Latest Games:
#11 Ohio State (2007) 70, #6 Michigan (1989) 60
Glen Rice (27 points, 9 rebounds) dominated to lead Michigan to a 44-39 lead with 15:45 (26 possessions) left in the Final of 32 2nd round games.
However Ohio State's inside-outside super combo then took over. Greg Oden (8 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks) blocked shots on consecutive trips shortly after coming in the game for the final 28 possessions. With 7:54 (13 possessions) to go, Mike Conley strung together four straight possessions by drawing the 4th and 5th fouls to take Sean Higgins out of the game while scoring on both fouls, and started the other two possessions with steals to start fastbreaks the left the Buckeyes in control 59-50 en route to the 70-60 win. OSU advances to play Draymond Green's 2009 Michigan State team as two of the top 32 greatest teams of all time left.
#7 Wisconsin (2015) 71, #10 Illinois (2005) 60
Wisconsin's defense that shut down a team some thought was the best in history - Kentucky 2015 - also out the clamps on another great Big Ten National runner up. The great defense led to many missed shots and near double-doubles from the two 7 footers, as Frank Kamisky was one rebound short at 16 points and 9 rebounds while Sam Dekker had 15 points and 16 rebounds.
The backcourt of Deron Williams and Luther Head kept the Illini close most of the way. The Badgers next face Magic Johnson and the 1979 Michigan State team in the third round of the Midwest.
#3 Virginia (2019) 68, #14 Georgia Tech (2004) 64
UVa's defense was as dominant as expected to lead 61-47 with 6:41 to play, and the Jarrett Jack set a game record for steals with 8 by snagging 7 in those final minutes and turning them into fast breaks to pull Georgia Tech to within 65-62 with 1:25 to play.
De'Andre Hunter then hit a 3-pointer to put the game away and send UVa on to play Patrick Ewing who made 3 national title games and his 1984 team that win the title.
#14 Michigan St. (2009) 79, #3 Ohio St. (1960) 78
Perhaps two of the toughest backups to ever face off as a freshman Draymond Green for Michigan State battled the sophomore General Bobby Knight. Knight scored 7 off the bench but the Buckeyes were stunned for one reason - they couldn't seem to get the ball to Jerry Lucas (despite 8-sided rolls of 5, 6 or 8 all going to him.
Lucas finally scored 10 straight Ohio State points to finish with 22 points and 10 rebounds but John Havlicek was held to 7 and Michigan State pulled off the upset to advance to face the Michigan 1989 vs. Ohio State 2007 winner.
#4 Villanova (2018) 77, #20 West Virginia (2010) 70
West Virginia started as they did in the upset of Dwyane Wade's Marquette, dominating the offensive glass to exploit their opponent's weakness. At halftime, Villanova was dying with missed threes and trailed 32-25.
However, after trailing 33-31 Villanova scored on 13 straight possessions including at one point hitting 3-pointers on three straight trips to make it 58-51. Jalen Brunson's 26 points and Omari Spellman stepping up for 23 rebounds as the one player who could fight off the great offensive rebounding of Kevin Jones, Devin Ebanks and Wellington Smith.
#9 Arizona (1997) 71, #8 Syracuse (2003) 68
Gerry McNamara helped Syracuse to a 37-33 lead, and Carmelo Anthony 3-pointers kept them ahead for most of the game.
However barrel-chested guard kept pushing Arizona back, fouling out one player trying to guard him and hitting his first 13 foul shots to make it 71-68 Arizona. He missed only his last free throw with 37 seconds left (last possession) but when Syracuse missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer it was Bibby who grabbed the rebound to end the game.
The win for Arizona kept the Big East at 5 of 36 3rd round games - one behind the Big Ten and ACC with 6. There are still 5 second round games left but each one features two teams from the same conference - so we have already counted the one more Big East team (Villanova 2018 v West Virginia 2010), one ACC (Virginia 2019 v Georgia Tech) and three Big Ten (Wisconsin 2015 v Illinois 2005, Ohio State 1960 v Michigan State 2009, Michigan 1989 v Ohio St 2007).
