Florida Atlantic vs San Diego State
San Diego State started the 1st half up 14 – 5 with 14:00 to go. Florida Atlantic answered with a run of their own, making it 21 – 17 with Florida Atlantic up 4 with 9:00 on the clock. FAU’s Jalen Gaffney a transfer from UConn hits a deep 3-pointer with 7:25 on the clock in the 1st half, putting Florida Atlantic 26 – 24.
FAU‘s defense played strong in the 1st half with Giancarlo Rosado swatting away San Diego State’s Keshad Johnson’s layup attempt with 5:27 in the 1st half. At 4:32 in the 1st half San Diego State’s Aguek Arop makes a tough hook shot to get his team back to within sic points of the lead. FAU’s Alijah Martin answers with a layup and gets fouled on the play making it 40-33 at the half.
San Diego State who has the best defense in College basketball started out slow but came on strong in the 2nd half. San Diego State’s Nathan Mensah blocked FAU’s shot at 18:00 to go in the 2nd half. FAU’s Bryan Greenlee fought through traffic with a tough layup to make it 49-40 with 16:25 to go in the 2nd half. FAU up 13 pts in the 2nd half, saw their lead slowly slip away to 60-58 with 9:00 left in the game.
FAU’s Alijah Martin slam dunk made it 62-58 with 8:00 to go. FAU’s Giancarlo Rosado comes up with a big swat at the 5:13 mark of the 2nd half. Rosado once again comes up big with a fadeaway jumper to make it 67-65 giving FAU a 2-point lead with 4:00 to go. FAU’s Alijah Martin makes a tough reverse layup to give FAU a 3-point with 45 seconds to go. San Diego State’s Jaedon LeDee makes a jumper with 38 seconds to go making it 71-70 FAU up only 1 point.
FAU’s Johnell Davis misses a jumper shot with 10 seconds giving San Diego State one shining moment in the tournament to capitalize on. San Diego State got the rebound off the miss and gave the ball to Lamont Butler. Butler then comes down the court with time running out and hits a pull-up jumper as time expires to win the game and send the Owls home from a storybook run during March Madness.
Miami (FL) vs UConn
UConn‘s basketball team started the season 14-0 and showed everyone why that was the case in the tournament. UConn started the game on a 9-0 run, with 13:45 in the 1st half. UConn’s Tristen Newton hit a deep 3-pointer making it 14-4. Miami’s layup by Bensley Joseph pulls them with five making it 1 -16 with 11:00 to go.
A turnover by UConn leads to a slam dunk by Harlond Beverly making it a 13-16 game, UConn is only up 3 points. Miami’s Jordan Miller fights for a tough put-back layup and gets fouled on the play making it 18-16 UConn lead. UConn’s Tristen Newton delivers with a sweet dime to Joey Calcaterra for the easy layup. Now it is 21-19 UConn’s lead with 7:00 to go in the 1st half. UConn’s Donovan Clingan blocks Miami’s Nijel Pack’s shot giving UConn a 27-19 lead with 4:00 left. UConn’s Alex Karaban sinks a 3-pointer at the 1st half buzzer giving UConn a 37-24 lead.
UConn opens the 2nd half on a 9-2 run making it 46-26. UConn is up 20 points. Miami’s Nijel Pack makes a layup with 16:07 in the 2nd half 46-28 UConn. Miami’s Bensley Joseph makes a deep 3-pointer at the 15:07 mark in the 2nd half, but UConn is still up 49-33. Miami is desperate for a turnover, Isaiah Wong steals the ball and leads to a jam. UConn is up 49-35.
Another UConn turnover leads to an easy score from Miami’s Norchad Omier cutting the lead to 49-37 UConn. That’s as close as Miami would get in the 2nd half as both teams would trade baskets for the remainder of the game. UConn’s Andre Jackson’s monster jam with 7:14 made it a 62-47 lead. Jackson once again answers for UConn with an ally-oop jam with 3:36 to go 2nd half. UConn 68-54.
Conn goes on to win 72-59.
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