In the second round of the West Region, eight teams remain standing. With a couple of upsets and hard-fought battles along the way the tournament gets a little more hectic as the games come underway. So far, the top three seeds remain in the fight to advance in the region and the rest of the field consists of lower rated seeds with a couple of cinderella teams still in the tourney. Can they continue their run to the big dance?
The first matchup pits top-seeded Gonzaga against LSU. Petrusev, Kispert and Tillie goes up against Mays, Watford and Williams in a battle from the get-go. A back-and-fourth game in the first half turned into a more efficient game down the stretch for Bulldogs in the second. In a defense-to-points stretch in the final 4 minutes of the half, Gonzaga puts it away for good with a pair of free-throws, a steal and a layup in the waning minutes to seal it as they advanced 74-70.
In the battle of the cinderella’s, Yale and New Mexico State face-off to continue their dream runs. Yale and Atkinson came ready to play while New Mexico State came out flat and uninspired after their huge win over #4 Oregon. Queen tried to spark a comeback to no avail as the game got out of hand early as Yale closed the game out on a 16-0 run. Yale advances 68-52.
The third matchup has BYU against Seton Hall. Seton Hall took control early with a 10-0 run and the momentum carried into halftime as they led 45-33. A halftime speech for the ages ensued and BYU came out on fire bombing three after three until the waning minutes of the contest as they overcame the halftime deficit and defeated Seton Hall for the only upset of the second round. BYU wins 69-66.
In the last game of the region, Texas Tech faces off against San Diego State as this game became an instant classic. Malachi Flynn and Jahmi’us Ramsey duel until the bitter end. Back-and-fourth, both teams make key defensive stops for the duration of the game. Flynn makes a key play as he ripped the ball from Ramsey and too in all the way to the rack. Ramsey responded with a clutch three to take the lead 54-57. Flynn, not to be outdone hit a three in response to tie the game at 57 each. In the waning seconds Ramsey calls his shot and takes it down to .3 seconds left to try to win it, but it clanks off the rim. Overtime ball! Flynn took control despite Ramsey’s late game heroics. A steal from Ramsey and a clutch basket tied the game once again at 66 each, but Flynn responded by taking the clock down to nothing and setting up a pick-and-pop play where he fed Wetzell in the paint for a game-winning layup. San Diego State advances 68-66 in a thriller.
And there you have it! Round two in the books with a pair of memorable games coupled with a couple of duds. The cinderella of the west, Yale continues their run into history, but they will be tested more throughout. The next round on its way and we have some great matches ahead of us. Gonzaga versus Yale and BYU Versus San Diego State. Someones run has to end, but until next week folks!
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