
March Madness 2017: Top Social Media Highlights for Friday's Sweet 16
The Sweet 16 of the 2017 NCAA Tournament rolled on Friday, with four more teams punching their tickets to the Elite Eight.
The best highlights from the winners—North Carolina, South Carolina, UCLA/Kentucky and Wisconsin/Florida—can be found below.
Butler vs. North Carolina
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The No. 4 Butler Bulldogs were able to scrap their way to a few runs, but never truly threatened No. 1 North Carolina in Friday's first game.
The Tar Heels picked up big contributions from a number of players. Juniors Joel Berry and Justin Jackson led the way with 26 and 24 points, respectively. And sophomore Luke Maye broke out with a double-double off the bench.
It was the first of his career, per the ACC Digital Network:
March Madness shared video of his big night:
Maye's breakout coincides with what appears to be North Carolina peaking. It's now just three wins away from completing its redemption tour following last season's devastating title-game loss.
South Carolina vs. Baylor
The No. 7 South Carolina Gamecocks are more than just the feel-good story of a team that knocked off perennial juggernaut Duke. Their dismantling of No. 3 Baylor proved that.
South Carolina cruised to a 70-50 victory in which they held the Bears to just 30.4 percent shooting. The defensive clamps were on brilliant display in the first half as South Carolina went on an 18-0 run, per March Madness:
CBS Sports shared a three from Duane Notice that was part of an extended run:
March Madness tweeted another Notice three from the second half. This one all but finished off Baylor:
Combining timely shooting from Notice and leading scorer Sindarius Thornwell with their typically stifling defense makes South Carolina a real threat to reach the Final Four.
UCLA vs. Kentucky
No. 3 UCLA was able to keep it close with No. 2 Kentucky till about midway through the second half. The Wildcats, and particularly De'Aaron Fox, started to assert their dominance at that point.
Fox took it to presumed top-two NBA draft pick Lonzo Ball all night, scoring 39 points on 13-of-20 shooting. March Madness shared a breakaway jam from him:
And CBS Sports tweeted out an and-one:
As good as Ball has been offensively all season, he and the rest of the Bruins simply couldn't stay in front of Fox on Friday.
And when Malik Monk joined the party in the second half, UCLA was helpless to try to slow Kentucky down. CBS Sports posted one of Monk's four threes:
John Calipari's blue chippers are finding their way at the perfect time, as they often do under his leadership.
Wisconsin vs. Florida
After knocking off top-seeded and defending champion Villanova in the second round, No. 8 Wisconsin brought it again on Friday, this time against No. 4 Florida.
KeVaugn Allen led the way for the Gators, dropping 35 points on 11-of-24 shooting. Two big ones came on this breakaway dunk shared by CBS Sports:
Allen didn't put Florida up late by himself, though. The Gators made some timely defensive plays, including this huge block in the second half posted by March Madness:
Following that swat, it felt like the Gators would run away with this one, but Wisconsin stayed poised in the face of a double-digit deficit. The Badgers eventually put together a ridiculous stretch, scoring the final eight points of regulation.
Zak Showalter capped the comeback with this unbelievable runner shared by March Madness:
Then he added this celebration for the benefit of Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers (via March Madness):
Somehow, that wouldn't be the craziest play of the game.
Just when it looked like Wisconsin was going to be able to ride momentum to victory in overtime, Canyon Barry came up with a ridiculous block in transition. CBS Sports shared the video:
Not long after that, Florida's Chris Chiozza hit the miracle runner. Video again courtesy of CBS Sports:
This. Was. Madness.
With Friday's action in the books, the 2017 Elite Eight is set. Xavier and Gonzaga will play Saturday 6:09 p.m. ET on TBS. Oregon and Kansas will follow that game on the same network. Sunday's games will be between Kentucky and North Carolina in the South Region and South Carolina and Florida in the East.



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