Monday was a tough night for the Atlantic Coast Conference as two of the conference’s top teams lost at home to double-digit seeds. No. 2 Duke lost to No. 10 Oregon 74-65, and No. 4 Miami fell to No. 12 Quinnipiac 85-78.
Oregon is the only team in the tournament that starts three freshmen, and the Ducks relied heavily on them in the win. Mallory McGwire, Ruthy Hebard and Sabrina Ionescu combined for 44 points on nine 3-pointers.
“We’re playing with house money,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said, according to ESPN.com. “It’s funny, we never really put a goal on how far we can go, just because we didn’t know what we had. We’ve kind of attacked the entire season as a work in progress. … With a young team, you kind of have to do that.”
The Ducks are making their first appearance in the Sweet 16. Quinnipiac, the other Cinderella, also claimed its first Sweet 16 berth.
The Bobcats shot 58 percent from long range and knocked down 15 3-pointers. Seven players scored at least eight points. Quinnipiac is the fourth No. 12 seed to advance to the Round of 16.
The only other upset in the Round of 32 was No. 5 Ohio State knocking off No. 4 Kentucky 82-68 in Lexington, Ky.
Two No. 1 seeds escaped with close wins.
Notre Dame outlasted No. 9 Purdue 88-82 in overtime. The Fighting Irish led by 11 after three quarters, but the Boilermakers outscored them 19-8 in the fourth.
South Carolina edged No. 8 Arizona State 71-68. The Gamecocks trailed by as much as 11 in the third quarter before storming back.
The other two No. 1 seeds advanced with ease. Connecticut beat No. 8 Syracuse 94-64 in a rematch of last year’s national championship game. Baylor toppled No. 9 California 86-46.
Other notable games:
No. 3 Washington caught fire in a 108-82 victory over No. 6 Oklahoma. The Huskies drained 18 of their 30 3-point attempts (60 percent). Senior Kelsey Plum notched 38 points and 11 rebounds for her first career double-double. Plum, who already holds the NCAA career scoring record, broke the single season record with this performance.
No. 4 Louisville defeated No. 5 Tennessee 75-64. This marks the first time in the Vols’ history that they fell in the Round of 32, making their record 28-1.
Looking ahead:
The Sweet 16 is all set now. The Oklahoma City region provides the most compelling matchups.
No. 1 Baylor faces No.4 Louisville. These two squared off in the same round at the same venue in 2013. That time the Cardinals pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history by knocking off the defending champions, who were heavy favorites to repeat.
In the other regional semifinal, No. 2 Mississippi State matches up against No. 3 Washington. The Huskies feature the national leaders in scoring (Plum – 31.6 ppg) and rebounding (Chantel Osahor – 15.4 rpg). The 31-4 Bulldogs look to get past the Sweet 16, where their season ended a year ago.