Brian Otskey is the NCAA Tournament’s East Region correspondent.

The East Regional begins Thursday night in Boston with Syracuse vs. Wisconsin followed by Ohio State vs. Cincinnati. Our West Regional Reset will published later today, while our South and Midwest Regional Resets will publish Wednesday. Make sure to follow RTCEastRegion for news and analysis from Boston throughout the weekend.

New Favorite: #2 Ohio State (29-7, 13-5 Big Ten). The Buckeyes got by Loyola (MD) and survived a tough matchup against Gonzaga. With Syracuse missing Fab Melo, Ohio State gets the nod as most likely to get to New Orleans in a region where nobody would be stunned if any of the four remaining teams breaks out of the pack.

The TD Banknorth Garden Will Have a Bunch of Orange In It This Weekend

Horse of Darkness: #4 Wisconsin (26-9, 12-6 Big Ten). People doubt Bo Ryan and his program time and time again but the Badgers always seem to overachieve, although by now we should be calling it the Wisconsin Way. Bucky matches up very well with top-seeded Syracuse in the regional semifinals and should be able to keep the Orange in the half court. Should they get by Syracuse, the Badgers will face Cincinnati or Big Ten rival Ohio State in the regional finals. If Wisconsin gets by the ‘Cuse, there’s no reason why it can’t beat the Seminoles or Buckeyes either.

Biggest Surprise (1^st Weekend): #6 Cincinnati (26-10, 12-6 Big East). While it isn’t a huge surprise considering Cincinnati won nine of its last 12 games coming into the NCAA Tournament, the Bearcats broke up the chalk party by advancing past Florida State late on Sunday night, the only lower seed to win a game in this region to date. Mick Cronin’s squad plays a physical brand of basketball and features a four-guard offense, allowing Cincinnati to adjust well to different styles of play. UC will take on in-state foe Ohio State on Thursday in Boston.

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Three key takeaways.

1. Louisville Plays Ugly But Effectively. The Cards’ defense is one of the best in the country, and its pressure defense and trapping schemes kept New Mexico off balance for most of the evening. Outside of the Lobos’ three best players — Drew Gordon and Kendall Williams — the rest of the team shot a putrid 9-of-32 from the field. Louisville did a great job at forcing the ball into the hands of these players and inviting them to try to make plays that they were not comfortable with making. The Cards also shut down New Mexico’s three-point attack tonight, holding the Lobos to a five-trey, 22% effort, one of their three worst long-range performances on the season.
2. Russ Smith is a Special Sort of Crazy. He may smile a lot like fellow New Yorker Kemba Walker, but his game is quite a bit more wild and unpredictable. That’s part of the charm, and Pitino said as much in the postgame news conference. When on target, as Smith was for much of tonight — 17 points, three steals — he can be the offensive X-factor that the Cardinals need to come up with enough points to beat good teams. But when he’s off, as in his previous four games where he shot 5-of-32 from the field and committed 10 turnovers, he can serve to destroy any momentum that the Cards may have had. Still, you can tell that Pitino really believes in him, and thinks he can harness the obvious talent that the sophomore has at his disposal.
3. Still Unsure About Steve Alford. Alford has to be commended for winning the Mountain West (both a share of the regular season and the tournament), but in the last three seasons, he’s brought a 30-win team and a 28-win team to the round of 32 and been unable to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Drew Gordon might be the only player on either roster who is an NBA first round pick (apologies to Wayne Blackshear), but in just looking at the two teams matching up against each other, it wasn’t obvious which team was from the power league and which wasn’t. The point is that in both 2010 and 2012 the talent differential wasn’t that great, if it existed at all, and yet it appeared that his players were too sloppy and suffered too many mental breakdowns to successfully win the game. It’ll be interesting to see if Alford can break through this round at some point in the near future.

Star(s) of the game. Peyton Siva, Louisville. It may seem odd to choose a player who only scored six points on 2-6 shooting, but his split through a double-team to drive for a bucket was perhaps equaled only by his jump-stop leading to an assist to a cutting Gorgui Dieng in importance. Put simply, he made the plays necessary to win the game for his team tonight.

