NCAA Tournament 2001 - null


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 Friday, March 23

THE NUMBER
17
Temple is in the Sweet 16, but Lynn Greer is a perfect 17-for-17 from the free-throw line. He still has a way to go to match Arthur Lee's record of 35 straight for Stanford in 1998.

Two sweet stories
unfold down South
Penn State and Temple will play for a berth in the Elite Eight on Friday in Atlanta. Not North Carolina. Not Florida. After pulling off two stunning upsets in the Superdome on Sunday, the Nittany Lions and Owls are two amazing stories in the Sweet 16. And neither is finished being written.
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Monkey Business
Roy Williams and Kansas got the 'monkey' off their backs by reaching their first Sweet 16 since 1997.

Question of the Day
Which is the most surprising Sweet 16 team?

ESPN.com's Andy Katz
Penn State. The Nittany Lions shocked Michigan State at the Big Ten Tournament and then were embarrassed in the semifinal against Iowa. The Nittany Lions weren't given much of a chance even in their first-round game against Providence. Forget the seeds, the Friars were coming in with more size and a better on-the-ball defender in John Linehan. But it didn't matter. The Nittany Lions were under no pressure against North Carolina. Yet, they withstood all the Tar Heels' runs and were poised down the stretch. Jerry Dunn was under fire earlier in the season. He has locked up his job and done one of the better coaching jobs in this tournament. Penn State is a great example of a team changing the image of its season by winning in the NCAA Tournament. Getting into the Sweet 16 is all people will remember about the 2000-01 Nittany Lions.

ESPN's Dick Vitale
Georgetown. The Hoyas really struggled at the end of the year. I don't think many saw them getting this far. Granted, they got a big boost from Hampton, who knocked off Iowa State, but the Hoyas had to survive a tough first-round matchup against Arkansas. Another team that is a surprise in the Sweet 16 is USC. The Trojans got a good win over an emotional Oklahoma State team and followed it up with an even bigger win over Troy Bell and Boston College. The Hoyas and the Trojans have exceeded expectations.

ESPN's Jay Bilas
Temple. I would say the biggest surprise in the Sweet 16 are the Owls. Their draw was very difficult. They played a Texas team that is a lock-down defensive team and Florida, which can really shoot. Given the way the Owls played all season long, I don't think too many people gave them a chance to make it this far. Drawing Penn State in the next round gives Temple a great chance to advance even farther. The Owls, especially Quincy Wadley, are hitting shots. He's always been one of the toughest players in the country, but when you combine the physical nature of his game with his shots falling it makes Temple very hard to beat.

Sunday's Storylines
 
PLAYER OF DAY..............................
Titus Ivory. The Crispin brothers may get the ink, and rightfully so, but Ivory showed he's a pretty good shot as well. Ivory scored 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting, as the Lions upset UNC. By the way, Ivory actually shot a better percentage this season from behind the 3-point arc (38 percent) than either Crispin. Who knew?
 
RANDOM THOUGHT...............................
The No. 1 seeds all reached the Sweet 16, which doesn't happen as much as you might think. Only half of the past 10 tourneys have seen all four top seeds survive the first weekend. And this year's No. 1s were no lock. While Michigan State and Duke are one of only three teams to make the past three Sweet 16s (Gonzaga – yes, the Zags – are the other), Illinois hasn't been this far since Marcus Liberty and the Flyin' Illini of '89. Stanford was bounced in Round 2 the past two seasons.
 
STOCK RISING.....................................
Arizona. The Wildcats made it four Pac-10 teams in the Sweet 16. That's the only major headline the 'Cats made, which means all is well and the Wildcats are winning. The past two days in the Midwest, Arizona simply tuned up for San Antonio. One clue things are clicking? Arizona beat Butler by 21 on Sunday after struggling on its own court to win by 12 in December.
STOCK FALLING..................................
Matt Doherty. Yes, the Heels were ranked No. 1. Yes, they won 18 straight games. Yes, they beat Duke in Cameron. But the Tar Heels lost on five consecutive Sundays to finish the season. We feel for Doherty and his Heels. But the numbers don't lie.
HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU................
The NCAA Tournament hasn't seen a player like Ole Miss point guard Jason Harrison since 1984 when 5-foot-3 Muggsy Bogues led Wake to the Midwest Regional final. At 5-5, Harrison came up huge Sunday when his late 3-pointer beat Notre Dame and put the Rebels in their first Sweet 16.


Sure, Temple is a higher seed, but at least 1% of Tournament Challenge players picked the Owls to reach the Sweet 16. Even as a seventh seed in the South, Penn State didn't even have that many fans behind 'em on Sunday. One of these two are in the Elite Eight. So, if your bracket is still worth the paper it's printed on, it won't be by Saturday morning.

ESPN BRACKETS
Bracket fever has hit ESPN! We have our own Tournament Challenge group, and you can check it out. Check out the featured group Bristol University's Best to see our predictions. SportsCenter anchors Jim Frazier and Dave Revsine lead the way with 470 points.

"I don't mind taking a chance on somebody when they have great character. Size is the most overrated thing in basketball."

Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes on why he recruited 5-5 point guard Jason Harrison, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer in the Rebels' victory over Notre Dame.
GO TO REGION  
GO TO REGION  
GO TO REGION  
GO TO REGION  

Full-Court Press: Saturday, March 17

Full-Court Press: Friday, March 16

Full-Court Press: Thursday, March 15

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 A confident Joe Crispin expected the Nittany Lions to win the game (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
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 Temple coach John Chaney shares his philosophy on basketball (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
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 Florida coach Billy Donovan hopes to use this experience for next season (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
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 All the ups and downs throughout the year had Quincy Wadley and the Owls prepared (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
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 An emotional Matt Doherty was proud of his team's never-say-die attitude (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
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 Despite the victory, coach Mark Few was critical of Gonzaga's seeding (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
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 Roy Williams and the Jayhawks finally get the monkey off their back (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
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