NCAA Bracket 2011 Update: The 10 Biggest Surprises from Round 2
As the third round is going on now and the Sweet 16 is being decided, let's look back on the 32 games that made up the second round of this year's tournament.
There were some upsets, some great games and some unforgettable moments. There were also many things that a lot of us expected to see. However, there were some things that shocked every fan holding a bracket.
Here are 10 of the bigger surprises that we saw from Thursday and Friday.
VCU Goes from First Four to Third Round
1 of 10
When the Opening Round was introduced a few years ago, we saw the two worst automatic bid teams fight it out for the right to get slaughtered by the top overall seed. With the expansion of the tournament to 68 teams, the First Four was created. Now, the four worst mid-major conference champions face one another in the opening round, while the often-scrutinized Last Four in face one another for the right to get into the tournament.
People were extremely upset when Virginia Commonwealth was placed into the field of 68 over other bubble teams that were believed to have been better. Many of those bubble teams are eliminated from the NIT, while VCU is still around in the NCAA Tournament.
The Rams disposed of a struggling USC team and moved on to face Georgetown. VCU then made a statement against the Hoyas, showing the naysayers that they belonged in the tournament after all. Now, VCU has a match tomorrow with Purdue, the third seed from the Southwest Bracket, with a chance to make the Sweet 16. Who knows how long this run by Virginia Commonwealth will last. Could they match the feat of George Mason from a few years ago and be another No. 11 seed in the Final Four?
Richmond Pulls off the Upset
2 of 10
I personally saw this upset coming, but that was only because I thought that Vanderbilt would fall if they came out flat.
However, the Commodores shot 50 percent from the field in the game and had a six-point lead at the half. However, Kevin Anderson led the charge from the Atlantic-10 tournament champions with 16 of his 25 points coming in the last 20 minutes. Richmond may have acted like business as usual when they won the game, but it gave them a chance to face Morehead State for a spot in the Sweet 16.
Richmond claimed their first victory in the tournament since 1998. With a win, Richmond would go to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1988.
Louisville's Performance Against Morehead State
3 of 10
Speaking of Morehead State, their upset of Louisville was expected by many who filled out brackets.
However, the way that Morehead State won was the surprising part of this game. The first half was just horrendous for both teams and, no matter what lead they had, the Louisville Cardinals were just out of sync for the entire game. It was certainly their game to lose, and they did just that. They gave Morehead State every opportunity to stay in the game, and ultimately, let the Eagles upset them.
Louisville was just 7-for-16 from the free-throw line, had 16 turnovers and shot just 10-for-25 from the beyond the three-point line.
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St. John's Fall Short vs. Gonzaga
4 of 10
The big story for St. John's return to the NCAA tournament was the loss of leader D.J. Kennedy to injury and how the team would play without him. Kennedy was the leading rebounder for St. John's, and his absence showed against Gonzaga. The Bulldogs were all over the boards, outrebounding St. John's 41-18 in the game.
The Red Storm relinquished their early lead in the first five minutes and never got it back. The 86-71 final score even looks a lot closer than it really was. The team often felt deflated and did not seem like they were in the right mindset to try to come back in the game. The early exit showed just how important one player can be for a team.
No Upsets in West Region
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Speaking of important players for teams, Kyrie Irving surprised many when he returned for Duke's second-round game against Hampton.
Irving's 14 points off the bench outscored any single player from Hampton, who had just 16 total points off the bench. Duke's 87-45 thrashing of Hampton was just one of the games from the West region, who did not see any lower seeds advance. In an event where early upsets are almost expected, those who went with chalk in the West were rewarded.
Princeton Scares Kentucky
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We can all agree that many high school seniors do not intend on going to an Ivy League school if they are pursuing a dream in college basketball. In fact, if you are a college freshman, there may not be a better place for you to land than Kentucky, where you can gain notoriety and go directly into the NBA soon after.
You can see why it was then shocking that the Princeton Tigers made the Wildcats of Kentucky a little nervous in their game this week. It took the first points of the night from freshman phenom Brandon Knight with just seconds left to lift the Wildcats into the next round and send the Ivy League kids packing.
Michigan St. Nearly Defeats UCLA
7 of 10
I remember watching the insanity of this game and wondering if Michigan State could really come back.
The Spartans trailed by as much as 23 in the second half and just kept shooting three-pointers. They kept making them. The plays kept falling in favor of Michigan State as UCLA saw their large lead disappear at nearly every possession for Michigan State.
In the end, it was just not enough time for Michigan State and a great defensive play by the Bruins prevented a potential half-court miracle from going in. The Spartans traveled in the final seconds, leading to them traveling home.
The Arizona/Memphis Finish
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This was probably the best finish of yesterday's second-round games.
Arizona and Memphis were in the middle of a dogfight when Arizona held a small lead with just a few seconds left. Memphis missed a free throw on purpose in order to try to tie the game. Down two, Wesley Witherspoon rebounded the missed free throw from the hands of Joe Jackson. The ball would meet one more hand in the final moments: the right hand of Derrick Williams.
Williams led the Wildcats all game long, and it took that huge block for Arizona to survive a great effort from Memphis.
Boston U.'s First Half vs. Kansas
9 of 10
I cannot tell you how many people I know that picked Kansas to win the tournament this season.
That's why it was so shocking to see Boston University hanging with the Jayhawks in the first half. After 20 minutes, the Terriers trailed by just four points. Also keep in mind that this was a No. 16 seed trailing a No. 1 seed by four points. For a moment, you thought that Boston U. might come out of the second half with all the momentum in the world and have one of the best games in the history of No.16 seeds.
However, all was right in the world in the second half, and many brackets were salvaged when the Jayhawks righted the ship and pulled away.
The Destruction of Tennessee
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Years later, this may be one of the moments we look back on as the fall of Tennessee men's basketball.
All of the turmoil that has occurred this season is now bubbling over. Their talent is no longer motivated. Their place as one of the best in the SEC is in jeopardy. Speaking of jeopardy, coach Bruce Pearl, who was suspended earlier in the season, seems close to being out of his job.
It was a sad site to see Tennessee in this tournament. They did not act like they even belonged there for one moment, allowing the Michigan Wolverines to hop all over them and not let up. The Volunteers were in their offseason before their first tournament game even began.
Hopefully, all of the work done in the past few years to revitalize Tennessee's men's basketball program does not all go up in smoke before our eyes.
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