Quotable. “Russ Smith, nobody wanted, I don’t care what he tells you.” — Rick Pitino, on the wild yet talented guard who scored 17 points tonight.

Sights & Sounds. Russ Smith was so happy with his game tonight and the big win that he decided to insert himself into Rick Pitino’s interview after the game. That would be him, doing the rabbit ears, behind his coach.

What’s Next? Louisville advances to play the winner of #1 Michigan State vs. #8 St. Louis next weekend in Phoenix. If it ends up being the Spartans, that game could be uglier than anything we’ve seen all season in college basketball. Still, an Izzo vs. Pitino matchup is never a bad thing, so if it comes to pass, expect fireworks of one kind or another.

Three key takeaways.

1. Indiana Never Stopped Believing. Even when Bradford Burgess, a career 76% shooter from the foul line, stepped up with a three-point lead and two shots coming, it was clear that Indiana still believed that it was going to win the game. After Burgess missed both, Victor Oladipo’s drive to the left to get to the rim and-one was a game-winning kind of play. At that point, with VCU having only scored four minutes in the previous 12 minutes, it was just a matter of IU finding the way to win. After another missed three from VCU, Will Sheehey’s shot was almost destined to go down.
2. Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey Were the Heroes, But Christian Watford Saved the Day. Oladipo and Sheehey will probably get most of the ink for their two game-changing offensive plays for Indiana in the last minute of action, but it was Watford’s mini-explosion near the tail of the first half that brought IU back from the brink. Down 42-33 and looking very much like a team on wobbly legs, Watford took it upon himself to steady his team by hitting back-to-back threes and a couple of free throws to cap an 8-0 run to close the half and get IU back in the ball game.
3. Is This It For Shaka? We’ve had the benefit of observing Shaka Smart in the NCAA Tournament for the better part of both last year’s and this year’s runs, and there’s absolutely no question that he is incredibly driven. Whether he’ll continue that drive at VCU or another school like Illinois is up for debate, but the way his players are fully committed to him and buy in completely to his game plans highly suggests that he will be successful no matter where he ends up. Is Illinois the right place — so much of success there depends on the Chicago pipeline, but it’ll certainly be interested to see him courted in the next month or so.
   

Star(s) of the game. Christian Watford, Indiana. As mentioned above, it was Watford’s personal 8-0 run that brought his Hoosiers back from the brink of being in big trouble heading into the halftime break. He ended the game with 16/5 with four threes and two steals, but in terms of stifling momentum, his contributions were invaluable.

Quotable. “Forever, I don’t get over games like this.” VCU head coach Shaka Smart, responding to a question about how it felt to lose this game in the way that the Rams did.

What’s Next? Indiana will move on to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in a decade (2002, under Mike Davis), where the Hoosiers at that time took down overall #1 Duke in a classic battle. Will IU have the chops to bring down another #1 in Kentucky.

Three key takeaways.

1. Great teams make big plays. Gonzaga was impressive for 38 minutes. They absolutely battled tooth and nail with one of the best teams in the country in Ohio State, but during the last two minutes they didn’t make the plays they needed to win. Elias Harris missed two crucial free throws. The defense couldn’t stop Jared Sullinger. The offense couldn’t make the big shots. Ohio State delivered when the game was on the line in the tough moments, and that’s why they are a great team, and that’s why Gonzaga will be going home.
2. Stars will be stars, and some won’t. Ohio State almost has a roster of stars from Sullinger to Aaron Craft to Deshaun Thomas to William Buford. Gonzaga has one big star in Robert Sacre. Sullinger and Craft, as will be noted below, showed up big, especially when it counted. Thomas, who annihilated Loyola on Thursday for 31, was sleepwalking through the first half, and ended up with 12 points in a hurry. Buford, who didn’t show up until late against Loyola, was solid and very smooth tonight with 13. Sacre, on the other hand, didn’t show up in the way that the Zags needed. He finished with eight points, but only had brief glimpses in this one of his potential dominance. He blocked Sullinger and got him into foul trouble, but other than that, he didn’t give enough to get the Zags over the top.
3. Ohio State still has upside. As crazy as this may seem, Ohio State still has a lot of upside in this tournament. They were outrebounded heavily in the first half, and that’s the sole reason that the Zags were still in the game. The Zags had 13 2nd half points in the first half, so it is clear that Ohio State has work to do on the boards. On the offensive end, Lenzelle Smith Jr didn’t make much of a presence until late in the 2nd half when he knocked down a big 3. The same can be said of Deshaun Thomas who had a goose egg halfway through the 1st. It’s almost scary to think that once this team puts a complete game together they might be able to beat the best teams here by double digits.

