What a way to cap off a great four days of basketball. We got two very completive games that went down to the wire with big time players making plays when their teams needed them the most. Victor Oladipo hit a huge 3-pointer with the shot clock fading in the last seconds and Indiana survived and advanced versus Temple, 58-52. The Hoosiers were down the whole second half until the last two minutes.
Christian Watford made a one the great plays of this tournament, a spectacular block with Temple clinging to a 2-point lead. The boys from Philly didn’t score again, and the Hoosiers iced the game with a 10-0 run. We have to give props to Khalif Wyatt who was marvelous scoring 31 points on 12-24 shooting.
Unfortunately nobody else on his team stepped up, going 9-38 and 0-12 from the 3 point line. Indy will face Syracuse in the Sweet 16.
We call the NCAA Tournament “the Big Dance” and it’s clear Jim Larranga takes that literally. As you can see in the .gif below, the old 63 year old coach still has lots of vigor. Miami made its first Sweet Sixteen since 2000 off the great play of Shane Larkin, who hit a go-ahead 3 with a minute left. This isn’t Larranga’s first dance, remember he took George Mason to the Final Four in 2006, but this might be the most fun he’s had in quite some time.
That was a fantastic scene in the Hurricanes' locker room. That's sincere fun right there — very best part about the NCAA Tournament.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) March 25, 2013
Illinois fought the good fight but they couldn’t outlast Hurricanes who had the coach with the moves like Jagger
