As Florida Gulf Coast players danced around the court Sunday night celebrating becoming the first No. 15 seed ever to reach the Sweet 16, San Diego State star Jamaal Franklin made a point to seek out the Eagles' best player.

Franklin pulled FGCU senior Sherwood Brown aside, embraced him and delivered a classy but heartfelt message.

"He just told us that we did a great job and he was just saying to keep this thing going," Brown said. "We're doing something special, and he just wants us to keep it moving. Don't stop now."

Franklin's version of the conversation was similar. He said he encouraged Brown to keep being a leader, to embrace the opportunity of playing in the Sweet 16 and to make FGCU's ride last as long as possible.

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"Those guys we played against right now are just like us," Franklin said. "They all love each other and they all play together. They just want to win. And you can see at the end of the game, a lot of teams win games and just leave the court, but they embraced it. They embraced it together."

Read More »from Jamaal Franklin’s classy postgame message for FGCU’s Sherwood Brown

As Florida Gulf Coast celebrated the most improbable Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament's upset-filled history on Sunday night, the obvious question wasn't how the Eagles toppled Georgetown and San Diego State this week.

It was how they lost twice to Lipscomb in the regular season.

Anyone who thought Florida Gulf Coast's upset of the second-seeded Hoyas was a fluke Friday night may have to reconsider after the beach-side school few had heard of a few days ago outclassed the seventh-seeded Aztecs two nights later. Bernard Thompson scored 23 points and Sherwood Robinson added 17, breaking open a close game midway through the second half and propelling the Eagles to an 81-71 win.

The next opponent for Florida Gulf Coast is the most fitting one possible for an underdog hoping to make the Final Four in its first-ever NCAA tournament. The Eagles will face in-state power Florida in the regional semifinals in Dallas with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line.

[Slideshow: Faces of NCAA tournament losers]

Of the seven No. 15 seeds who have pulled first-round upsets since the NCAA tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, Florida Gulf Coast is the only one ever to win a second game.

The six previous No. 15 seeds lost in the Round of 32 by an average of 15 points per game. Only 1997 Coppin State even came within 10 of its second-round opponent, falling 82-81 to 10th-seeded Texas.

Read More »from High-flying Florida Gulf Coast makes history, becoming first No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16

Does anyone else get the feeling we missed a few dozen dunk of the year candidates this season because Florida Gulf Coast wasn't on national TV?

On Friday, the Eagles delivered the play of the tournament so far, a soaring alley-oop from Brett Comer to Chase Fieler as Georgetown was clawing its way back from a 19-point deficit. On Sunday, Comer did it again, this time connecting with Eric McKnight for a first-half tomahawk alley-oop off a screen and roll that may rivaled Friday's dunk for degree of difficult if not for drama.

McKnight followed that up with a big defensive play at the other end, blocking a layup attempt by Winston Shepard. Those were the best highlights Florida Gulf Coast produced, but it was five first-half 3-pointers that enabled the Eagles to remain within a point of seventh-seeded San Diego State at halftime.

Florida Gulf Coast is attempting to become the first No. 15 seed ever to win two games in the NCAA tournament. All six previous No. 15 seeds who won a game

Read More »from Florida Gulf Coast strikes again, delivering yet another jaw-dropping alley-oop

Victor Oladipo's huge top-of-the-key 3-pointer might have clinched Indiana's berth in the Sweet 16, but it wasn't the biggest play of the top-seeded Hoosiers' tense 58-52 victory over Temple on Sunday afternoon.

That honor goes to a key blocked shot and a savvy coaching decision earlier in the final minutes.

With just over two minutes remaining and Temple trying to extend a two-point lead, the Owls spaced the floor, enabling Khalif Wyatt to find Anthony Lee in the paint for what appeared to be a wide-open dunk. Instead Christian Watford came from behind the play to make an unlikely clean block, keeping Indiana's deficit at two and enabling the Hoosiers to tie the score on the ensuing possession.

Temple still only trailed by one point with 54 seconds remaining when Owls coach Fran Dunphy asked for a timeout to set up a play with eight seconds left on the shot clock. It was then that Tom Crean made his shrewdest move of the game, opting to double team Wyatt rather than guard the inbound pass.

Unable to get the ball to Wyatt off the inbound pass and lacking enough time on the shot clock to get him the ball on a second or third pass, Temple had to settle for a badly off-target jumper by Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson. Never again did the Owls have a chance to tie or take a lead thanks to Oladipo's ensuing 3-pointer to put the Hoosiers up four with 15 seconds remaining in the game.

[Slideshow: Best photos of the NCAA tournament]

Indiana's victory wasn't a work of art, but the Hoosiers will gladly take it warts and all in a tournament that has already seen a No. 1 seed, a No. 2 seed and a No. 3 seed eliminated. They survived a physical, bruising defensive struggle, exactly the type of game that had produced two of their previous losses against Wisconsin earlier this season.

Read More »from Key blocked shot, shrewd coaching move help Indiana survive Temple’s upset bid

When Aaron Craft missed three important free throws in the final five minutes of Sunday's round of 32 matchup with Iowa State, there was concern on Ohio State bench that the Buckeyes' standout point guard might be tiring.

"Coaches were telling me he's exhausted," Ohio State coach Thad Matta told CBS after the game. "But he's too tough to be tired."

