Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCEastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCSouthregion and @RTCWestregion.

Three Key Takeaways.

London Perrantes hit three first half three-pointers to lead Virginia to a comfortable First Round win over Hampton. (foxsports.com)

1. Virginia didn’t mess around this time. Two years ago in this same building, another #1 seed Virginia team struggled mightily with #16 Coastal Carolina — the Cavaliers trailed at the half before rallying for a skittish 11-point victory. For awhile today, things seemed headed down a similar path as Hampton came out strong and only trailed by two points with just under six minutes left in the first half. But Virginia went on a three-point shooting spree to close it out and took a comfortable 19-point lead into the locker room from which it never looked back.
2. As expected, Hampton really struggled to score. Before this game, the Pirates had only been held under 70 points 10 times this season. Against the Virginia pack line defense, Hampton mustered only a season-low 45 points and shot a frigid 30 percent from the floor. The Pirates were really cold from long-range, making only 3-of-19 from outside the arc. Hampton has made the NCAA Tournament in two consecutive years but don’t expect the Pirates to be back in the Big Dance next season. Coach Edward ‘Buck’ Joyner will lose five of his top six players from a team that claimed both the MEAC regular season and tournament titles.
3. At least for one game, Virginia regained its shooting touch. Maybe it was North Carolina’s defense or the rigors of a third tough game in three nights, but for whatever the reason, Virginia’s guards did not shoot well in last Saturday’s ACC Championship game. The jumpers were falling this afternoon as the Cavaliers went 12-of-25 from behind the arc. London Perrantes led the deep-ball barrage with four made threes, and four of his teammates hit two three-pointers each.

Star of the Game.  Anthony Gill, Virginia. The senior forward helped the Cavaliers control the paint at both ends. Gill finished with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting while also grabbing seven boards and dishing out four assists.

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Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCeastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCsouthregion and @RTCwestregion.

Three Key Takeaways.

It Was All Smiles on the Kentucky Bench Again Tonight (USA Today Images)

1. Karl-Anthony Towns is an absolute stud. The SEC Freshman of the Year exhibited why he is considered one of the top NBA prospects in college basketball. Towns finished the night with 21 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. His performance was even more impressive because of how efficient it was. He played just 25 minutes and finished 8-of-12 from the field along with a 5-of-6 showing from the free throw line. Kentucky is loaded with premier performers but none showed out better on Thursday night than Towns. His length, athleticism and ability to impact the game on both ends of the court personifies why he is such a special talent.
2. This was a home game for Kentucky and Saturday will be too. The KFC Yum! Center is located just 76.8 miles away from Kentucky’s campus. Couple that with the fact that Big Blue Nation travels as well as any fan base in the country and has a large fan base in and around Louisville and you easily understand why Thursday night was essentially a Wildcats’ home game. The second the Cincinnati/Purdue game ended, it was Kentucky time. Fans cheered loudly throughout the night. Nevermind that it was a #1 vs. #16 matchup — they pulled for their Wildcats with the same passion they would if it had been a regional final. With Kentucky advancing to the Round of 32 on Saturday in the same building, expect the atmosphere in the arena to be more of the same as the pursuit of perfection continues.
3. Hampton deserves a lot of credit for fighting until the end. Prior to Hampton’s victory over Manhattan at the First Four in Dayton on Tuesday, the Pirates were 16-17. They needed an unexpected run through the MEAC title to even earn the chance to go to Dayton. The difference in talent level between Kentucky and Hampton is as big as the Grand Canyon, though. This, however, did not stop Edward Joyner Jr.’s squad from fighting all game long. It forced some bad Kentucky shots in the first half and only trailed 18-14 at the 8:27 mark, and it finished the game on a 28-16 run after falling behind by 35 with 12:43 to play. Pirates guard Quinton Chievous was a warrior all night. Playing on an ankle he injured in the win over Manhattan, Chievous finished with a game-high 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Hampton is certainly not pleased with the loss, but it definitely deserves some credit for the way it went out.

Player of the Game. Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky. The freshman turned in a performance that made you realize why he has received so many accolades and so much attention this season. In just 25 minutes of play, Towns tallied 21 points and collected 11 rebounds. Among all of Kentucky’s talented charges, Towns was the best in the win over Hampton.

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