While the two early games were back-and-forth nailbiters, both of last night’s late NCAA tournament games were absolute destruction. You really have to wonder about those silly people who were calling for upsets after games like these. Huh? The lower seeds both won ?
Arizona Wildcats 93, Duke Blue Devils 77 — At halftime, Derrick Williams was keeping the Wildcats in a closely contested game all by himself. After halftime, Arizona completely had their way with the Blue Devils. Williams finished with 32 points and 13 rebounds, Arizona outrebounded Duke by 11, and dominated the paint in the second half en route to a blowout victory that was never close down the stretch. Lamont Jones added 16 for the Wildcats, who will advance to take on Connecticut in the West Regional finals. Kyrie Irving led the way with 28 for the Blue Devils, but his return continued to take Nolan Smith out of the offense; Smith shot just 3-14 from the field and finished with eight points.
Butler Bulldogs 61, Wisconsin Badgers 54 — A late spurt by Wisconsin made this score much closer than it actually was. Butler spent most of the second half up by double digits that hovered around 20. Matt Howard led a balanced attack for the Bulldogs with 20 points, but the real difference maker for Butler was defense. They held one of the most efficient offenses in the NCAA to 30.4% shooting from the field. Jordan Taylor was the only Badger in double figures, and it took him 19 shots to get 22 points. Butler will move on to the Southeast Regional final, where they’ll take on the Florida Gators.
The updated Southeast and West brackets look like this:
SOUTHEAST BRACKET
8) Butler
vs.
2) Florida
WEST BRACKET
5) Arizona
vs.
3) Connecticut
For more, please check out SB Nation's printable bracket.