5 electric performances from the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight
A high-powered Sweet 16 and Elite Eight filled with close games and legendary individual displays pushed an already great start to this year’s NCAA Tournament into second gear.
From clutch plays to record-breaking numbers, star players stepping up on the biggest stage filled the regionals. We look at the five most electric performances from the March Madness weekend that was.
Jordan Hawkins, UConn
Throughout his two seasons at UConn, Jordan Hawkins developed a reputation for being a sharpshooter, and he lived up to his billing this weekend in Las Vegas. Hawkins averaged 22 points across two blowout wins for the Huskies, leading the team in scoring in both contests and shooting a red-hot 9-of-19 from beyond the arc. Hawkins is the perfect weapon for his speedy, jumbo-sized squad – he excels in locking and loading from deep in transition and knocking down catch-and-shoot opportunities off screens.
Hawkins and his 16 3-pointers are quickly climbing the leaderboard for most threes made in a single tournament, and he’s only four away from reaching the top 20 all time. With the historic dominance UConn is displaying while rolling through the bracket, he’ll have a shot at potentially topping Steph Curry in the No. 5 spot or even reaching Purdue guard Carsen Edwards’ record of 28.
Markquis Nowell, Kansas State
Just when it seemed like Markquis Nowell’s hot streak would be limited to the tournament’s first weekend, he made those performances look like an afterthought compared to his legendary display at Madison Square Garden. The New York City native went nuclear in his hometown, averaging 25 points, 15.5 assists, and five steals. He became the first NBA or D-I player to average those numbers across a two-game span in the last 25 years, according to ESPN Stats & Info. To do it on college basketball’s biggest stage makes it all the more insane.
It’s tough to tell which performance was more impressive – his Sweet 16 display when he set an NCAA Tournament record with 19 assists or his Elite Eight effort when he still tallied 12 dimes but accompanied it with 30 points. Though Kansas State didn’t advance to the Final Four, the 5-foot-8 point guard put on a show that won’t soon be forgotten in March Madness history.
Florida Atlantic
Despite Nowell’s unprecedented run, a complete team effort from Florida Atlantic shut out Kansas State from the Final Four. No Owls player scored more than 17 points in either contest in New York City, yet the team still averaged over 70 points per game. Six different players topped double figures at least once in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, and seven different players tallied at least two assists in one of those contests.
The balanced contributions for a 35-3 FAU squad are nothing new this season. Despite sitting in the top 40 nationally in points per game, no Owl averages more than 13.9 points per contest. The team’s nine rotation players average between 15 and 26 minutes per game. Considering the challenges their opponents face in having no lead option to key into each night, it may be no surprise that the Cinderella of the tournament has had such a successful March.
Nathan Mensah, San Diego State
San Diego State doesn’t play the prettiest brand of basketball, but the program is through to its first Final Four thanks to a pair of strong defensive performances in Louisville. Fifth-year forward Nathan Mensah has been the anchor of the Aztecs’ stingy unit all season. The two-time Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year tallied a season-high five blocks in the Sweet 16 against top overall seed Alabama and followed that up with three more versus No. 6 Creighton.
Mensah’s interior presence was instrumental in limiting the Bluejays to 4-of-15 shooting on layups, which loomed large in a game ultimately decided by one point. In the final two minutes of the Elite Eight clash, the senior had a pair of excellent contests to help preserve San Diego State’s slim lead.
Jordan Miller, Miami
Jordan Miller was perfect in Miami’s 13-point comeback win over Texas in the Midwest Regional final. The fifth-year guard joined Duke icon Christian Laettner as the only players in the last 60 years of the NCAA Tournament to go at least 7-of-7 from both the field and charity stripe, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Miller used his length to contest shots on the perimeter, and he created for teammates and finished through contact at the rim. His all-around play gave Isaiah Wong time to find his rhythm after his slow start. Miller’s steal with 2:05 remaining and his clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch sealed the Hurricanes’ first-ever trip to the Final Four.
Miller’s heroics came on the heels of a solid 13-point, six-rebound, four-assist performance in the Sweet 16 against top-seeded Houston. The Miami star had a solid case to be the ACC’s Player of the Year, and his play this past weekend demonstrated just that.
