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NCAA tournament live updates, scores, upset watch and more

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March 19, 2016

The NCAA tournament tips off Day 2 on Friday. Follow all the action with live updates from across the country with The Washington Post’s real-time chronicle of March Madness.

The bracket comes to life below.

LIVE SCORES FOR THE 2016 NCAA TOURNAMENT

Cincinnati's last-second dunk called off and St. Joseph's advances
  • Jake Russell
  • ·

With 7.3 seconds remaining, Baltimore native Isaiah Miles drained a three-pointer to put No. 8 seed St. Joseph’s up by two points over No. 9 seed Cincinnati.

Then with a second left, Cincy’s Octavius Ellis had a choice to make as he recovered a loose ball under the basket: lay the ball off the glass or dunk it. In a split-second decision, he chose the latter. It cost Ellis and his Bearcats team the chance to move on to the Round of 32. After reviewing the play, refs called off the dunk, sending No. 8 seed St. Joseph’s to face No. 1 seed Oregon on Sunday at 9:40 p.m.

This is how things were going just minutes before the tension built in the game’s final moments.

After the game, the St. Joe’s mascot enacted what may be the school’s second-most defining moment of the night.

NCAA Tournament history was made Friday
  • Jake Russell
  • ·

Thanks to upset victories from Hawaii (13-seed), Stephen F. Austin (14-seed) and Middle Tennessee State (15-seed), Friday marks the first time in NCAA Tournament history that a 13, 14 and 15 seed all won on the same day.

After Thursday’s action, other low seeds remaining include 11-seeds Wichita State, Northern Iowa and Gonzaga, and 12-seeds Yale and Arkansas-Little Rock. The Panthers’ win over Texas added another bit of history to the proceedings.

Northern Iowa shocks Texas on a half-court buzzer-beater
  • Jeremy Gottlieb
  • ·

The Madness came out in a major way on Friday night in Oklahoma City thanks to Northern Iowa forward Paul Jesperson.

That’s right, a half court heave propelled the West region’s No. 11 seed to an upset win over Texas, which had tied the score with three seconds remaining on a runner by leading scorer Isaiah Taylor. Jesperson’s fling gave the Panthers their second buzzer-beater win this month, and marked both the sixth double-digit-seeded winner of the day and the 10th overall, the most ever in a first round.

As is its wont, Twitter went nuts.

A fine ending to a wild day of March Madness. Let’s hope Saturday brings it like Friday just did.

Precision pays off for Notre Dame
  • Tim Bontemps
  • ·

NEW YORK — Michigan committed less half as many turnovers as Notre Dame Friday night, and the Wolverines shot 20 more times than the Fighting Irish. But No. 6 Notre Dame managed to come away with a 70-63 win in this East Region clash between the two longtime rivals thanks to far superior shooting.

Following up a game between Stephen F. Austin and West Virginia that saw both teams shoot 31 percent, the way Notre Dame played looked like a different sport. The Fighting Irish finished the game a robust 25-for-43 from the field (58.1 percent) and 8 for 15 from three-point range, which allowed Notre Dame to make up for having 16 turnovers, compared to seven for Michigan.

[Stephen F. Austin stuns West Virginia by beating Mountaineers at their own game]

If Notre Dame can have a similar shooting performance against Stephen F. Austin Sunday afternoon, it could be tough for the Lumberjacks — who proved against West Virginia that shooting isn’t exactly their forte — to keep up with them.

That being said, if Notre Dame committed 16 turnovers against the Wolverines, how many times will they give the ball away against Stephen F. Austin, which led the nation in turnovers created at 18.6 per game? Those two stats — Notre Dame’s shooting percentage and turnover number — could prove to be the deciding factors in Sunday’s game.

Xavier tops Weber State, 71-53, will face Wisconsin
  • Jake Russell
  • ·

Led by James Farr’s 18 points and 15 rebounds off the bench, No. 2 seed Xavier was able to take care of Weber State, 71-53 to advance to the Round of 32.

