Not a good weekend for the Big 12, going 2-3 on Saturday and Sunday. The biggest shocker, of course, was the ousting of #1 overall seed, Kansas.
Texas A&M losing to undermanned Purdue was also a shocker, but to a much, much lesser extent. And Mizzou's loss to West Virginia was typical Missouri... find a away to lose, and in this case it was missing layups and free throws.
In positive Big 12 news, Kansas State and Baylor both rolled through their Round of 32 games, each winning by double digits.
See wrap-ups of all Big 12 weekend games, including scores, recaps and players of the games after The Jump.
Baylor (3) -
Old Dominion (11) -
As Josh Lomers ambled over to the bench after fouling out, Baylor coach Scott Drew began waving his arms, asking the crowd to show his 7-footer some love.There was no need. The fans were already roaring their approval after the senior helped save the Bears' season.
"We needed him to come through for us," Drew said. "I think you saw a senior that didn't want to play his last game."
Lomers tied a career high with 14 points, 12 in the second half, and third-seeded Baylor withstood a firm challenge from No. 11 seed Old Dominion for a 76-68 victory Saturday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
LaceDarius Dunn scored 26 points for the Bears, who squandered a 14-point first-half lead but went on a late 8-1 run to pull away.
Baylor (27-7) now heads back to its home state to play 10th-seeded Saint Mary's in Houston in the South Regional semifinals.
Full Recap
Player of the Game: LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor, 26 pts, 6 reb
Up Next: Baylor vs (10) St Mary's
Northern Iowa (9) - 69
Kansas (1) - 67
Leading by one against the colossus of the bracket, Ali Farokhmanesh stood at the 3-point line, no one around. The prudent play? Pull it out, burn some clock.Not a chance.
Taking his shot at history, Farokhmanesh let fly from the wing.
The biggest upset in a tournament full of them was done. Northern Iowa had taken down mighty Kansas.
Playing with poise down the stretch and getting they big 3-pointer from Farokhmanesh, Northern Iowa pulled off one of the biggest NCAA upsets in years by knocking No. 1 overall seed Kansas from the bracket with a program-defining 69-67 win on Saturday.
"If anybody's going to shoot that shot, I want it to be Ali," Northern Iowa's Jake Koch said.
This year's NCAA tournament has been defined by its upsets. Eight double-digit seeds moved through the bracket in the first round. No. 10 Saint Mary's beat Villanova on Saturday and No. 11 Washington shoved aside New Mexico.
This was the biggest shocker of all.
Winning the tempo tug-of-war, ninth-seeded Northern Iowa (30-4) grounded the high-flying Jayhawks with in-their-jersey defense, then withstood a furious rally to become the first team to beat a No. 1 seed in the second round since UAB and Alabama did it to Kentucky and Stanford in 2004.
Farokhmanesh, Northern Iowa's first-round hero, had the biggest play of all.
With Kansas charging and its fans roaring, the fearless son of an Iranian Olympic volleyball player caught the ball on the wing after the Panthers had broken Kansas' press. The shot clock still in the 30s, he hesitated for just an instant, then cast his bracket-busting shot with 34 seconds left on the game clock.
Trailing 66-62, Kansas had one last chance, but Tyrel Reed was called for an offensive foul and Farokhmanesh sealed it with two free throws with five seconds left, sending the Panthers to the Round of 16 for the first time.
Next up is the Michigan State-Maryland winner in St. Louis -- and another chance at history.
Full Recap
Player of the Game: Ali Farokhmanesh, Norhtern Iowa, read above stats don't matter (actually they do 16 pts)
Up Next: Northern Iowa vs (5) Michigan St.
Kansas St. (2) - 84
BYU (7) - 72
Jacob Pullen got knocked to the floor, his hip aching and his Kansas State team stuck in an early hole on the same floor where the NCAA tournament's biggest upset had just taken place.When he refused to stay down, so did his Wildcats.
