/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49131359/GettyImages-480233797.0.jpg)
Twelve points. Northern Iowa led by twelve freaking points with just 35 seconds left to play. We were 35 seconds away from the SEC being completely ejected from the tournament on the opening weekend and keeping the hope of two double-digit seeds in the Elite Eight alive for another six days or so.
And then Danuel House happened. And a bad foul call. And inexplicable panic decisions and horrible turnovers on the part of the purple Panthers. And next thing you know, it's overtime.
In overtime, UNI got the lead again... and blew it again. And they finally just ran out of gas, eventually losing by four in two extra frames. It was possibly the most insane finish to a college basketball game ever; it was certainly the most insane since Anthony Atkinson scored 10 points all by himself in the final minute to lead Barton to a miracle comeback to win the 2007 Division II championship over Winona State, and it was more insane even than that game.
And House... with 5:14 to go in the game, he was scoreless. He finished the game with 22 points. I just don't know, man.
That, sadly, was just the final paper cut in a day full of sour wounds for those who like rooting for the underdog. Earlier in the day, our beloved Lumberjacks -- aided by a foul call which virtually everyone not wearing green and gold agreed was garbage -- fell to Notre Dame when Rex Pfleuger tipped in a missed shot with 1.5 seconds to go, giving the Irish a one-point win. VCU roared back from a terrible deficit, but came up short as they lost by four to Oklahoma. Syracuse buried Michigan State's executioners, Middle Tennessee. Hawai'i led Maryland fairly late before losing by thirteen. Turrible. Just turrible.
All yesterday's men's results, with green links indicating recaps from our colleagues around the SB Nation college network:
NCAA DIVISION I MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT | ||
ROUND | RESULT | HIGH SCORER |
SOUTH QF | (2) Villanova 87, (7) Iowa 68 | Josh Hart (NOVA), 19 |
EAST QF | (6) Notre Dame 76, (14) Stephen F. Austin 75 | Thomas Walkup (SFA), 21 |
WEST QF | (2) Oklahoma 85, (10) Virginia Commonwealth 81 | Buddy Hield (OU), 36 |
MW QF | (10) Syracuse 75, (15) Middle Tennessee State 50 | Michael Gbinije (SYR), 23 |
SOUTH QF | (5) Maryland 73, (13) Hawai'i 60 | Melo Trimble (UMD), 24 |
WEST QF | (3) Texas A&M 92, (11) Northern Iowa 88 | Jeremy Morgan (UNI), 36 |
EAST QF | (7) Wisconsin 66, (2) Xavier 63 | Bronson Koenig (WIS), 20 |
WEST QF | (1) Oregon 69, (8) Saint Joseph's (PA) 64 | Dillon Brooks (ORE), 25 |
NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT | ||
ROUND | RESULT | HIGH SCORER |
MON SF | (2) Florida 74, (3) Ohio State 66 | Mark Loving (OSU), 20 |
VAL SF | (2) Saint Mary's (CA) 77, (3) Georgia 65 | Emmett Naar (SMC), 15 |
COLLEGEINSIDER.COM TOURNAMENT | ||
ROUND | RESULT | HIGH SCORER |
R2 | Ball State 83, Tennessee-Martin 80 (OT) | Twymond Howard (UTM), 26 |
Today's Men's Schedule
The opening weekend is done and dusted, so now you're left sponging up scraps, right? Well, we've got Monmouth for you tonight, and Frank Martin too. We've even got New Jersey Tech! It's a mildly interesting evening of undercard action for the true connoisseur.
NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT | ||||||
ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK |
MON SF | 6:00pm | (4) George Washington | at | (1) Monmouth (NJ) | West Long Branch NJ | ESPN |
SC SF | 8:00pm | (4) Georgia Tech | at | (1) South Carolina | Columbia SC | ESPN |
SC SF | 10:30pm | (3) Washington | at | (2) San Diego State | San Diego CA | ESPN2 |
COLLEGE BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL | ||||||
ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK |
QF | 6:00pm | Duquesne | at | Morehead State | Morehead KY | OVC |
QF | 6:00pm | North Carolina-Greensboro | at | Ohio | Athens OH | Stretch |
QF | 9:00pm | Eastern Washington | at | Nevada | Reno NV | Nevada |
QF | 9:00pm | Vermont | at | Seattle | Seattle WA | WAC Digital |
COLLEGEINSIDER.COM TOURNAMENT | ||||||
ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK |
R2 | 6:30pm | Boston University | at | New Jersey Tech | Newark NJ | College Insider |
Sunday's Women's Results
The college basketball season finally breathed its last in Manhattan last night, with the Wildcats getting buried by South Carolina. It wasn't unexpected, but it was still depressing. However, we did get some surprises. DePaul held off a late Louisville charge to post a one-point 6-3 upset early in the day, and Tennessee capped the schedule with a stunning 11-point win over second-seeded Arizona State.
