2012 NCAA Tournament: Sweet Success For Syracuse, Ohio State, Florida And Louisville

Fans on both sides have plenty to say following the game. Over at Buckeyes blog Along the Olentangy, Kyle Lamb reflects on how the win was anything but stress-free:

Meanwhile, at Cincinnati blog Down the Drive, Matt Opper has this to say:

While Louisville fans are celebrating their win, Spartans fans are left to pick up the pieces. Pete Rossman at MSU blog The Only Colors reflects on the season of ups and downs:

For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stick around SB Nation’s NCAA Tournament hub. There you’ll find 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.

The fans of both teams certainly have plenty to talk about following the game. Sean Keeley over at Syracuse blog Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician comments on the win:

Phil Mitten at Bucky’s Fifth Quarter offers his take on the Wisconsin loss:

The first four games of the Sweet 16 are in the books in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Four teams will be advancing to the Elite Eight and four teams will be heading home following Thursday night’s intense action. One of the teams advancing will be the No. 7 Florida Gators, who continue to play with focus and passion. They displayed plenty of both on Thursday, as they dispatched the No. 3 Marquette Golden Eagles, 68-58.

Fans on both teams are discussing and dissecting the game Andy Hutchins at Gators blog Alligator Army had this to say:

Thursday was supposed to deliver the most competitive crop of games the tournament has seen thus far, a promise made by, well, me. While Syracuse vs. Wisconsin lived up to that billing, Florida, Ohio State and Louisville all wound up winning by double digits.

I’m sorry. I have a lot of other qualities that people like, though. I’m good with kids and I know the lyrics to a lot of songs that most people don’t. I bake pies.

The narratives for the Elite Eight that were pre-written on Thursday come nicely tied up: in the East, No. 1 Syracuse and No. 2 Ohio State meet in a matchup of titans, and in the West, No. 4 Louisville and Rick Pitino will take on Billy Donovan’s No. 7 Florida squad.

The Orange edged Wisconsin 64-63 to advance, while Ohio State made a late run to get an 81-66 win over Cincinnati. The smothering Syracuse zone faces a tough test in Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas.

Florida came into the 2012 NCAA Tournament as one of the nation’s coldest teams. Now, the Gators are hot, and after a 68-58 win over Marquette in the Sweet 16, they are guaranteed to be one of the last eight squads standing.

And Mike Rosario celebrating the win is worth a look, too.

Ohio State moves on to the Elite Eight, where the Buckeyes will face off with Syracuse on Saturday.

For more, visit Ohio State blog Along The Olentangy and Cincinnati blog Down The Drive.

Florida and Marquette are playing the latest game of the night in their West Regional Semifinal in Phoenix. The Gators and Golden Eagles may also be playing the best one: Florida leads 36-30 at halftime and has been ahead in what has been almost a boat race.

For more, visit Florida blog Alligator Army and Marquette blog Anonymous Eagle.

Prather added that dunk to a growing highlight reel that includes a slam against Kentucky and a beautiful drive against Virginia, all in his last five games. And his emergence for Florida is one of the reasons the Gators have been able to get hot in the NCAA Tournament.

Typically that opinion stems from the fact that he’s so passionate and often doesn’t have a voice whenever he’s interviewed following a big game. But sometimes he does other things that are pretty fun.

It isn’t exactly clear, but it seems Williams gets into his best diving stance and then takes a swim following the big shot. Even if that’s not what it is, it’s still awesome.

For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stick around SB Nation’s NCAA Tournament hub. There you’ll find 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.

Dieng, a 6-foot-11 center, scored just five points in the game. He filled up the rest of the box score, though, with nine rebounds, three steals and seven magnificent blocks. In a game that will be looked back upon for its defense (if anything, that is), the Senegalese center personified it to a ‘T.’

For more on Michigan State, visit The Only Colors. The best Cardinals blog can be found at Card Chronicle.

For more on the Orange, be sure to visit Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician. The best Badgers blog on the internet can be found at Bucky’s 5th Quarter.

Wisconsin and Syracuse are going down to the wire, and part of the reason the Badgers have been able to keep up with the top-seeded Orange has been their uncanny accuracy from three-point land — at one point hitting six straight bombs. If you enjoy dead-eye shooting, watch the montage after the jump.

As this is published, Wisconsin has hit 14-of-26 from three-point land, accounting for two-thirds of their 21 made field-goals for the night. It’s the textbook strategy for defeating a zone defense, but what’s most impressive is the variety of three pointers that we’ve seen -- some are contested, some come against double-teams, some are wide open. Syracuse could be playing the Badgers tighter, but this outburst is more so the result of incredible shooting than lazy defense.

For more on Michigan State, visit The Only Colors. The best Cardinals blog can be found at Card Chronicle.

For more on the Orange, be sure to visit Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician. The best Badgers blog on the internet can be found at Bucky’s 5th Quarter.

Despite two No. 2 seeds falling in the round of 64, the first weekend of the NCAA tournament didn’t change perceptions of the almost-best teams in the country all that much. Duke was probably the weakest No. 2 in memory and Missouri was known to be a little lax on defense; Georgetown struck almost no one as a Final Four-caliber squad and Florida State’s streaky offense just abandoned it. But the No. 1 seeds look different now than they looked last Thursday morning, and that’s the sort of thing that makes re-ranking the NCAA tournament so appealing.

So I did it. Here, from No. 16 to No. 1, are the current power rankings of the 2012 NCAA tournament field as of the Sweet 16.

While Friday’s Sweet 16 games -- highlighted by the Kentucky-Indiana rematch and a potentially Kendall Marshall-less UNC squad facing Cinderella Ohio -- have Thursday’s quartet of games defeated in the area of intrigue, it’s the first slate that appears to provide the superior matchups.

Michigan State and Louisville, Syracuse and Wisconsin, Ohio State and Cincinnati, and Marquette and Florida are all similar teams in both skill and style, and the result should be the most competitive basketball this tournament has seen.

The No. 3 Golden Eagles will play the No. 7 Gators in the second game of a TBS doubleheader on Thursday night in a game scheduled for 10:17 p.m. -- or whenever the earlier game between Louisville and Michigan State ends, of course.

For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stick around SB Nation’s NCAA Tournament hub. There you’ll find 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.

The game featuring two of college basketball’s best coaches is scheduled for a 7:47 p.m. start time Thursday night on TBS in lovely Phoenix, Ariz.

For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stick around SB Nation’s NCAA Tournament hub. There you’ll find 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.

Game Date/Time: Thursday, March 22, 9:45 p.m. ET

Venue: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

Several times during this game, you will wonder why Syracuse is playing zone and Wisconsin is playing man. You will insist that it should be the other way around. You will be entirely correct.

Game Date/Time: Thursday, March 22, 7:15 p.m. ET

The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament is in the books, and what a weekend it was. After a slow start, the action picked up, with plenty of upsets to go around on Friday, as well as close finishes and thrilling moments throughout the weekend. And now, we rest.

The teams will take the first part of next week to regroup and prepare for the all-important Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. The action will then pick back up in different locations -- venues for the regional finals -- on Thursday and Friday.