NCAA Tournament: It's down to the Sweet 16, with some new faces
It was a wild first four days and nights of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament.
From in-state big brother Louisville last Thursday to to edge Michigan Sunday, this tournament's has had a little bit of everything so far.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is Virginia Commonwealth, , including a play-in game last Wednesday. The Rams then proceeded to beat Georgetown and third-seeded Purdue in Chicago. They, along with , their neighbors in Virginia's capital city, will advance to the Southwest Region's semifinals on Friday night.
Twos are wild in the Sweet 16 when it comes to conference teams. There's and from the Mountain West, and left from 11 Big East teams that started, SEC contenders and , and Big 10 powers and . The ACC has three teams still dancing in Duke, and another surprise - .
Two of the wackier endings in the early going came on the weekend. were locked up in a tight finish on Saturday when late fouls and foul shots became the name of the game. The Bulldogs made theirs, the Panthers didn't, and now Butler is headed to its second consecutive Sweet 16.
They're still talking about the finish to the contest Sunday, where it came down to when do you call a timeout trying to inbound the ball. The Longhorns didn't get the timeout called in time, the Wildcats scored on the ensuing possession and 'Zona is headed to the West Region semis Thursday night.
Along with fellow region top seeds Duke and Ohio State, from Illinois Sunday night. But the Jayhawks twin threats, Marcus and Markieff Morris, dominated the Illini in the paint and moved on to the tournament's second week.
With fresh faces in VCU and San Diego State, the Sweet 16 should be a fun basketball bash to watch.
