All of the top seeds advanced past the first two rounds, Wisconsin was the only
No. 2 seed to be knocked off and Washington State was the lone No. 3 seed to bow
out.
A year ago, we had No. 13 Bradley and No. 11 George Mason as our Cinderella
stories. This year the closest thing to someone wearing a glass slipper is No. 7
UNLV (the lowest seed still standing) and No. 4 Southern Illinois (only because
they hail from a mid-major conference).
There have been two times in the last 12 years that four double-digit seeds
were left standing after two rounds.
Now it's time for the action to heat up. The heavyweight bouts start in the
Sweet 16 with No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 3 Pittsburgh. No. 2 Memphis against No. 3 Texas
A&M isn't bad, either.
REBEL YELL
This UNLV team doesn't draw a whole lot of parallels to Tark the Shark's
teams in Vegas back in the day — other than the fact that this team has won 30
games and has earned a spot in the Sweet 16.
Kevin Kruger, who took advantage of an odd transfer rule in which a player
could switch schools if they graduated and still had a year of eligibility
remaining, knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers in helping to lead his
dad's team to an upset over Wisconsin.
The last time UNLV went to the Sweet 16 was back in 1991 — when Jerry
Tarkanian's team advanced to the Final Four.
Kruger had made just one of his first 15 shots in the NCAA tournament, but he
caught fire at the right time. Teammate Wendell White, playing with protection
under his uniform because of a rib injury, scored 22 points and also did an
impressive job defensively on Alando Tucker — who was held to just six points
after the break.
MR. CONTESTED
Tennessee guard Chris Lofton is the best contested shooter in the country.
The Vols junior didn't have to contest with anything as he sank a half-dozen
key free throws with less than 28 seconds left in the game to give Tennessee a
close win over Virginia.
Cavaliers junior guard Sean Singletary, arguably the best point guard in the
nation this season, missed on a 3-pointer that could have tied the game with one
second left.
Tennessee gets a rematch with Ohio State. The Vols lost, 68-66, back in
January.
QUACK QUACK
Oregon's little man came through.
The Ducks 5-foot-6 freshman point guard Tajuan Porter knocked down four
3-pointers early in the second half that helped Oregon avoid a potential upset
to Cinderella-minded Winthrop.
Porter is the best shooting little man in the country.
While numerous programs shied away because of his size, Ducks coach Ernie Kent took a chance — partially because Porter played alongside Malik Hairston
at Renaissance High in Detroit.
Porter's backcourt mate, Aaron Brooks, led the Ducks with 22 points. Oregon
advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2002.
SALUKIS DEFEND AND ADVANCE
It's no secret that Southern Illinois defends. The Salukis are third in the
nation, allowing just 56.3 points per game. They held Virginia Tech to just 48.
This is the same Hokies team that swept North Carolina this season.
Jamaal Tatum scored 21 points and the Salukis won despite playing without
starting forward Matt Shaw (ankle). Tony Boyle started in place of Shaw and was
scoreless in 20 minutes.
Now Chris Lowery's team, which has won 15 of the last 16, will get top-seeded
Kansas on Thursday night.
GATOR BAIT
The last two defending champions, UConn and North Carolina, failed to reach
the Sweet 16 the following year. Florida snapped the streak after a hard-fought
win against Purdue.
The Gators went 27-for-31 from the charity stripe and got a dominant
performance from Al Horford down the stretch.
Don't be surprised if you see opponents (Butler may not have the personnel to
do it) take a page from Purdue coach Matt Painter's playbook and try and
pressure Gators point guard Taurean Green 94 feet from the basket.
Purdue had a terrific season — with a 13-game improvement over last year's
9-19 team. While Painter will lose seniors Carl Landry and David Teague, he will
welcome in arguably the most talented freshman class in school history next
season.
QUITE A RUSH
Brandon Rush put on a show that probably made M.J. proud.
The athletic Kansas sophomore wing, considered a poor outside shooter coming
into college, made six of seven 3-pointers in the Jayhawks' win over Kentucky in
a battle of two of the most storied programs in college basketball.
Rush finished with 19 points and Julian Wright led Kansas with 21 as Michael Jordan watched from a luxury suite.
Kentucky didn't put up much of a fight against the top-seeded Jayhawks. Now
the speculation will begin whether Wildcats AD Mitch Barnhart will keep Tubby
Smith. If he does keep Smith, look for a shakeup on the staff.
DURANT FINISHED?
In what was likely Kevin Durant's final collegiate game at Texas, the
freshman put up numbers — but not the one he wanted.
Durant scored 30 points and pulled down nine boards, but it wasn't nearly
enough in a loss to USC, which will make just its second regional semifinal
appearance since 1979.
The key for the Trojans wasn't trying to shut down Durant, but their ability
to contain fellow freshman D.J. Augustin.
Augustin was held in check — with just six points and five assists.
The Trojans got 22 points from Nick Young and 17 from freshman Daniel Hackett.
TIGERS ROAR AGAIN
Memphis is in its second straight Sweet 16. The last time the Tigers did that
was in 1984 and 1985 — back in the days of Keith Lee.
The Tigers were led by Chris Douglas-Roberts' 16 points, but the versatile
sophomore went down with a sprained left ankle midway through the second half
and didn't return. His status is uncertain for the Sweet 16 game against Texas
A&M, but he went down in pain and left the arena in a boot.
The key for the Tigers, who entered the game shooting a dismal 61 percent
from the line this season, was shockingly its free-throw shooting. John
Calipari's club was 26-for-34 (76 percent) against Nevada.