NCAA Tournament Seattle Pod recap
The Seattle pod featured play from the East and South regions, matching up the following teams:
East Regional
#4 Louisville vs. #13 UC-Irvine
#5 Northern Iowa vs. #12 Wyoming
South Regional
#2 Gonzaga vs. #15 North Dakota State
#7 Iowa vs. #10 Davidson
The opening matchup of the day featured Northern Iowa, a team that had been flirting with the top 10 the last couple of months of the regular season. Supporters might have felt justifiably upset at the Tournament committee only giving the Panthers a 5 seed. Ahead by 21 at one point, Wyoming could get no closer than 7 points in the 2nd half, as Northern Iowa finished with 5 players in double digits and the comfortable 17-point win.
Outside shooting helps Northern Iowa advance to the Round of 32. #MarchMadness #StepUpPerformance http://t.co/1LfOQkcGOF
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 20, 2015
Seth Tuttle struggled with his shot on the day, but still finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Paul Jesperson drained 3 three-pointers off the bench to lead the team with 16 points. Showing the balance this team possesses, their bench finished with 41 points and 13 rebounds. Larry Nance, Jr. was the headliner for Wyoming, with 16 points, tying Jesperson for the game high, and 7 rebounds.
Though all the higher-seeded teams won in this pod on Friday, upset-minded UC Irvine gave it their all in stretching 2013 national champion Louisville.
7′ 6″ Mamadou Ndiaye, as expected, was an imposing presence in the paint, and his 12 points came about mainly as a result of dunks.
HIGHLIGHT: Huge slam by the Anteaters! http://t.co/7vkYedy87m
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 20, 2015
With Ndiaye’s physical size and shot-altering ability inside, it was always going to be up to Louisville’s backcourt to come through, and the trio of Terry Rozier, Quentin Snider, and Wayne Blackshear stepped up in a big way, combining for 47 of Louisville’s points in the 57-55 win. They also combined for 15 rebounds and 7 assists.
UCI were able to keep it close with Will Davis II running the offense, and as the big men cancelled each other out, the backcourt advantage proved to be ultimately decisive for Louisville.
With key player Tyler Kalinoski in foul trouble and his teammates unable to shoot well to compensate, Davidson were simply unable to cope with Iowa’s size and rebounding ability. A 24-9 run following Kalinoski’s benching after his early 2nd foul was essentially the end of the game, and another 18-3 run in the 2nd half confirmed it.
HIGHLIGHT: BOOM! http://t.co/oTw9X7wtFx
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 21, 2015
Aaron White was in fine form for the Hawkeyes, finishing with 26 points on 11-14 shooting and 6 rebounds. Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said, “When he gets going like that, it becomes infectious to the rest of the team. When you’re playing at the energy level that he plays with, that’s what everybody else wants to do.”
Peyton Aldridge led all Davidson scorers with 14.
North Dakota State, coming off an upset win as a 13 seed in the first round last year, might have had the same intentions this year as a 15 seed, and their style of play certainly endeared them to neutrals. However, Gonzaga were simply too strong, and in front of a pro-Bulldog crowd, Kyle Wiltjer‘s 23 points led all scorers.
The Bison were able to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 6 at one point in the second half, but Kevin Pangos responded with a 4-point play, and a stunned North Dakota State could not respond the rest of the way as the game finished with Gonzaga winning 86-76.
HIGHLIGHT: Great defense leads to a breakaway slam for the Bulldogs! http://t.co/BTFjSjv59o
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 21, 2015
Besides Wiltjer and Pangos, Przemek Karnowski and Gary Bell Jr. all scored in double-digits for Gonzaga. Dexter Werner led the scoring for NDSU, with 22.