It looked, for a couple of early times, like women’s university basketball was in for a seismic upset.
South Carolina, the overall No. 1 seed and odds-on beloved to gain the N.C.A.A. tournament, was trailing eighth-seeded South Florida, 16-12, immediately after a single quarter. The Gamecocks were being hitting fewer than 36 per cent of their shots and had committed five turnovers. South Florida was participating in like it was not scared of the reigning champion.
But the game is 40 minutes, not 10.
Just after the rocky start, extra of South Carolina’s pictures started falling, and the Gamecocks elevated the defensive force considerably on the Bulls. South Carolina pulled forward by 4 factors at halftime and then hit the gasoline in the 2nd half, jogging away with the 76-45 victory.
Forward Aliyah Boston stated in a postgame Tv interview that the slow begin was a products of South Florida’s defensive depth.
“We ended up just trying to figure them out a minor bit,” she mentioned.
And they did. South Carolina moved the ball freely in the 2nd 50 percent and fully commited just 4 turnovers, even though keeping South Florida to just 7 points in the third quarter and 9 in the fourth.
Elena Tsineke led the early demand for South Florida with 7 details in the to start with. She completed with a staff-large 20.
Guard Zia Cooke paced South Carolina with 21 factors. Boston extra 11 points and 11 rebounds for her 81st career double-double. The team’s depth was also on display, with 14 players hitting the flooring and 11 of them scoring.
The Gamecocks pushed their document to 34- and will participate in in the spherical of 16 for the ninth consecutive match.
One component of the N.C.A.A. tournaments that emerges with so a lot of teams enjoying concurrently and in fast succession: No system wants to stop up a cautionary case in point in their bracket, and from time to time a crew usually takes out that sentiment on its opponent.
That was how No. 3 seed Xavier approached Pittsburgh, a No. 11 seed that had occur into the Sunday matchup hunting like it experienced a new mandate after sneaking into the industry, then profitable a engage in-in activity and dispatching Iowa State with ease in the 1st spherical.
In the long run that was all just fodder for the Musketeers, who acquired spooked by Kennesaw State in a 1st-spherical match early Friday afternoon and then watched in excess of the subsequent 48 hrs as so lots of major applications — Purdue, Duke, Kansas — faltered.
They took that out on the Panthers, jogging up the rating by taking part in perfectly down minimal, passing skillfully and steeling themselves for a operate, considerably like a tennis or boxing mismatch in which a person aspect needs to dominate by specifically rattling and outmaneuvering their opponent.
So when Pitt experienced its just one excellent operate late, to get inside 8 details with less than two minutes left, it was way too very little as well late to halt Xavier from advancing to the spherical of 16, 84-73, and looking robust while performing it. — Oskar Garcia
Men’s Match
No. 2 Marquette vs. No. 7 Michigan Condition
5:15 p.m., CBS
Marquette utilized a balanced offensive attack in its very first-spherical recreation to dispatch No. 15-seeded Vermont, 78-61, with 5 gamers in double figures. The win was the initial in the N.C.A.A. tournament for the Golden Eagles because 2013, when they attained the spherical of 8. Michigan State’s gain on Friday above No. 10-seeded Southern California was its 15th in that same interval, in which the Spartans went to two Ultimate Fours (nevertheless didn’t win a match in possibly one). Michigan Condition lost an early guide in opposition to the Trojans but recovered for a 72-62 win.
7:45 p.m., TruTV
After Fairleigh Dickinson’s amazing upset of Purdue, a No. 1 seed, we have been soaking up details about the university in Teaneck, N.J. The Knights received only four game titles past period and did not get their convention match this calendar year they needed to earn a Very first 4 recreation right before they even had a prospect to face Purdue they’re the shortest team in Division I. But no subject: F.D.U. owns the 2nd earn by a No. 16 seed above a No. 1 seed in men’s event background, and now it has a opportunity to get further more than any 16 seed at any time has. Standing in its way is Florida Atlantic, which survived a back again-and-forth match against Memphis by hitting the go-ahead basket with 2.5 seconds remaining.
Women’s Event
No. 2 Maryland vs. No. 7 Arizona
5:30 p.m., ESPN
Maryland designed gentle function of No. 15-seeded Holy Cross in the initial round, leaping out to a 23-4 commence en route to the 93-61 victory. The Terrapins got double-digit scoring efforts from 5 players, led by 18 off the bench from guard Brinae Alexander. Arizona Coach Adia Barnes has her staff back in the spherical of 32 for the third consecutive 12 months just after a 75-62 win about West Virginia on Friday. Cate Reese scored 25, and Esmery Martinez experienced 13 factors and 12 rebounds actively playing from her previous staff. The Wildcats misplaced past calendar year in the second round, but the 12 months prior to, they created it to the Closing Four.
No. 2 Utah vs. No. 10 Princeton
7 p.m., ESPN2
Princeton wanted just about each and every next of Friday’s match to pull off the upset. The Tigers acquired a 3-pointer from Grace Stone with 4.7 seconds left to comprehensive their comeback get around seventh-seeded North Carolina State, which was held without having a point for the remaining 5:43 of the game. Princeton has manufactured the spherical of 32 for the next consecutive year. It will encounter Utah, which hit the century mark Friday in a 103-77 get around Gardner-Webb. The Utes were led by ahead Alissa Pili’s 33 details, a profession high for the transfer from Southern California.
No. 3 L.S.U. vs. No. 6 Michigan
7:30 p.m., ESPN
L.S.U. took a though to jell offensively in its 73-50 acquire about 14th-seeded Hawaii on Friday, but even chilly taking pictures could not gradual down the Tigers. Forward Angel Reese scored 34 details and extra 15 rebounds for her 29th double-double on the period. Michigan was sizzling out of the gate in its to start with-spherical recreation versus U.N.L.V., top 17-9 immediately after the initially quarter. Ahead Emily Kiser and guard Maddie Nolan each and every had 18 points for the Wolverines, while guard Leigha Brown poured in 17.
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