USA TODAY Sports provides your March Madness therapy
Wichita State Shockers forward Carl Hall (22), guard Malcolm Armstead (2) and guard Fred Van Vleet (23) hug each other near the end of the game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the third round of the NCAA basketball tournament at EnergySolutions Arena. Witchita State won the game 76-70. (Photo: Steve Dykes, USA TODAY Sports) Story Highlights - Wichita State's upset victory over Gonzaga was the biggest highlight of Saturday night
- Butler and Marquette delivered one of the best games of the tournament
- Eight more games tip off on Sunday afternoon to determine the Sweet 16 field
Welcome to another session of Bracket Briefing, an attempt to provide you with essential information on the Big Dance — highlighting the Florida Gulf Coasts and Harvards of the college basketball world, and forecasting the Ali Farokhmanesh and Steph Curry moments before they happen.
Teams left: 24
NCAA TOURNAMENT: Update bracket
TV SCHEDULE: Sunday's Big Dance games
Soundtrack: Before you read any further, take a listen to this morning's jam of the day. In case you're a little more old school, here's something to rock to.
Wild, Wild West: The No. 1 (Gonzaga), No. 3 (New Mexico), No. 4 (Kansas State), No. 5 (Wisconsin) and No. 7 (Notre Dame) seeds have all fallen in the West regional. That leaves No. 12 Ole Miss/La Salle vs. No. 9 Wichita State and No. 6 Arizona vs. today's winner of Iowa State-Ohio State. If the NCAA committee seeded these teams in the same region on purpose to expose them, we all should send its members a thank-you card for making our March so much madder in the West.
Daily winner: Wichita State Shockers. Gregg Marshall's group pulled off the third biggest shocker of the NCAA tournament (ahem, Harvard, Florida Gulf Coast) by beating Gonzaga, the first No. 1 seed to fall in this year's tournament. Not to mention, their dance moves are quite remarkable. The Shockers advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2006, the year the Missouri Valley sent four bids (should have been five, too). Creighton, the Valley's other bid, gets a stab at punching two Valley tickets to the Sweet 16 "This is a wonderful moment for our program and our city," Marshall said after the game in a TV interview. "This is the epitome of a team, they don't care about individual stats." In case you didn't know, Marshall and the Shockers are going to L.A. So could Marshall Henderson. Yikes.
***
Daily loser: The Stockton family. John's son had a rough game for the Zags. His facial expression says it all.
Surviving the upset again: Butler and Marquette delivered one of the best games of the tournament Saturday night with a 74-72 thriller with the final decision going to Buzz Williams' squad. This came after Marquette barely snuck away with a second-round victory over Davidson. The David-turned-Goliath Butler simply ran out of miracles against Marquette. Rotnei Clarke's buzzer-beater had given the Bulldogs a November victory over the Golden Eagles, but this one ended with a stumbling three-pointer from big man Andrew Smith that caused Brad Stevens to strike this pose:
Buzzer-beating revenge is never fun. HIGHLIGHTS: 8 OF 16 SWEET SIXTEEN TEAMS
Marquette Golden Eagles (25-4, 14-4 Big East): Beat Davidson and Butler in second, third round. Mark Zerof, USA TODAY Sports Related story Fullscreen
Michigan State Spartans (27-8, 13-5 Big Ten): Beat Valparaiso and Memphis in second, third round. Paul Sancya, AP Related story Fullscreen
Michigan Wolverines (28-7, 12-6 Big Ten): Beat South Dakota State and South Dakota State in second, third rounds. Rick Osentoski, USA TODAY Sports Related story Fullscreen
Louisville Cardinals (31-5, 13-4): Beat North Carolina A&T and Colorado State in second, third rounds. Mark Zerof, USA TODAY Sports Related story Fullscreen
Arizona Wildcats (27-7, 12-6): Beat Belmont and Harvard in second, third rounds. Steve Dykes, USA TODAY Sports Related story Fullscreen
Oregon Ducks (28-8, 12-6, Pac-12): Beat Oklahoma State and Saint Louis in second, third rounds. Cary Edmondson, USA TODAY Sports Related story Fullscreen Like this topic? You may also like these photo galleries: Replay
Autoplay Show Thumbnails Show Captions Fullscreen Last Slide Next Slide What else you missed: Louisville looks destined for a title path after another easy win to advance to the Sweet 16. Meanwhile, it'll be a Michigan-flavored Sweet 16 with the Spartans and Wolverines in the pack. Lastly, the Pac-12's Arizona and Oregon have sent a direct message to the NCAA tournament selection committee for snubbing them in the seeding department, with the Wildcats shaking off Cinderella Harvard and the Ducks flushing A-10 champ Saint Louis.