The Musketeers bench put up 30 points, just eight less than the Wildcats’s starting five.

Xavier will face Wisconsin Sunday at 8:40 p.m. on TNT. No word yet on what Bill Murray’s role will be.

Terps to tip off with Hawaii at 7:10 ET Sunday night
  • Jeremy Gottlieb
  • ·

Maryland’s NCAA tournament ride continues Sunday evening out in Spokane, when it will meet the West region’s 13-seed, the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

The Terps got past No. 12 South Dakota State by a 79-74 count in their first round game Friday afternoon while Hawaii upset No. 4 Cal, 79-66.

Another double-digit seed in position for an upset with Northern Iowa leading Texas at the half
  • Jeremy Gottlieb
  • ·

One more double-digit seed looks primed to pull an upset, with Northern Iowa, No. 11 in the West region, up 44-36 on No. 6 Texas at halftime. The Panthers (22-12) are getting it done via a balanced scoring attack, with four players registering eight or more points led by junior guard Jeremy Morgan’s 12. Meanwhile, Texas junior guard Isaiah Taylor leads his team with 16 points but only one other Longhorn has at least seven.

Former VCU head coach Shaka Smart is making his NCAA tournament debut at the Texas helm and has a bit of a hill to climb in order to avoid a third straight season of not making it past the first weekend. Smart’s Rams followed up their 2011 Final Four berth with consecutive Sweet 16 trips but lost in the first round in each of the last two years.

The Longhorns trailed by as many as 12 in the first half, and that doesn’t bode terribly well for their chances to come back and win.

Meanwhile, the Missouri Valley Conference champs shot a blistering 59 percent in the first half, including 5 of 9 from long range. The Panthers went five years between tournament berths after a surprise run to the Sweet 16 in 2010 and were knocked out in the second round in their return to the Big Dance last season.

Six-seeds appear cursed this year
  • Matthew Giles
  • ·

Neil Greenberg wrote earlier this week that the six seed might be the seed to target for upsets this March Madness, and after the first round games, it looks like those seeds are indeed particularly vulnerable this year.

Arizona and Seton Hall were ousted Thursday night (by Wichita State and Gonzaga, respectively), and at halftime, both Texas (to Northern Iowa) and Notre Dame (versus Michigan) are losing by a combined 20 points.

The common axiom is beware the 12s and the 14s, but perhaps the 11s have become the most underseeded squads going forward.

Michigan regains its long-range touch
  • Matthew Giles
  • ·

Since the start of March, No. 11 Michigan, a team that attempts 45 percent of its field goals from beyond the arc, converted just 28 percent from deep. Surprisingly, the Wolverines went 3-2 during that time span, including a first four game against No. 11 Vanderbilt on Wednesday night.

Against six-seed Notre Dame, coach Mike Brey elected to play a 2-3 zone versus U-M, perhaps thinking the slump would continue at the Barclays Center (which is unofficially the Breslin Center East — the Michigan alumni fanbase is strong in the tri-state area). Fortunately for John Beilein and his staff, Michigan erupted from deep against the open gaps of that zone, making seven three-point field goals (or 50 percent from deep).

If the Irish emerge from halftime and switch to man, Michigan might try to slip ball screens to manufacture the same ball movement the team enjoyed during the initial 20 minutes.

Matt Farrell starts for Notre Dame, freaks out Irish fanbase
  • Matthew Giles
  • ·

Matt Farrell, a 6-foot sophomore guard for Notre Dame, has played in double digit minutes just three times since the beginning of the new year, so when it was revealed that Farrell would replace Bonzie Colson in the six-seed Irish’s starting lineup versus No. 11 Michigan, the Irish faithful naturally began to melt down.

Was Bonzie hurt? Had something happened? Was the team’s chemistry in shambles?

