Chalk Rules In Thursday Tourney Games

Thursday's flurry of sweet 16 games weren't quite as exciting as the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. All the drama and crazy finishes seemed to seize to exist for now as all the top ranked teams advanced to the elite 8.

The top seeded Kansas Jayhawks trounced the Maryland Terrapins 79-63, shutting down star-studded freshman and possible 1st-round NBA draft pick Diamond Stone, holding him to 5 points. Their defense proved to be too much for the Maryland frontcourt as they were able to control the Terrapins tempo and shut them down.

The other #1 seed to win was Oregon as they beat up on Duke, eliminating last season's champions 82-68. Duke's Grayson Allen had a horrible shooting night and combined with foul trouble from Marshall Plumlee and Matt Jones left Duke in a hole from the get-go.

Both #2 seeds, Villanova and Oklahoma, won impressively as well. Villanova blew out Miami 92-69, outscoring the Hurricanes 49-32 in the second half. The Sooners won 77-63 and were led by Jordan Woodard who tallied 22 points to lead the team on a night where star Buddy Hield has nearly held in check. It also helped Oklahoma that they had 5 players in double figures.

Friday's matchups of North Carolina/Indiana, Notre Dame/Wisconsin, Virginia/Iowa State, and Syracuse/Gonzaga look to provide much better games than those on Thursday.