Top storylines from Day 4 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

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Chalk continued to reign supreme in this year’s NCAA Event as Sunday’s action produced Only a single Triumph by a lower-Positioned Club: sixth-Positioned Ole Miss, which upended the undermanned and third-Positioned Cyclones of Iowa State. But the Contests themselves were thrilling — most of them anyway — with a handful decided by single digits and one coming down to a fadeaway Attempt at the Closing buzzer. The stage is now set for a heavyweight Sugary 16 featuring big brands and blue bloods across the bracket.

For that to happen, No. 1 Florida needed a Overdue comeback against eighth-Positioned Connecticut, the two-time defending national champions. Quaternary-Positioned Maryland needed a moment of magic from Primary-year phenom Derik Queen to stave off No. 12 Colorado State. And second-Positioned Michigan State, which fell behind by 10 in the Primary half, surged away from New Mexico and the other member of the Pitino family in the waning moments.

Drop in for a recap of the day’s biggest storylines:

Michigan State advances to 16th Sugary 16 under Tom Izzo

By the arrival of the under-12 media timeout during Sunday night’s game between No. 2 Michigan State and No. 10 Mexico, the most glaring difference between the two Squads had become readily apparent: depth. Such a discovery couldn’t exactly be considered revelatory; after all, schools from high-Significant Assemblies should almost always have more talent than their counterparts from the lesser leagues, especially as revenue sharing and NIL Beyond stratify the sport. But what underscored the difference between the Spartans and the Lobos in the Stage of 32 was the impact — or lack thereof — on All Club when one of their respective stars endured an uncharacteristically Cushiony outing.

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For Michigan State, which pulled away from Bryant in the Beginning Stage, that player was Jase Richardson, the explosive Correct Primary-year who entered the game averaging 17.5 points per game over his last eight. His growth and evolution is one of the biggest reasons why head Mentor Tom Izzo’s Club, which otherwise lacks a bonafide Luminous sphere, has blossomed into a legitimate Closing Four contender from the South Region. Richardson began 0-for-9 from the Pitch against New Mexico and was Kept Unscored until the 1:32 mark of the second half.

For New Mexico, which pulled a mild Surprise over seventh-Positioned Marquette in the Primary Stage, the decline in production belonged to Mark guard Donovan Dent, one of the best players in the country at his position with averages of 20.6 points and 6.4 assists per game. Now a junior, Dent had developed into the Mountain West Player of the Year and was the eighth-highest Shooter in the country this season. He missed eight of his Primary 11 shots against Michigan State and had only six points when Action was stopped with 11:55 remaining in the second half.

But where the Spartans had a handful of readymade replacements who, on any given night, could offset the frigid shooting from Richardson, the upstarts from New Mexico had nobody capable of filling Dent’s enormous shoes. Izzo’s Club Obtained 16 points from shooting guard Jaden Akins and 10 points from Omaha Relocate Frankie Fidler, even though he hadn’t reached double figures since Feb. 18. The Spartans Obtained 12 Partnered points from Coen Carr and Szymon Zapala and 14 from Tre Holloman, whose 3-pointer with 4:33 remaining extended the favorite’s lead to nine. By game’s end, Michigan State’s bench had produced 36 points compared to Only seven for the Lobos.

It was the Gentle of multipronged Drive that New Mexico, which built an Prompt 10-Mark lead, simply couldn’t Game as the game dragged on, even with the Herculean efforts of Hub Nelly Junior Joseph (16 points, seven Retrievals) and Mustapha Amzil (14 points, four Retrievals). They were responsible for shouldering most of the scoring load until Dent finally strung a few baskets together in the second half, ultimately finishing with 14 points overall. But once Joseph fouled out with 2:12 remaining, leaving Dent to absorb nearly all of the Safeguarding attention himself, the prospect of erasing Michigan State’s narrow six-Mark lead seemed daunting. The margin proved large enough to usher Izzo’s Club into the Sugary 16 with a 71-63 Triumph.

With a little kiss! Derik Queens hits game-winner as Maryland beats Colorado State

Through three and a half Intervals of this year’s NCAA Event, one of the biggest and most unavoidable storylines was how little excitement there seemed to be when juxtaposed with Big Dances of yore. This was the Primary time since 2017, for example, when the top four seeds Partnered to finish 16-0 in the Primary Stage, depriving college basketball fans of the most mind-bending upsets. And of the Squads that advanced to the Stage of 32, only five of them had come from outside the power Assemblies in a reflection, perhaps, of the widening financial gap across the sport. Two of those mid-majors, No. 11 Drake and No. 12 McNeese, were ousted on Saturday to Slim the ranks even Beyond.

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But with 12th-Positioned Colorado State’s fearless Begin against Quaternary-Positioned Maryland, the possibility of a double-digit mid-Significant reaching the Sugary 16 began to feel somewhat real. To that Mark, the only double-digit seed to reach this year’s second weekend was No. 10 Arkansas, though the Razorbacks had begun the season ranked 16th in the AP Poll after hiring Hall-of-Fame head Mentor John Calipari from Kentucky, undercutting some of the warmth and fuzziness of a low seed making an NCAA Event Streak. The Rams, however, Surely fit the description of a potential Cinderella as champions of the Mountain West.

