NCAA South Regional roundup: FGCU pulls huge upset

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — College basketball, meet Florida Gulf Coast.

A school so new it wasn't eligible for the NCAA tournament until last year busted a load of brackets Friday night.

With 24 points from Sherwood Brown and a healthy dose of swagger, FCGU upset second-seeded Georgetown 78-68 in the second round of the South Regional.

"This is our first time being in the NCAA tournament. To actually go out there and win that first game, it means something really special to us," said Brown, who was the first of the players to head toward the Florida Gulf Coast cheering section with several seconds still on the clock.

The Eagles used a 21-2 second-half run to pull away from the Hoyas and then held on in the final minute to become just the seventh No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2.

"It's an unbelievable feeling. We played a very tough team in Georgetown. They have great players. They're a historic school," forward Chase Fieler said. "So being a newer school it's very exciting for us to be able to win a game like that and for the NCAA history. That's exciting and impressive to be a part of that."

Bernard Thompson had 23 points for Florida Gulf Coast, the champions of the Atlantic Sun Conference. FGCU (25-10) will play San Diego State on Sunday.

"We decided we can play with anybody and we did," said FGCU point guard Brett Comer, who finished with 12 points, 10 assists and just two turnovers.

Comer was part of a play late in the game that almost brought down the house, throwing an alley-oop pass from the corner that Fieler grabbed and threw down with a one-handed dunk.

Said Fieler: "That might be the highest I've ever jumped. We'll have to check the video. Brett has great vision. That was his 10th assist. He just threw it up and I had to go get it."

Just a night before, Harvard — the nation's oldest university, founded in 1636 — pulled off a major upset over fourth-seeded New Mexico. Now, one of its youngest — FGCU's first student was admitted in 1997 — has an even bigger one.

(7) SAN DIEGO STATE 70, (10) OKLAHOMA 55: At Philadelphia, Jamaal Franklin scored 21 points, James Rahon had 17 and San Diego State earned its third NCAA tournament victory. The Aztecs (23-10) did nothing spectacular, but everything well and used a modest 8-0 run late in the second half to snap a tie game and take control.

(9) NO. CAROLINA 78, (8) VILLANOVA 71: At Kansas City, Mo., P.J. Hairston scored 23 points, James Michael McAdoo added 17 and North Carolina unleashed a flurry of 3-pointers to subdue gritty Villanova. The never-say-die Wildcats (20-14) erased a 20-point deficit that North Carolina built in the first half and then nearly climbed out of a nine-point hole in the final minutes.

(3) FLORIDA 79, (14) NORTHWESTERN STATE 47: At Austin, Texas, Erik Murphy had 18 points to lead four Florida players in double figures and the Gators shut down the NCAA's highest-scoring team. No. 3 seed Florida turned this one into a rout with a 19-1 run in the second half and held the 14th-seeded Demons (23-9) to their fewest points this season — 34 below their average.

(11) MINNESOTA 83, (6) UCLA 63: At Austin, Texas, Andre Hollins scored 28 points and Minnesota rolled past punchless UCLA in a game that could be Bruins freshman Shabazz Muhammad's last in college and coach Ben Howland's final one leading the program. Austin Hollins scored 16 for the 11th-seeded Gophers (21-12).

(1) KANSAS 64, (16) WESTERN KENTUCKY 57: At Kansas City, Mo., Jeff Withey scored 17 points and top-seeded Kansas struggled to put away scrappy Western Kentucky in a victory Friday night that avoided what would have been the biggest upset on a day full of them in the NCAA tournament. The Jayhawks (30-5), flummoxed by the Hilltoppers' full-court pressure, trailed 31-30 at halftime.

All losing teams No. 2 seeds

1991 — Richmond 73, Syracuse 69

1993 — Santa Clara 64, Arizona 61

1997 — Coppin State 78, South Carolina 65

2001 — Hampton 58, Iowa State 57

2112 — Norfolk State 86, Missouri 84; Lehigh 75, Duke 70

2113 — Florida Gulf Coast 78, Georgetown 6815 seed victories

1991 — Richmond 73, Syracuse 69

1993 — Santa Clara 64, Arizona 61

1997 — Coppin St. 78, S. Carolina 65

2001 — Hampton 58, Iowa State 57

2012 — Norfolk State 86, Missouri 84

2012 — Lehigh 75, Duke 70

2013 — FGC 78, Georgetown 68