The craziness of March Madness went into full effect this past weekend. Down in Brooklyn, at Barclays Center, eight teams geared up for Round One matchups, including Northwestern, FAU, Stetson, UConn, Vermont, Duke, James Madison (JMU), and Wisconsin. During media day and open practice on Thursday, March 21st, teams held media press conferences and opened the court to us for coverage during shoot-around and drills. Defending National Champions, UConn, made it clear in their presser that expectations were high as they look to make back-to-back trips to the Finals and, of course, win it all.
“We set the expectations of what this group is capable of doing.” – Stephon Castle
On Friday, Game 01 matchups commenced with Florida Atlantic and Northwestern kicking things off. It was a slow start for both teams, but Northwestern established a lead to close out the first half. To start the second, FAU converted defense to offense in their first few possessions to give themselves a lead. It was a close matchup from start to finish, as both teams relentlessly executed on both ends of the floor.
The game went into overtime, with Northwestern coming out victorious.
Photos by: Micah Lloyd @crisp_finishimage
Up next, UConn faced off against Stetson. While the game started slow, UConn eventually did what was expected of them. By halftime, the Huskies had established a 52-19 lead. Refusing to fold so easily, Stetson opened the second half with back-to-back plays and a massive dunk to inch their way (somewhat) out of the deficit.
Photos by: Micah Lloyd @crisp_finishimage
Karaban, Castle, Clingan, Spencer, and crew, however, blew the competition out of the water, creating a 32-point lead with 9:40 left. All four players ended the game in double digits and secured a 91-52 win to advance to the second round.
Later in the evening, Duke and Vermont tipped off. Vermont’s Ileri Ayo-Faleye scored the team’s first points, but the Duke Blue Devils quickly responded, scoring six unanswered points. The first half proved that Vermont could keep up with the No. 4 seeded Duke, making it a close game. Duke, however, turned it up a notch in the second half, going on a 15-4 scoring run, ballooning the deficit with a double-digit lead, 50-39 – with 8:25 left in the game. Vermont continued to trail as Duke made a few more runs to seal the deal with a 64-47 victory.
Photos by: Micah Lloyd @crisp_finishimage
