Game Recap: (2) Wisconsin vs. (8) Kentucky

Well... That's why they call it March Madness. Traevon Jackson missed a free throw that would have put Wisconsin up by three and Aaron Harrison hit yet another clutch three to give Kentucky the game. Oddly enough, up until this sequence of events, Wisconsin had yet to miss a free throw and Kentucky had made just one three pointer. The question we are all going to be wondering is "where was Frank Kaminsky today?" I'll tell you where Kaminsky was - he was being double-teamed by Kentucky every time he saw the ball. I can't say I'm usually a fan of coach Calipari, but his defensive game plan against Kaminsky was brilliant. Also stepping up for Kentucky, outside of Harrison and Calipari, was the always-reliable Julius Randle (16 points, 5 boards), the never-reliable James Young (17 points) and the consistently-mediocre Dakari Johnson (10 points, 7 boards). However, my player of the game was Alex Poythress. Poythress was supposed to be one of the best freshmen in the country last year, but his performance was fairly underwhelming for Kentucky (despite starting most of the games). However, he may have totally redeemed himself with his incredible performance in the last five minutes of this game; Poythress scored eight points on just four shots and also recorded eight rebounds. The most important thing that he brought to this Kentucky side, though, was his energy, as he recorded a monstrous dunk to pull Kentucky back into the game around the 5 minute mark and athletically finished an impossible alley-oop to give Kentucky a two point lead with just over 2 minutes left. Needless to say, this NCAA tournament has been one of the most exciting ones in recent memory, and this game only added to the thrill.

Game Recap: (1) Florida vs. (7) Connecticut

If you told me that Shabazz Napier would have just 12 points and Casey Prather would combine with Patric Young to score 34 points, I quickly would have flown to Vegas and placed all of the money on the Florida Gators. However, UConn didn't need Napier to have an incredible scoring game, as DeAndre Daniels dominated, with 20 points and 10 boards, and only one starter scored fewer than 10 points. Meanwhile, outside of of Young and Prather, not a single Gator scored more than 7 points. Florida have succeeded this season because they receive great contributions from nearly all of their players, but today, Scottie Wilbekin, Michael Frazier II, Will Yequete, and Dorian Finney-Smith combined for just 12 total points, despite the four of them averaging more than 40 combined points per game during the season. Before the game, people were unsure of whether UConn had the depth behind Shabazz Napier, but with the performances of Daniels, Boatright, and Giffey against Florida, they look a quite formidable team entering the finals.

Game Recap: (4) San Diego State University vs. (1) Arizona

Pac 12 player of the year Nick Johnson was 0 for 10 from the field for 0 points with under three minutes remaining and Arizona leading by just three.  When he finally got it going, they didn't have too much trouble closing out the game.  Johnson scored 15 points in the final three minutes including all eight of his free throws, but he really has Aaron Gordon and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to thank for even putting him in the situation to have that sort of finish.  Gordon and Hollis-Jefferson ended the game with more than half of Arizona's points, which will give them great hope going forward, as previously it's been Nick Johnson carrying most of the load.  Some credit must be given to Sand Diego State, in particular Xavier Thames and Josh Davis, for having the upper hand for much of the game, but in the end, Arizona was simply the better team.

Game Recap: (4) UCLA vs. (1) Florida

There is no doubt in my mind that UCLA's Kyle Anderson was the best player in this game.  However, as is generally the case, Florida won because they were the better overall team.  There was not a single player on Florida that didn't have an impact when they were in the game, but undoubtedly the most impressive performance from Florida was that of Scottie Wilbekin down the stretch.  Wilbekin made several impossible shots to seal the game for the Gators, including an outrageous banked jump shot over a much taller defender to put them up seven with just 2:38 left.  Though this contest was much closer than the score would indicate, Florida will be enthused by the result over a UCLA team that I believe had one of the most talented rosters in the whole tournament.

Game Recap: (6) Baylor vs. (2) Wisconsin

Wisconsin was criminally underrated coming into this game against the Baylor Bears.  People ate up the exciting, fast paced offense of the Bears and rejected the slow, often boring play style of the Badgers.  It just goes to show that exciting basketball doesn't always make efficient basketball, while boring basketball, when used correctly, can make for extremely effective basketball.  The Badgers played great defense and (to nobody's surprise) ran half court set after half court set to perfection on their way to an absolute route of Baylor.  The television providers won't be happy, but Wisconsin will move on to the Elite Eight and look poised to stay in the tournament even longer.

