Sprinting into a teammate's open arms after hitting a game-winning shot is one of the everlasting images that will always be associated with the NCAA tournament.
So, too, will be the heartache. The lone player under the basket, laying on their stomach and inconsolable. A player on the bench, tears flowing with only a sweat-filled towel the only barrier between solitude and the watching world.
Slumped shoulders, disappointment, and lingering thoughts of what might have been.
All can be summed up perfectly in this game between Houston and Michigan in the round of 32:
All the feels of March.#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/E9eTISNucF— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 18, 2018
Four teams saw their magical runs in the tournament come to end Thursday night while four others kept their title dreams alive for at least one more game.
Big leads were lost and given away, while one team seemed to hardly break a sweat. Free throws were missed, proving again how important they are. And one double-digit seed is still alive and kicking.
The Ramblers of Loyola-Chicago kept Cinderella alive long before midnight struck on Thursday. It took holding off a pesky, higher seeded Nevada Wolf Pack, but a late three secured a 69-68 victory for the Ramblers. The South region -- already in disarray -- will see the Ramblers in the Elite Eight for the first time since 1963.
Nevada raced out of the gates, focused on not having to come claw their way back from a huge deficit, like they did against Texas and Cincinnati in the earlier rounds.
Up by 12 early, the Wolf Pack were in control. And then they went cold while Loyola chipped away. The Ramblers took advantage, eventually taking the lead and pushing it as far as to 12 three minutes into the second half.
While Nevada had an uncharacteristically cold night from beyond the arc and protecting the ball (10 turnovers, after only committing 9 in the first two tourney games combined), the Ramblers hit their first 13 shots of the second half.
Nevada would still not go away, tying the score at 59 with 4:06 left.
A Marques Townes three with six seconds left gave the Ramblers a four-point lead, with a Caleb Martin three with two seconds providing the final margin. Nevada attempted to foul, but were still multiple fouls away from the bonus, securing the victory for Loyola.
Townes had 18 points for the Ramblers, while Martin had 21 for Nevada. Kendall Stephens -- who set a single-season Mountain West three-record -- was 0-8 from beyond the arc for the Wolf Pack.
Loyola will face the Kansas State Wildcats in Atlanta on Saturday for a berth in the Final Four.
Ninth seed Kansas State Wildcats
It was a foul-filled affair in Atlanta for the second game of the night, with Kansas State and the Kentucky Wildcats combing for 51 fouls.
Barry Brown, Jr gave Kansas State a 60-58 lead with under 20 seconds left and they were able to hold off Kentucky for a 61-58 victory.
Kansas State led from the get go, posting up a 13-1 lead. Kentucky did not lead until early in the second half, when they went up 36-35.
The game was a back and forth affair, with Kansas State star Xavier Sneed hitting big shot after big shot every time it seemed Kentucky was going to go on a run. Sneed finished with 22 points.
Kentucky forward PJ Washington did his best to match Sneed, putting up 18 points and 15 rebounds. Washington did miss 11 free throws and Kentucky was 3-12 from three-point range, ending what many deemed an easy path for Kentucky to reach the Final Four.
Kansas State versus Loyola will mark the first time a ninth seed meets an eleventh seed in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tourney.
Florida State Seminoles
For the first time since 1993, the ninth-seeded Florida State Seminoles will be going to the Elite Eight, thanks to a 75-60 victory over the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
The Seminoles used their length and size to frustrate Gonzaga all night. Protecting the rim (nine blocks) with ferocity and running players in and out like a line change, the Seminoles made things look easy down the stretch.
Free throws hurt Gonzaga again and this time -- even with the larger margin of defeat -- hurt enough to keep things from being closer. Also, not helping was the hip injury to Gonzaga star Killian Tillie that kept him out of the lineup.
The Seminoles were clicking from the tip, taking an early 23-11 lead before giving way to a 15-0 Gonzaga run. Florida State used an extended run at the end of the first and start of the second to take a 45-32 lead. Gonzaga kept drawing close but could never get over the hump the rest of the game.
All eleven players who saw time on the court for the Seminoles scored, led by Terance Mann's 18. Gonzaga, which only shot 33.9% from the field, was led by Rui Hachimura's 16 points and 9 rebounds.
They will take on the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday.
Michigan Wolverines
Third-seeded Michigan decided early on to keep any drama out of their evening.
The Wolverines led from start to finish and picked up a 99-72 victory over the Texas A&M Aggies.
Michigan led by as many as 29, with the Aggies only able to get as close as 17 with 4:53 left in the game. Normally not the greatest of three-point shooting teams, Michigan knocked down 14 and shot 61.9% from the field.
Muhammed-Ali Abdur Rahkman hit four 3's and scored 24 points while junior Moritz Wagner had 21 and nailed all three of his 3-point attempts.
Junior center Tyler Davis had 24 points and 8 rebounds for the Aggies.
Four more teams will find their way into the Elite Eight on Saturday. Stay up-to-date by checking in here (likely) or on Twitter (more likely) @jasonrh_78
photo credit: pixabay.com
photo credit: pixabay.com
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