Sports

Double-digit seeds crash Sweet 16 party

Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall summed up the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament by saying, “The improbable is happening this year.”

And that was before Florida Gulf Coast University upset San Diego State to become the first No. 15 seed ever to make it to the Sweet 16. Also advancing to the Sweet 16 is No. 13 La Salle.

Yes, in a city with great high school and college basketball tradition, the program from the city of Brotherly Love that is still playing is not Villanova or Temple or St. Joseph’s. It’s La Salle.

La Salle will face Wichita State, and yes, we called it. What did Marshall say? “The improbable is happening this year.”

So is the predictable. The Big Ten, going 6-1 in second-round games, proved it was the best league this season. Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State advanced to the Sweet 16.

There also is some pretty good hoops being played in the Sunshine State. Florida, Miami and Florida Gulf Coast University, which beat Miami during the regular season, all got out of the second round.

The Eagles (26-10) have gone where no No. 15 seed has gone before by spreading the wealth. They have 54 field goals in two games and 36 assists.

Florida Gulf Coast coach Andy Enfield is suddenly a hot commodity. His model wife, Amanda Marcum, always has been. She has become the Katherine Webb of the NCAA Tournament.

KNOW YOURSELF

The teams that did the best job of being themselves are the most dangerous.

Take, for example, Louisville and Michigan State. If the Cardinals win it all, it will because of their relentless pressure. In their two wins, they forced 44 turnovers and made 31 steals, after leading the nation in steals this season.

The Cardinals play Oregon in Indianapolis and unless the Ducks make some remarkable progress this week, they’re going to be Louisville’s next victim. Oregon averaged 18 turnovers in its two tournament wins.

In the Spartans’ two wins they out-rebounded Valparaiso and Memphis 85-45. The Spartans were 10th in the nation in rebounding margin (+7.7) and will have a big advantage over their fourth-round opponent, Duke.

The Blue Devils were 216th in the nation in rebounding margin (-1.1) and Sparty gets home court edge in Indianapolis.

ZONING OUT

Teams in the Big East understand how to attack Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone, but teams seeing it for the first time see dead people. In the Orange’s two wins, they held Montana and California to 8-of-52 shooting from behind the 3-point arc.

The zone will have to be at its best against Indiana. The Hoosiers were third in the nation this season, hitting 41.1 percent of their 3-pointers, though they haven’t been great in the tournament, making 13-of-36 (33 percent).

TWINKLE TWINKLE

St. John’s fans were the first to get the memo that Marquette’s Vander Blue is a shooting star. His swooping drive from the right side in overtime gave Marquette a 69-67 win at the Garden on March 9. His swooping drive from the left side gave Marquette a 59-58 win over Davidson in a second-round game.

And his 29-point performance on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, 3-of-4 on 3’s and 8-of-8 from the line powered the Golden Eagles past Butler, 74-72 on Saturday night at Rupp Arena. Earlier this season, Blue had 21 points on 7-of-14, 3-of-5 and 4-of-5 shooting from the line in a 72-71 loss to Butler.

“He’s had 50 in two games on us,’’ Butler coach Brad Stevens said. “Pretty unique. Not many guys have gotten 50 against Butler in two games.’’

HOT, HOT, HOT

We knew it was hot in Arizona, but what the Wildcats did in their first two games was sizzlingly ridiculous. In wins over Belmont and Harvard, the Cats made 18-of-32 3-pointers. But here’s the question: Does the break before the regional finals cool them off?

NO. 1 PROBLEM

Gonzaga, which we believe was worthy of its No. 1 seed in the West, was burdened by that first-ever top seed. Gonzaga isn’t the first program to be burdened by a lofty seed. It takes some getting used to.

North Carolina received its first No. 1 seed in 1979, and lost its opener. Kansas got its first No. 1 seed under Roy Williams in 1992 and lost in its second game.

“I try to avoid all talk of being No. 1,” Zags senior forward Elias Harris said before his team was eliminated. “That’s poison right there.”