Few wins came easily as this year's Sweet Sixteen was finalized.
North Carolina advances, but at a steep price: Just when John Henson was healthy enough to return to the lineup, point guard Kendall Marshall broke a bone in his right wrist, and his status is unclear moving forward. At least the Tar Heels advanced. Henson double-doubled in his return and all Carolina starters were in double figures in their 87-73 win #8 Creighton. Still, UNC's title chances likely rest on Kendall Marshall's wrist.
Other top seeds scrape by: The Tar Heels won by 14, but other heavy favorites ran into more difficulty. The West Region's top seed, Michigan State, fought #9 Saint Louis to the very end, until a series of critical plays initiated by (who else?) Draymond Green finally lifted the Spartans to the next round. #2 Kansas was in even more trouble. The Jayhawks were blitzed in the first half by the hot shooting of #10 Purdue's Robbie Hummel, who scored 26 points in his final collegiate game. They never led until Elijah Johnson's deep 3-pointer with 3 minutes to play, and ultimately held on to knock out the pesky Boilermakers, 63-60. Michigan State's next foe is Louisville while Kansas gets the upstart N.C. State Wolfpack.
A good tournament to be from Ohio: The state has four teams in the Sweet Sixteen, including this year's Cinderella, the Ohio Bobcats. They defeated twelfth-seeded South Florida 62-56 behind 40 combined points from D.J. Cooper and Walter Offutt, becoming only the seventh team seeded 13th or higher to ever advance to the Sweet Sixteen (and the first since Bradley in 2006). None of those teams advanced to the Elite Eight though, and the Bobcats will have their work cut out for them against North Carolina.
Three months after the infamous brawl... Both of the teams involved in that ugly December spat are in the Sweet Sixteen. Tenth-seeded Xavier rallied past #15 Lehigh 70-58 with a career-high 25 points from Kenny Frease and 21 from Tu Holloway. And #6 Cincinnati survived a tenacious, physical battle with #3 Florida State by turning its greatest weakness into a strength--the Bearcats actually made their free throws down the stretch. Much of the credit should go to coaches Chris Mack and Mick Cronin, who perservered after that meltdown in December and now sit two wins away from the Final Four. Xavier will face Baylor and Cincinnati matches up with Ohio State next week.
Wolfpack send the Hoyas home early again: Mark Gottfried has enjoyed a sensational first season at N.C. State, sending the 11th-seeded Wolfpack to the Sweet Sixteen in an upset victory over #3 Georgetown. It required a balanced scoring effort and excellent defense on Hollis Thompson's supporting cast, and even then the Wolfpack had to withstand a late Georgetown rally. N.C. State has now lasted longer in the tournament than fellow ACC powers Duke and Florida State. Kansas waits next.
The end of Norfolk State's honeymoon: Fifteen-seed Norfolk State got to enjoy its stunning upset of #2 Missouri for a day, and then got a dose of reality against #7 Florida. The Gators didn't even shoot particularly well from outside, but they blew out the Spartans by 34 points anyway. Together with Lehigh's loss to Xavier, a 15-seed still has yet to advance to the Sweet Sixteen in six attempts.
So ladies and gentlemen, your 2012 Sweet Sixteen:
South: #1 Kentucky vs. #4 Indiana, #3 Baylor vs. #10 Xavier
West: #1 Michigan State vs. #4 Louisville, #3 Marquette vs. #7 Florida
East: #1 Syracuse vs. #4 Wisconsin, #2 Ohio State vs. #6 Cincinnati
Midwest: #1 North Carolina vs. #13 Ohio, #2 Kansas vs. #11 N.C. State
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