So yesterday was fun.
In a setting that felt like a homecoming celebration, No. 1 seed Scarlet & Gray absolutely pummeled an overwhelmed No. 16 seed West Virginia Wildcats outfit, 99-68, in front of a huge home crowd dotted with Buckeye dignitaries including Thad Matta, Michael Redd and Clark Kellogg at The Capital Center on the campus of Capital University in Bexley, Ohio.
Jared Sullinger led the charge with 20 points and six boards, Penn State alum Talor Battle added 16 points and Byron Mullens tallied 14 points including a majestic banked-in three-pointer and a highlight reel dunk in the lopsided affair.
Scoonie Penn's squad shot 56.1% from the floor overall and 47.1% from distance (16 of 34) on a day in which it was announced that he will be inducted in the the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2019 class.
The win advanced Scarlet & Gray to the second round where they'll face the Matadors, a team made up of Texas Tech alumni, at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon, again at The Capital Center (and again televised by ESPN).
The Matadors beat Bearcat Jam, a team of University of Cincinnati alumni, 80-63, in a game that wasn't decided until the fourth quarter.
Terrell Parks paced a balanced Matadors attack with 13 points and 12 rebounds as Quincy Diggs (14 points), Troran Brown (13 points), JJ Avila (12 points), John Roberson (11 points) and Chris Cokley (10 points) all reached double digits.
The Matadors owned the glass 37-25 and held Bearcat Jam to 21.1% from the beyond the three-point line to advance.
Should Scarlet & Gray perform as expected and march on, they'll take on the winner of the 4:00 p.m. tilt between the 12th-seeded Primetime Players and 4th-seeded Big X which features a handful of former Michigan and Big Ten performers including Andrew Dakich.
That game is scheduled to take place at 9:00 p.m. Friday night in Atlanta.