TOURNEY PREVIEW: At Kansas City
TOURNEY PREVIEW: At Philadelphia
TOURNEY PREVIEW: At Dayton
TOURNEY PREVIEW: At Austin
On deck: An index to help guide you through the madness.
For clarity, a three-star game means nothing else in your life matters. Two stars means you should put your cellphone on vibrate. One star means you can watch while folding your laundry. (All times Eastern.)
**You should probably watch this** Iowa State vs. Ohio State in Dayton, Ohio, 12:15 (CBS)
*Life won't end if you miss this* Temple vs. Indiana in Dayton, Ohio, 2:45 (CBS)
***Must-watch*** North Carolina vs. Kansas in Kansas City, Mo., 5:15 (CBS)
**You should probably watch this*** Minnesota vs. Florida in Austin, 6:10 (TNT)
~Upset alert~ Florida Gulf Coast vs. San Diego State in Philadelphia, 7:10 (TBS)
***Must-Watch*** La Salle vs. Mississippi in Kansas City, Mo. 7:40 (truTV)
**You should probably watch this** Illinois vs. Miami in Austin, 7:40 (TNT)
**You should probably watch this** Creighton vs. Duke in Philadelphia, 9:40 (TBS)
Tweet that speaks volume: NCAA football's most polarizing star, Johnny Manziel, tweeting support to NCAA basketball's most polarizing star Marshall Henderson. .@nativeflash22 Keep hoopin and don't listen all the BS. Keep the green light green!—; Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) March 23, 2013
Best dance moves: This Arizona band member, hands down.
Head-scratcher: Ashley Judd, Kentucky's supposed top fan, for tweeting her support for Louisville as the Cardinals romped to the Sweet 16 on Saturday.
Kickin' it old school: The vintage clip of the day goes to ...
With UCLA coach Ben Howland on the hot seat, perhaps this will cheer him up.
Wichita State Shockers forward Carl Hall (22), guard Malcolm Armstead (2) and guard Fred Van Vleet (23) hug each other near the end of the game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the third round of the NCAA basketball tournament at EnergySolutions Arena. Witchita State won the game 76-70. (Photo: Steve Dykes, USA TODAY Sports) Welcome to another session of Bracket Briefing, an attempt to provide you with essential information on the Big Dance — highlighting the Florida Gulf Coasts and Harvards of the college basketball world, and forecasting the Ali Farokhmanesh and Steph Curry moments before they happen. Teams left: 24 NCAA TOURNAMENT: Update bracket TV SCHEDULE: Sunday's Big Dance games Soundtrack: Before you read any further, take a listen to this morning's jam of the day. In case you're a little more old school, here's something to rock to. Wild, Wild West: The No. 1 (Gonzaga), No. 3 (New Mexico), No. 4 (Kansas State), No. 5 (Wisconsin) and No. 7 (Notre Dame) seeds have all fallen in the West regional. That leaves No. 12 Ole Miss/La Salle vs. No. 9 Wichita State and No. 6 Arizona vs. today's winner of Iowa State-Ohio State. If the NCAA committee seeded these teams in the same region on purpose to expose them, we all should send its members a thank-you card for making our March so much madder in the West. Daily winner: Wichita State Shockers. Gregg Marshall's group pulled off the third biggest shocker of the NCAA tournament (ahem, Harvard, Florida Gulf Coast) by beating Gonzaga, the first No. 1 seed to fall in this year's tournament. Not to mention, their dance moves are quite remarkable. The Shockers advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2006, the year the Missouri