The “March Madness” officially began on Tuesday with the usual first stage of the tournament: the “First Four”, this round of play-offs whose challenge is to determine the last four of the 64 teams qualified for the salvo of first rounds, which start at from tomorrow to the four corners of the country.
The more interesting of the two posters on the program tonight, this Pittsburgh – Mississippi State offered an exciting match, concluded as very often in the NCAA tournament in the dying seconds.
After a bitter 40-minute fight between the two teams, the outcome turned in favor of the Panthers, who thanks to a mid-range shot from their usual finisher during the regular season Jamarius Burton ten seconds from the end of the match stopped a 7-0 from their opponents, and won the victory a few seconds later, after a missed “game-winner” from Shakeel Moore, the leader of the Bulldogs (60-59).
” When the ball was in my hands in the last seconds, I thought it was my time declared after the fact Jamarius Burton, savior of his team when he had only scored 4 small points before this decisive shot. ” I went to a spot that I liked, and I cocked my shot with the utmost confidence. »
Trampled on the rebound, with a differential of +21 in favor of Mississippi State (49 to 28), and in particular +12 on the offensive rebound (18 to 6), the Panthers were able to round their backs by compensating with a good address behind the bow and a solid defense in the paint. Until delivering the coup de grace through Burton.
” We showed resilience » then appreciated Jeff Capel, the Pittsburgh coach. ” We played our game, deployed our usual identity. It wasn’t pretty at times, but the result is. We are very dictated to go to Greensboro. »
With this success, their first in a “March Madness” since 2014, the Panthers effectively validate their ticket for the first round. It will be Friday, with a #11 seed in the Midwest in Greensboro, NC, against the #6 seeded Iowa State.
Read also : Favourites, calendar, stars to follow, broadcasters…. The Complete Guide to March Madness 2023
Note that the other poster of the night saw Texas A&M Corpus Christian win, again after a breathless “money-time”, against Southeast Missouri State (75-71). The Islanders are therefore also qualified for the first round, looking like a poisoned gift: a seeded #16 in the South region, against… Alabama seeded #1…
Tonight will see the final two games of the First Four: Nevada vs. Arizona State for a #11 first-round seed in the West Region, and Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Texas Southern for a #16 first-round seed in the West Region. the East region.
