Exciting Victories & Upsets of Round 2

The Second Round of the NCAA Tournament continued to provide exciting basketball games with thrilling buzzer beaters and surprising upsets. Of course, nearly everyone’s bracket is busted, as the top four seeds in the South region failed to make it to the Sweet 16, while the top two seeds in the West region were also eliminated. The Sweet 16 is poised to continue the excitement of March Madness and here are the five most intriguing results from the Second Round of the NCAA basketball tournament.

#1 Michigan Defeats Houston at the Buzzer

Freshman Jordan Pool was the hero of the Michigan Wolverines as he nailed the three-pointer at the buzzer to crush the hopes of the Houston Cougars. The Cougars had a chance to win the game on the previous possession, but Devin Davis missed both of his free throws, which gave the Wolverines the opportunity to put the ball in Jordan Pool’s hands and deliver a clutch three-pointer as time expired.

#2 Texas A&M Stuns North Carolina

Many basketball fans picked #2 seed, North Carolina, to reach the Final Four but they were surprisingly blown out 86-65 by #7 seed Texas A&M. Texas A&M’s size was too much to handle, as they finished the game with eight blocks and out rebounded North Carolina 50-35. The defending National Champions will look back on this game with many regrets, as it was their first time in 13 contests to lose an NCAA tournament game in Charlotte, North Carolina.

#3 Michigan State’s Surprise Defeat to Syracuse

Syracuse was forced to win a play-in game to qualify for the NCAA tournament, and they are now headed to the Sweet 16 after narrowly defeating #3 seed Michigan State 55-53. Many experts did not believe that Syracuse had much of a chance to advance deep in the tournament. However, Syracuse’s 2-3 zone defense forced Michigan State to rely more on three-pointers and limited the Spartans to a season-low 53 points. Syracuse made 24-of-31 free throws, which played a pivotal role in sealing the upset victory over the heavily favored Spartans.

#4 Nevada Wolf Pack’s Epic Comeback

The Nevada Wolf Pack had another stunning come from behind win as they defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats to advance to the Sweet 16. Nevada came back from a 22 point deficit with only 11 minutes remaining, which was the second largest come from behind victory in the NCAA tournament. The Wolf Pack only lead for 9 seconds in the entire game as they stunned the #2 seed Bearcats with a 75-73 victory. Cody Martin finished with 25 points to go alongside seven assists, six rebounds and hopes to continue his stellar play in the Sweet 16 against #11 seed Loyola-Chicago.

#5 Loyola-Chicago Continues to Survive

Loyola-Chicago continues its magical run in the NCAA tournament with an upset victory over the #3 seed Tennessee Volunteers. Loyola-Chicago had a 10 point lead with four minutes left in the game, but Tennessee made a frantic comeback to lead by one point with 21 seconds left in the game. However, that was plenty of time for Loyola-Chicago’s Clayton Cluster to make a clutch jumper to send the team into the Sweet 16 with an upset victory over the heavily favored Tennessee Volunteers.

The Second Round of the NCAA tournament was filled with dramatic upsets and come from behind victories that only further proves why March Madness is one of the best times of the year. These basketball games will just become more exciting as the stakes grow higher as we reach the Sweet 16. Will a Cinderella team continue to advance its storybook season in the tournament? Will another powerhouse school suffer a surprise defeat? Which player will rise to the occasion and lead his team to victory? All of these exciting questions will be answered in the next couple of weeks, as NCAA basketball teams battle each other for supremacy and the opportunity to win a National Championship.