Pullen scored 20 of his career-high 34 points in the first half to help rally No. 2 seed Kansas State back from an early 10-point deficit, and the Wildcats turned away Jimmer Fredette and BYU 84-72 on Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
"I just couldn't sit there and watch us play," Pullen said. "Unless something was broken [or]I couldn't walk, man, I would have gotten back up and tried to play."
Behind Pullen's standout effort on both ends of the floor, the Wildcats (28-7) are doing something they didn't do even when No. 2 NBA draft pick Michael Beasley was on the team two years ago -- moving into the third round of the NCAAs.
K-State coach Frank Martin and his athletic team will face the winner of Sunday's game between No. 3 seed Pittsburgh and sixth-seeded Xavier next weekend in Salt Lake City. The last time the school made it that far came in 1988, when Mitch Richmond was completing his college career before moving on to the NBA.
"It's an amazing feeling," Pullen said. "It's a childhood dream. I've watched basketball my whole life. I watched all of the NCAA tournaments since I was a kid, so for me to be able to be in this position, I thank Frank all the time. It's an amazing thing that he was able to give me the opportunity.
"My recruitment wasn't crazy. I didn't have a million schools knocking on my door. I had some mid-major schools and then I had Frank walking through my door and telling me I could play."
Full Recap
Player of the Game: Jacob Pullen, Kansas St,
Up Next: Kansas St vs (6) Xavier
West Virginia (2) - 68
Missouri (10) - 59
Turns out Da'Sean Butler's familiarity with pressure trumped whatever defense Missouri could muster against West Virginia and their star player.Butler, who has six game-winning baskets already this season, played his best during the first 20 minutes for the second-seeded Mountaineers on Sunday.
That's when he scored 19 of his 28 points in leading the Big East Conference champions to a 68-59 victory over the 10th-seeded Tigers in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
"He's the 'Magic Man,'" Mountaineers point guard Darryl Bryant said of Butler. "He shows up when we need him. That's really the only thing that counts."
Butler accounted for nearly two-thirds of the Mountaineers 30 points in the first half, and played a key role in breaking down Missouri's high-pressure defense, which was dubbed "The Fastest 40 Minutes of Basketball."
"We didn't really panic," Butler said. "We just stepped up to the challenge and played like men and broke the press."
West Virginia (29-6) advanced to face No. 11 seed Washington in the East Regional semifinals at Syracuse on Thursday. It marks the fifth time the Mountaineers reached the final 16, and first since 2008.
Michael Dixon scored 15 points for Missouri (23-11), which was undone by an overall poor shooting performance. The Tigers went 20 of 61 from the field and were just as bad from the free-throw line, where they went 12 of 20.
Full Recap
Player of the Game: Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia, 28 pts, 8 reb
Up Next: West Virginia vs (11) Washington
Purdue (5) - 63 OT
Texas A&M (4) - 61
Determined and undaunted, 6-foot-3 Chris Kramer bulled past one defender 4 inches taller than him. He flipped a layup over another 6 inches taller. Seconds later, he was getting pounded by his own teammates.A fitting way for Purdue's most rugged player, its soul now that do-it-all leader Robbie Hummel is out for the season, to send the Boilermakers to the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament.
Kramer's daring drive and layup over Texas A&M big man Bryan Davis with 4.2 seconds remaining in overtime sent fourth-seeded Purdue to a 63-61 victory over the fifth-seeded Aggies on Sunday in a bruising, second-round game that just about left dents in the arena's floor.
"I had the ball and went right and crossed over to the left, and it parted like the Red Sea," Kramer said of the A&M defense. "Then it came down to finishing, as Davis came over and tried to block my shot."
Texas A&M's B.J. Holmes got a final, frantic chance to win the game with a rushed 3-point try from in front of his bench at the buzzer, but it hit short on the rim to ensure a sixth regional appearance in 12 NCAA tournaments dating to 1994 for Purdue (29-5).
The Boilermakers, who rallied from 11 points down in the second half, will face top-seeded Duke in Houston on Friday.
Full Recap
Player of the Game:
Up Next:
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