2012 NCAA Bracket, Missouri Vs. Norfolk State: Spartans Provide The Tournament’s First Shocking Upset

Right in front of Kansas Jayhawks fans, their hated rival, Missouri became the first two-seed to lose to a 15-seed since 2001, as they were downed by the athletic Norfolk State Spartans 86-84.

/crumples up bracket and decides to watch the rest of the tournament “just for fun”

At the beginning of the season, the take on the Tigers was that they were too small to be a top-10 team. Then it became that they made teams play their game, and were able to overcome size issues down low by spreading the floor and getting easy baskets.

But Norfolk State, despite being just the MEAC winners, turned out to be a terrible matchup for Frank Haith’s club, and took full advantage of the opportunity presented to them.

The Spartans shot more than 50 percent from the floor, and outrebounded the Tigers 37-25, with the most notable board currently on repeat to your right, as Kyle O’Quinn’s putback with under a minute left gave his team the lead for good.

Maybe Laurence Bowers would have snagged that ball, maybe he wouldn’t have, but the reality is that the Spartans shot the ball well, got second-chance points and disrupted what Missouri wanted to do the entire game.

That’s how you beat the Tigers, and Norfolk State deserve all the credit here.

Missouri didn’t lose. The Spartans won.

March at its finest.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

For more on Mizzou, head over to Missouri Tigers blog Rock M Nation. For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stay with SB Nation’s Friday StoryStream, and stick around SB Nation’s NCAA Tournament hub for a complete printable NCAA Tournament bracket and tons of analysis on who was snubbed, who got the best bracket, and who will make it all the way to New Orleans and the Final Four.