A career night for Nurse advances Huskies to Sweet 16
In a rematch of last year’s National Championship title game – this time in the second round of the NCAA tournament – Canadian standout Kia Nurse had herself one heck of a night.
The Connecticut Huskies guard tied an NCAA Tournament record for three-pointers made, hitting 9 of 12 from behind the arc to lead the Huskies to a 94-64 victory over the Syracuse Orange for their 109th straight win. With this second round victory, Nurse and UConn are heading to the Sweet 16, tipping off against UCLA on March 25.
Nurse is looking to lead her team to a fifth straight National Championship, which would be the third for the junior guard. In the first two rounds of the tournament, Nurse has scored a total of 53 points – 45 of those from three-pointers – and dished out 9 assists in her 58 minutes of court time.
Related: Canadian star Nurse looking to win third straight NCAA Championship
Nurse isn’t the only Canadian heading to the Sweet 16 in the Women’s Tournament. In the Lexington Regional, Texas and Stanford will face off on March 24. This matchup will feature three Canadians, twins Khaléann and Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau from Texas and Mikaela Brewer from Stanford. In the first two rounds of the tournament, Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau has averaged 21.5 minutes, 3.5 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist per game.
In the Stockton Regional, Oregon State will see the Florida State Seminoles on March 25. Kolbie Orum will be the only Canadian represented in this Sweet 16 matchup. Orum has averaged 20.5 minutes, 7 points and 6 rebounds per game in the first two rounds of the tournament.
For an updated women’s bracket, click here.
On the men’s side, there are a total of five Canadians headed into the Sweet 16. Perhaps the biggest shock of all is South Carolina Gamecocks’ Duane Notice, who helped upset second-seeded Duke in the second round of the tournament. Notice has averaged 35 minutes, 13.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in the South Carolina’s first and second round victories against Marquette and Duke. Next up for Notice and South Carolina is a Sweet 16 appearance against Baylor on March 24.
In the Midwest Regional, Oregon’s Dillon Brooks and Dylan Ennis are the only Canadians remaining. Brooks and Ennis have played an integral part in Oregon’s first and second round victories. Brooks has averaged 30.5 minutes, 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3 assists per game while his teammates Ennis has averaged 36.5 minutes, 6 points, 6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. The third-seeded Ducks will tip off against seventh-seed Michigan on March 23.
Gonzaga’s Dustin Triano has yet to see court time in the first two rounds of the tournament, but the Zag’s are considered to be one of the favourites of the men’s tournament. Next up for Triano and the first-seeded Zag’s is a Sweet 16 battle against fourth-seed West Virginia on March 23.
Related: Canadians to watch during men’s March Madness
Rounding out the Canadian men in the Sweet 16 is Kentucky’s Mychal Mulder. Averaging 7 minutes, 1.5 points, 1 rebound and 1.5 assists per game in the tournament, Mulder is looking to help the second-seeded Wildcats to a Sweet 16 victory on March 24 against third-seeded UCLA.
For an updated men’s bracket, click here.
