Melbourne United’s greatest March Madness moments - Part 2

Written by Melbourne United Media 

As the NCAA tournament fast approaches, let’s take a look back at some of the greatest March Madness performances from Melbourne United players.

If you missed the first part of our list, you can find it here.

Jordan McRae - 2014

After willing his Tennessee Volunteers into the NCAA tournament with an OT victory in the ‘First Four’ games, Jordan McRae did his very best to bust as many brackets as possible.

He helped lead his side through the first two rounds before facing off with 2-seeded Michigan Wolverines.

The scoring guard did a bit of everything for Tennessee, willing his side back from 13 down before hitting a jump shot with 11 seconds remaining to close the gap to just one point.

While the Volunteers couldn’t take home the victory in the end, McRae’s performance was one for the ages.

McRae - 24 points, six rebounds, four blocks, two assists, one steal.

Matthew Dellavedova - 2010

As a freshman at Saint Mary’s, Matthew Dellavedova made an instant impact in his first trip to the tournament.

Coming in as a 10-seed, Delly helped the Gaels upset the Richmond Spiders 80-71, but left his best performance for the next round.

Matched up with the second-seeded Villanova Wildcats, Delly put on a clinic, controlling the game for all 40 minutes and leading Saint Mary’s on a 10-3 run across the final 90 seconds to pull off one of 2010’s biggest upsets.

Dellavedova - 14 points, four rebounds, two assists.

Cedric Jackson - 2009

Speaking of upsets, Cedric Jackson helped orchestrate a huge underdog victory when his Cleveland State Vikings took down Wake Forest for the school’s second tournament win ever.

Jackson flirted with a triple double as he and fellow backcourt mate Norris Cole sliced up the Demon Deacons, who themselves boasted a roster loaded with future NBA players (Jeff Teague, James Johnson, Al-Farouq Aminu, Ish Smith).

The Vikings opened up the game with a 9-0 run and never looked back, finishing with a 15-point victory.

Jackson - 19 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, three steals.

Josh Boone - 2004

When it comes to freshman performances on this list, perhaps none come bigger than Josh Boone’s showing when his UConn Huskies faced off against the Duke Blue Devils in the Final Four of 2004.

Surrounded by NBA talent in Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, Boone’s Huskies looked to do all they could to stop Duke, who themselves boasted a collection of players destined for the league in J.J Redick, Lual Deng and Chris Duhon.

Despite the huge stage and his freshman status, Boone was spectacular, pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds and scoring nine points as UConn outlasted the Blue Devils, securing a 79-78 win before moving on to a Championship victory over Georgia Tech.

Boone - Nine points, 14 rebounds, one assist, one block.

Hakim Warrick - 2004

Coming off a Championship victory alongside Carmelo Anthony in 2003, Hakim Warrick established himself as Syracuse’s number-one option in the 2004 tournament.

His most electric performance came in the Round of 32, with the athletic forward pulling out all the stops to keep the Orange’s season alive.

Warrick played all 40 minutes, leading all players in scoring and filling the stat-sheet as Syracuse came away with the 72-70 victory.

Warrick - 26 points, nine rebounds, three steals, two blocks, one assist.