#5 UConn (2004) 72, #21 K-State (2008) 65
With 13:20 to play (22 possessions left) UConn held a commanding 56-43 lead but K-State's Michael Beasley a(16 a 4th points,drew 9 rebounds) foul on the one UConn player who could guard him - Emeka Okafor (12 points, 11 rebounds).
K-State cut it all the way to 64-61 with 3:07 (5 possessions) left, but Ben Gordon hit a 3-pointer to make it 67-61 and UConn prevented a second straight upset by K-State and will now get another Big 12 (or Big 8 at the time) upset winner in 13-seed Oklahoma with Waymon Tisdale.
If Carmelo Anthony and Syracuse 2003 defeat 1997 Arizona then the 2nd round will end with the Big East joining the ACC and Big Ten each with 6 of the final 32 teams to make the third round. Even if Arizona wins, those three conferences would combine for more than half (17 of 32) teams to make Round 3.
#13 Oklahoma (1985) 87, #4 Purdue (1969) 86 OT
OMG. With 2 of the greatest offensive players ever going up against two of the worst defensive teams in the game we knew this could get out-of-hand, but this was ridiculous.
Even using no 3-pointers (when both teams are from 1986 or earlier we play all shots are 2-pointers like they were when the teams played, Rick Mount scored his exact average 33 points but Wayman Tisdale out did even that with 35 points.
At the end of regulation Tisdale scored to give Oklahoma a 77-75 lead, and Purdue missed, but Herman Gilliam grabbed one rebound and missed and then Mount grabbed a second rebound and scored at the buzzer to force overtime.
Mount's 6th steal of the game with the score 87-84 and Purdue scored to make it a one point game, then stopped Oklahoma to have a chance for a game winning shot. Mount put up what would have been the game-winner but Anthony Bowie blocked the shot that was heading in and Tisdale grabbed his game-high 13th rebound to seal the 87-86 win.
The Purdue loss did not eliminate the school from the tournament as the 2018 Purdue game won the previous game, letting the Big Ten finished tied with the ACC for the most teams in the final 32 with 6 teams each.
#8 Purdue (2018) 73, #9 Cincinnati (2002) 71
Purdue's incredible 3-point shooting cards continued to yield results as they nailed 7 three-pointers (keep in mind we only play out 44 possessions per game) and held Cincinnati's star Logan (rated at www.valueaddbasketball.com as the best player of 2002) in check.
This game was important for two reasons; 1) Purdue's 3-point shooting can be so torrid that with a few good dice rolls they could pose a true threat to Indiana 1976 in the Midwest 1- vs. 8-seed game. Second, it guarantees that the Big Ten will at least match the ACC with 6 of the final 32 teams in the tournament, and will actually top them with 7 if another Purdue team - 1969 - beats Oklahoma 1985. The Big East is the only other conference that could get to 6 of the final 32 teams if UConn 2004 beats K-State 2008 and Syracuse 2003 beats Arizona 1997. If K-State beats UConn, then the Big 12 would catch the Big East for third best, since K-State would be their 4th team and a win by Oklahoma 1985 over Purdue could then give them five. The following is the actual breakdown by conference after Purdue's win:
The conference leaders in teams making the 3rd round of the tournament:This game was important for two reasons; 1) Purdue's 3-point shooting can be so torrid that with a few good dice rolls they could pose a true threat to Indiana 1976 in the Midwest 1- vs. 8-seed game. Second, it guarantees that the Big Ten will at least match the ACC with 6 of the final 32 teams in the tournament, and will actually top them with 7 if another Purdue team - 1969 - beats Oklahoma 1985. The Big East is the only other conference that could get to 6 of the final 32 teams if UConn 2004 beats K-State 2008 and Syracuse 2003 beats Arizona 1997. If K-State beats UConn, then the Big 12 would catch the Big East for third best, since K-State would be their 4th team and a win by Oklahoma 1985 over Purdue could then give them five. The following is the actual breakdown by conference after Purdue's win:
