A record eight Kiwis made the prestigious 2018 NCAA Division 1 Men’s and Women’s Tournaments that are currently in progress and half of them are Harbour representatives.

Unfortunately all bowed out in the first round of the Big Dance with the demise of Virginia Cavaliers the biggest surprise.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, stunned Jack Salt and the Cavaliers  - Virginia became the first No 1 seed to lose to a No 16 seed in NCAA Men’s Tournament history, bundled out 74-51 on Saturday.

Also on Saturday Tiarna Clarke and Northern Colorado Bears exited the women’s tournament losing 75-61 to Michigan. Tiarna converted  2 from 3 threes for her 6 points in the game..

Both Sam Waardenburg and Matt Freeman, and their respective teams Miami Hurricanes and Oklahoma Sooners, exited the men’s tournament in dramatic circumstances on Friday.

Miami Hurricanes went down 64-62 to Loyola Chicago and Oklahoma Sooners fell 83-78 to Rhode Island in overtime.

Sam looked to have helped the University of Miami to a narrow win when he secured a defensive rebound with 9 seconds left to play. However a one-and-one free throw opportunity was missed by the Hurricanes allowing Loyola Chicago to steal the win with a three virtually on the buzzer. It was certainly a heart breaking way to finish the season for Sam and the 22-10 Hurricanes.

Sam didn’t score any points but he did post a more than useful 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 block and one steal in his first appearance at the Big Dance.

Oklahoma, semi-finalists in 2016, went out with an overtime after the scores were locked at 69 apiece inregulation time. Matt Freeman, the Sooners sophmore forward, didn’t take the court as his team finished the season with an 18-14 record.

There was better news from the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) where Fordham University Rams have advanced to the last sixteen for a second time in programme history. The Rams recorded a 63-60 come from behind second round victory against Drexel University.

Zara Jillings put up just the one shot in 20 minutes of action for Fordham finishing with a brace of rebounds and assists. Fordham visit Virginia Tech on Friday with a quarter-final spot at stake.

In the NJCAA (Junior College) Division I Women’s National Championship, North Dakota will take on Walters State in first round action tomorrow, the winners taking on Cochise College in the second round on Thursday. We wish Georgia Perrott-Hunt and Olivia Bell the best of luck in these championships that feature the top 24 junior colleges in the USA.