Star(s) of the game. Aaron Craft and Jared Sullinger, Ohio State. Aaron Craft wound up finishing the night with a very solid double-double. He had 17 points on 7-9 from the field to go with 10 assists to go with two turnovers. He completely dominated in the first half and took Kevin Pangos to school. Jared Sullinger finished with 18 points on 5-9 from the field, 6-7 from the line, and hit some of the biggest shots at the end of the game, including some very clutch free throws to close it out.

Sights & Sounds. Ohio State doesn’t mess around when it comes to school spirit. They brought their band, their cheerleaders, their mascot, and their fans. They performed their fight song several times throughout the game, and every fan was dotting the I.

What’s Next? #2 Ohio State will advance to take on the winner of #3 FSU/#6 Cincinnati. OSU will match up very well with either, as both Florida State and Cincinnati has plenty of size and speed. Ohio State matches up well with any team in the country. They will just have to make sure that everyone comes to play from start to finish, and hits the boards a little harder.

Three Key Takeaways.

1. Don’t leave the bench at home. K-State had challenges with only four players scoring in its win over Southern Miss, and Syracuse exploited their lack of depth by shutting out the Wildcats’ bench 33-0. Nobody stepped up after Jordan Henriquez was forced out of the game with three fouls midway through the second half. K-State needed one more guy. Syracuse, meanwhile, had Dion Waiters lead all scorers with 18, and he came off the bench.
2. Balance is better than a one man show. Syracuse found the answer for Fab Melo today, and that was team defense. The guards up top were tenacious, and continued to drop down on the high post, whether it was Jordan Henriquez or Thomas Gipson. Syracuse had eight blocks as a team to none for K-State. They also put four players in double figures, with Kris Joseph stepping up big with 11 points and a very efficient 7-8 from the line.
3. You need to adjust. Kansas State had a great plan to start the game, and was executing very well in being only down one point at half. Syracuse adjusted to the zone, penetrated the seams, and found open shots in the form of Scoop Jardine, Dion Waiters, Kris Joseph, and James Southerland. Kansas State didn’t adjust in its zone offense, and instead had their leading scorer in the first half, Henriquez, up on the high post passing the ball, and Gipson, their undersized post, down low, trying to battle the likes of Christmas and Joseph. That led to foul trouble for Henriquez, only three more points, and a K-State defeat.

Star of the Game. Scoop Jardine, Syracuse. Scoop really turned it on for Syracuse. During the first half he played well but had several turnovers. He really stepped up in the second half to put the game out of reach for the Wildcats. He ended the game with a stat sheet stuffer in terms of 16 points, eight assists, and a steal. The stat he will want to forget are the six turnovers he committed today, with most coming in the first half.

Sights & Sounds. Being St. Patricks Day, I was seeing  a lot of green in the crowd, but it just goes to show that orange and green go very well together, especially today.

What’s Next? #1 Syracuse will advance to take on the winner of the #4 Wisconsin/#5 Vanderbilt winner in Boston next week. Syracuse looked a lot better today, and should match up very well with either Wisconsin or Vanderbilt. They might have to watch being lulled into a slow tempo game against Wisconsin or the long range shooting of Vanderbilt if they take on the Commodores.

Tonight’s Lede – Thursday was a fairly slow first day of NCAA Tournament action, producing just two total upsets and leaving much to be desired in terms of thrilling finishes. Friday was a completely different story – two #15 seeds won on the same day for the first time ever, with the results coming just a couple of hours apart. We also saw a #13, #12, #11, and two #10 seeds come out victorious in one of the craziest days in Big Dance history. Half of the games on the schedule resulted in upsets, including seven of the final nine contests on this freaky Friday night. Without further ado, we provide everything you need to know in this installment of After The Buzzer…

Your Watercooler Moment. #15 Norfolk State Stuns #2 Missouri.

