Written by WVUNite and Michael Miller at The Smoking Huskets.com
The first day of the first round of the 2017 NCAA men’s basketball tournament is in the books and, unlike the staff here at The Smoking Musket, we’re sure there are plenty of people out there who didn’t have the luxury of sitting in front of the TV or computer to watch every single game. So, with the help of our friends around the SB Nation network, we decided to give you a quick rundown of everything that happened today.
West Region
#1 Gonzaga 66, #16 South Dakota State 46
After a less than inspiring start, the Bulldogs turned the jets on in the second half to put the Jackrabbits away. Gonzaga will take on Northwestern, who will be looking to make the Sweet Sixteen in their first ever NCAA tournament.
Gonzaga’s defense was the only reason the Zags took a four point (FOUR!!!) 26-22 lead into halftime. They harassed Jackrabbits star (and second leading scorer in the country) Mike Daum into a multitude of early turnovers, but the Zags couldn’t ever capitalize on any of it. After barely trailing for the entire season, the Zags didn’t hold a lead in the game until 1:40 left in the first half. Against a team that is sub-300 in defensive ratings according to Ken Pomeroy, it was an entirely laughable display on offense. – The Slipper Still Fits
#8 Northwestern 68, #9 Vanderbilt 66
The Wildcats got their first ever NCAA tournament win but it didn’t come without a little controversy, if you want to call it that. Up by one point, the Commodores decided to foul Northwestern’s Bryan McIntosh, and well…
“Some days it takes five minutes or two minutes. Some days it takes 40 minutes,” assistant coach Brian James said.
On Thursday afternoon, it took four minutes and six seconds of game time — but far longer than that in real time — for Pardon to win the competition. This time, though, the competition was a live game against the Vanderbilt Commodores on the biggest stage of his career. And he proved up to the task, knocking down six free throws in a row as part of a 14-point, 11-rebound effort. -Inside NU
#5 Notre Dame 60, #12 Princeton 58
Y’all hear the one about the Fighting Irish leading the country in free throw percentage? The Tigers put a little scare into the Domers. We’ll finish the job on Saturday.
The Irish, who entered the tournament as the nation’s best team from the charity stripe, missed seven free throws. But the 12-seed Princeton Tigers couldn’t hit their open looks in the final minute and the Irish escaped with an ugly win, 60-58.
It had the feeling of another 5-12 upset before Princeton’s bid for a game-winner clanked off the rim with two seconds left. – One Foot Down
#11 Xavier 76, #6 Maryland 66
I watched the first half of this game, and it stunk out loud. Xavier over the Terps was probably the 2nd least surprising upset of the day.
Trevon Bluiett was worth a sterling 1-8/1-6/0-0 shooting line in the first half, after which Xavier was trailing by one and kind of looking stagnant. He came out in the second half and yakked his first three. Then another one, and another. And another. And another, basically keying by himself a 14-0 run that took Xavier from down 3 to up 11 in seemingly the blink of an eye. Better still, he took a moment or two to make sure Maryland’s highly touted perimeter defenders knew who was doing it to ‘em. He’s not bashful, and it’s awesome to watch. – Banners On The Parkway
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