- With apologies to the other notable stories of the NCAA tournament, there's no way any other team could take the lead after one of the if not the most improbable tournament runs in recent memory.
- Florida Gulf Coast is a tiny school from Fort Myers, Florida founded in 1991 and not even eligible to play in the NCAA tournament until last season. That didn't stop the Eagles from winning their conference this season and blistering Georgetown, one of the best teams in the nation, in the first round with a 19-2 run (that included this amazing play) to blow open a close game before holding off Georgetown's rally by playing smart and making free throws.
- In their their second game yesterday, they actually got a bit of a reprieve, playing 7th seeded San Diego St., who despite being a quality team with a legendary coach, does not have the size or quality caliber players of Georgetown. Shockingly, the Eagles managed to follow almost the exact game plan, using a huge 17-0 run in the second half to put away a shocked opponent and threw in a couple more alley-oops for good measure.
- None of the previous seven #15 seeds to win their opening round game had even come particularly close to winning their next game, but FGCU is now the first #15 seed ever in the Sweet 16, and next they play Florida, the team that many people in their home city of Fort Myers are probably fans of. You can bet that the Gators won't be taking them lightly.
Best of the rest
- The NCAA tournament actually played 46 games that didn't involve FGCU since Thursday (and an extra four on Tuesday/Wednesday), and many of those have been thrilling as well. A quick recap:
- Southern University gave #1 seed Gonzaga a big scare but then #9 Wichita State finished what Southern started, defeating Gonzaga 76-70.
- Marquette won a second consecutive thriller, holding off a last second rally and potential game winning three pointer by Butler, winning 74-72.
- Oregon, a #12 seed, made the Sweet 16 after steamrolling #4 St. Louis 74-57.
- Ohio State's Aaron Craft and La Salle's Tyrone Garland made tie-breaking, game winning shots with seconds left to lead their teams into the Sweet 16. La Salle played one of the "first four" games so they have actually won three NCAA tournament games already and are going to their first Sweet 16 since winning the NCAA tournament in 1954.
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