It was supposed to be the late afternoon game to fill the only quiet block of the evening. #15-seed Norfolk State against #2 Missouri, the exciting up-tempo team that produced the most efficient offense in the country this season with its four-guard attack. Mizzou was a very popular Final Four pick, considered the team with the greatest upside in the West Region. But then things got interesting; pesky Norfolk State was hanging around and had the game tied at halftime. Every time you looked up at the scoreboard in the second half, Norfolk was ahead or behind by a couple of points and that’s when it was time to tell all your friends that we might have a serious bracket-buster taking place. Sure enough, it happened. The Spartans of the MEAC conference became the first #15-seed to win an NCAA Tournament game in 11 years since a fellow MEAC school did it in the form of Hampton University over Iowa State in 2001. This year, it was dominant big man Kyle O’Quinn who paced the way with a monster double-double for a team that shot 54.2% from the field and went 10-19 from three. Missouri played fine offensively, shooting 52.7% itself, but the Tigers allowed the tournament’s least-efficient offense to hit shots from everywhere on the floor as well as out-hustle them to loose balls and open rebounds. Little did we know, the madness was only beginning on this night.

Also Worth Chatting About. Hours Later, #15 Lehigh Makes History

Most brackets were busted from Missouri’s loss alone, but those who happened to have the Tigers falling early in their pools surely didn’t survive the rest of the night, either. The 7:00 PM ET block of games blew the roof off of this tournament, beginning with the little guys from the Patriot League. #15 Lehigh had a terrific year led by mid-major star guard C.J. McCollum, but nobody thought this team had a chance against Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils, the most successful NCAA Tournament team of the past 20 years. #2-seed Duke, though, was vulnerable because of an injury to starting forward Ryan Kelly and an overall trend of weak recent play thanks to a porous defense. The Mountain Hawks took advantage early and often, leading this game early in the first half and continuing to put the pressure on Duke’s ‘D’. McCollum was the star of the show, Duke wasn’t hitting from the perimeter, and Lehigh really had a chance to win this game. Late in the second half it was anyone’s game, but McCollum made big play after big play while no Duke guard could counter. Seth Curry, Austin Rivers, and Andre Dawkins combined to shoot 4-19 from three. Gabe Knutson matched Mason Plumlee inside going for 17 points on 5-5 shooting. And when the buzzer sounded, the Lehigh Mountain Hawks were winners in a thorough victory that made history. For the first time ever, two #15 seeds won in the same year of the NCAA Tournament. And it all happened on the same evening, just two-and-a-half hours apart.

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RTC Region correspondents Brian Otskey (East), Kevin Doyle (South), and Andrew Murawa (West) contributed to this preview.

#1 Syracuse vs. #8 Kansas State – East Region Third Round (at Pittsburgh, PA) – 12:15 PM ET on CBS

Jim Boeheim's Team Appears Vulnerable: Will They Find Steady Footing?

You can make a case that Syracuse shouldn’t even be here after the officiating disaster at the end of its first game. However, the Orange survived and now are being questioned by many fans and commentators. A word of caution: Thursday’s game against UNC-Asheville may have been what Syracuse needed to get over the jitters of playing without Fab Melo. While that’s not likely to be a popular opinion, it may be enough to move Syracuse to at least the Sweet Sixteen. The Orange are not going to have an easy time with Kansas State’s physical defense but the big question mark is if the Wildcats can score enough to keep pace. Kansas State is actually somewhat vulnerable on the defensive glass and Syracuse did a nice job of offensive rebounding against Asheville. Obviously the Wildcats have a significant edge on their end of the floor when it comes to offensive rebounding but we actually like the matchups for Syracuse. The Orange have a lot more talent, are deeper and can pressure a Kansas State team that averages 14 turnovers per game. Syracuse won’t get out on the break often but all it needs is a couple stretches of turnovers and fast break points in order to create a cushion. Experience also matters and the Orange feature two seniors in Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph while Kansas State has freshman Angel Rodriguez running its offense. Syracuse isn’t nearly as good without Melo but we think the Orange are good enough to advance past the Wildcats in this game.

