After Stanford’s 60-57 victory over Kansas on Sunday, there have now been some major upsets in the first four days of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Some teams with championship aspirations haven’t made it past the Round of 32, while others lost in the second round in upsets that no one saw coming.
Welcome to March Madness in its truest form. Here are some of the top upsets from the second round of the NCAA Tournament. We will check in on the biggest upsets from the Round of 32 on Monday.
11) Dayton over 6) Ohio State
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olfHtp0R4MQ
There is a reason why these big schools avoid playing smaller in-state programs during the regular season. They don’t want to be outed and have recruiting impacted by what they would consider an embarrassing loss.
Dayton is a damn good basketball team and that showed on Thursday, as it defeated the Buckeyes 60-59 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Vee Sanford knocked in a layup in the last seconds, giving Dayton the upset one-point victory. The backup guard put up 10 points in 21 minutes and was one of five Flyers’ players with at least nine points.
Ohio State’s bench struggled big time in this game, shooting just 2-of-9 from the field and recording nine total points. It’s the first time since 2008-2009 that Ohio State hasn’t made it to at least the Sweet 16. For Dayton, it’s the first time since the program lost to Georgetown in the Elite Eight back in 1983-1984 that they’ve made it to the second weekend of the tourney.
12) Harvard over 5) Cincinnati
We actually predicted this outcome last week. Harvard was one of the most underrated teams heading into the tournament. They boasted a 26-4 record and were going up against a Bearcat team that ranked No. 15 nationally heading in, but was just 3-3 in their last six games.
The Crimson pulled off a 61-57 upset as five players scored a minimum of nine points in a balanced offensive attack. For Cincinnati, it was the bench that let the team down big time. They combined for 2-of-10 shooting in 56 total minutes of play.
It actually represents the third consecutive season that Harvard has won a tournament game. The same cannot be said for Cincinnati, who lost in the second round last year as well. Unfortunately for Harvard, its Cinderella story came to an end Saturday in a hard-fought 80-73 loss against the Michigan State Spartans.
12) North Dakota State over 5) Oklahoma
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_he_TCP5OLs
Lawrence Alexander hit a three-pointer with 11 seconds left in regulation to force overtime against the heavily favored Sooners. North Dakota State then ran Oklahoma off the court in the extra period, eventually winning by the score of 80-75.
This win represents the first tournament victory in program history for the Bison. It’s also only the second time that they have made it to the big dance since the program was re-activated less than a decade ago after 80 years without a basketball team.
Alexander netted 28 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the win.
Meanwhile, it was another early exit for Oklahoma in the tournament. They have not made it out of the second round of the tournament since 2008-2009. Cameron Clark did score 25 points in the loss. North Dakota State eventually ended up falling to San Diego State on Saturday, but this was a nice start for the young program.
14) Mercer over 3) Duke
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhapjtAJ-XI
Yet another disappointing tournament showing for the Blue Devils, who were upset by a team in Mercer that had never won a NCAA Tournament game in just two appearances in its history. Instant star Jabari Parker struggled big time in his first (and likely only) tournament game. The sure-fire top-three pick netted 14 points on just 4-of-14 shooting and turned the ball over four times.
For the Bears, Jakob Gallon and Daniel Coursey combined for 37 points, nine rebounds and four assists in one of the biggest upsets in recent NCAA Tournament history.
This loss represents the fourth time in eight seasons that the Blue Devils have not made it past the first weekend of the tournament. Questions now need to be raised about whether this program is not performing up to the level of its talent, which is always among the best in the entire nation. Then again, it could all be Tony Romo’s and Jason Garrett’s fault.
12) Stephen F. Austin over 5) Virginia Commonwealth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN2d-_js7sA
Stephen F. Austin came into the tournament riding a 28-game winning streak and was a sexy upset pick in the second round. In the end, it showed us exactly why. Jacob Parker put up 22 points in the win, but it was Desmond Haymon who stole the show. The senior guard connected on a four-point play with 3.6 seconds left to tie the game before hitting a three in overtime to help lead the Lumberjacks over VCU in a thriller for the ages.
It’s the first NCAA Tournament win for a program that just started playing basketball during the Reagan Administration some 20 years ago.
VCU has become somewhat of a mid-major powerhouse since being a Cinderella story itself by making the Final Four just four years ago. It represents the first time since 2009-2010 that the Rams haven’t made it to the Sweet 16.
Photo: Bob Donnan, USA Today