NCAA Scores: Most Surprising Results from Sweet 16
Just because we were into the Sweet 16 doesn't mean the NCAA tournament can't provide a few surprises.
Although the Big Dance has lost much of its unpredictability, it still has a few tricks up its sleeve.
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Now that the dust has settled on the Sweet 16, we can go back and put all eight games in their proper context. Looking at the last round, four results in particular were much more stunning than the rest.
| No. 11 Dayton def. No. 10 Stanford | 82-72 |
| No. 1 Florida def. No. 4 UCLA | 79-68 |
| No. 2 Wisconsin def. No. 6 Baylor | 69-52 |
| No. 1 Arizona def. No. 4 San Diego State | 70-64 |
| No. 2 Michigan def. No. 11 Tennessee | 73-71 |
| No. 8 Kentucky def. No. 4 Louisville | 74-69 |
| No. 7 Connecticut def. No. 3 Iowa State | 81-76 |
| No. 4 Michigan State def. No. 1 Virginia | 61-59 |
No. 11 Dayton 82, No. 10 Stanford 72
In terms of surprises, talk about the Sweet 16 must begin with 11th-seeded Dayton. The Flyers' dream run continues for at least another round.
Archie Miller's team continues to be great on the defensive end, as it held the Cardinal to 37.9 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from behind the three-point line.
As a result, Dayton is in the Elite Eight for the first time in three decades, per Bleacher Report:
Self-belief and momentum can be huge in March, and the Flyers have it in spades. They're a team nobody wants to play at the moment, even the No. 1 overall seed Florida Gators.
Coming from a graduate of Kent State, I'd advise Flyers fans to bask in every second of this triumph, because who knows if it will ever get this sweet again?
No. 2 Wisconsin 69, No. 6 Baylor 52
It wasn't supposed to be this easy for Wisconsin. Baylor came into this game on a huge roll and having dispatched Creighton, 85-55. The Bears held Doug McDermott to 15 points in what was his final college game.
Hello Final Four.
And goodbye Final Four.
The Badgers were absolutely brilliant in this game, especially on the defensive end. Baylor shot 31.6 percent from the field and 13.3 percent from three-point range.
Offensively, Wisconsin got whatever shot it wanted. Of course, it helped when the Bears defense looked like this, per CBSSports.com's Matt Norlander:
The fact that the Badgers won wasn't all that surprising. But the way in which they made what had looked like such a strong Baylor team so feeble was downright frightening.
Wisconsin has all the tenets of a Bo Ryan-coached team when it comes to pace and defense, but now it has an offense to match.
No. 1 Arizona 70, No. 4 San Diego State 64
Much like Wisconsin's win, Arizona getting to the Elite Eight isn't all that shocking. The Wildcats were expected to beat San Diego State, but few could've foreseen the difficulty with which they had in dispatching the Aztecs.
A large part of Arizona's problems stemmed from the fact that star Nick Johnson hadn't scored a single point for 37 minutes. Then in the final three, he scored 15, per CBSSports.com's Jeff Borzello:
Aaron Gordon had the more impressive game, though, finishing with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting. His teammate, Gabe York, praised the freshman sensation after the game, per USA Today's George Schroeder.
"His poise as a freshman is through the roof," York said. "He plays basketball. He doesn't worry about how bright the lights are or how big the stage is. He just plays basketball."
The Wildcats were able to scrape by despite their best player having a major off night. They may not be so lucky against Wisconsin in the Elite Eight.
No. 7 Connecticut 81, No. 3 Iowa State 76
One star can often elevate his team beyond expectations in the NCAA tournament. Combine that with an opponent which lost one of its best players, and Connecticut's 81-76 win over Iowa State might not have been all that surprising to some.
But you have to remember two things about the Huskies. They've been up and down all season, and one year ago, their future was very much up in the air, per ESPN's Andy Katz:
Fast forward to the present, and Kevin Ollie looks like one of the best young coaches in the country, while Shabazz Napier is doing his best Kemba Walker impression.
Without Georges Niang, Iowa State was on borrowed time. The Cyclones weren't long for the NCAA tournament, but after the way they played against North Carolina, an Elite Eight run looked a strong possibility.
Instead, it's UConn that's still dancing, and with the way Napier is playing at the moment, the Huskies may have another upset on the books.
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