March Madness scores 2017: Villanova and Florida State fall in the second round
Brackets were busted wide open in the Round of 32.
That probably means your dreams and hopes of claiming a prize were dashed by a hectic, bracket-busting Saturday that ruined the championship aspirations of several favorites heading into the Sweet 16.
Chief among those upset losses was the No. 1 Villanova Wildcats getting uprooted by No. 8 Wisconsin, 65-62, behind a quartet of Badgers scorers led by Nigel Hayes’ 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting. And if you had the No. 3 Florida State Seminoles advancing past the second round, Trevon Bluiett dropped 29 points for the No. 11 Xavier Musketeers, who had something else in mind.
In spite of the outlier upsets, other teams held firm.
No. 1 Gonzaga will move on to the Sweet 16 after crushing Northwestern’s hopes in a 79-73 victory. In a No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup, Purdue held off Iowa State, 80-76, to move on to the next round. And after Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders knocked off the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the first round, No. 4 Butler brought them back to reality with a 74-65 victory to advance to the Sweet 16.
No. 4 Florida’s defense flexed its muscles, holding all Virginia players to single digits in a low-scoring 65-39 win to move on to the next round. All but one Gator scored in its second-round victory.
Saturday’s second-round scores
No. 4 West Virginia 83, No. 5 Notre Dame 71
No. 8 Wisconsin 65, No. 1 Villanova 62
No. 1 Gonzaga 79, No. 8 Northwestern 71
No. 1 Xavier 91, No. 3 Florida State 66
No. 4 Butler 74, No. 12 Middle Tennessee 65
No. 2 Arizona 69, No. 7 St. Mary’s 60
No. 4 Florida 65, No. 5 Virginia 30
No. 4 Purdue 80, No. 5 Iowa State 76
