The Sixteen is Sweet for Four Area Men

There were 23 men from Missouri and Kansas who entered the MBB DI Tournament, on 18 teams. Now there are four on four teams.

There have been expected wins and unexpected losses. As the Wide World of Sports used to say, “The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat”. Every athlete understands what that means. We fans get to sit back and enjoy the competition.

Here is how all of the local talent fared in the first two rounds.

University of Arkansas

The Razorbacks pulled off a small upset in the first round, defeating Illinois, 73 to 63. Then they pulled off a major upset in the second round when they beat Kansas, 72 to 71. Arkansas will play UConn in the Sweet Sixteen on Thursday at 6:15.

The local connection is:

Trevon Brazile - Sophomore - Kickapoo - University of Arkansas - Southeastern Conference

Trevon did not get into either game.

Creighton University

The Blue Jays opened the tournament with a 72 to 63 win over No. 11 seed North Carolina State. They earned their way into the Sweet Sixteen by defeating No. 3 seed Baylor, 85 to 76. They will played upset minded Princeton Tigers on Friday at 8:00.

The local connection is:

Ryan Kalkbrenner - Junior - Trinity Catholic MO - Creighton Univ. - Big East Conference

The first team all-Big East honoree averaged 20.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in the first two games. True to his nation leading field goal shooting, he was 15 for 24 from the floor. He also sunk 10 of 11 from the stripe.

Kansas State University

After defeating Montana State in the first round, 77 to 65, the Wildcats punched their Sweet Sixteen ticket by running past Kentucky, 75 to 69. They will play Michigan State on Thursday at 5:30.

The local connection is:

Nate Awbrey - Senior - Manhattan - Kansas State University - Big 12 Conference

Nate got on the court at the end of the Montana State Game.

University of Texas

The Longhorns easily beat Colgate in the first round, 81 to 61, before slipping by Penn State, 71 to 66, in the second round. Texas will play Xavier on Friday at 8:45.

The local connection is:

Christian Bishop - Senior - Lee’s Summit West - University of Texas - Big 12 Conference

Christian has scored 11 points and pulled down 6 rebounds so far in the tournament.

Duke University

The Blue Devils opened with a 74 to 51 win over Oral Roberts before falling to Tennessee in the second round, 52 to 65.

The local connection is:

Kale Catchings - Graduate Student - Liberty-Wentzville - Duke University - Atlantic Coast Conference

Kale played in the Oral Roberts game, getting 2 points.

University of Kansas

The Jayhawks defeated No. 16 seed Howard, 96 to 68, before falling to Arkansas in the second round, 71 to 72.

The local connection is:

Dajuan Harris - Junior RS - Rock Bridge - University of Kansas - Big 12 Conference

Dajuan scored 11 points and dished out 7 assists in the opener. He got 12 points and 5 assists in the loss to Arkansas.

University of Arizona

The Wildcats were upset by Princeton in the first round, 55 to 59.

The local connection is:

Courtney Ramey - Fifth Year - Webster Groves - Univ. of Arizona - Pac-12 Conference

Courtney scored 8 points and pulled down 5 rebounds in the first round loss. True to his ball handling all year long, he had 3 assists without a turnover.

Boise State University

Boise State lost in the first round to the Wildcats of Northwestern, 67 to 75.

The local connection is:

Lukas Milner - Fifth Year - Olathe North - Boise State Univ. - Mountain West Conference

Lukas made both of his shots in 7 minutes of play to score 4 points while pulling down 1 rebound.

Drake University

The Bulldogs fell in the first round, 56 to 63, to No. 5 seed Miami.

The local connection is:

Eric Northweather - Sophomore - Blair Oaks - Drake University - Missouri Valley Conference

Eric did not play in the Miami game.

Howard University

The Bison fell in the first round to No. 1 seed Kansas, 68 to 96.

The local connection is:

Kobe Dickson - Graduate Student - Holcomb - Howard University - Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

The Cornell University graduate scored 4 points and grabbed 3 rebounds in his 8 minutes of playing time. True to his season 59% shooting, he made both of his shots from the field.

Iona University

The Gaels lost in the first round to No. 4 seed UConn, 63 to 87.

The local connection is:

Anton Brookshire - Sophomore - Kickapoo - Iona College - Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

The Missouri transfer played 6 minutes, scoring 3 points and getting 2 rebounds.

Iowa State University

The Cyclones lost in the first round to Pittsburgh, 41 to 59.

The local connection is:

Conrad Hawley - Sophomore - Raymore-Peculiar - Iowa State University - Big 12 Conference

The transfer from the Kansas football team did not play in the game against Pittsburgh.

University of Missouri

The Tigers defeated Utah State in the first round, 76 to 65, before falling to Princeton, 63 to 78.

The local connections are:

Aiden Shaw - Freshman - Blue Valley - University of Missouri - Southeastern Conference

Aiden got a rebound in 10 minutes of play against Utah State while getting a steal in 5 game minutes against the Tigers of Princeton.

Isiaih Mosley - Senior - Rock Bridge - University of Missouri - Southeastern Conference

Isiaih did not get in either tournament game.

Northern Kentucky University

The Norse fell to No. 1 seed Houston, 52 to 63.

The local connection is:

Xavier Rhodes - Senior RS - Rockurst - Northern Kentucky Univ. - Horizon League

The former Hawklet played 38 minutes, scoring 8 points and getting 5 rebounds. He also got 2 assists and 2 steals.

Purdue University

The Boilermakers fell to Fairleigh Dickinson, 58 to 63 in the first round.

The local connection is:

Chase Martin - Junior - Father Tolton - Purdue University - Big Ten Conference

Chase did not get into the Fairleigh Dickinson game.

Southeast Missouri State University

The Redhawks lost in a No. 16 seed First Four game against Texas A & M-Corpus Christie, 71 to 75.

The local connections are:

Josh Earley - Junior - Bishop Miege - Southeast Missouri State Univ. - Ohio Valley Conference

The transfer from Tulsa scored 4 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. He made 2 of 2 from the floor after shooting 58% for the season.

Tevin Gowins - Freshman - Hazelwood Central - Southeast Missouri State University - Ohio Valley Conference

Tevin got into the game for a minute of playing time.

Dylan Branson - Sophomore - Mehlville - Southeast Missouri State Univ. - Ohio Valley Conference

Dylan started the game and finished with 8 points and 9 rebounds. He also added 2 assists and 2 steals.

Phillip Russell - Sophomore - Vashon - Southeast Missouri State University - Ohio Valley Conference

The first team all conference honoree transfer from St. Louis University scored 15 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed 5 steals.

Kobe Clark - Sophomore - Vashon - Southeast Missouri State Univ. - Ohio Valley Conference

Kobe did not play in the First Four game.

Israel Barnes - Senior RS - Wichita Southeast - Southeast Missouri State Univ. - Ohio Valley Conference

The Newman University Transfer started and scored 2 points while getting 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 assist.

Cameron Williams - Senior RS - Hazelwood Central - Southeast Missouri State Univ. - Ohio Valley Conference

Cameron Williams did not play in the tournament game.

Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU lost their opening game to Saint Mary’s, 51 to 63.

The local connection is:

Nick Kern, Jr. - Sophomore - Vashon - Virginia Commonwealth Univ. - Atlanti-10 Conference

Nick started the game and got 5 points and 2 rebounds. True to his 61% field goal shooting during the season, he was 2 for 2 from the floor.