Kyle O’Quinn leads Norfolk State in their historic upset of Mizzou
The reason I love the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament even though it is not baseball is because of nights like tonight. For some teams it was hell on earth as their expectations for going deep into the tournament maybe to the championship game were dashed by teams that for all practical purposes had almost no chance of winning. But three teams in particular the Norfolk State Spartans, the Lehigh Mountain Hawks and the Ohio Bobcats had other plans and put the madness back in March.
After an uneventful Thursday in which favorites pretty much ran the table there were a series of stunning upsets that busted brackets around the nation. First it was the 15 seed in the West Norfolk State Spartans stunning number 2 seed Missouri State University 86-84. Missouri was picked by many to make the Final Four and by quite a few to win it. However the plucky Spartans in their first NCAA tournament scored more points than any number 15 seed and were only the 5th 15 seed to defeat a 2 seed in tournament history.
However the Spartans were joined by another number 15 seed team the Lehigh Mountain Hawks upsetting the Duke Blue Devils by a score of 75-70 in the South. That win blew my bracket as I had Duke going to the Final Four and the title game, but not winning it.
In another shock the Ohio Bobcats seeded 13 in the Midwest knocked out number 4 seed Michigan 65-60. Yesterday the number one seed in the East struggled to beat 16 seed UNC Asheville and a number 12 seeded Virginia Commonwealth University upset the number 5 seed Wichita State 62-59. I figured that VCU would win due to how they performed in last year’s tournament when they made the Final Four. Number 12 seed in the Midwest South Florida beat number 5 seeded Temple 58-44 in yet another upset.
There were other upsets as well but none as shocking as the two 15 seeds taking down the heavily favored 2 seeds. This has never happened in the NCAA tournament. Personally I am fine with it even though it pretty much messed up my picks. I actually wouldn’t mind seeing the 15 seeds continue deep into the tournament. It makes things fun. I love madness. It may not be baseball but it is certainly fun.
Peace
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