March Madness: Round of 64 Superlatives

The First Round of the 2025 NCAAM Tournament has officially come to a close. We did not see a ton of upsets or drama but it was still an entertaining first two days! Here are some of my picks for the best performances of Thursday and Friday. Comment which teams and players impressed you and what you look forward to for the Round of 32!

SOUTH REGION

Best Team Performance

  • Iowa State: The Cyclones suffocated the Lipscomb Bisons in their first round matchup, looking like the dominant team we saw early in the season. If Milan Momcilivic continues to play like this throughout the tournament, Iowa State is without a doubt a championship contender.

Best Individual Performance

  • Jamiya Neal, G, Creighton: 29pts, 12reb, 6ast, 68% FG

Best Game

  • Michigan (68) vs UC San Diego (65)

Most Disappointing Performance

  • Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, G, UCSD: The Big West Player of the Year simply could not figure out how to handle to size and physicality of the Wolverines. The 6'6" senior fouled out in 24 minutes and finished with just 7 points.

R64 All South Team

Miles Kelly, G, Auburn
Jamiya Neal, G, Creighton
Tyler McGhie, G, UCSD
Pharrel Payne, F, Texas A&M
David Joplin, F, Marquette

WEST REGION

Best Team Performance

  • Maryland: The 'Crab Five' lived up to the hype, holding the Lopes to just 28.6% shooting in a dominant win.

Best Individual Performance

  • Kerwin Walton, G, Texas Tech: 27pts, 8/19 3PT

Best Game

  • Arkansas (79) vs Kansas (72)

Most Disappointing Performance

  • PJ Haggerty, G, Memphis: The 2nd Team All American didn't have it, shooting just 30% from the field and finishing with more turnover than assists.

R64 All West Team

Walter Clayton Jr, G, Florida
Jeremiah Fears, G, Oklahoma
Bennett Stirtz, G, Drake
Kerwin Walton, G, Texas Tech
Jonas Aidoo, F, Arkansas

EAST REGION

Best Team Performance

  • Arizona: The Wildcats continued their recent strong stretch of play and look to challenge former Pac-12 rivals the Oregon Ducks on Sunday.

Best Individual Performance

  • Amarion Dickerson, F, Robert Morris: 25pts, 9reb, 3stl, 2blk

Best Game

  • Alabama (90) vs Robert Morris (81)

Most Disappointing Performance

  • Max Shulga, G, VCU: The A10 Player of the Year was did not have a terrible game statistically but he was not what the Rams needed to win this game. He deferred too often and was not aggressive enough.

R64 All East Team

Josh Hubbard, G, Mississippi State
Mark Sears, G, Alabama
Cliff Omoruyi, F, Alabama
Amarion Dickerson, F, Robert Morris
Steven Crowl, F, Wisconsin

MIDWEST REGION

Best Team Performance

  • Houston: Kelvin Sampson has his team playing at an elite level. Nobody wants a piece of the Cougars right now.

Best Individual Performance

  • Otega Oweh, G, Kentucky: 20pts, 8reb, 6ast

Best Game

  • McNeese (69) vs Clemson (67)

Most Disappointing Performance

  • Utah State: The Aggies averaged nearly 80 points per game this season but were held under 50 against the Bruins on awful shooting splits.

R64 All Midwest Team

Otega Oweh, G, Kentucky
Chaz Lanier, G, Tennessee
Will Riley, F, Illinois
Dailyn Swain, F, Xavier
Trey Kaufman-Renn, F, Purdue

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 21, 2025 at 10:04 PM

    Poor Max Shulga! Imagine deferring too often and not taking needed shots!!

    ReplyDelete

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