Yes, it feels weird to note that Tennessee upset someone.
The wildest game of the day, however, was once again in the WNIT, and it once again involved Minnesota. Gopher star Rachel Banham got her points, dropping 37 on South Dakota to help her team rack up an 89-point night. Problem: South Dakota rolled the odometer, scoring 101. In regulation. Banham's career ends with 3,093 points, a Big Ten career record and sixth all-time in NCAA Division I. Meanwhile, South Dakota and Nicole Seekamp soldier on.
NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT | ||
ROUND | RESULT | HIGH SCORER |
SXF QF | (3) Ohio State 88, (6) West Virginia 81 | Kelsey Mitchell (OSU), 45 |
SXF QF | (4) Syracuse 76, (12) Albany 59 | Brittney Sykes (SYR), 24 |
DAL QF | (6) DePaul 73, (3) Louisville 72 | Jessica January (DEP), 25 |
BRP QF | (5) Mississippi State 74, (4) Michigan State 72 | Victoria Vivians (MSST), 24 |
DAL QF | (1) Baylor 84, (9) Auburn 52 | Nina Davis (BAY), 30 |
SC QF | (1) South Carolina 73, (9) Kansas State 47 | Breanna Lewis (KSU), 21 |
DAL QF | (2) Oregon State 69, (10) Saint Bonaventure 40 | Jamie Weisner (OSU), 23 |
SXF QF | (7) Tennessee 75, (2) Arizona State 64 | Diamond DeShields (TENN), 24 |
WOMEN'S NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT | ||
ROUND | RESULT | HIGH SCORER |
R2 | Temple 64, Quinnipiac 62 | Feyonda Fitzgerald (TEM), 23 |
R2 | Ohio 64, Virginia Tech 57 | Quiera Lampkins (OHIO), 26 |
R2 | Virginia 71, Rutgers 55 | Faith Randolph (UVA), 23 |
R2 | South Dakota 101, Minnesota 89 | Rachel Banham (MINN), 37 |
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL | ||
ROUND | RESULT | HIGH SCORER |
QF | (7) Weber State 76, (3) North Dakota 74 | Deeshyra Thomas (WSU), 30 |
Today's Women's Schedule
The women will fill out their Sweet Sixteen tonight, with a few games of relevance or interest. The best game of the day is likely to be Texas A&M-Florida State. The Cinderella stories are South Dakota State taking on Stanford and Missouri-Texas. And more Big 12 pride is on the line as Oklahoma tries to upset Kentucky. Seven WNIT games join the eight NCAA contests on tonight's schedule:
NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT | ||||||
ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK |
LEX QF | 5:30pm | (9) Indiana | at | (1) Notre Dame | South Bend IN | ESPN2 (regional) |
LEX QF | 5:30pm | (7) Washington | at | (2) Maryland | College Park MD | |
LEX QF | 5:30pm | (6) Oklahoma | at | (3) Kentucky | Lexington KY | |
DAL QF | 5:30pm | (5) Florida State | at | (4) Texas A&M | College Station TX | |
BRP QF | 8:00pm | (9) Duquesne | at | (1) Connecticut | Storrs CT | |
BRP QF | 8:00pm | (10) Missouri | at | (2) Texas | Austin TX | |
BRP QF | 8:00pm | (6) South Florida | at | (3) UCLA | Los Angeles CA | |
LEX QF | 8:00pm | (12) South Dakota State | at | (4) Stanford | Palo Alto CA | |
WOMEN'S NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT | ||||||
ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK |
R2 | 6:00pm | Tulane | at | Georgia Tech | Atlanta GA | none |
R2 | 6:00pm | Wake Forest | at | Florida Gulf Coast | Fort Myers FL | ESPN3 |
R2 | 7:00pm | Ball State | at | Saint Louis | Saint Louis MO | A-10 Digital |
R2 | 7:00pm | Tennessee-Martin | at | Western Kentucky | Bowling Green KY | WKU |
R2 | 8:00pm | Utah | at | Gonzaga | Spokane WA | WCC |
R2 | 8:00pm | Arkansas State | at | Texas-El Paso | El Paso TX | MinerTV (maybe) |
R2 | 8:00pm | Fresno State | at | Oregon | Eugene OR | Pac-12 Live |
Although we've been combining this post with the Slate on the boss's Slate days, the Slate will follow separately later in the morning this time.