Wednesday, March 18, 2015

NCAA Tournament First Four: Quinton Chievous Carries Hampton over Manhattan; Ole Miss Outlasts BYU

First Four Results and College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Hampton 74 Manhattan 64 - the opening win of the 2015 NCAA National Championship tournament went to the only team to enter the field with a losing record, as the Hampton Pirates, champions of the Mid-Eastern conference, took down the Manhattan Jaspers. The Pirates shed their losing distinction with the victory, evening their seasonal mark at 17-17.

Hampton got he bulk of their scoring from a trio of guards. Brian Darden scored 13, while Reginald Johnson and Quinton Chievous each had 15 points. Chievous also led both teams in rebounding, taking down 13 boards, earning Player of the Day honors.

The Pirates' reward for their effort is the right to play #1 Kentucky in a second round game of the Midwest region on Thursday, March 19.

Ole Miss 94 BYU 90 - Two years ago, BYU staged the greatest comeback in the history of the NCAA tournament, coming back from a 25-point deficit to defeat Iona in a play-in game, just like tonight's meeting with Mississippi.

Unlike that game, the tables were turned on the Cougars, as they raced to a 49-32 half time lead only to see the Rebels score 62 second half points for a 94-90 victory. BYU's Tyler Hawes scored a game-high 33 points, but Stefan Moody's 26 points for Ole Miss carried the day.

Ole Miss won not because they shot the ball better - BYU had a better percentage from the field, 48.3% to Ole Miss' 45% - but because they got more shots. Ole Miss hoisted up 80 shots to BYU's 58, due to making eight steals, forcing 15 Cougar turnovers and hitting the boards for 16 offensive rebounds.

Ole Miss advances to play Xavier, the #6 seed in the West region.

Conference Power Scoreboard

Conference W-L Winners (#of Ws)
ACC 0000 0000
Big East 0000 0000
Big Ten 0000 0000
Big 12 0000 0000
Pac-12 0000 0000
SEC 1-0 Ole Miss (1)
All Others 1-2 Hampton

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