Ceci Ferrara
March 21, 2016
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament started last Thursday and after the first two rounds has lived up to its “March Madness” tagline. This past weekend was a blur of improbable shots, shocking upsets, heartbreak, and victory. Brackets were busted and Cinderella story lines drawn up. A basketball fan’s dream–or, depending on your team–nightmare.
While the VCU Rams beat Oregon State on Friday, their tournament hopes ended Sunday night against No. 2 Oklahoma. After trailing by 13 at the break, the Rams scored 50 points in the second half to give the Sooners a run for their money. After tying it up midway through the second half, VCU kept the game close to the end. But in the final minute Oklahoma was able to pull away, outlasting the Rams 85-81 to send them home to Richmond.
Though they didn’t make it as far as they had hoped, their second round appearance was one game better than ex-coach Shaka Smart’s, whose Texas team lost to Northern Iowa after a buzzer-beating half-court three-point Hail Mary on Friday.
Despite the Rams’ early exist, two other local teams — the University of Maryland Terrapins and the University of Virginia Cavaliers survived the first round of March Madness to advance to the Sweet 16. It will be UMD’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2003, and Virginia’s second in three seasons.
The Maryland men won a nail biter against No. 12 South Dakota State on Friday, 79-74. While the Terps (27-8) were favored to win, the game was much closer at the end then the Terps had hoped. They squeaked out a win to advance to the second round against No. 13 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. Despite the low seed, the Rainbows proved they were a force to be reckoned with when they eliminated the No. 4 California Bears by 11 points Friday afternoon.
After the first half, it looked as though Maryland was the lower-seeded team. Despite a one point lead, they looked sloppy, and their shooting was errant. In fact, they didn’t make a single three-pointer until sophomore star Melo Trimble hit one midway through the second half to give his team a seven-point lead. That momentum shifting momentum was part of an 18-2 run that the Terps used to pull away Though Hawaii tried to keep pace, by the end, they were simply played. After a shaky start, Maryland’s second half offensive burst proved just how powerful they can be.
“It says a lot about our character. It says a lot about our talent,” said senior guard Rasheed Sulaimon. “It says a lot what this team can potentially do and what we can potentially be.”
The Terps will have to prove what they can do and be sooner, rather than later. They face top-seeded Kansas on Thursday night in Louisville, KY. The match-up is a personal one for Maryland coach Mark Turgeon, who is a a Kansas alum that made it to the Final Four as a Jayhawk in 1986.
“I hate that I have to play Kansas,” Turgeon said on Sunday. “I’m just glad we’re there. They’re the best team in the country. We’re just excited to be in the game.”
While the Terps are heading into the Sweet 16 as an underdog, the No. 1 UVA Cavaliers are just where they expected to be.
After crushing the No. 16 Hampton Pirates 81-45 in round 1, Virginia faced a tougher competitor in Butler on Saturday night. But despite a hard-fought game, during which UVA trailed twice, the Cavaliers outlasted the Bulldogs 77-69 to advance to their first Sweet 16 since 2014.
“We played a really tough team tonight, but we were really tough,” Malcolm Brogdon, an All-American guard, said. “So it was a battle of wills, and I think we imposed our will a little bit more towards the end.”
The top-seeded Cavaliers (28-7) will face No. 4 Iowa State Friday night in Chicago. While the Cyclones, who handily beat Little Rock-Arkansas 78-61 in their latest match-up, will not be easy to beat, the Cavs are prepared for a tough game. In their last Sweet 16 appearance they lost by two points to Michigan State (59-61). Though UVA was hoping for a rematch of that 2014 game, they can take pride in knowing they have already performed better than the No. 2 seeded Spartans who were stunned 90-81 in their first game by fairly unknown Middle Tennessee.
“I think when you’re tested and you come out with a win, it just fortifies you and validates the way you play,” Virginia assistant coach Brad Soderberg said after Saturday’s win. “We proved again that we can play in a tough environment and come out with a W.”