1. Big Ten 5 to 7 teams (Purdue 2018 v. Cincy 2002, Purdue 1969 v. Oklahoma 1985)
2. ACC 6 teams
3. Big East 4 to 6 teams (K-State 2008 vs. UConn 2004, Syracuse 2003 vs. Arizona 1997)
4. Big 12 3 to 5 teams (K-State 2008 vs. UConn 2004, Purdue 1969 v. Oklahoma 1985)
5. SEC 3 teams
6. Pac-12 2 to 3 teams (Syracuse 2003 vs. Arizona 1997)
7. Independents 2 teams
8. Big West 1 (higher seed UNLV)
9. CUSA 1 team
10. Missouri Valley
#7 UNC (2005) 68, #10 Duke (1992) 66
The 2005 National Champs from UNC really seemed to have the more overpowering team than the star studded Duke 1992 squad of Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill and "I hate" Christian Laettner. UNC was the much better defensive squad than the "outscore you" Duke team of game-winning shot fame - and the Tar Heels dominated the boards 37-26, steals 9-5 and blocked shots 5-3 to go along with their much better on-ball defense.
However, even though the game seemed to be mainly long stretches of UNC dominating, one of Duke's stars would take over for little stretches. Hurley closed the first half with a steal, and fast break 3-pointer right before the half to make it 31-26 Duke. The UNC starters came in and took over until Christian Laettner fought for traditional 3-pointers (shot plus foul shot) and willed Duke back in the game. Then UNC pulled away again 61-54 with just over 5 minutes left, only to have Grant Hill steal the ball on consecutive trips, then UNC turn it over again on the third trip, and finally Laettner hit what could have been the game winnerto make it 66-65.
However, Raymond Felton, who in real life went onto play 15 NBA seasons after helping deliver the 2005 title to UNC, buried a 3-pointer ahead of the buzzer to deliver the Tar Heels to the next round over their hated rival.
See the stats on the bottom score sheet below and notes on the insane finish written on the bottom of that sheet, then the top sheet in the photo covers the next to last game. After these two, the favored teams are 15-8 in the second round with 9 more games to play.
However, even though the game seemed to be mainly long stretches of UNC dominating, one of Duke's stars would take over for little stretches. Hurley closed the first half with a steal, and fast break 3-pointer right before the half to make it 31-26 Duke. The UNC starters came in and took over until Christian Laettner fought for traditional 3-pointers (shot plus foul shot) and willed Duke back in the game. Then UNC pulled away again 61-54 with just over 5 minutes left, only to have Grant Hill steal the ball on consecutive trips, then UNC turn it over again on the third trip, and finally Laettner hit what could have been the game winnerto make it 66-65.
However, Raymond Felton, who in real life went onto play 15 NBA seasons after helping deliver the 2005 title to UNC, buried a 3-pointer ahead of the buzzer to deliver the Tar Heels to the next round over their hated rival.
See the stats on the bottom score sheet below and notes on the insane finish written on the bottom of that sheet, then the top sheet in the photo covers the next to last game. After these two, the favored teams are 15-8 in the second round with 9 more games to play.
#12 Missouri (1982) 66, #5 Loyola (1963)
Against Loyola's ultimate outside steals player Jerry Harkness (16 points, 6 steals) and inside player in Les Hunter (14 points, 8 rebounds), Missouri won the only way they could. Missouri drew fouls like noone else and all 5 starters shot between 70% and 85% once they got to the line. In this game they went 23 of 28 just in the 46 possessions we played out, including 85% free throw shooter Jon Sundvold hitting the two clinchers on rolls on the 20-sided die of 16 and 17 (a 1-17 roll is good for an 85% free throw shooter).
