On the fourth day of March Madness, experience proved key as a slew of seniors led their teams to wins and spots in the Sweet 16. Some of those veterans have been here before — like Duke’s Tyrese Proctor — while others, like Ole Miss’ Sean Pedulla, are making a name for themselves in their final chance to do so.
And then, in the most exciting game of the tournament, a freshman showed his fearless chops as Derik Queen hit a game-winner to push Maryland into the Sweet 16.
Here are the heroes of Day 4:
UConn led for nearly the entire second half of Sunday’s game against Florida, with it looking like a strong possibility that the Huskies would pull off the upset and keep their hopes of a three-peat alive. Clayton, however, made sure that wouldn’t happen.
The senior All-American had his March moment, scoring 15 of his 23 points in the second half to help Florida gut out the win. He made the 3-pointer that gave Florida its first lead of the second half, draining a shot from the wing to put the Gators up 62-61.
The game was tied again a couple of minutes later, but Clayton sank a pair of free throws that extended Florida’s lead to 67-64 with 1:45 remaining. After getting a stop on the next possession, Clayton delivered the dagger. He made a tough, contested 3-pointer with just over a minute left.
Florida held on for the 77-75 win, and Clayton got to add to his legend in Gainesville. Not a bad story for a player who was a zero-star recruit coming out of high school.
Tyrese Proctor, guard, Duke
Cooper Flagg had another standout performance for the Blue Devils, but he was on the bench for a good portion of the first half due to foul trouble. As Duke learned in the ACC Tournament, it can play well without Flagg for stretches. It did so again on Sunday, with Proctor leading Duke’s offense to an 8-0 run after Flagg’s second foul.
After Proctor scored 11 points in the first half to help put Duke up by 17 at the break, he buried Baylor in the second half. He added 14 points in the final 20 minutes, making four 3-pointers. Proctor finished the day with 25 points on a highly impressive 9-of-10 shooting from the field, further reminding the college basketball landscape that the Blue Devils run deeper than the player who could win National Player of the Year and will likely be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Koby Brea, guard, Kentucky
The Wildcats had a clear plan on offense against Illinois, which was to pick on Illini guard Kasparas Jakucionis. Each of Kentucky’s guards took advantage of Jakucionis, but senior Koby Brea, especially, feasted. He scored 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting, and dropped in eight straight during a stretch of the second half that helped Kentucky close the game.
Derik Queen, forward, Maryland
Queen was the ultimate March Madness hero on Sunday. He saved Maryland from suffering yet another heart-breaking defeat when he banked home a floater to beat the buzzer and lift the Terrapins to a 72-71 win over Colorado State. Queen’s shot came in response to the Rams’ Jalen Lake hitting a 3-pointer to put Colorado State up one with less than seven seconds left.
The freshman forward led the Terrapins with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, to go with six rebounds. Maryland trailed 37-30 at halftime and fought back to take a 65-64 lead with three minutes left. The teams traded advantages from that point, but the Terrapins had the last say.
Sean Pedulla, guard, Ole Miss
This is Pedulla’s second time being highlighted as a March Madness hero as the senior continues to make a name for himself. On Sunday, he scored 20 points and dished out eight assists as Ole Miss dominated Iowa State in a 91-78 victory.
Veteran transfers can be hit or miss, but Pedulla was a grand slam. He came to Ole Miss from Virginia Tech and has helped the Rebels reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001. With him playing at this level, they could dance deep into March.
Love has had an up-and-down couple of seasons since transferring to Arizona from North Carolina, but he reminded people just how good he can be on Sunday. He scored 29 points, knocking down four 3-pointers in the second half, to lift the Wildcats to an 87-83 win over Oregon.
Arizona built its team to complement Love, and acquired the depth to survive the games in which he goes cold, but on Sunday both clicked in unison. Love put his teammates on his back, while they supported him by playing their roles.
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