The RTC Certified Pick: Syracuse.

#2 Ohio State vs. #7 Gonzaga – East Region Third Round (at Pittsburgh, PA) – 2:45 pm ET on CBS

There are a ton of fascinating matchups in this game. From Gonzaga’s front court guarding Jared Sullinger to the nation’s most efficient defensive team going up against a Gonzaga team that can certainly put up points. Aaron Craft is widely considered to be one of, if not the best perimeter defender in the nation. Thad Matta will count on his sophomore point guard to shut down Gonzaga freshman Kevin Pangos, an absolute sniper from the arc. Gonzaga shoots the ball very well as a team but Pangos is the guy who really provides the spark for this team. The Bulldogs demolished West Virginia on Thursday but facing Ohio State is going to be a totally different animal. Gonzaga does have the front court depth needed to double Sullinger and make it difficult for the big fella to score inside. The key to beating Ohio State is to make them take jumpers while frustrating Sullinger and Gonzaga can do that with its strong front line. However, foul trouble could become a major concern for the Zags if they’re not careful. A matchup on the wing between Elias Harris and Deshaun Thomas are also intriguing, as is Gonzaga’s ability to get to the foul line against a defense that is physical but doesn’t foul a lot. If the Bulldogs can’t get to the stripe that means Sullinger isn’t in foul trouble and they’re going to be forced to make shots against a really tough Buckeye defense. This is going to be a really fun game to watch between two very talented teams. In fact, it may be the best Saturday matchup on a day in which there will be many.

The RTC Certified Pick: Ohio State.

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Three Key Takeaways.

1. The lane is open. To open the game, Florida relied too heavily on the three-point shot.  After getting down early 10-2, the Gators rallied back to make a 28-10 run into halftime and an eight-point lead of their own thanks to driving the ball into the lane and Florida’s Erving Walker slicing between the Cavalier defense.
2. Three point shooting woes. Both teams struggled from the three-point line in the first half, going a combined 1-of-22 from behind the arc.  The second half was a little better as Florida went 3-of-7, but Virginia struggled only going 3-of-10 in the second half.  Florida needs the three pointer to be on for them to get through their next opponent. 
   
3. Second Chances. The Gators had several second chance opportunities in this game outscoring the Cavaliers 12-0 in that category.  Virginia didn’t protect the lane at the right times and the lack of defense allowed Florida to shoot almost 70% in the second half.

Star of the Game–Bradley Beal, Florida.  Beal came up big in the second half scoring 10 of his game high 14 points and then grabbed 11 rebounds.  The freshman guard from St. Louis didn’t play like a guard, with that rebounding ability.   Patric Young and Casey Prather also came up big going a combined 12-of-13 from the field.

Sights & Sounds–There were concerns from Omaha officials about the attendance for this game due to the local school Creighton taking on Alabama at the same time as this game.  But by the middle of the second half the arena mostly filled in but you could hear periodic cheers out of nowhere due to fans in the arena seeing the Creighton game on the concourse TVs.

Quotable–“You saw a team that really took it to us and we didn’t have an answer,” Tony Bennett, Virginia Head Coach.

What’s Next?–The Gators now wait to see if they will face Missouri or Norfolk State in the round of 32 on Sunday.  The likely pick here will be Missouri as they have the fan support at the CenturyLink Center and have been pretty dominant this season.   The key for Florida will be to hit more three pointers than they did in this one.  If they go cold again, it will be tough for them to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

Three Key Takeaways.

1. As McDermott goes, so does Creighton. Creighton star Doug McDermott hit a three-pointer with eight minutes to go in the first half, putting the Jays up by four. Then McDermott went scoreless for the next twelve, and Alabama built a 10-point lead. The Jays only got back into the game in the second half when McDermott started finding the basket again.
2. Bama Shot the Lights Out. Alabama is usually one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the nation, but they found a way to hit more than 40% of their deep shots against Creighton. Without this unusual output, the Crimson Tide wouldn’t have been able to stay in the game.
3. Late Game Management is Crucial. Creighton smartly used their foul to give with 4.7 seconds left. But Alabama waited until after they inbounded the ball and ran 2.3 seconds off the clock before calling a timeout. When play resumed, Alabama didn’t have time to get a clean shot off, and the Jays advanced.

