Lost in last night's overtime fest in the final games of the first round was Cleveland State's dismantling of Wake Forest. It was such a blowout that CBS didn't even switch to it so we could watch Cleveland State celebrate. While the Vikings remain the highest seed left in the tournament, two other teams who garnered upset victories last were the ones taking the biggest deep breaths.
Wisconsin and Arizona came into the tournament with the most discussion with most of us not believing they belonged in the big dance. But the great thing about the tournament is that the discussion stops once the games begin and every team has a chance to prove themselves.
The Badgers and the Wildcats did just that. Arizona traveled the country to cruise to an easy win over Utah, while Wisconsin needed overtime and a hot second half shooting performance to drop Florida State.
Arizona will actually be the home team in the next round facing the aforementioned Cleveland State, while Wisconsin will face fourth seeded Xavier. A sweet sixteen appearance for these teams would be twice the treat for these two teams who heard all week they did not belong.
Friday ended Year and Half Drought
The rule has always been if Thursday goes according to form, watch out for upsets on Friday. Last year, with a few small exceptions, the tournament went according to form. All the No. 1s made the Final Four and while a lot of teams came close, the upsets were few in number.
Last night changed all that. And we have the Midwest bracket to thank for that. From the quiet heartland of America, five of the eight games ended with the underdog advancing. And of the eight double digit seeds left in the tournament, four are in the Midwest.
Hopefully Saturday and Sunday follow suit. And remember, big upsets hurt everyone's bracket so don't worry about cheering for that Cinderella team.
Keywords: Arizona Wildcats, Cleveland State Vikings, College Basketball, College tournament, March Madness, NCAA Tournament, Upsets, Wisconsin Badgers, Xavier Musketeers