Mike Brey had said earlier this week that he wanted to tinker with his lineups, and this shift was part of that strategy. Brey thought another ball-handler out on the floor would be beneficial versus the Wolverines, and Farrell, who played a combined 31 minutes against North Carolina State and North Carolina in the ACC tournament, had been efficient both in practice and in his limited playing time.

His start was brief though — Farrell was back on the bench after the first media timeout, but his continued emergence in the Irish’s depth chart could be intriguing as the Irish potentially continue through March Madness.

Stephen F. Austin stuns West Virginia by beating Mountaineers at their own game
  • Tim Bontemps
  • ·

NEW YORK — The West Virginia Mountaineers has become a perennial powerhouse under Bob Huggins by utilizing a full court pressing defense that smothers their opponents into submission.

Friday night, the Mountaineers got beaten at their own game.

Stephen F. Austin, the No. 14 seed in the East Region, came away with a stunning 70-56 victory over the third-seeded Mountaineers Friday night in Barclays Center, joining Hawaii and Middle Tennessee State in setting brackets on fire across the country on this second day of the NCAA Tournament.

Holy Cross's Cinderella story over after blowout loss to Oregon
  • Jeremy Gottlieb
  • ·

The magical ride for Holy Cross came to a screeching end at the NCAA tournament Friday night. The West region’s 16th seed was vaporized by 1-seed Oregon to the tune of a 91-52 final score. The Ducks, who doubled up the Crusaders at times in the second half, had no trouble at all in dispatching the upstart Patriot League champs from Worcester, Mass., winners of their first tournament game in 63 years with a First Four victory over Southern on Wednesday.

Robert Champion, who led the way for the Cross against Southern, managed a team-high 22 points in the defeat. But the Crusaders, who were 10-19 in the regular season and 0-9 on the road in conference play, looked like they barely belonged on the same court as the Pac-12 titleists. Oregon finished with four players in double figures, led by senior forward Chris Boucher’s 20. The Ducks led by 18 at the half and scored a whopping 48 points after the break to easily cinch the win.

Next up for the top seed in the West is the winner of No. 8 St. Joseph’s and No. 9 Cincinnati on Sunday in Spokane. And even though the Cross went down so hard, they still earned props from one celebrity alum and fan.

Stephen F. Austin's free throw dominance
  • Matthew Giles
  • ·

There were 53 fouls called in the first-round game between No. 14 Stephen F. Austin and three-seed West Virginia, an 70-56 upset for the Southland conference program, which has now gone 89-13 in the past three seasons.

This game will be known for Thomas Walkup’s beard, the unusual Lumberjack mascot, and the amount of free throws shot by both squads. There were 53 fouls called over the course of 40 minutes, and the main beneficiary was Walkup, a 6-foot-5 senior guard/forward/center who attempted a whopping 20 free throws.

He made 19 of those attempts, which accounted for 27.1 percent of the team’s points. At one point, SFA’s offense consisted of Walkup calmly dribbling the ball and then driving the basket and putting the onus on the referees. At Barclays Center Friday night, it helped Stephen F. Austin advance to the second round.

Texas A&M rolls against Green Bay in first NCAA tournament win since 2010
  • Jake Russell
  • ·

In their first tournament game since 2011, the Texas A&M Aggies took care of the Green Bay Phoenix, 92-65, which counts as its largest tourney win in program history.

With fans waiting outside during the national anthem, the game started off with an odd tenor, but the Aggies ultimately prevailed, advancing to play the winner of Texas-Northern Iowa. They’re now one win away from the Sweet 16, which would match their best finish in program history.

Wisconsin scored fewer points in win than its football team did twice last season
  • Jeremy Gottlieb
  • ·

It’s tough to break this to fans of the Wisconsin Badgers so soon after their boys advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament with a win over Pittsburgh. But it has to be done.

The Badgers beat the Panthers, 47-43. That’s a pretty low-scoring game. Especially for the winners. So low-scoring, in fact, that this is an unfortunate fact.