#9 Memphis (2008) 82, #8 Louisville 52
Memphis set up a rematch of the overtime 2008 National Championship against Kansas with the most lopsided tournament of the All-Time great tournament - 82-52 against the 1980 Metro Champs Louisville.
Derrick Rose led the dominance with 14 points and 4 steals, while Chris Douglas-Roberts led in scoring with 17 and Robert Dozier posted a double-double with 11 rebounds and points. Perhaps more important, Rose held Louisville star Darrell Griffith to 13 points.
Memphis won the turnover battle of two in-your-face defenses 16-8, and Louisville's cold shooting only added to Memphis better rebounding, resulting in a 41-21 edge on the boards. The South Region 3rd round is now set with:
#1 Kansas 2008 vs #9 seed Memphis 2008
#4 Houston 1968 vs #5 Kansas 1957
#2 UNC 1982 vs #7 Kentucky 2012
#3 Florida 2006 vs #11 Auburn 2019
Those middle two games feature Elvin Hayes vs. Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan vs. Anthony Davis.
#4 Houston (1968) 74, #13 Texas Tech (2019) 67
Jarrett Culver traded baskets with Elvin Hayes much of the game and Tariq Owens held Hayes 9 points below his average and hit a 3-pointer to tied the game 64-64 to give Texas Tech a chance for the big upset with 4:22 (7 possessions) to play.
Unfortunately for Owens, Hayes came right back down the court for a score and rebound for an old fashioned 3-point play en route to 28 points and 13 rebounds to start a 10-0 run that sealwd the win.
Unfortunately for Owens, Hayes came right back down the court for a score and rebound for an old fashioned 3-point play en route to 28 points and 13 rebounds to start a 10-0 run that sealwd the win.
Don Chaney played lock down defense with three steals and four blocks, and Ken Spain added 22 and 8 to give Houston 36 to 22 dominance on the boards.
Owens performance is notable since in the game of the Century and first regular season national televised game, the greatest college player of all timel Lou Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-jabbar) was torched by Hayes for 39 points and 15 rebounds for UCLA'S first loss in almost 3 years (see highlights).
#3 Florida (2006) 86, #19 Auburn (1984) 74 - South Region
The repeat national champion and 3-seed Florida 2006 team looked a potential all-time champ as all five players blitzed Charles Barkley's 1984 Auburn.
No matter which of the great 5 Gators had the ball they were unstoppable as the led 82-61 and and Barkley had fouled out with 4:22 to play. Noah, Horford, Green, Humphrey and Brewer will next get the other team in the 2019 Auburn squad that won a thriller over the 40 minutes of hell Arkansas team.
After Bill Russell's tangle with a great Arizona team (scroll down), I decided on a hometown doubleheader the actual Auburn team beat Georgia to go to 15-0 this season. In the game Charles Barkley's Auburn team already upset Jerry West and West Virginia in OT and now faced the two-time NCAA champions from Florida who I watched win the SEC title in 1996. Then last year's Auburn team faced one of the great presses of all time in the Arkansas team that President Bill Clinton watched win the title for his home state. Keep in mind Auburn last year cruised to the Final 4 before losing Okeke, which www.valueaddbasketball.com calculates was worth almost 8 points a game, and more than 5 a game with the string subs Auburn had, so they likely would have beaten the UVa in the game that came down to an apparent double dribble call in the closing seconds.
#11 Auburn (2019) 79, #6 Arkansas (1994) 78 - South Region
Likely the greatest foul drawing team in the game Arkansas drew by far the most fouls ever in my game with 31 to foul out Auburn's great back court of Jared Harper and Bryce Brown and win the turnover battle 18 to 9.
However once Chuma Okeke drew a 5th foul on Arkansas' greatest player Corliss Williamson and Danjel Purifoy and Austin Wiley came in for the final 12 possessions with Auburn trailing 59-65 the Tigers took over to lead 79-75 with less than a minute left.
