The first full evening of “March Madness” has already shattered numerous brackets. The fault in particular of Kentucky, the first big name in the competition eliminated in the first round on Thursday. The Wildcats, seeded #3 in the “South” quarter of the table, were dominated by Oakland (#14), 76-80. The Golden Grizzlies (24-11), winners of the modest Horizon League to secure their place, struck a huge blow, having not beaten major programs this season. This XXL “upset” bears the name of Jack Gohlke, compulsive shooter and unlikely hero with his career record of 32 points, including 10/20 from 3-point range!
Kentucky will hardly be able to harbor any regrets, having not led in the score during the last quarter of an hour of the match. Its young stars have barely shone. Coming off the bench, Rob Dillingham finished with 10 points at 2/9, when Reed Shepperd signed 3 small points in 26 minutes. Only Antonio Reeves held his place with his 27 units, in vain.
As in 2022 against Saint-Peter's, the team of coach John Calipari is eliminated prematurely by a team beyond the 10th seed, the coach admitting that he may have to change his methods…
Mohamed Diarra shines
Among the other surprises of the evening, the North Carolina State Wolfpack confirmed its status as a potential head-turner by comfortably dominating Texas Tech (#6) 80-67.
French Mohamed Diarra is riding on its good end to the regular season and was decisive with a big double-double: 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks. NC State (#11) will be Oakland's next opponent, a “double-digit seed” will therefore be present in the Sweet Sixteen, the regional semi-finals.
Duquesne University (#11), led by LeBron James' former high school coach, continues its journey after its victory over BYU (#6), 71-67. Oregon (#11) for its part dismissed South Carolina (73-87) with an incandescent Jermaine Couisnard at 40 points, all against his former university. It was necessary to go back to a certain Stephen Curry to see a player from a team ranked higher than 10th score 40 points in a “March Madness” game.
Among the contenders for the title, no bad surprises for North Carolina, easy winner of Wagner (90-62), Arizona (85-65 against Long Beach State), Tennessee (83-49 against Saint-Peter's) or Iowa State ( 82-65 against South Dakota State). The big controversy of the evening came during Kansas' victory against Samford (#13), 93-89. With 15 seconds left, at 90-89, the referees awarded two free throws to the Jayhawks following a foul on Nic Timberlake on the fast break.
The images are however clear: AJ Staton-McCray's counterattack is impeccable and should have given Samford one last possession, with only a point behind. Kansas (#4) will face Gonzaga (#5) in the next round.
