Stephen F. Austin is a much better team than its No. 14 seeding might indicate. The Lumberjacks ran the table in the Southland, demolishing every conference opponent on their way to a 27-5 overall record. For that reason (and many more), the Lumberjacks were one of our favorite picks to pull an upset in the NCAA Tournament.
NCAA bracket 2016: Stephen F. Austin dominates West Virginia in spectacular fashion
The Lumberjacks dominated West Virginia at its own game, pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far.
The Lumberjacks didn’t disappoint on Friday, knocking off No. 3 West Virginia, 70-56. This wasn’t your typical mid-major upset win, either -- Stephen F. Austin was ruthlessly physical, beating the Mountaineers’ press defense over and over while playing tough defense of its own.
The Lumberjacks forced 22 turnovers, got 16 steals and held West Virginia to 30.8 percent shooting. West Virginia never really settled into a groove, falling behind in the second half and looking more exhausted as the clock ticked away. The final minutes became a prolonged celebration as the Lumberjacks kept stealing the ball and throwing down big dunks. It was one of the bigger spectacles of the tournament so far.
Here are the rest of the scores as Friday's tournament action rolls into the evening. Follow along with our printable March Madness bracket.
No. 10 Syracuse 70, No. 7 Dayton 51
No. 2 Villanova 86, No. 15 UNC Asheville 56
No. 10 VCU 75, No. 7 Oregon State 67
No. 13 Hawai'i 77, No. 4 California 66
No. 15 Middle Tennessee State 90, No. 2 Michigan State 81
No. 7 Iowa 72, No. 10 Temple 70 (OT)
No. 2 Oklahoma 82, No. 15 Cal State Bakersfield 68
No. 7 Wisconsin 47, No. 10 Pittsburgh 43
No. 14 Stephen F. Austin 70, No. 3 West Virginia 56
No. 3 Texas A&M 92, No. 14 Green Bay 65
The rest of Friday’s evening session:
No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 16 Holy Cross, (7:27 p.m., truTV)
No. 2 Xavier vs. No. 15 Weber State (9:20 p.m., TNT)
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Michigan (9:40 p.m., CBS)
No. 6 Texas vs. No. 11 Northern Iowa (9:50 p.m., TBS)
No. 8 Saint Joseph's vs. No. 9 Cincinnati (9:57 p.m., truTV)
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