The second round of the NCAA Tournament began with nine double-digit seeds still kicking, which was tied for the second-highest total ever. Five of them were in action Sunday, and three of them advanced to the Sweet 16, capped by No. 12 seed Oregon State advancing with a 80-70 win over No. 4 seed Oklahoma State in the final game of the night.
No. 15 seed Oral Roberts and No. 11 seed Syracuse were the others who will live to see another day after both knocked off higher-seeded opponents in another thrilling day of action, as eight teams secured their spot in the Sweet 16.
Monday will push the total of double-digit seeds in the Sweet 16 even higher as four teams seeded No. 10 or worse will be in action. At least one is guaranteed to advance as No. 11 seed UCLA takes on No. 14 seed Abilene Christian. No. 13 seed Ohio will also have a great opportunity to keep dancing as it faces Creighton after the No. 5 seed Bluejays looked shaky in a first round victory over UC Santa Barbara.
No. 10 see Maryland arguably has the toughest task of the double-digit squads on Monday, though, as the Terrapins will take on No. 2 seed Alabama. But Sunday served as another reminder that no outcome is impossible in this NCAA Tournament. Here are few quick takeaways from the action.
Villanova quietly survives
It may have gotten lost in the shuffle of the day's mayhem, but Villanova is advancing to the Sweet 16 after being largely written off due to Collin Gillespie's absence. The Wildcats throttled No. 13 seed North Texas 84-61 behind a balanced scoring attack from its remaining stars. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl led the way with 18 points. Double-digit seeds may be having a good tournament, but the Wildcats aren't here for it. As a No. 12 seed, Winthrop was a trendy pick to upset Villanova in the first round, but the Eagles faltered. The Mean Green also emerged as a darling by knocking off No. 4 seed Purdue in the first round.
But Villanova was scorching hot Sunday and hit 15-of-30 attempts from 3-point range to show its resiliency and advance.
Rutgers falters late
Rutgers had a perfect opportunity to make it an even better day for the double-digit squad before the No. 10 seed Scarlet Knights bowed out with a 63-60 loss to No. 2 seed Houston. The Cougars trailed by 10 with 8:45 remaining but staged a furious rally and will advance to play No. 11 seed Syracuse in the Sweet 16.
Speaking of Syracuse
Though Oral Roberts and Oregon State are more remarkable stories because of their relative lack of basketball history, the double-digit seed in action on Sunday that has the best chance to keep dancing is likely Syracuse. The Orange showed over the first weekend that their patented zone defense can be tough to figure out on short notice, and with veteran coach Jim Boeheim calling the shots, this team looks dangerous.
If the Orange can somehow knock off Houston, they would play the winner of a game between No. 8 seed Loyola Chicago and No. 12 seed Oregon State in the Elite Eight. Don't put it past Boeheim to produce some more magic. With the help of his 3-point shooting son, Buddy, his squad has gotten hot at the right time.
All times Eastern
2021 NCAA Tournament TV schedule
- (8) Loyola Chicago 71, (1) Illinois 58 -- Story
- (1) Baylor 76, (9) Wisconsin 63 -- Recap
- (11) Syracuse 75, (3) West Virginia 72 -- Recap
- (3) Arkansas 68, (6) Texas Tech 66 -- Recap
- 2) Houston 63, (10) Rutgers 60 -- Recap
- (15) Oral Roberts 81, (7) Florida 78 -- Recap
- (5) Villanova 84, (13) North Texas 61 -- Recap
- (12) Oregon State 80, (4) Oklahoma State 70 -- Recap
- NCAA Tournament schedule | Live bracket
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