Champ isn’t taking questions
From The GIST College Sports (hi@thegistsports.com)
Made it to another manic Monday!
Underdogs like No. 11–seed NC State’s big boi are still causing chaos, but we’ve already had to say goodbye to some 2024 March Madness legends, including No. 14 Oakland’s Jack Gohlke and the “Yale” pep band. Smile because it happened, then scroll through the weekend’s mayhem with us.
— Overall No. 1–seed South Carolina women’s basketball head coach (HC) Dawn Staley on her dog, Champ, who had little to say about the Gamecocks’ dominant March Madness performance at their press conference on Saturday. Champ prefers to let the box score do the talking.
Women’s March Madness
🏀 Swish, swish
The GIST: The first round of the women’s tourney went mostly as expected, but the second round served up some serious surprises yesterday as the first eight teams secured Sweet 16 berths. Let’s hoop to it.
Yesterday’s matchups: No. 7–seed Duke rebounded from a 16-point first-half deficit to take down No. 2 Ohio State 75–63, then No. 5 Colorado joined them at the upset party, topping No. 4 Kansas State 63–50 to send the Buffs to back-to-back Sweet 16s.
- Elsewhere, all went according to plan for No. 1–seeds South Carolina and Texas, who are Sweet 16 bound after dominant second-round showings, while defending champ No. 3 LSU had to rally from a shaky first half to punch their Sweet 16 ticket, and No. 2 Stanford needed overtime (OT) to bounce gritty No. 7 Iowa State 87–81.
- And following a career-high night from junior guard Jada Walker, No. 5 Baylor topped No. 4 Virginia Tech in a 75–72 thriller, ending the Hokies’ once-promising season on a tear-filled note.
Today’s contests: The final eight Sweet 16 spots will be awarded today, with some of the top names in the women’s game taking the court from lunchtime to sunset. The matchups not to miss? Freshman Hannah Hidalgo’s No. 2 Notre Dame tips things off against No. 7 Ole Miss at 2 p.m. ET, followed by Paige Bueckers and No. 3 UConn vs. No. 6 Syracuse at 6 p.m. ET.
- Then it’s all about the No. 1 seeds. Caitlin Clark and top-seed Iowa face No. 8 West Virginia at 8 p.m. ET, before another likely star-studded audience watches freshman JuJu Watkins and No. 1 USC take the floor against No. 8 Kansas at 10 p.m. ET. Hooping never stops.
Men's March Madness
🏀 How sweet it is
The GIST: After last night’s second-round finale, the men’s Sweet 16 is officially set for Thursday’s tip-off — and despite a tumultuous first round (and the sport’s recent, sharp rise in parity), this year’s crop contains mostly familiar faces.
The chalk: All of the No. 1 and 2 seeds — plus half the No. 3s and 4s — survived and thrived this weekend. No. 1s Purdue, UNC, and UConn sailed through with relative ease, while No. 3 Illinois and No. 4 Duke especially impressed with huge margins of victory in each opening round.
- But not all top teams breezed through: No. 3 Creighton needed two OTs to outlast No. 11 Oregon 86–73 on Saturday, and No. 1 Houston added an OT of their own before sealing a heart-pounding 100–95 dub over No. 9 Texas A&M last night.
The underdogs: As for unlikely heroes, No. 11 NC State’s momentum entered “runaway freight train” territory when they neutralized potential Cinderella No. 14 Oakland 79–73 on Saturday, and No. 6 Clemson claimed one of the two second-round upsets with yesterday’s 72–64 win over No. 3 Baylor.
- And despite a rough season that threatened their March Madness berth, No. 5 Gonzaga proved why they’re on a nine-season Sweet 16 streak: The Zags logged two 21-point smackdowns, including Saturday’s 89–68 dub over No. 4 Kansas. Is this blackjack or basketball?
🏒 Women’s ice hockey
Freshman forward Joy Dunne’s dramatic third-period goal was all No. 1–seed Ohio State needed to secure the Buckeyes their second national championship in three years yesterday. The single-score shutout also served ice-cold revenge to No. 2 Wisconsin, who beat the Buckeyes 1–0 in last year’s title game. This rivalry runs deep.
- But hockey hardware season’s only halfway done: The puck will drop on Thursday for the men’s tournament, whose bracket dropped last night. Boston College snagged the top seed, while reigning champ Quinnipiac snuck in as an unseeded underdog.
🏊 Women’s swimming & diving
Led by superstar sisters Alex and Gretchen Walsh, each with three individual national titles, top-ranked Virginia secured their fourth straight national championship on Saturday. Gretchen particularly impressed, swimming to three American records (!!!) and helping secure another NCAA relay record. Up next? Parisian pools.
🤼 Wrestling
No. 1 Penn State also kept their national championship streak alive by winning their third consecutive title and 11th in 13 years on Saturday. Four Nittany Lions pinned down individual crowns, including senior Carter Starocci and super-senior Aaron Brooks, who each earned four-year natty sweeps. No one beats these guys at extreme Twister.
🤺 Fencing
Unseating a dynasty at knifepoint? Harvard fencing, who jabbed their way to their first program natty since 2006 yesterday, interrupting Notre Dame’s quest for a four-peat in the process. Hip, hip, epée!
🤸 No. 1 Oklahoma absolutely slayed Saturday’s Big 12 women’s gymnastics ’ship with five perfect 10s (including three by junior Jordan Bowers!), a team gym slam, and the highest team score (198.950) in NCAA history. (Another) one for the record books.
🏒 Senior forward Izzy Daniel became the first Cornell women’s hockey player to win the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, which honors the top woman on the Division I ice, on Saturday. Fingers crossed she brings that shine to the 2024 PWHL Draft.
👟 LSU track & field junior Michaela Rose shattered the NCAA women’s 600m record in 1:25.75 — over two seconds faster than the previous-best time — on Saturday. Speedy.
🥎 Most of the softball gals’ weekend series finished as expected, but No. 16 Missouri and Virginia proved the diamond is their BFF with series wins over No. 3 LSU and No. 11 Clemson, respectively. Tough.
⚾ On the (bat)flip side, baseball brought upsets galore, with only six Top-25 teams escaping the weekend unscathed. The squads who were humbled the most? No. 3 Vanderbilt and No. 11 Alabama, who were completely swept by South Carolina and Georgia, respectively.
🎾 No. 8 Texas men’s tennis served a huge 5–0 L to their intrastate archnemesis No. 2 TCU last night — just the second loss (and lowest score!) the Horned Frogs have suffered all season.
Giveaway Alert
The NCAA women's basketball tournament is truly living up to its hype so far, and with only two weeks left until the final, we’re giving away two tickets to the April 7th championship game in Cleveland, Ohio.
- And it’s not just tickets on the line — the winner will also receive $1,000 cash for travel and accommodation, plus Moolah Kicks Gear. Sound like a slam dunk? You know what to do — enter this contest today.
Here’s what has The GIST team currently hyped:
🏀 What to watch
The trailer for Full Court Press, a new docuseries following college hoops superstars Caitlin Clark, Kamilla Cardoso, and Kiki Rice, which drops May 11th.
⭐️ Who’s gaining recognition
NCAA women. After decades of inequality, female college athletes are generating more popularity, interest, and financial potential than their male counterparts. The Caitlin Clark effect is just the beginning.
🪡 Who to know
Saeedah Haque, a young designer confronting South Asian and Muslim underrepresentation in fashion with her “unapologetically modest” designs — plus, she just inked a deal with Nike.
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