NCAA Tournament 2012: Recapping Saturday’s Wild Action

So this is how Russ Smith gets his revenge.

Just about an hour earlier, Smith missed a wide-open dunk on a break and Rick Pitino rubbed it in during his halftime interview. So you knew Smith, outgoing as he is, would somehow find a way to play a little prank on his coach.

The Baylor-Colorado matchup was, apparently, a grudge match, with harbored resentment left over from the whole expansion-a-palooza thing that happened nearly two years ago.

You remember the one: Colorado left the Big 12 for what became the Pac-12, Nebraska left for the Big Ten and Baylor was nearly left without a home. The Big 12 is alive, of course, but that doesn’t mean Baylor fans have forgotten.

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

For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stay with SB Nation’s Saturday 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.

This calls for a video montage!

Heslip’s threes, which accounted for all of his 27 points in the game, keyed Baylor’s 29-9 run to close the game, but fell short of both the NCAA Tournament record for threes in a game — Jeff Fryer sunk 11 for Loyola Marymount against Michigan in 1990 — and Baylor’s own school record of 10 threes in a game, set by LaceDarius Dunn.

Checking back in with Louisville guard Russ Smith for a moment.

That’s Smith all alone trying to get his showtime on. And he blows the dunk, because of course he blows the dunk there. The miscue was good enough for some chuckles, but Rick Pitino brought the noise in his halftime interview.

Louisville and New Mexico are locked in a close, low-scoring contest in the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament. Rick Pitino’s Cardinals hold a 26-25 lead at halftime.

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

Iowa State tied its NCAA Tournament Third Round game with Kentucky at 42 early in the second half. Then the Wildcats put on the sort of show that got them the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, turning on the afterburners for an easy 87-71 victory and passage to the Sweet Sixteen in the South Region.

The Wildcats won’t be without motivation for their Sweet Sixteen tilt, either. UK will take on Indiana, the only team to top it in regular season play, in Atlanta.

It’s always entertaining to hear Bill Raftery call an action-packed game, which is what he got with Kentucky and Iowa State going toe-to-toe for much of their matchup on Saturday. And every once in a while, Raftery says something that makes you pause and wonder, “did I just hear that?”

Listen closely at the end. Raftery says something that might deceive your ears.

Wasn’t expecting a colonoscopy sweepstakes commercial to pop up during March Madness, but here we are. The demographic is there, I guess, but seeing Ozzy Osbourne pop onto the television and say his secret fantasty was to fly to New York for a free colonoscopy was ... well, it was something. Enough to jar us away from a basketball induced trance, at least.

If you missed it, here it is again. Enjoy.

Wisconsin moves on to the Sweet Sixteen of the East Region. The Badgers will meet Syracuse on Thursday, March 22.

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

Murray State lost two games the entire season, yet they won’t be one of the final 16 teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament.

In a fast-paced, tightly contested affair, Marquette outlasted the Racers with an exciting 62-53 victory. With the win the Golden Eagles advance to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season.

But look closer.

I’m not even sure how one could be mad at Samuels for taking $200 because, as Malone said, his family needs to eat.

While it wouldn’t be the shocking type of upset we saw last night, Murray State is in position to initiate the madness this Saturday, as they currently lead Marquette 28-25.

Just like each of the previous two NCAA Tournament games this afternoon, there’s everything left to decide in the second half between the Racers and Golden Eagles.

No better time to join a band than during the middle of an NCAA Tournament game. Hit the drum solo, Jewuan Long and Jamil Wilson.

The look on Long’s face at the end is great.

Jamar Samuels did not play for the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday after a last-minute eligibility issue popped up. The issue reportedly did not relate to academics or discipline, leading many to wonder why, exactly, Samuel was hastily rendered ineligible just minutes before the Wildcats’ Third Round matchup with Syracuse on Sunday.

According to Topeka Capital-Journal reporter Austin Meek, the eligibility problem may have stemmed from benefits given to Samuel by DC Assault founder Curtis Malone.

The big man then went to work on the offensive end, extending the Buckeyes’ lead to five with less than a minute to play. Sullinger was triple teamed and still hit a beautiful drop-step one-hander off the square to give OSU a huge advantage in the final minute.

Ohio State moves on to the Sweet 16 and the East Regional to be played in Boston on Thursday. They will face the winner of tomorrow’s game between Cincinnati and Florida State. It will be the Buckeyes’ third straight trip to the Sweet 16.

If you follow college basketball, you probably know Kansas State head coach Frank Martin. You know him for his sideline outbursts, his demeanor during games, and you probably have an opinion of him because of it. Judging just by what’s seen during the game, he seems like a loose cannon.

Yet, despite the public show and frequent outbursts, Martin’s players seem to love him. They’re loyal because he’s fiercely loyal.

Kyle O’Quinn was one of the breakout stars of Friday, and for good reason. O’Quinn played a big part in Norfolk State’s massive upset of Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. And lucky for all of us, O’Quinn is getting some face time as a result.

Here’s a kid that should be your new favorite player. He’s an entertaining guy on camera, and speaks his mind candidly. It’s refreshing and hilarious.

After one half in Pittsburgh, the Ohio State Buckeyes lead Gonzaga 39-37. It was a back-and-forth three-point- shooting contest for much of the first half. Mid-way through the half, the Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run to jump out to a seven-point lead, their largest of the first half. OSU trailed for almost the entire half before DeShaun Thomas caught fire to lead them on a 16-7 run over the final six minutes to give the Buckeyes the lead.

Thomas, who went off for 31 points in OSU’s win over Loyola on Thursday, struggled for much of the first half until hitting a three-pointer after the under-four timeout. The forward who can always catch fire at a moment’s notice then went on a personal run and scored 12 straight points for the Buckeyes to pull the game even. Video of his personal run below:

Watch as Craft solves a Rubik’s Cube on camera in just over a minute. His record is 1:05, and he can do it one-handed, as well.

I still can’t solve one. If it was me, I’d be peeling off stickers and rearranging them. Not even ashamed. Not one bit.

The Wildcats didn’t miss his 10.3 points and 6.6 rebounds, at least for the first three-quarters of the game. Jordan Henriquez had a monster day on the boards, hauling in 17 rebounds, 11 of which came on the offensive end. He added 12 points for his third double-double in six games. He also did some of this:

Henriquez left the game briefly after picking up his third foul with 16 minutes to go, prompting the Orange to unleash a 12-2 run without the Wildcat big man defending in the paint and take a 45-34 lead.

The Wildcats got out to a quick 9-2 lead, finding success in the middle of Syracuse’s 2-3 zone. The Orange promptly went on a 19-2 run after ramping up their defensive press at midcourt. Seven of those points came off turnovers, as Kansas State suddenly began struggling to penetrate into the middle of Cuse’s zone.

The injury seemingly kicked off a 9-0 run, however, pulling the Wildcats to within two points. Though they are shooting just 23.5 percent for the game, Kansas State has dominated on the offensive glass, rebounding 54 percent of their misses with 14 offensive boards so far.

Jim Boeheim face is still the best, especially when it happens following a dumb turnover. Some producer in the truck really needs a raise for cutting to the Boeheim camera immediately after said turnover, giving us a superb sequence of broadcasting.

He just can’t even believe that happened. If you need me, I’ll be watching this all day.

So, this happened. Again. In response to a question about which No. 1 seed was most vulnerable in the NCAA Tournament, Bob Knight had this to say on Saturday morning:

This is sort of like Urban Meyer calling Michigan “that team up north” or Brady Hoke calling Ohio State, “Ohio.” Except, you know, not really.