Among the favorites for the title this season, Houston seemed to be heading fairly quietly towards the Sweet 16, against Texas A&M. Except that “March Madness” is the realm of madness, and after never having completely let go, the Agies took advantage of a few shots (finally) made by Wade Taylor IV to believe in a miracle.
Wade Taylor IV multiplied the misses in the final seconds but Texas A&M benefited from a behind throw-in. There were 1.2 seconds left on the clock and it was Andersson Garcia who was found at 3-points. Bingo!
The two teams went to overtime (86-86) but, generally stronger, the Cougars would finally regain control of the match to win (100-95). Kelvin Sampson could thus be proud of his players, the coach even explaining that he did not remember a victory “more satisfactory”.
The other favorites shook much less, Purdue having notably crushed Utah State (106-67) behind 23 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks from Zach Edey in barely 27 minutes on the field. No worries either Connecticut (75-58), who took off from the start against Northwestern and never looked back.
Behind a superb 8/11 3-pointer from Jared McCain, Duke also easily brushed aside James Madison, who had beaten Marylan in the previous round.
THE SWEET 16 PROGRAM
EAST REGION
#1 Connecticut – #5 San Diego State
#3 Illinois – #2 Iowa State
WEST REGION
#1 North Carolina – #4 Alabama
#6 Clemson – #2 Arizona
SOUTH REGION
#1 Houston – #4 Duke
#1 NC State – #2 Marquette
MIDWEST REGION
#1 Purdue – #5 Gonzaga
#3 Creighton – #2 Tennessee