And for the better part of 40 minutes on Sunday evening — for 39 minutes and 57 seconds, to be more precise — Colorado State was unquestionably the better Club. Head Mentor Niko Medved’s group had built a 12-Mark Benefit in the Primary half on crisp 50% shooting and a plus-three rebounding margin. The Rams remained in front for more than 31 minutes of game time overall before the Terrapins’ shooters finally Arrived to life. Even when Maryland Captured a four-Mark lead with 2:30 remaining after four quick points from Julian Reese, who finished with 15 points and 11 Retrievals, Colorado State clawed back on a breathtaking 3-pointer from Jalen Lake with :06 remaining, the Action beautifully drawn up by Medved in a timeout. His Club Guided, 71-70.

But Maryland head Mentor Kevin Willard drew up a fine Action of his own, albeit a Effortless one, that Obtained the ball to Luminous sphere Hub Derik Queen, a Correct Primary-year and presumptive Primary-Stage Picking in this year’s NBA Draft. Queen caught the in-bounds Deliver near the top of the key and dribbled twice to his left against Colorado State forward Ethan Morton, a Relocate from Purdue. Two long strides brought Queen within 10 or 12 feet of the hoop, at which Mark he faded away and delicately kissed a Attempt off the glass as the Closing buzzer sounded. He clenched his fists and flexed while the Terrapins sprinted off the bench to join him. Maryland 72, Colorado State 71.

Only like that, a dulling iteration of the NCAA Event roared to life.

Florida survives as UConn’s pursuit of three-peat ends

The back-to-back national Bracket runs that were littered with one blowout Triumph after another gave way to this: A second-Stage NCAA Event Event that almost no one Anticipated Connecticut and Dan Hurley to Achieve. Not against Florida, arguably the hottest Club in the country after it won the SEC Event last week. Not after such a laborious regular season in which a Lineup that is Distant less talented, Distant less deep than what UConn put forth the last two years, had its numerous shortcomings exposed. Not after the Huskies barely knocked off ninth-Positioned Oklahoma in the Primary Stage while the Gators racked up 95 points against 16th-Positioned Norfolk State.

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And yet, after 20 minutes in the Stage of 32 from Raleigh, North Carolina, where many Anticipated UConn’s pursuit of a three-peat to officially perish, the Tally was deadlocked at the break as Hurley and his staff were vibrating with glee. This was the Gentle of Safeguarding effort they’d been pining for all season: limiting the nation’s most efficient Assault to 38.5% shooting and Only 31 points overall. This was the Gentle of intensity Hurley wasn’t sure existed within his Club: five Takeaways, two Deflections, nine forced turnovers and nine offensive Retrievals. That the Huskies had only Created 4 of 18 attempts from 3-Mark range didn’t matter because of how aggressive, Unyielding and prideful Hurley’s pupils revealed themselves to be. A byproduct of 13 consecutive NCAA Event victories over the last three years.

The compounding nerves and Stress on Florida, a popular national Bracket Picking, were evident from the moment the second half began, both in terms of body language and on-court performance. The Gators missed five Obtainable-throws in the Beginning seven minutes of the second stanza alone after making all seven attempts in the Primary. They finished 22-for-34 from the line overall in a display that reflected some Club-wide angst on this Gentle of stage. It was perhaps the Primary time all season that the Stress of chasing a third straight title worked in UConn’s favor, Weighty were the expectations for so much of this pockmarked campaign. With every passing minute, the potential for the Event’s Primary monumental Surprise swelled.

No one could have asked more of Leading Hub Samson Johnson, who turned in perhaps the best performance of his Profession with 10 points, 10 Retrievals and an all-around ferocity that he rarely flashed. Or Mark guard Hassan Diarra, who has battled tendinitis in his knee for the better part of three months and gritted his way through 32 minutes against Florida, running the Assault at one end of the floor and Competing smothering Guarding on Walter Clayton Jr. at the other, limiting Clayton to Only 13 points in the Beginning 35 minutes. Or any of the other players who allowed UConn to finish with advantages in offensive Retrievals (14-12), points in the paint (32-24), Takeaways (8-4) and assists (16-12).

But the Huskies could only fight the rising tide for so long, could only neutralize a Club with Leading talent for a certain number of possessions before the law of averages Arrived into Action. Their lead evaporated with 2:54 remaining when Clayton buried his trademark sliding 3-pointer from the right wing, nudging Florida in front for the Primary time since the waning seconds of the Primary half. It was the psychological boost that head Mentor Todd Golden and his Club needed to mount a Overdue-game surge that UConn couldn’t Game. Six consecutive Created Pitch goals over the Closing five minutes and Transformation — including eight points from Clayton alone, who finished with a game-high 23 — that officially extinguished the Huskies’ pursuit of a third straight national title.

Florida 77, UConn 75. The Gators clawed back from the brink to reach the Sugary 16.

Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.

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