Game Recap: (11) Dayton vs. (10) Stanford

Coming into this game, the majority of college basketball experts said that Stanford had the better team, and I would have agreed with them.  Stanford have fantastic scoring threats - Dwight Powell, Josh Huestis, and Chasson Randle all average double digit points - and they played in a slightly more prestigious league than Dayton, the Pac 12.  However, they never could have expected the level of intensity and hustle that Dayton would bring to the game.  Simply enough, Dayton wanted the win so much more than Stanford.  Maybe at some point Dayton's lack of world-beating talent will catch up to them, but it hasn't happened yet... So long Stanford cowbell boy, and hello Dayton Flyers.  Welcome to the Elite Eight.

Game Recap: (1) Syracuse vs. (5) Duke

The big storyline of this game will likely be how Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was ejected with just ten seconds left to seal the win for Duke, but that should not be the case.  The game was an amazing one and tightly contested from start to finish.  Syracuse big men Jerami Grant and C.J. Fair were fantastic all game long, while Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood spearheaded the Duke attack.  Parker was undeniably the player of the game, but if C.J. Fair's potentially game-tying, acrobatic layup had not been disallowed due to a suspect charging call, he could have made a case for the honors himself.  The aspect of the game that will have everyone talking was the charge call.  At that point, Duke was leading 60 to 58, and Syracuse needed a basket, as there was little time left.  Fair drove baseline, and was met by Duke's Rodney Hood, who appeared to have arrived a tad bit late.  According to NCAA rules, the player who is taking the charge must be in position and stationary before the offensive player begins his motion upwards towards the basket.  It is not clear that Hood got there in time, but the technical fouls on Boeheim that followed can not be disputed.  His actions were absolutely deserving of the technicals, which is unfortunate because it will likely overshadow the game itself.  Syracuse's major downfall came in their outside shooting and the play of their two guards, Tyler Ennis and Trevor Cooney.  They shot a combined 3 for 18, which is hugely due to the intense and aggressive defensive play of Duke guards Rasheed Sulaiman and Tyler Thornton.  I hope that when we look back on this game, we won't be talking about the actions of Jim Boeheim or the uncertainty of the charge call, but rather the incredible offensive and defensive performance put on by Duke.

U could debate the block / charge call but refs HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO T Jim Boeheim up-sad a gr8 game ended like that. @JL23TV @TomWJones
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) February 23, 2014

Syracuse shot 39 percent as a team, let Duke shoot 48 pct, went 2 for 9 from three. But they lost because it was Tony Greene's fault.
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) February 23, 2014

Duke: 1st win over AP No. 1 since beating Arizona in 1997 and 1st at HOME since beating Michigan in 1992. #CUSEvsDUKE
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 23, 2014

Game Recap: (7) Cincinnati vs. (11) Louisville

Cincinnati managed to contain Louisville's Russ Smith for 39 minutes and 58 seconds, but all Smith needed was those two remaining seconds to put his stamp on this game.  I suggested before the game that the Smith vs. Kilpatrick matchup was one to keep an eye on, and Kilpatrick held up his end of the bargain, finishing the game with 28 points and 6 rebounds.  Meanwhile, Smith struggled for the most part, shooting 3 for 10 on the game for just 10 points, but the only contribution from Russ that people will remember was his beautiful jumper to give Louisville the lead with just two seconds left.  In all honesty, the game probably came down to supporting casts around these two superstars.  While Louisville's big man Montrez Harrell put up 21 points and 10 rebounds to support Russ Smith, Cincinnati lacked any sort of support around Kilpatrick, with the next highest scorer after him only recording eight points.  This is a tough loss for Cincinnati, as they fought back so valiantly after being down fairly big late in the second half, but Louisville probably deserved the win.

RUSS SMITH IS CLUTCH! No. 11 Louisville beats No. 7 Cincinnati, 58-57. Cardinals' 1st win vs. ranked team this season.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 22, 2014

RUSSDICULOUS! Russ Smith delivers a game-winner with 2.2 seconds left to give Louisville a 58-57 win! http://t.co/FvDVAsFRaZ
— CBSSports.com (@CBSSports) February 22, 2014