{"id":7903,"date":"2026-03-21T12:24:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T12:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/7903\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T12:24:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T12:24:09","slug":"ncaa-tournament-takeaways-day-2-kentucky-survives-on-buzzer-beater-miami-ohio-exits-and-iowa-state-loses-joshua-jefferson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/7903\/","title":{"rendered":"NCAA tournament takeaways, Day 2: Kentucky survives on buzzer-beater, Miami (Ohio) exits and Iowa State loses Joshua Jefferson"},"content":{"rendered":"

The men\u2019s NCAA tournament<\/a> tipped off on Thursday, and Friday was a lot more straightforward across the board as the opening round of the tournament came to a close.<\/p>\n

But the madness truly started on Friday with the first game of the day.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Drama during and after Kentucky-Santa Clara game<\/p>\n

No. 7 Kentucky was on the verge of a first-round loss when No. 10 Santa Clara hit a go-ahead 3 with 2.4 seconds remaining in regulation. But the Wildcats raced down the court, and Otega Oweh (35 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists) launched a prayer from near halfcourt that banked off the glass and in as the buzzer sounded.<\/p>\n

Oweh\u2019s 3 sent the game to overtime, where Kentucky secured an 89-84 win<\/a> to advance to the second round. But the drama wasn\u2019t done.<\/p>\n

After the game, Santa Clara head coach Herb Sendek was not pleased<\/a>. He\u2019d signaled for a dead-ball timeout after Santa Clara\u2019s made 3 to set up his defense. But officials neither saw the signal nor granted a timeout as Kentucky rushed to get the ball back in play.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI unequivocally called timeout, but they didn\u2019t grant it,\u201d Sendek said in his postgame news conference. \u201cI mean, I think the video evidence is clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Should Sendek have expected to be granted a timeout in that situation, or was Kentucky simply too quick on the ball for Sendek to reasonably expect one?<\/p>\n

So, should Miami (Ohio) have made the field?<\/p>\n

Miami (Ohio) entered the NCAA tournament as the most-debated at-large selection to make the field.<\/p>\n

After a First Four win over No. 11 seed SMU<\/a> and a blowout loss on Thursday to No. 6 Tennessee, it\u2019s still unclear if the selection committee got things right.<\/p>\n

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Miami put on a First Four show in beating an SMU team that also barely made the field. But it was outclassed and outmatched in a 78-56 loss to Tennessee<\/a> on Thursday that strengthens the argument for Miami\u2019s detractors: The Redhawks played a creampuff schedule with zero Quad 1 wins and didn\u2019t deserve to make the field as an at-large team despite posting a 31-1 record.<\/p>\n

Miami and High Point have lobbied<\/a> this March for hesitant high-major teams to schedule them in the regular season<\/a>. Doing so would give them a chance to boost their r\u00e9sum\u00e9s and prove their tournament mettle before Selection Sunday. But there remains little incentive for power conference teams to do so. Until something changes, Miami won\u2019t be the last mid-major at the center of this kind of conversation.<\/p>\n

Iowa State loses star Joshua Jefferson<\/p>\n

No. 2 Iowa State might be in a bit of trouble.<\/p>\n

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The Cyclones had absolutely no issue getting past No. 15 Tennessee State<\/a> on Friday afternoon to kick off their NCAA tournament run. They rolled to a 108-74 blowout win. But the Cyclones lost star Joshua Jefferson early to an apparent ankle injury.<\/p>\n

Jefferson went down after making a layup not even three minutes into the contest, and looked like he was in a lot of pain almost immediately. He was helped off the floor and didn\u2019t return.<\/p>\n

X-rays came back negative after the game, but it\u2019s unclear how long Jefferson will be sidelined. Jefferson averaged 17 points and 7.6 rebounds per game this season, and was a huge part in the Cyclones securing a No. 2 seed in the tournament and contending with the top tier of the Big 12.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I was back there for a long time just going through pain, but I was happy nothing came back serious,\u201d Jefferson said, via CycloneFanatic\u2019s Rob Gray<\/a>. \u201cSo, just take that information back and then try to get healthy \u2026 I\u2019m gonna hit my rehab hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cyclones will take on Kentucky in the second round on Sunday. The Wildcats got past Santa Clara in a wild overtime battle earlier on Friday to reach the second round. While pulling off a win without Jefferson isn\u2019t out of the question, he would be a huge boost for the program as it attempts to reach its third Sweet 16 in the past five years.<\/p>\n

