Both mid-majors made it interesting for 2/3rds of the game, but then they went cold – almost as if the moment was starting to get to big – sometimes the realization that the Sweet 16 is possible can make a team get tight really quick.   And Maryland and Syracuse both took advantage to go on large runs to finish off the game.

The win by Syracuse sends the 6th ACC team to the Sweet 16, which is extremely impressive.     That makes the ACC 12-1, with the only loss being the 4 point one by 10 seed Pittsburgh.

One more double digit seed left – Northern Iowa currently has a 6 point lead over Texas A&M, but that has been shrunk from 15 points – so that could come down to the wire as well.   With Xavier only up by 3 at half-time and Oregon/St. Joseph’s still to start, looks like it should be an entertaining evening of college basketball.