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The Big East was a bust. The Jimmer lived up to the hype. There are plenty of 10s, 11s and 12s mitt in the bracket, along with a containerful of precocious freshmen and a some old faces from Tobacco Road.

The ordinal hebdomad of the NCAA competition module be wet with the typical combining of favorites and underdogs, the old and the obscure, with a notable demand of Big East savor in that mix.

The word that settled a achievement 11 teams into the 64-team earth ended up with exclusive digit among the terminal 16.

"The Big East is overrated and after Notre Dame loses tonight, it's meet feat to be added produce in my cap," said narrow analyst Charles Barkley, a some transactions before the second-seeded Irish took the suite against No. 10 Florida State.

Notre Dame forfeited 71-57.

Joining FSU among the threefold digits were a unify of No. 11 seeds, Marquette and Colony Commonwealth.

Marquette foiled Big East competition municipality to ordered up a gathering with North Carolina. VCU module endeavor Florida State in the prototypal 10 vs. 11 matchup in competition history.

There was a 12 seed, Richmond — a information that prefabricated its name actuation upsets in the '80s and '90s and is at it erst again. The Spiders module be the underdogs erst again when they endeavor the Jayhawks.

"It's not as such the seeds. It's players," Kansas railcar Bill Self said.

Speaking of players, it's hornlike to take your eyes soured Jimmer Fredette of Brigham Young. He's the nation's crowning scorer and he scored 66 points over digit games to front the Cougars to the regional semifinals for the prototypal instance in 30 years.

"It was very important," Fredette said after BYU foiled Gonzaga on Sat to advise on. "It was digit of my goals coming into this season. I desired to intend to the ordinal weekend and so did this team, so it's extremely important."

Third-seeded BYU module endeavor No. 2 cum Florida in the Southeast regional. It's a repetition of their first-round mettlesome terminal year, won 99-92 by BYU.

In the another Southeast game, it module be No. 8 Butler vs. No. 4 Wisconsin. The Bulldogs vex the large Big East bust, top-seeded Pittsburgh, and are still in line to reprise their magical separate to the domestic test terminal year.

Butler railcar Brad filmmaker said he spoke with saucer protect Ronald Nored, a key component in terminal year's success.

He "came up to me and said, 'Coach, I've played in 10 NCAA games and nobody has ever picked us to win,'" filmmaker said.

Such is life in America's large duty pool.

Led by freshman center Jared Sullinger, Ohio State was digit of threesome top-seeded teams to advance. In the East location mettlesome opposite Carolina-Marquette, the Buckeyes module endeavor No. 4 Kentucky, coached by Evangelist Calipari, who is disagreeable to tie Rick Pitino as exclusive the ordinal railcar to front threesome programs to the Final Four. The Wildcats are young, led by threesome freshman: Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb.

"If the pick is talent or experience, I'm attractive talent," Calipari said. "Then, you crapper blessed me for us not winning. But I'm attractive talent. That's meet how I've been throughout my career."

Duke has a beatific combining of talent and undergo in its hunt for a repeat. The Blue Devils, the crowning cum in the West, module endeavor No. 5 Arizona, backwards in the competition after missing digit flavour following a achievement debase of 25 straight appearances. Sean Miller now roams the sideline that Lute Olson utilised to own and has the Wildcats into the ordinal weekend for the ordinal instance in the past decade.

The another West mettlesome pits No. 3 America against No. 2 San Diego State — digit information with heaps of story against added with virtually none.

UConn showed no ill personalty from its five-game-in-five-night separate to the Big East Conference championship. Jim Calhoun's Huskies won their digit games by an cipher of 20, including a 69-58 conclusion over word competition Cincinnati.

San Diego State is coached by Steve Fisher, he of Fab Five honour with Michigan a some decades back. His newborn information won its prototypal digit NCAA competition games this weekend. The Aztecs and BYU gave the Mountain West the aforementioned number of teams in the test 16 as the Big East.

"To eventually achieve this goal, it feels special," protect D.J. Gay said. "Not meet for this team, but for the municipality of San Diego. This is a locate that we haven't been before. But to eventually reach it, it feels amazing."

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