Craft validated his coach's faith in him by sinking the biggest shot of Ohio State's season on the Buckeyes' final possession.

Having utilized a ball screen to get 6-foot-7 Georges Niang switched onto him, Craft then noticed that the Iowa State forward was conceding a jump shot and playing him to take away the drive. Craft took advantage of the space, pulled up and buried a clutch tie-breaking 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds to go from the right of the top of the key, sending the Buckeyes to the Sweet 16 with a 78-75 victory.

[ Related: NBA teams eye Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg as potential head coach ]

Not only did Craft finish with 18 points and six assists, he also scored Ohio State's final seven points of the game. As if that weren't enough, Craft also made the game's biggest defensive play, sliding over to draw a highly questionable charging call on Iowa State's Will Clyburn that negated a potential Cyclones 3-point play with less than two minutes remaining in the game.

Craft's heroics helped Ohio State become the lone top-five seed to advance to the West Regional in Los Angeles next week.

Read More »from Aaron Craft’s last-second 3-pointer helps Ohio State avoid an upset in chaotic West Region

(screen grab via WCVB)

As Michael Carter-Williams led Syracuse past California to advance to the Sweet 16 on Saturday night in San Jose, the sophomore guard's family was dealing with a far more serious matter.

Flames began shooting through the roof of his mother's home in Hamilton, Mass. at about 10:30 p.m. EST, WCVB in Boston reported. The three-alarm fire reportedly significantly damaged the house before firefighters were able to put it out, but all members of the family who were inside escaped safely. From Carter-Williams' sister:

Thank u everyone , everyone's fine which is all that matters .. I appreciate everyone's prayer and concerns

— Masey Zegarowski (@EmmmZee1) March 24, 2013

And from Carter-Williams:

Thanks for the prayers everyone all thats important to me is my family is okay — Michael Carter-Willi (@MJCWilliams) March 24, 2013

It's unclear the cause of the fire at this point. Mandy Zegarowski, Carter-Williams' mother, was in attendance at HP Pavilion in San Jose at the time of the fire Saturday night watching Carter-Williams score 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting in the Orange's 66-60 win.

If Carter-Williams knew about the fire immediately after the game, he certainly hid his emotions well. He sat in front of his locker fielding questions from reporters for about 15 minutes as though nothing was wrong.

Read More »from Michael Carter-Williams’ home caught on fire during Syracuse’s win over Cal

Allen Crabbe (Getty Images)

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Cal coach Mike Montgomery is shrewd enough to know the components a team must have to find success against Syracuse's vaunted two-three zone.

He's also self-aware enough to know his team had none of them.

"If you have three really good perimeter shooters, you might be able to beat the zone that way," Montgomery said. "If you have really good interior post passing, that's going to cause them problems. We have neither of those."

The effectiveness of Syracuse's zone was the difference in its 66-60 round of 32 victory Saturday night. Unable to either break down the zone from the high post or sink enough shots from behind the arc, the Bears shot 39.3 percent from the field, sank only 4 of 21 3-pointers and trailed by double figures most of the game.

Cal tried to watch film of its most recent game against Syracuse and see what it could glean from that loss, but Montgomery acknowledged it was "impossible" to simulate for the Bears in practice.

[Slideshow: Best photos of the NCAA tournament]

Pac-12 player of the year Allen Crabbe was unable to make much impact in what may be his final game in a Cal jersey, scoring only eight points on 3 of 9 shooting. Fellow guard Justin Cobbs also struggled, sinking only 2 of 9 shots and finishing with five points, four assists and four turnovers.

Read More »from Syracuse’s two-three zone makes it a threat even as its offense struggles

The best team of Mark Few's Gonzaga tenure still wasn't able to overcome the program's maddening trend of early NCAA tournament exits.

Awarded its first-ever No. 1 seed after a 31-2 regular season that included five wins against Big 12 opponents, Gonzaga narrowly avoided becoming the first victim of a No. 16 seed when it eked out a six-point win against Southern. The Zags weren't so fortunate two days later against ninth-seeded Wichita State, squandering a seven-point lead with six minutes remaining and falling 76-70 to become the first No. 1 seed eliminated.

The key play came with 3:10 left and the Zags trailing by one when Elias Harris inbounded the ball to David Stockton, son of Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. Thinking that he was going to be the one to make the inbound pass, Stockton flat-out walked out of bounds, an ill-timed gaffe that gave Wichita State the ball and enabled Ron Baker to sink a 3-pointer that extended the Shockers' lead to four.

Gonzaga's loss marks the fourth straight season it has been ousted in the round of 32. Since back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in Few's first two seasons in 2000 and 2001, the Zags have advanced to the Sweet 16 only twice and have never gotten further.

The way the rest of the bracket laid out for Gonzaga surely makes this loss especially heartbreaking. Had the Zags escaped Wichita State, they would have only needed to beat either 12th-seeded Ole Miss or 13th-seeded La Salle to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since Dan Monson's final season in 1998.

[Slideshow: Best photos of the NCAA tournament]

The only reason the Zags were as close as they were to defeating Wichita State was a huge edge on the offensive glass and in free throw attempts. Kelly Olynyk scored 26 points and got to the foul line 14 times by himself. He also had six of the Zags' 20 offensive rebounds.

Read More »from Gonzaga falls to Wichita State, becoming the first No. 1 seed to be eliminated