And now the field is set after the last two First Four games as March Madness looms.
Arizona and Auburn faced off for a spot in March Madness
Arizona met Auburn in Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut, for what turned out to be a more competitive game in the second half, thanks to the steady play of Helena Pueyo in the fourth quarter for the Wildcats. Without her, Arizona doesn’t win. The first half of the game belonged to Arizona, but barely. The opening quarter was a low-scoring affair, and neither team looked particularly sharp. Auburn committed ten of its eventual 23 turnovers in the quarter, and Arizona took it 11-8.
Shooting improved slightly in the second quarter, although Auburn added another seven turnovers. Arizona seemed to smooth out and their defense sharpened, and at the half, they were up 27-19. Arizona opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run. Then a few more turnovers, until Taylen Collins made a layup for Auburn, bringing the score to 35-23. Skylar Jones then added a pair of free throws for Arizona followed by a jumper from Isis Beh, and the Wildcats added another two points to their lead at quarter’s end, 49-39.
The Wildcats took control in the final frame versus the Tigers
In the fourth quarter, Jada Williams and Pueyo led the charge and together scored 14 of Arizona’s 20 points. Auburn was able to go toe to toe, getting as close as five points, but Arizona persisted and got back to a 10-point lead on two free throws by Pueyo with 0:46 left in the game. For Arizona, Pueyo ended with 16 points, Williams with 17, Esmery Martinez with 14, and Skylar Jones with 13. Arizona has only eight available players, so foul trouble is something they must avoid.
Surfin' to Saturday 🔥#MarchMadness x @ArizonaWBB pic.twitter.com/JQ6aXMS9UC
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 22, 2024
Breya Cunningham fouled out, and both Isis Beh and Courtney Blakely only gave them 2 points each off of a depleted bench. Only Honesty Scott-Grayson hit double figures for Auburn, scoring 13 points. In fact, the Auburn bench outscored the starters 33-26. Auburn turned the ball over 23 times, and Arizona 18 times. Neither team did particularly well at the free throw line, with Arizona going 20-30 and Auburn 12-19.
Auburn did out-rebound Arizona 37-25. Fortunately for Arizona, the defense was the winning factor, but will that be enough to overcome Syracuse on Saturday? Consistent shooting and better ball-handling need to improve between now and then for that to happen.
UT Martin faced Holy Cross at home of the Hawkeyes
In the second game, UT Martin faced off with Holy Cross in Iowa City. The Crusaders could have been called Holy Threes, going 12-32 from deep. Holy Cross had the lead the entire game, and the Skyhawks simply were out-played all the way. It wasn’t a question of turnovers; Holy Cross had 13 and UT Martin had 8. It came down to shooting. UT Martin shot 16-61 for 26.2%, and Holy Cross shot 28-61 for 45.9%. There were 12 fouls for each team, not a huge amount.
The Skyhawks went 1-19 from three. Holy Cross had 20 assists on 28 made buckets while UT Martin had 5 on 16. Although UT Martin lost to Southern Indiana in the OVC championship game, South Indiana was not eligible for an automatic bid because of their reclassification period into Division I. For the Skyhawks, Anaya Brown led with 15 points, Kenley McCarn scored 12, and Love Mays 10.
For Holy Cross, Cara McCormack had a career-high night with 23 points including seven threes, and Bronagh Power-Cassidy added 15 points with 3 threes. During the game, the camera focused on Caitlin Clark and company a few times. While they all had smiles on their faces, I couldn’t help but wonder if the 3-point shooting display had made something of an impression on the Iowa team.
Took care of business 💼#GoCrossGo | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/pV9OCTZRv0
— Holy Cross Women's Basketball (@HCrossWBB) March 22, 2024
Granted, playing Iowa is going to be a tough battle for Holy Cross, but as we all know, anything can happen. Is there even a remote possibility of an upset? There always is. Will this be one of them? I for one am looking forward to this game.
March Madness gets into full swing
So the field is now fully set, and the real madness starts today. From here on in, I’ll be covering the Portland 3 Region, which boasts four games today: Ohio State versus Maine at noon ET on ESPN, Duke versus Richmond at 2:30 PM ET on ESPNN, Virginia Tech versus Marshall at 3:30 PM ET on ESPN2, and Baylor versus Vanderbilt at 6:00 PM ET on ESPNU. Call in sick to work, take a mental health day but find a way to enjoy what will be an exciting and perhaps surprising tournament.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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