The NCAA Tournament will resume on Thursday, with action tipping off in both the East and West regions. Winners will advance to Saturday’s regional finals and the opportunity to play for a trip to the Final Four.
NCAA Tournament 2013: Action continues in the East and West regions Thursday
Indiana and Ohio State headline four games on Thursday’s NCAA Tournament docket. The winners will advance to Saturday’s regional finals, and a chance to play for a trip to the Final Four.
Action opens on Thursday at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C., where the East's No. 2 seed, the Miami Hurricanes will take on No. 3 seed Marquette Golden Eagles. For the Hurricanes to get a victory here, they'll need a big performance from guard Shane Larkin, who had 17 points in a Round of 32 victory over Illinois on Sunday.
In the second match-up of the evening, the top-seeded Indiana Hoosiers will take on the No. 4 Syracuse Orange after barely surviving last Sunday against Temple. Indiana used a 10-0 run to cap a wild, come from behind victory against the Owls, with a Victor Oladipo three-pointer with 15 seconds to go sealing the win.
Moving out West, action will tip-off at 7:47 p.m. ET in Los Angeles, with the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes battling the No. 6 Arizona Wildcats.
Like their Big Ten brethren from Indiana, Ohio State only advanced to the Sweet 16 after some late-game heroics from star guard Aaron Craft last weekend. Craft hit a three-pointer with less than a second to go to secure a 78-75 victory over Iowa State.
And finally, the action will conclude on Thursday night with two of the most surprising teams remaining in this year's NCAA Tournament, La Salle and Wichita State.
The Explorers have advanced to the West Regional semifinals after opening in the NCAA Tournament's First Four, while the Shockers are in Los Angeles after stunning the West's top seed, the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Here is Thursday’s full schedule:
East Region:
No. 3 Marquette vs. No. 2 Miami: 7:15 p.m. ET (CBS)
No. 4 Syracuse vs. No. 1 Indiana: 9:45 p.m. ET (CBS)
West Region:
No. 6 Arizona vs. No. 2 Ohio State: 7:47 p.m. ET (TBS)
No. 12 La Salle vs. No. 9 Wichita State: 10:17 p.m. ET (TBS)
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