You have to give Houston a ton of credit – most teams would not be able to keep it close after losing one of their star players. But close still sadly goes home.

Duke’s Jeremy Roach with a little over a minute left hit a huge three pointer to give Duke a 54-48 lead over the 1 seed Cougars. Emmanuel Sharp drove to the basket for the layup and foul, and hit the free throw to cut the lead to 3.

And the Cougars got the defensive stop they needed as Kyle Filipowksi missed his shot with about 25 seconds left. But Sharp’s three pointer from the top of the key would miss and the scramble for the rebound would have the Houston player be on the ground and the out of bounds line giving the ball to the Blue Devils, who were able to then run the final second off the clock.

So the ACC teams from Raleigh and Durham travelled all the way to Dallas and will now play each other for the chance to head to the Final Four.

Meanwhile, the Tennessee Volunteers outlasted Creighton to set up a rematch from the Maui Invitational with Purdue. Sadly, I missed most of the game between falling asleep and watching the end of the Duke game. So, the Lunatic will go to sleep for the night as the Elite 8 is set!!!!

Houston’s Jamal Shead drove to the basket and fell to the ground looking like he really injured his ankle. He could not put any weight on it as they took him to the locker room. And now Duke is on a 11-4 run to take a 1 point lead

I hope he is alright – I hate to see players get hurt in the tournament, but it is not looking good for his return.

Zach Edey had 27 points and 14 rebounds, and Braden Smith had 14 points and 15 assists, as the Boilers won 80-68 to head to the Elite 8.

Gonzaga had cut the lead with 12 minutes down to 2, but Anton Wilson picked up his 4th foul when Edey grabbed an offensive rebound. And then Purdue pounced.

Braden Smith got a layup. Then he hit Fletcher Loyer in transition for another layup. The Boilers got the ball into the lane with Edey who hit his short jumper. Smith drove for another layup. Edey got one of his classic dunks. And Camden Heide hit a three pointer from the wing to force a Gonzaga timeout. In just 3 minutes, what had been close all game had now watched as the 2 point lead was suddenly 14.

And the Boilers never looked back. They are so comfortable playing with a lead – they can take 20 seconds off the clock and then still get a high percentage shot.

And the Lunatic can go to sleep happy. His Boilermakers are heading to the Elite 8. So much hope – so much nervousness. So badly want to see them keep winning. The anticipation will surely grow throughout the weekend.

BOILER UP!!!

The magical run of the NC State Wolfpack is continuing in Dallas. It is amazing what they have done. They were not even going to make the tournament. Then 5 wins in Washington Dc to claim the ACC title. Then 2 wins in Pittsburgh to advance to the Sweet 16.

And tonight they spent most of the night with a double digit lead as the Wolfpack chewed up the Marquette Golden Eagles on defense, holding them to 33% from the field. The Eagles simply could not hit a shot from outside the three-point line as they went 4 for 31 shots.

Obviously, my attention is elsewhere – but congratulations to NC State Wolfpack.

The closest thing that we have to a Cinderella team does not look like they are ready to leave the dance. Considering that my attention is on Detroit, I have no clue of how they have done it.

But NC State is taking a 37-24 lead into halftime – so they are playing fantastic defense against Marquette (and their offense looks really good as well).

Now if my Boilers can make a stop…..

The Lunatic is preparing for tonight’s Sweet 16 – especially the game in Detroit between Gonzaga and Purdue. Watching the favorites fall on Thursday always makes me nervous as my team gets ready to go.

It is the beauty and the misery of the tournament. This isn’t like the NBA where you play a best 4 out 7. If you star player has an unusually off night (like Caleb Love going 0-9 from three or RJ Davis going 0-9 from three), and the rest of the team doesn’t pick them up (which can be hard if the star is shooting the ball 20 times), you sadly watch your season end.

So, it is certainly scary. There is so much hope because we have such an incredible team. Zach Edey is impossible to guard. We have multiple guards that can shoot from the outside making teams choose if they are going to gamble with them making outside shots or Edey scoring in the paint. And yet, in a period of 2 hours, it can all end in heartbreak. But the excitement during that 2 hours to cheer on your team, hoping them to victory – that roller coaster ride can be a lot of fun. And hopefully, it leads you to next roller coaster in the park instead of the exit because the park is closing.

BOILER UP!!!!

So, it is super late, so will keep it brief. But we can’t end the night without congratulating our leaders.

Sam Brunner has taken a 20 point lead in the main pool over Carrie Viera. 30 points behind are Kennedy Urban, Ann Hawkins and Carlie Reynolds in a tie for 3rd. And in a large tie for 6th just 40 points out are Chris Franklin, Tom Forrest, Debbe Evans, Anne Haines and Ann Schumaker.

Our Upset Pool Leader is Tom Forrest at 228 points. He is followed closely by Chris Franklin (223), Carlie Reynolds (218), Gus Woodburn (213) and Sam Brunner (212).

