In the spirit of our quick hitters content here are 32 quick hit notes on a all 32 first round games beginning on Thursday:
East Region
#1 Duke vs #16 NC Central/North Dakota State
- Last two times the Final Four was in Minneapolis (2001 and 1992), Duke won the title
#8 VCU vs #9 UCF
- UCF’s Tacko Fall stands 7’6 and weighs 310 lbs. VCU has just 2 players 6’6 or taller that average more than 20 MPG. Marcus Santos-Silva (6’7, 250 lbs.) averages 10.1 PPG and leads the Rams at 7.4 RPG
#5 Mississippi State vs #12 Liberty
- Ben Howland has had success in his 4th season at a program. In his 4th year at Pitt he took the Panthers to a Sweet 16. In his 4th season at UCLA he took the Bruins to a Final Four. Miss St makes its first NCAA appearance under Howland in his 4th season in Starkville
#4 Virginia Tech vs #13 Saint Louis
- Justin Robinson has missed VT’s last 11 games with a foot injury. The Hokies’ career leader in assists is expected to return for the NCAA Tournament
#6 Maryland vs #11 Belmont/Temple
- 804 career wins for Belmont coach Rick Byrd. Belmont (26-5) earned its first NCAA Tournament at-large bid in program history
#3 LSU vs #14 Yale
- Miye Oni in games against Major Conference opponents this season is averaging 19.0 PPG (54.8% shooting), 5.7 RPG and 2.0 APG
#7 Louisville vs #10 Minnesota
- 67 career double-doubles for Minnesota’s Jordan Murphy, which is 2nd most among active D-1 players. Murphy has recorded 46 double-doubles over his last 66 games
#2 Michigan State vs #15 Bradley
- Bradley makes its first NCAA appearance since 2006, when the Braves made the Sweet 16 as a #13 seed, defeating Kansas and Pitt in the process
West Region
#1 Gonzaga vs #16 Farleigh Dickinson/ Prairie View A&M
- Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke is one of the most efficient players in the country. The San Jose State transfer averages 16.5 PPG on 69.3% shooting, 8.4 RPG and 3.1 BPG
#8 Syracuse vs #9 Baylor
- In the last 10 years, Syracuse has made 3 Sweet 16s, 1 Elite 8 and 2 Final Fours. 2006 was the last time the Orange lost in the First Round
#5 Marquette vs #12 Murray State
- Ja Morant has the most assists in a D-1 game this season with 18. Markus Howard has the 3rd most points in a game this season with 53, which is the Big East record. Two of the most electrifying players in college basketball
#4 Florida State vs #13 Vermont
- Vermont’s Duncan brothers (Ernie, Everett and Robin) are just the 4th trio of brothers to start for a D-I men’s team in history. The Catamounts won the America East regular season and tournament titles
#6 Buffalo vs #11 Arizona State/St. John’s
- Bobby Hurley coached 2 seasons at Buffalo before taking the ASU job. The Sun Devils are the first team to play in back-to-back First Four games (lost to Syracuse, 60-56, in Dayton last year)
#3 Texas Tech vs #14 Northern Kentucky
- 2003 was the last time a school from Texas made the Final Four. The state has two No. 3 seeds this year (Texas Tech and Houston), as well as a No. 9 (Baylor), a No. 15 (Abilene Christian) and a No. 16 (Prairie View A&M). Texas Tech has never made the Final Four, Baylor last made it in 1950 and Houston’s last trip was in 1984
#7 Nevada vs #10 Florida
- Nevada has seven 1,000 point scorers on its roster. Led by the Martin brothers (combined 30.9 PPG) and Jordan Caroline (18 double-doubles), the Wolfpack are looking for a return trip to the Sweet 16
#2 Michigan vs #15 Montana
- Ignas Brazdeikis (15.1 PPG) is the first Michigan freshman to lead the Wolverines in scoring since Trey Burke
South Regional
#1 Virginia vs #16 Gardner-Webb
- Only one other time has a conference placed three No. 1 seeds in the same NCAA Tournament: 2009 Big East (Louisville, UConn and Pitt). The ACC got three No. 1 seeds this year: Duke, UNC and UVA, which became the first #1 seed to fall to a #16 last year against UMBC
#8 Ole Miss vs #9 Oklahoma
- Ole Miss’ 8-win improvement from last year marks the biggest turnaround among Power 5 schools. Marshall Henderson was the leading scorer the last time the Rebels won a Tournament game, in 2013. Oklahoma is the only team in the country not to play a Quadrant 4 game (per the NET rankings)
