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Bracket Breakdown III: Howard heads to Buffalo plus the South Regional preview

Dave Preston is an AP Top 25 voter. Read his latest ballot.

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament tipped off Tuesday evening in Dayton, and Howard was more than ready for prime time.

The Bison beat UMBC 86-83 behind 19 points, 14 rebounds and five assists from Bryce Harris to advance to the main bracket.

The Retrievers rallied from 14 down in the second half to pull within a basket in the game’s final minute, but head coach Kenneth Blakeney’s team survives and advances to the main bracket where they’ll face top seed Michigan.

Wednesday’s First Four games have Prairie View A&M facing Lehigh, as well as Miami (Ohio) taking on SMU. The RedHawks get the harm and the help from the committee, having to play in the First Four despite a 31-1 record but just having to travel 43 miles to Dayton for their meeting with the Mustangs.

The Lehigh-Prairie View A&M winner faces South No. 1 seed Florida, who dominated February like nothing else but coughed up 91 points in an SEC semifinal loss to Vanderbilt (not as bad as it sounds).

The defending national champion Gators are joined by schools more known for heartbreak than hardware: No. 3 Houston has the most Final Four appearances without winning a title, No. 4 Nebraska is the only power conference school never to win a tournament game, while Vanderbilt, Clemson and Iowa have all dealt with more March misery than madness.

Bold

McNeese shocked the world last year as a No. 12 seed playing at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday when they blew out Clemson. The Cowboys are a No. 12 seed again this March and play their first round game Thursday at 3:15 p.m. Do we get a dose of déjà vu against a Vanderbilt team that’s having a good season (but is still Vanderbilt)?

Fold

North Carolina has given us a little of everything this year: from defeating Duke to losing by 24 to NC State 10 days later. Their one-and-done fold in the ACC Tournament doesn’t give the Tar Heel faithful a lot of hope, and they’re playing a VCU team that’s peaking with 16 wins their last 17 games.

Gold

Houston brings the second-stingiest defense in all of Division I (62.9 points allowed per game) and ranks third in turnover margin. They’re led by freshman point guard Kingston Flemings (16 points and five rebounds per game), who doesn’t look like a first-year player. The regional semifinals and finals will be played in Houston, Texas; which, from what I’ve been told, is somewhat near the University of Houston campus. Home cooking holds for the Cougars.

Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Vanderbilt and Iowa, both ranked in the top 10 late last season, will meet in a women's basketball game early next season in northwest Iowa, the schools announced Tuesday. The neutral-site game is set for Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center, which is 290 miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Vanderbilt is 4-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. This will be the teams' first meeting since 1997. The Commodores are expected to return national scoring leader Mikayla Blakes. She averaged 27 points per game and was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 5 and finished No. 10 with a 29-5 record after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
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