In our second chance , only 2 people got all 4 games correct – congratulations to Kathleen Godwin and Nick Kindig. There were 19 people who got 3 of the 4 games right in a massive tie for 3rd (and while I am not going to name off everyone, I have to congratulate my daughter Katie for being one those entries.)

Four more great Sweet 16 games kick off again tomorrow. Probably a lot less blogging and a much more nervous Lunatic as the Boilers take on Gonzaga. Boiler Up!!!

Just as in the Alabama game, Iowa State came charging back in the second half. But unlike the Alabama game, the team leading at halftime stopped the momentum. Curtis Jones from the Cyclones made a three pointer to cut the lead to 2 with 5 minutes. But Terrence Shannon Jr hit a three pointer from the corner. Then, after a Tre King layup, Illinois came down again and this time, Luke Goode hit the three pointer and the lead was back to 6.

Iowa State’s Curtis Jones made a layup to cut the lead to 3 with a minute to play. After running the shot clock down, Shannon got fouled – but only made one of the two free throws.

But the next possession was the final straw. The Cyclones were moving the ball around the perimeter trying to get a three point shot off, and Shannon jumped out and stole the pass. There was nothing at that point that was going to stop the speedy Shannon as his dunk put Illinois up 6 with 17 seconds left.

The Cyclones didn’t give up – Jones drew a foul on a three pointer and hit all 3 free throws to cut the lead to 3. But Shannon hit the two free throws to ice the game. Tre King would score right before the buzzer – but there was no more time left. Illinois ran out the clock and upset the Cyclones 72-69.

So, in a tournament of watching the chalk advance, as all 8 of the top 2 seeds advance to the Sweet 16, saw 3 of those 8 lose tonight as the underdogs revolted. Only UConn was able to withstand the carnage.

So we will have UConn against Illinois in the East and Alabama against Clemson in the West on Saturday.

At halftime, it looked like the West would be an all ACC final. But Grant Nelson and the Alabama Crimson Tide were not ready to leave the dance. It took the Tide just 6 minutes to take a 59-57 lead. Then it got extremely exciting as the teams went back and forth.

With about 4 to play, Nelson hit a three pointer to go up 5. But then UNC went on their run. Jae’Lyn Withers made a layup, RJ Davis hit a jumper in the lane, Davis drove again and got fouled to hit two free throws, and then got fouled again for two more free throws. The Tar Heels were back up 3 with 90 seconds to play. Mark Sears finally broke the Tide’s scoring drought to make it a 1 point lead. Then, UNC made the mistake.

With a minute, they got the ball to Jae’Lyn Withers at the top of the key wide open, and Alabama totally baited the 21.1% three-point shooter to take the shot. They had taken the lead by driving to the basket, and yet, took the low percentage three at a critical moment. It was too strong, and the Tide got the ball down 1.

Sears got the ball over on the wing, drew Bacot out to him, and got the ball to Nelson under the basket. Withers rotated to foul him but it didn’t matter. Nelson muscled the ball up onto the glass and in. And then he hit the free throw to put the Tide up 2.

RJ Davis drove to the basket but had it blocked out of bounds by Nelson. With the shot clock running down, Davis tried to drive again and took a desperation shot over Nelson, which went off the backboard and never touched the rim for a shot clock violation. UNC fouled quickly but Nelson made both free throws to extend the lead to 4.

In an odd play, Davis took a long route to the basket and then gave it to Armando Bacot for a layup to cut the lead to 2 with a couple seconds left. And then the strangeness happened.

UNC probably should have got the ball back. Alabama could not get the ball in, so eventually the Tide called time-out. It seemed like a long time so I rewound it and timed it. The Alabama has the ball for 5.3 seconds before a timeout was allowed. But not a reviewable play.

This time Alabama gets the ball in to Nelson. He missed the first free throw short, missed the second free throw long and the blocked Harrison Ingram’s desperation heave to win the game 89-87.

I think I heard this is the first time Alabama has made the Elite 8 in 20 years – congratulations to the Crimson Tide for an incredible comeback as both top seeds fall in the West.

In Los Angeles, the game has turned into a track meet as UNC outscored Alabama 54-46 in a game that looked for a while like neither team could miss a shot.

So, with it being halftime, I have turned over to the game in Boston, and as they go to the 4 minute TV timeout, Illinois is up 30-20 on Iowa State. So, if Iowa State continues at that scoring pace, there is a possibility they don’t get to the 54 points that the Tar Heels scored in the first half.

Lots of credit to Illinois – it is tough to score against the Cyclones – so already being at 30 points is impressive. Just maybe not as impressive as Alabama scoring 46 against UNC and the Tar Heels scoring 54 against the Tide.

It is crazy, the Tar Heels are up 8 – and with the pace of the game, it feels like that could be made up in under a minute. Meanwhile, Illinois is up 10 points against Iowa State, and it feels like the Cyclones would need to go on a run for 5 minutes to make up the difference.