You read that right. The Badgers went 10-3 on the gridiron this past season, and two of their wins were 58-0 over Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 12, and 48-10 over Rutgers on Halloween. Of course, a win is a win. But the combined 90 points scored by Wisconsin and Pitt, the same amount scored by Middle Tennessee State in its win over Michigan State on the same floor a couple hours earlier, did allow for an interesting theory or two, courtesy of the internet.

Probably not going to make either idea stick. But that’s what a game like this one will do to the stray onlooker.

Wisconsin survives Pittsburgh despite not scoring 50 points
  • Jake Russell
  • ·

Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ attempts to rebound the ball against Pittsburgh’s Michael Young in the first half. (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

It wasn’t pretty but the Wisconsin Badgers advanced to the Round of 32 by surviving a low-scoring affair with the Pittsburgh Panthers, 47-46. The Badgers will face the winner of Xavier-Weber State, who will face off at 9:20 p.m. on TNT.

Wisconsin is the first team since 2003 to win an NCAA tournament game when scoring less than 50 points, according to ESPN. Understandingly, tournament viewers weren’t exactly thrilled … well, just about anything that had to do with this game.

At least this guy (red-shirt freshman Ethan Happ) was happy:

Texas A&M handling Green Bay's pace just fine
  • Matthew Giles
  • ·

No other Division 1 team underwent as drastic a change in style of play as No. 14 Green Bay, which used 65.4 possessions per game under former coach Brian Wardle and slammed on the gas pedal to 76.6 possessions with new Coach Linc Darner on the sidelines.

Texas A&M plays much more methodically, and one interesting aspect of this first-round matchup was whether the Aggies would attempt to slow the game down and force the Phoenix to play at the lower seed’s pace or whether Texas A&M would adapt.

After the first half, which the Aggies lead 41-33, they are more than comfortable with and have welcomed Green Bay’s frantic gameplan: Billy Kennedy’s squad has used 40.6 possessions, and while the team is only scoring 1.00 points per possession, the group is limiting Green Bay to a stingy 0.82 PPP.

Terps open as seven-point favorites against Hawaii
  • Jeremy Gottlieb
  • ·

Fresh off of a 79-74 first-round win over South Dakota State, Maryland has been installed as an early favorite for its next game, Sunday against 13-seed Hawaii.

The Rainbow Warriors upset No. 4 Cal, 77-64, earlier Friday out in Spokane. The tip time has yet to be announced.

Terps dodge collapse vs. Jackrabbits, advance to face Hawaii
  • David Larimer
  • ·
Rasheed Sulaimon

Rasheed Sulaimon chases down his decisive steal in the final seconds. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)

Maryland let an 18-point lead dwindle to two, but Rasheed Sulaimon made up for a costly three-point foul with a steal and dunk to clinch the Terps’ 79-74 escape. Read Roman Stubbs’s game story here.

The Terps will next face No. 13 seed Hawaii, which upset short-handed California. Read how the Rainbow Warriors did it here.

Clide Geffrard an X-factor to weathering West Virginia
  • Matthew Giles
  • ·

Everyone knows about Thomas Walkup and the Lumberjack, Stephen F. Austin’s (slightly terrifying) mascot, but Clide Geffrard could be poised to become a household name outside of Nacogdoches, Tex.

The 6-foot-5 senior wing played in SFA’s first round loss to Utah in 2015, but according to Underwood, who I spoke with in late February, Geffrard was a shell of himself — he had fractured his foot in the Southland conference tournament.

In his final season, Geffrard made more than 60 percent of his twos, 34.9 percent of his threes, and is the team’s “most talented guy, in sheer athleticism,” said Underwood.

“Clide becomes a hard matchup for opposing teams,” said Underwood, noting his perimeter shooting and driving ability. Against four-seed West Virginia, the wing has 10 points and has already made one three-point field goal.

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