#5 Wisconsin vs #12 Oregon
- Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ is 1 of 2 D-1 players this season averaging 10.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG and 3.0 APG. Happ’s 2 triple-doubles is tied with Ja Morant for most in the country
#4 Kansas State vs #13 UC Irvine
- Kansas State won 14 of its last 16 regular season conference games after starting 0-2. Senior Dean Wade missed the Big 12 Tournament and it is unclear if he will play. The Wildcats have won at least 1 game in the Tournament in 7 of its last 8 appearances
#6 Villanova vs #11 Saint Mary’s
- The last 2 National Champions have each lost in the Second Round the following year. That includes 2017 Villanova, which fell as a #1 seed to #8 Wisconsin
#3 Purdue vs #14 Old Dominion
- Purdue is looking to make the Sweet 16 for the 3rd consecutive year, something the Boilermakers haven’t done since 1998-2000. Brian Cardinal was on all three of those teams
#7 Cincinnati vs #10 Iowa
- Iowa started the year 20-5 but enters the NCAA Tournament having lost 5 of 6. Last season, the Hawkeyes lost 6 of their last 7 games. In 2016, they lost 4 of their last 5. In 2014, they closed with 7 losses in 8 games. The Hawkeyes are 2-3 in the NCAA Tournament under Fran McCaffery
#2 Tennessee vs #15 Colgate
- Tennessee has been a #2 seed twice before (2006 and 2008), never making it past the Sweet 16. Grant Williams is the first player to win back-to-back SEC Player of the Year awards since Arkansas’ Corliss Williamson did it in 1994 and 1995
Midwest Regional
#1 North Carolina vs #16 Iona
- Only once have three teams from the same conference made the Final Four: 1985 Big East (Georgetown, St. John’s and eventual National Champion Villanova). 2015 was the last time three #1 seeds made the Final Four. ACC looking to do that this year
#8 Utah State vs #9 Washington
- The Pac-12 Player, Coach and Defensive Player of the Year are all on Washington, while the Mountain West Player, Coach and Defensive Player of the Year are all on Utah State. Washington’s Matisse Thybulle is the Pac-12’s all-time steals leader with 322. He broke Gary Payton’s record and Jason Kidd’s single-season record during the Pac-12 Tournament
#5 Auburn vs #12 New Mexico State
- New Mexico State is making its 10th NCAA appearance in the last 20 years. The Aggies have made the tournament 6 of the last 7 years but haven’t won a game in the Big Dance since 1993. Are they due? NMSU also played Kansas this year in Kansas City, where it held a 2nd half lead before falling 63-60
#4 Kansas vs #13 Northeastern
- This is Kansas’ lowest seed since 2006, when the Jayhawks lost in the First Round to Bradley as a #4 seed. The Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Dedric Lawson led the conference in scoring (19.1 PPG), rebounding (10.3 RPG) and double-doubles (20)
#6 Iowa State vs #11 Ohio State
- Iowa State won the Big 12 Tournament. Ohio State lost its last three regular season games when Kaleb Wesson was suspended. Wesson returned for the Big Ten Tournament, and the Buckeyes have made the NCAA Tournament in both seasons under Chris Holtmann
#3 Houston vs #14 Georgia State
- Houston is 4-0 against NCAA Tournament teams not from its own conference. That includes wins over LSU, Oregon and Utah State. Houston’s #3 seed is its highest since 1984, when the Hakeem Olajuwon took the #2 seed Cougars to the National Championship game
#7 Wofford vs #10 Seton Hall
- Wofford’s Fletcher Magee takes 10.7 three-pointers per game, the most of any player in the NCAA Tournament. He’s shooting 42.8% from behind the arc. Myles Powell scores 31% of Seton Hall’s points and was 2nd in Big East at 22.9 PPG
#2 Kentucky vs #15 Abilene Christian
- 5 of Kentucky’s 6 losses this season came against NCAA Tournament teams, the lone outlier being a loss to Alabama, which earned a #1 seed in the NIT. Four Wildcats average more than 11.0 PPG. This is the 3rd time in 4 years that UK and UNC have been placed in the same Regional