Valley sent four bids (should have been five, too). Creighton, the Valley's other bid, gets a stab at punching two Valley tickets to the Sweet 16 In case you didn't know, Marshall and the Shockers are going to L.A. So could Marshall Henderson. Yikes. *** Daily loser: The Stockton family. John's son had a rough game for the Zags. His facial expression says it all. Surviving the upset again: Butler and Marquette delivered one of the best games of the tournament Saturday night with a 74-72 thriller with the final decision going to Buzz Williams' squad. This came after Marquette barely snuck away with a second-round victory over Davidson. The David-turned-Goliath Butler simply ran out of miracles against Marquette. Rotnei Clarke's buzzer-beater had given the Bulldogs a November victory over the Golden Eagles, but this one ended with a stumbling three-pointer from big man Andrew Smith that caused Brad Stevens to strike this pose: HIGHLIGHTS: 8 OF 16 SWEET SIXTEEN TEAMS What else you missed: Louisville looks destined for a title path after another easy win to advance to the Sweet 16. Meanwhile, it'll be a Michigan-flavored Sweet 16 with the Spartans and Wolverines in the pack. Lastly, the Pac-12's Arizona and Oregon have sent a direct message to the NCAA tournament selection committee for snubbing them in the seeding department, with the Wildcats shaking off Cinderella Harvard and the Ducks flushing A-10 champ Saint Louis. TOURNEY PREVIEW: At Kansas City TOURNEY PREVIEW: At Philadelphia TOURNEY PREVIEW: At Dayton TOURNEY PREVIEW: At Austin On deck: An index to help guide you through the madness. For clarity, a three-star game means nothing else in your life matters. Two stars means you should put your cellphone on vibrate. One star means you can watch while folding your laundry. (All times Eastern.) **You should probably watch this** Iowa State vs. Ohio State in Dayton, Ohio, 12:15 (CBS) *Life won't end if you miss this* Temple vs. Indiana in Dayton, Ohio, 2:45 (CBS) ***Must-watch*** North Carolina vs. Kansas in Kansas City, Mo., 5:15 (CBS) **You should probably watch this*** Minnesota vs. Florida in Austin, 6:10 (TNT) ~Upset alert~ Florida Gulf Coast vs. San Diego State in Philadelphia, 7:10 (TBS) ***Must-Watch*** La Salle vs. Mississippi in Kansas City, Mo. 7:40 (truTV) **You should probably watch this** Illinois vs. Miami in Austin, 7:40 (TNT) **You should probably watch this** Creighton vs. Duke in Philadelphia, 9:40 (TBS) Tweet that speaks volume: NCAA football's most polarizing star, Johnny Manziel, tweeting support to NCAA basketball's most polarizing star Marshall Henderson. .@nativeflash22 Keep hoopin and don't listen all the BS. Keep the green light green!—; Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) March 23, 2013 Best dance moves: This Arizona band member, hands down. Head-scratcher: Ashley Judd, Kentucky's supposed top fan, for tweeting her support for Louisville as the Cardinals romped to the Sweet 16 on Saturday. Kickin' it old school: The vintage clip of the day goes to ... With UCLA coach Ben Howland on the hot seat, perhaps this will cheer him up. Story Highlights
"This is a wonderful moment for our program and our city," Marshall said after the game in a TV interview. "This is the epitome of a team, they don't care about individual stats."
Buzzer-beating revenge is never fun.
Like this topic? You may also like these photo galleries: