Norfolk State Underdog Unexpected Victory Shakes up Brackets

Norfolk State Underdog Unexpected Victory Shakes up Brackets: Since your brackets this morning?

It's safe to say that most of you are broken, discarded, or perhaps have your support on Friday after the historic tournament NCAA, where for the first time, the 15th seed falling on n number 2 seed twice a day.

First, it was Norfolk State, Middle Eastern Athletic Conference champion, the Big 12 champion shocking Missouri, 86-84, in Omaha, Neb. Less than three hours, Lehigh, Patriot League winner of Bethlehem, the final touches on the 75-70 victory in the Greensboro, North Carolina

It was unclear who was the biggest surprise. Missouri took the number 3 in the final Associated Press poll and was the fourth most popular choice to win the national championship in the ESPN Bracket problems (7.1 percent of 6.45 million doses).

The Duke, though played without injured starter Ryan Kelly, a legendary tradition of NCAA and played just 55 miles from Tobacco Road from its campus in Durham.

But when you consider that 15 seeds beat number 2 only four times since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, the scale of what happened in the first place on Friday it was difficult to understand in full.

At Norfolk State said on the field after the game, you had to wonder how Bruiser Flint must have felt.

When Flint Drexel Dragons were discovered in the national media about their level of solvency NCAA, dissidents, snorting, "Yeah, but they lost to Norfolk State," the possible champion of middle-Eastern Conference track and field, 30th place out of 33 Division League.

Well, if anyone saw the Spartans prevail against the tigers, his opinion changed.

"There are still some people remember the track of Norfolk State as a loss to Drexel bad," tweeted Mike DeCourcey, college basketball writer Sporting News, during the game. "This is where the" watch all the matches thing helps. "

DeCourcey was referring to statements by Jeff Hathaway, President of the NCAA Division I Men Basketball Committee, who said that the people responsible for the selection of 37 teams in the tournament has seen many great games for schools large and small television or the Internet.

However, with the power of 308 calendar, the Spartans did not drop a powerful Missouri. But outsiders have played freely and clearly enjoyed the experience. They are led by Kyle O'Quinn, a man who is 6 feet 10 inches and the Queen, and Pendarvis Williams, a student who played high school 6.6 Bodine in Philadelphia before going to spend his senior season Hun School in Princeton.

O'Quinn scored 26 points, including a tie-break at three points with 34.9 seconds to play in the game and 14 rebounds. Williams hit all four of his three point attempts and added 20 points.

And to give you an idea of ​​the Missouri played, the Tigers the first team in NCAA history to take at least 50 percent from the field (they shot 52.7) to at least 10 groups of three (they shot 13) and making 10 revolutions less (eight ) and losses, according to ESPN Stats and Information.

As for Lehigh, people knew how hard their players were to win the game at Bucknell Patriot League championship. Mountain Hawks also played Michigan State and Iowa hard on the road before losing.

But with the crowd at Greensboro Coliseum, especially fans of North Carolina, encouraging their every move mountains Hawks showed determination and calm, headed by J. McCollum, Patriot League player twice a year, who scored 30 points.

Number 15 has never left the first weekend, but now Norfolk State at Florida, in the center of attention, while the Mountain Hawks were in the Notre-Dame-Xavier winner, both on Sunday.

Of course, the NCAA tournament for many today is purely for the pleasure of watching. Most of your (and our) brackets have found the bottom of the garbage, even O'Quinn.

"We've even messed up my arm," he said with a grin.