However Clint McDaniel stole the ball and after a fast break and offensive rebound 3-point shooter Scotty Thurman nailed a 3-pointrt to make it 79-78. Austin Wiley turned it over to give Arkansas a final possession to win but this time Thurman's 2-pointer missed and Purifoy grabbed the rebound to seal the victory. Auburn 2019 awaits the winner of 2006 Florida and the other Auburn team - Charles Barkley's 1984 squad.
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#10 Arizona (2015) 74, #7 San Francisco (1956) 67 - West Region
The biggest slugfest of the tournament yet included 46 fouls with Bill Russell's wingman KC Jones the first to foul out, followed by Arizona's Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Kaleb Tarczewski. The game also was a reminder that the myth that players in the old days were much better shooters from the line or on field goals is just wrong.
Arizona won this game at the line and on the boards except when Bill Russell was able to grab on of his 10 rebounds to go along with 21 points. Russell drew 8 fouls but I did not realize he was only a 50% free throw shooter.
Overall the Wildcats out rebounded the Dons 39-27 by dominating at the shoot guard (Stanley Johnson 16 points, 6 rebounds) and small forward (Hollis-Jefferson 17 points 11 rebounds).
With 5:29 (8 possessions each) to play, Russell did draw the 5th foul on Tarczewski on a score and hit the free throw to cut it to 62-59, but with their only other real threat Jones already fouled out the California Basketball Association champions could get no closer.
Arizona advances to play the 1991 Running Rebels of UNLV - the 2-seed in the West as we believe the greatest team to fail to win the title along with a more recent Kentucky team.
Before showing the scoresheet, we tried a different layout for the cards for this game, with the two guards for each team (pg-1 and sg-2) on the outside for each team and then the Frontline (sf-3, pf-4, c-5) on the inside next to the player they match up against.
Summary of 1st 16 Games of 2nd Round
The results of the first 16 of 32 2nd round games between all-time great teams appear below. Click here for descriptions of all of those games.
Through the first 16 of 32 games in the second round, this is the alphabetical list of winners, and the description of each game appears below in reverse chronological order. The favored teams are 12-4, however all of the #1 and #2 seeds played and went 7-1, so the favorites in other games are 5-3. Upset winners appear in bold.
| Seed | 2nd Round Winners | Score (Margin) | Region | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #4 | Cincinnati 1960 | 75 - 74 (1) | West | Gonzaga 2017 |
| #9 | Duke 2010 | 64 - 60 (4) | East | UConn 1999 |
| #11 | Georgetown 1984 | 79 - 73 (6) | East | Maryland 2002 |
| #1 | Indiana 1976 | 72 - 49 (23) | Midwest | Indiana 2002 |
| #1 | Kansas 2008 | 87 - 62 (25) | South | Tennessee 1977 |
| #5 | Kansas 1957 | 78 - 68 (10) | South | Oklahoma St 2004 |
| #7 | Kentucky 2012 | 76 - 58 (18) | South | Georgia 1982 |
| #3 | Louisville 2013 | 75 - 61 (14) | West | San Diego St 2011 |
| #2 | Michigan State 1979 | 80 - 60 (20) | Midwest | Notre Dame 1970 |
| #2 | NC State 1974 | 81 - 80 (1) | East | Seton Hall 1989 |
| #12 | Syracuse 1987 | 72 - 61 (11) | East | Virginia 1981 |
| #6 | Texas So. (UTEP) 1966 | 54 - 53 (1) | West | Marquette 1977 |
| #1 | UCLA 1972 | 67 - 59 (8) | West | Oregon 2017 |
| #2 | N. Carolina (UNC) 1982 | 72 - 70 (2) | South | LSU 2006 |
| #2 | UNLV 1991 | 83 - 80 (3) | West | UCLA 2006 |
| #16 | Wake Forest 1996 | 67 - 64 (3) | East | Kentucky 1996 |
West Region (winner will play East Region winner below)
East Region
Midwest Region (Winner Plays South Region Champion Below)
South Region
The 1st Round Bracket and results appear in this blog.
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