Live coverage is over177 updatesFri, March 20, 2026 at 9:58 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

Like upsets? Then Friday wasn\u2019t your day. Every single betting favorite won today, which is the first time that\u2019s happened in the opening round of an NCAA tournament since 1992.<\/p>\n

More on a chalky Friday<\/a><\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 9:46 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

Credit to the 15 seeded Paladins for putting up a fight, but Tarris Reed and the Huskies were just too much.<\/p>\n

UConn moves on to face No. 7 UCLA in the next round.<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 9:41 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

UConn is in control and likely going to hang on here and Tarris Reed Jr. is a big reason why. He\u2019s got 31 points and 27 rebounds as UConn leads 80-67 with under a minute to play.<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 9:31 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

UConn is up 72-65 with 3:59 to play. Does Furman have one more run in them?<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 9:29 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

Malik Reneau scored 24, Tre Donaldson added 17 and the Hurricanes gutted out a win over a Missouri team that was playing in front of a very friendly crowd in St. Louis.<\/p>\n

Miami moves on to face No. 2 Purdue in the second round.<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 9:26 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

The Canes simply blitzed Mizzou in the closing minutes.<\/p>\n

Miami leads by 11 with under 40 seconds to play.<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 9:21 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

UConn has led almost the entire game but Furman has kept contact all the way through.<\/p>\n

Huskies lead 67-61 with 6:59 to play.<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 9:14 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

The Jayhawks can breathe a sigh of relief, but holy cow, what a collapse. They let Cal Baptist back into a game they were leading by 26 at one point. It fits Kansas\u2019 narrative on the season: They\u2019re capable of beating anybody, or themselves, on any given night.<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 9:12 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes wil have two free throws after the break too.<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 9:08 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

The Lancers are alive! There\u2019s only 1:23 left but they\u2019ve rallied all the way back into this thing. Dominique Daniels is on fire. It\u2019s a 6-point game late!<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 9:06 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

After Mizzou briefly took the lead, the Canes went on a 7-0 run to recaptured the advantage. Miami leads 59-54 with 6:04 to play after Malik Reneau (17 points) knocks down a 3.<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 9:03 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

It may end up being too little too late, but Dominique Daniels and Cal Baptist are lighting it up late in their East region matchup with Kansas. Fifteen of Daniels\u2019 20 points have come in the second half.<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 9:02 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

Reed is now 10 for 11 with 23 points, and UConn leads Furman 56-47 at the under-16 timeout.<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 9:01 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

Stone has 21 points for the game, 14 since halftime, and he\u2019s helped Missouri take the upper hand in this one.<\/p>\n

Tigers lead Miami 54-52 with 7:39 to play.<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 8:57 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

The Tigers last led when the game was 2-0. It\u2019s now 51-49<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 8:55 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

The Lancers have worked their way back from a 26-point deficit and now it\u2019s only 12 points with 6 minutes left after a wild hot streak by Dominique Daniels.<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 8:53 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

The Huskies open the 2nd half on a 10-4 run and force a Furman timeout.<\/p>\n

UConn\u2019s lead is up to 50-40 in the opening minutes of the half.<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 8:51 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

The lead has hovered in the single digits most of the game, but the Canes are keeping Mizzou at bay, leading 49-43 with 10:13 to play.<\/p>\n

Fri, March 20, 2026 at 8:48 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the second-largest margin of victory in NCAA tournament history and the most points Florida has ever scored in a tournament game.<\/p>\n

Seven different Gators had double digits in the 114-55 win.<\/p>\n

\"NickFri, March 20, 2026 at 8:45 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Nick Bromberg<\/p>\n

Yet the Hurricanes only lead by three. Miami can think that it should be up double digits, while Missouri can wonder how much it would be leading by if it could keep the Hurricanes off the offensive glass.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The men\u2019s NCAA tournament tipped off on Thursday, and Friday was a lot more straightforward across the board…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[8,6123,3985,2567,6124,2606,1995,5951,4446,9,5751,7],"class_list":{"0":"post-7903","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-herb-sendek","10":"tag-joshua-jefferson","11":"tag-kentucky","12":"tag-kentucky-santa-clara","13":"tag-miami","14":"tag-ncaa","15":"tag-ncaa-march-madness","16":"tag-ncaa-tournament","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-santa-clara","19":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@news\/116267152988780615","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}