NCAA Tournament Day Three: Stars Of The Day

And just like that, 32 games are in the books. The Sweet Sixteen is officially on the line and first game jitters are no longer an excuse.

The theme of the week so far: you can’t just bring your name, you have to bring your game.

Three No. 12’s, a No. 13, No. 14 and No. 15 are still on the board. In other words Cinderella is alive and well.

We’ll be tracking Saturday’s best all day long and updating you throughout. If you missed some of today’s action and want to see which players helped their teams advance to the next round or pull off the major upset, be sure to check back throughout the night.

Bring on round 3.

Damyean Dotson, Oregon: The No. 4 seed St. Louis Billikens were a popular sleeper team to make the Final Four. Many thought they would be the biggest roadblock for No. 1 Louisville in the Midwest Region, but not after they ran into an even bigger sleeper, No. 12 Oregon and Damyean Dotson. For the second consecutive game, Dotson took over for the Ducks, leading them to a 74-57 route of St. Louis behind his 23 points including 5-of-6 from behind the arc. Oregon, the Pac-12 tournament champions, are riding the chip on their shoulder from being seeded No. 12 all the way to the Sweet Sixteen, and maybe beyond.

Russ Smith, Louisville: Like Dotson, Russ Smith has made the stars of the day for the second consecutive time. His 27 points topped his 23 points in Round 2, and helped the No. 1 Cardinals prevail over the No. 9 Colorado State Rams 82-56. When Smith gets going, Louisville is hard to stop. They are well on their way to their second consecutive Final Four.

Vander Blue, Marquette: It’s arguable that nobody has been more clutch in this tournament than Vander Blue of Marquette. Blue finished with 29 points and four steals on 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc to lead the Golden Eagles to a last second 74-72 win over No. 6 Butler. Blue made the game-winning layup against Davidson and hit several big shots down the stretch against the Bulldogs. Marquette awaits the winner of No. 2 Miami and No. 7. Illinois on Sunday.

Mark Lyons, Arizona: Lyons paced the Wildcats with an impressive 27 points on their way to a 74-51 victory over No. 14 Harvard. The Cinderella run for the Crimson is over, while it is just beginning for the Wildacats, who many thought would fall in the first round to Belmont.

Mitch McGary, Michigan: What a stat line for the 6’10” freshman: 21 points and 14 rebounds on 9-of-10 shooting. The big fellow from Chesterton, IN was everywhere against No. 5 VCU, helping the Wolverines to route the Rams 78-53 to kick off the Round of 32 Saturday afternoon. Michigan is officially back in the Sweet Sixteen and will await the winner of No. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 1 Kansas Sunday afternoon.

Trey Burke, Michigan: McGary’s partner in crime was, of course, the Big Ten player of the Year, Trey Burke. Burke was tested — seven turnovers — but handled VCU’s relentless press like a pro, and made the Michigan offense go. His 18 points and seven assists on 6-of-14 shooting doesn’t explain how collected Burke was against the Rams. He played his game, and knocked the Rams off of theirs.

Ardeian Payne, Michigan State: Payne was a game-changer on Saturday. A three point game at halftime was broken wide-open behind the defensive prowess and all-around superb play of Payne in the second half. The 6’10” junior forward finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks to lead the No. 3 Spartans to a 70-48 victory over the No. 6 Memphis Tigers.

Play of the day