The road to the Final Four of the men’s NCAA Tournament continued with Thursday’s round of Sweet 16 matchups.
In the Western Region, No. 1 seed Gonzaga lost 74-68 to No. 4 Arkansas. Later, No. 2 Duke met No. 3 Texas Tech. Over in the South Region, No. 2 Villanova held off No. 11 Michigan for a 63-55 win and No. 1 Arizona played No. 5 Houston.
The Sweet 16 concludes Friday with games featuring No. 1 Kansas, No. 8 North Carolina and No. 15 Saint Peter’s, with the Peacocks building a case for being included among the great Cinderella stories in tournament history.
By the end of the weekend, the 68-team men’s tournament bracket will be down to just four. Here are the winners and losers from Thursday’s early games:
WINNERS
Arkansas
The Razorbacks (28-8) are back in the Elite Eight for the second year in a row under coach Eric Musselman, making this the program’s best two-season stretch since capturing one national championship and playing for another from 1994-95. This was the program’s first tournament win against a No. 1 seed, snapping an 0-10 mark. Arkansas was led by a high-volume performance from guard JD Notae, who scored 21 points on 9-of-29 shooting with six rebounds and six assists. He was joined in double figures by forward Jaylin Williams, who had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and forward Trey Wade, who scored 15 points.
SEQ
After an awful opening weekend, the SEC can crow over sending a team into the Elite Eight. Arkansas gives the conference at least one entrant in the Elite Eight in four of the past five tournaments. With one more win, the Razorbacks will become the third SEC team during the span to make the Final Four, joining South Carolina in 2017 and Auburn in 2019. That helps overcome a putrid first two rounds, when five of the six SEC teams in the field were cut down as favorites.
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Villanova
The Wildcats (29-7) took another step toward capturing a third national championship behind coach Jay Wright with a terrific defensive effort: Michigan made just 35% from the field and just 6-of-17 attempts from 3-point range after shooting 50 % on field goals to upset No. 3 Tennessee in the second round. The defense was outstanding down the stretch, holding the Wolverines without a field goal for more than four minutes late in the second half to reach the Elite Eight for the fifth time under Wright. The dagger came from guard Collin Gillespie, who made a 3-pointer with 1:52 left to give the Wildcats a 59-50 lead.
LOSERS
Gonzaga
This is a monumental letdown for a program that has knocked on the door of a national championship for nearly two decades but has been unable to seal the deal. Gonzaga (28-4) shot 37.5% from the field and dealt with foul issues in the second half as Arkansas built and maintained a sturdy lead. Star freshman Chet Holmgren, who had 11 points and 14 rebounds, spent an extended chunk of time on the bench with four fouls while the Razorbacks built a nine-point lead with just under seven minutes left, and then fouled out with 3:29 remaining and Arkansas ahead 62-56.
The story in the first half was the Bulldogs’ inability to make shots and build on an eight-point lead while Arkansas struggled from the field. The story in the second half was Gonzaga’s failure to respond as the Razorbacks showed more poise and command on both ends of the court. And overall, the story for Gonzaga is one of another failed run into March — no longer an underdog, the Bulldogs and coach Mark Few are now defined by the lack of a national championship on the program’s resume.
Michigan
Given where the Wolverines (19-15) seemed headed in late February and early March, when coach Juwan Howard was handed a five-game suspension and his team teetered on the tournament bubble, reaching the Sweet 16 for the fifth tournament in a row is worthy of commendation. Does that mean the loss to Villanova doesn’t sting? Not when the Wolverines were undone by poor shooting from the field, from deep and from the line — UM made 7-of-14 free throws after hitting on over 75% for the year heading into Thursday night.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism