Murray hired as Boston College head coach

  • Rick Pitino says there's no such thing as a blue blood anymore - ARTICLE

  • Izzo gave Hurley advice on considering NBA jobs - ARTICLE

  • Texas Purdue finish POV from Circa Sportsbook

  • Friday’s Sweet Sixteen Slate

    • St John’s vs Duke 7:10 ET

    • Alabama vs Michigan 7:35 ET

    • Michigan State vs UConn 9:45 ET

    • Tennessee vs Iowa State 10:10 ET

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