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3 DOUBLE DIGIT SEEDS + RAMBLERS MAKE SWEET 16
License to ILL remains in 1st but lost champ Illinois
DREAMING THROUGH AN UPSET, CA (smt)- So this was the morning I was going to sleep in, after working most weekends the past month, to get some good REM sleep. I mean, #1MW-Illinois was the first game. So if my phone was buzzing, I didn’t hear it. Woke up and saw #1MW-Illinois was upset by fellow Illinois-team #8MW-Loyola Chicago. And not really close at all, never letting the Illini get closer than 7 in the second half. Sister Jean apparently gave a pre-game speech and magic happened. The Ramblers were a top 10 team by statistics, which no one believed, and thus made an 8 seed. They now get #12MW-Oregon St who withheld several rallies by #4MW-Oklahoma St to keep the Pac 12 perfect (6-0, 7-0 including First Four). Elite 8? We’ll see.
Two other double-digits seeds advanced with #11MW-Syracuse nearly blowing a late 9 point lead to beat #3MW-West Virginia (battle of the 900 win coaches) and #15S-Oral Roberts overcoming an 11-point deficit with under 10 minutes left to stun #7S-Florida. Oral Roberts becomes just the second #15 seed in the Sweet 16 (Florida Gulf Coast ’13). #10MW-Rutgers nearly joined them but blew a 9-point lead with under 5 minutes left as #2MW-Houston scored the last 7 points of the game (making just one shot, 5 points on free throws) in losing by 3. Rutgers did the “prevent defense” which took them out of their rhythm, trying to hold the ball before the shot clock ran out, scoring just two points in the final 4:55.
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