The 12th-seeded Butler Bulldogs established themselves as the Cinderella story in this year’s men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament with victories over fifth-seeded Mississippi State and fourth-seeded Louisville in the East region. In the first round, the Bulldogs beat Mississippi State 47-46. Two days later, Butler used the hot three-point shooting of senior Darnell Archey to stun Louisville 79-71 and advance to this weekend’s East Regional in Albany. The Bulldogs will next take on Oklahoma, the top seed in the East. The Sooners advanced with a 71-54 over 16th-seeded South Carolina State in the first round and a 74-65 second round victory over eighth-seeded California. Louisville beat 13th-seeded Austin Peay 86-64, and California defeated ninth-seeded Oregon 76-74 to reach the second round.
Auburn, the 10th-seeded team in the East, pulled upsets over seventh-seeded Saint Joseph’s and second-seeded Wake Forest to advance. The Tigers needed overtime and 25 points from senior Marquis Daniels to trip up Saint Joseph 65-63. Daniels again led the way with 18 points in the Tigers 68-62 victory over Wake Forest. Auburn will face third-seeded Syracuse, who beat a pesky 14th-seeded Manhattan 76-65 in the first round. In the second round, Syracuse overcame a 17 point first-half deficit to pull out a 68-56 victory over sixth-seeded Oklahoma State. Wake Forest defeated 15th-seeded East Tennessee State 76-73 and Oklahoma State defeated 11th-seeded Penn 73-63 to reach the second round.
In the West Region, top-seeded Arizona, second-seeded Kansas, third-seeded Duke, and fifth-seeded Notre Dame advanced to the Regional in Anaheim, Calif. Arizona beat sixteenth-seeded Vermont 80-51 in the first round and ninth-seeded Gonzaga 96-95 in double overtime in the second round. In a game deemed one of the greatest in NCAA tournament history, Channing Frye and Jason Gardner led the way for the Wildcats with 22 points apiece in the win over Gonzaga. Arizona will face Notre Dame, who beat twelfth-seeded Wisconsin-Milwaukee 70-69 and fourth-seeded Illinois 68-60.
Duke will face Kansas in the other West Regional game. Duke beat 14th-seeded Colorado State 67-57 in the first round and 11th-seeded Central Michigan 86-60 in the second round. Central Michigan had advanced by upsetting sixth-seeded Creighton 79-73. Kansas nipped 15th-seeded Utah State 64-61 in the first round and routed 10th-seeded Arizona State 108-76 in the second. Arizona State advanced by upsetting seventh-seeded Memphis 84-71. In other West Region first round action, Gonzaga upset eighth-seeded Cincinnati 74-69, and Illinois beat 13th-seeded Western Kentucky 65-60.
Top-seeded Texas, fifth-seeded Connecticut, sixth-seeded Maryland, and seventh-seeded Michigan State all advanced to this weekend’s South Regional in San Antonio. Texas defeated 16th-seeded North Carolina-Asheville 82-61 and ninth-seeded Purdue 77-67 to advance. Brandon Mouton’s 18 points against Asheville and T.J. Ford’s 21 points and eight assists against Purdue led the Longhorns. Texas will next face Connecticut, 58-53 winners over 12th-seeded Brigham Young, and 85-74 winners over fourth-seeded Stanford.
Second-seeded Florida was the highest seed to fall over the weekend, when Michigan State upset them in the second round 68-46. Michigan State also beat 10th-seeded Colorado 79-64 in the first round and will face Maryland in the other South Regional game. Maryland, the defending national champions, needed a desperation three-pointer by Drew Nicholas as the clock expired to defeat North Carolina-Wilmington 75-73 in the first round. The Terrapins then used 17 points by both Nicholas and Ryan Randle to upset third-seeded Xavier in the second round. In other South Region action, Purdue upset eighth-seeded Louisiana State 80-56, Stanford defeated 13th-seeded San Diego 77-69, Florida cruised over 15th-seeded Sam Houston State 85-55, and Xavier beat 14th-seeded Troy State 71-59 in the first round.
Thirteenth-seeded Tulsa pulled the big upset in the Midwest Region, beating fourth-seeded Dayton 84-71 in the first round. Tulsa’s Cinderella run came to an end in the second round when Wisconsin’s Freddie Owens hit a three-pointer with one second remaining to push the fifth-seeded Badgers past the Golden Hurricanes 61-60. Wisconsin, who beat twelfth-seeded Weber State 81-74 in the first round, will take on top-seeded Kentucky in the Midwest Regional in Minneapolis. The Wildcats cruised through the first two rounds with wins over 16th-seeded IUPUI 95-64 and ninth-seeded Utah 74-54.
In the other Midwest Regional game, second-seeded Pittsburgh will face third-seeded Marquette. Marquette advanced with victories over 14th-seeded Holy Cross 72-68 and sixth-seeded Missouri 101-92 in overtime. Pittsburgh made the Sweet Sixteen for the second straight year with victories over 15th-seeded Wagner 87-61 and seventh-seeded Indiana 74-62. In other Midwest first round action, Utah nipped eighth-seeded Oregon 60-58, Missouri edged 11th-seeded Southern Illinois 72-71, and Indiana defeated 10th-seeded Alabama 67-62.
