2016 Final Four
As usual, this year’s NCAA Basketball Tournament has lived up to expectation. The fireworks began in the first round with Michigan State. Michigan State won the Big Ten Tournament with
a 66-62 victory over Purdue. Last year,
Michigan State felt slighted by the selection committee after receiving a #7
seed in the NCAA Tournament and ultimately advancing to the Final Four. This
year, they were granted a #2 seed and considered a favorite to win the NCAA Tournament. Middle Tennessee State had other ideas and defeated
Michigan State in the first round, 90-81.
Undoubtedly the best comeback win of the NCAA Tournament came in
the second round with Texas A&M defeating Northern Iowa in double overtime, 92-88. With 44 seconds left in regulation, Texas A&M erased a 12-point
deficit to force Northern Iowa into overtime.
Good defense led to four Northern Iowa turnovers and a tied game by the
end of regulation. With 5.9 seconds left
in overtime, Texas A&M scored another tying basket forcing a second overtime. After giving Northern Iowa all they could
handle, Texas A&M came away with the victory. It was such an amazing comeback that many
Texas A&M fans had left the arena before the end of regulation.
All four #1 seeds made it to the Elite Eight, but only one,
North Carolina, made it to the Final
Four. In fact, a late tournament upset
propelled #10 Syracuse into the Final Four with their 68-62 victory over #1
Virginia. Had Virginia defeated
Syracuse, their Final Four matchup with North Carolina would have been a
rematch of the ACC Tournament final. All
four teams in the East and Midwest regions represented the ACC Conference ensuring
that two ACC teams would reach the Final Four. As #2 seeds, Villanova and Oklahoma defeated the
top seeds in their respective regions to round out the Final Four.
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