By Colin Lawless, Staff Writer
The second round of this year’s edition of March Madness delivered, adding to the chaos that ensued in the first round. More upsets and more drama would be putting it lightly, setting up for an exciting Sweet Sixteen on Thursday, Mar. 23.
Furman was unable to move on after their upset win over Virginia on Thursday. San Diego State University led the game on the back of great performances from Micah Parrish, Darrion Trammell, and Lamont Butler on offense, combining for 41 points, as well as Nathan Mensah with nine rebounds on defense. The Aztecs face a challenge against no. 1 Alabama on Friday.
Princeton continued their Cinderella run with a 15-point win over no. 7 Missouri. Blake Peters led the team with five three-pointers, as the Tigers reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1967. They are only the second Ivy League team to make it to the third round in the last 43 editions of the tournament, and they will look to be the first team to go even further since Penn in 1979. Princeton also hopes to follow in the footsteps of the great 15-seed teams of the past, like St. Peter’s last year, Oral Roberts the year before, and Florida Gulf Coast a decade ago.
Saturday’s games also saw Arkansas upsetting last year’s champion in Kansas, and favorites like Houston, Alabama, Texas, and UCLA are moving on as well.
Sunday saw most favorites go through to the next round. Xavier, UConn, and Gonzaga are all moving on, and they will be joined by the likes of Miami, Creighton, and Michigan State. The two highlights came by way of Kansas State vs. Kentucky and FDU vs. FAU. Kansas State was led by Markquis Nowell and his 27 points, 23 of which came in the second half. Nowell helped reverse a tough start that featured his team missing their first 13 attempts from behind the arc.
The other story from the game is that of Keyontae Johnson, whose late three helped propel his team to victory. This is Johnson’s first season with the team after collapsing in a game for Florida in December of 2020. He went into a coma and was unsure if he would play again. He declined to activate his $5 million insurance payout and bet on himself. This bet paid off, as he leads the team in scoring on their way to the Sweet Sixteen.
FDU came up just short in their quest for the Sweet Sixteen. After a strong effort to get back into the game in the second half, the Owls proved too much on the back of Johnell Davis’s 29 points. However, FDU coach Tobin Anderson can hold his head high after an extremely impressive first season with the Knights, who went 4-22 just a year ago.
The tournament returns on Thursday, Mar. 23 with a great stretch of games. There surely will be more great moments as the tournament progresses, along with the madness that March always delivers.