Star of the Game. Doug McDermott, Creighton. Though he led all scorers with 16 points, McDermott’s best play may have been grabbing an offensive rebound when Greg Echenique  missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 33 seconds left, up by two points. McDermott didn’t let his mid-game scoring drought affect his later play, and he came up big at the end.

Sights and Sounds. Attendance was sparse for the 1:40 pm tipoff, especially among Alabama fans. However, that made it easier to enjoy the Creighton and Alabama bands trading renditions of pop-punk classics. Alabama’s version of Blink-182’s “All the Small Things” was fun, but it couldn’t beat the breakneck pace of Creighton’s “Blitzkrieg Bop.”

What’s Next? Creighton will likely meet North Carolina playing what amounts to a home game for the Tar Heels, barring something historically unseen. If the Jays can keep hitting from outside, they’ll have a chance.

RTC Region correspondents Brian Otskey (East), Kevin Doyle (South), Evan Jacoby (Midwest) and Andrew Murawa (West) contributed to this preview.

#8 Memphis vs. #9 Saint Louis – West Region Second Round (at Columbus, OH) – 6:50 PM ET on TBS

Nice to See Rick Majerus Back in the Dance (AP)

It may be an 8/9 game, but according to advanced metrics, this is anything but your typical 8/9 game. Both teams are among the top 15 teams in the country according to Ken Pomeroy’s rankings, outscoring opponents by about 0.2 points per possession over the course of the season. Still, looking back over the schedules, the Billikens’ only have four wins over NCAA Tournament teams (Vermont, St. Bonaventure and two over Xavier), while the Tigers have just three (Belmont, Southern Miss and Xavier) – not exactly stunning resumes. However, SLU head coach Rick Majerus is no stranger to NCAA Tournament success, and his ability to scout and gameplan for an opponent is legendary. And while Memphis is used to playing at a fast tempo, you can bet Majerus will effectively slow this game down, using 25 seconds or more on every offensive possession, mostly forgoing any attempts at offensive rebounds in an effort to get back on defense, and making Memphis score over a stingy SLU defense. While Memphis has been killing teams over the past month or so, the two games they’ve lost have been down-tempo affairs (UTEP and Southern Miss), and if they get frustrated against the deliberate Billiken pace, it could spell an early end to the Memphis season. Still, the Tigers will have a significant athletic advantage and while Majerus has a decent matchup for lightning quick guard Joe Jackson in the form of Kwamain Mitchell (and Jordair Jett), it remains to be seen how effective they will be against sophomore win Will Barton. If Barton can find space inside the SLU perimeter defense, he could create serious problems. Of course, that’s a big if.

The RTC Certified Pick: Saint Louis

#2 Duke vs. #15 Lehigh – South Region Second Round (at Greensboro, NC) – 7:15 PM ET on CBS

Located less than an hour’s drive from Cameron Indoor, Duke will do battle with Patriot League champion Lehigh in what is practically a home game for the Blue Devils. Duke is limping into the NCAA Tournament have lost two of their last three games, one of these losses coming in blowout fashion against arch rival North Carolina. Despite having many holes on the defensive end and Ryan Kelly uncertain for the game against Lehigh, Duke does have one of the more potent offensives in the tournament. Austin Rivers and Seth Curry can score from virtually anywhere on the floor, and the Plumlee brothers make for a formidable frontcourt. It is not often that a Patriot League team can put a player on the floor that has the ability to go shot-for- with one of the best teams in the nation, but C.J. McCollum will prove he belongs running side by side with Austin Rivers. The junior guard from Canton, OH ranks top ten nationally in scoring and has the ability to take over a game for long stretches. Although Duke will no doubt focus much of their effort on the defensive end on McCollum, it is no secret that the Blue Devils struggle guarding around the perimeter. McCollum will get his points, but it is just a question if his teammates will be able to follow suit. If Lehigh gets production from Gabe Knutson and Holden Greiner, don’t be surprised if the Mountain Hawks hang with Duke for much of the game.

The RTC Certified Pick: Duke

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