The NCAA men’s basketball tournament got underway on Thursday with first-round action around the country.
There are a number of players from the St. Louis area who are participating in the NCAA Tournament. Here is a look at what the local players did on Thursday’s first day of action.
Caleb Love (Arizona): The former CBC standout scored 18 points in the Wildcats’ 85-65 victory over Long Beach State in the first round of the West Regional in a game held in Salt Lake City. The 6’4” Love also had 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals while making three 3-pointers. Arizona, the No. 2 seed in the West, will face No. 7 seed Dayton in the second round on Saturday.
Keshon Gilbert (Iowa State): The former Vashon High standout scored 15 points in the Cyclones 82-65 victory over South Dakota State in the first round of the East Regional in a game held in Omaha, NE. The 6’4” Gilbert also had five rebounds and three assists while making six of his nine field attempts from the field. Iowa State, the No. 2 seed will play Drake/Washington State winner on Saturday.
Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton): The former Trinity Catholic standout scored a team-high 23 points in the Bluejays 77-60 victory over Akron in the first round of the Midwest Regional in a game played in Pittsburgh. The 7’0” Kalkbrenner also had eight rebounds and three blocked shots while making nine of his 14 attempts from the field. Creighton, the No. 3 seed, will play No. 11 seed Oregon on Saturday.
