INDIANAPOLIS — Sifting through the rubble that once was the Midwest Regional bracket, the University of Houston remains alive.
Even that was no guarantee as the Cougars went into survival mode in the final five minutes Sunday, rallying from a nine-point deficit for a stunning, if not improbable, 63-60 victory over 10th-seeded Rutgers to advance to the Sweet 16.
After so much heartbreak in two previous trips to the NCAA Tournament, the second-seeded Cougars finally were able to celebrate at midcourt as their stay in the Indiana bubble will continue for at least another week. The Cougars (26-3), among the teams with Final Four hopes before the start of the tournament, seemingly become favorites as the highest remaining seed in the Midwest.
No. 1 Illinois, No. 3 West Virginia and No. 4 Oklahoma State are out.
Those teams were sent home Sunday by No. 8 Loyola Chicago, No. 11 Syracuse and No. 12 Oregon State.
A record nine double-digit seeds advanced out of the first round, including three in the Midwest.
“Sometimes we decide what’s an underdog by what conference they are in and what somebody seeded them,” UH coach Kelvin Sampson said. “My favorite team I’ve seen so far is Abilene Christian (No. 14 seed in East Region). Everybody talks about how hard our kids play. Nobody plays harder than Abilene Christian. The last 10 minutes (against Rutgers) we would have done Abilene Christian proud.”
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Sampson has the Cougars two wins away from the school’s sixth Final Four appearance and first since “Phi Slama Jama” made three straight trips from 1982-84. To get there, however, Houston must navigate a path where seeds can be deceiving.
Syracuse is the blue blood of the bunch, a historically successful program with a legendary coach (Jim Boeheim) with 982 victories and a suffocating 2-3 zone that can make even the top offensive teams struggle.
This is nothing new for the Orange (18-9), who have advanced to the Sweet 16 each time they’ve been a double-digit seed. Syracuse reached the Final Four as a 10-seed in 2016 and the Sweet 16 as an 11-seed in 2018.
“Look at some of the teams that are out,” Boeheim said of a casualty list that has included top-four seeds Ohio State, Iowa, Texas, Virginia and Purdue from the other three regions. “It’s really hard to get to the Sweet 16.”
This season, the Orange were considered a bubble team until three straight wins over North Carolina, Clemson and North Carolina State.
“We’d like to be good in the regular season and the tournament,” Boeheim said. “But if you’re not as good as you’d like to be in the regular season, then let’s play well in the tournament. That’s what these guys have done.”
Three years after a magical run to the Final Four, Loyola Chicago and Sister Jean are two wins away from a return trip. Just don’t call the Ramblers a Cinderella story.
Many considered Loyola Chicago to be badly under-seeded — even the NCAA’s own metrics had the Ramblers as a top 10 team — and were given a path that included a first-round game against ACC tournament champion Georgia Tech followed by top seed Illinois, a legitimate title contender.
Loyola Chicago (26-4) executed its defensive game plan to perfection, forcing 17 turnovers and registering 12 steals for a 71-58 victory. It should come as no shock. The Ramblers owned the top-rated defense this season, according to KenPom.
They harassed the Illini’s All-American duo of guard Ayo Dosunmu and center Kofi Cockburn. After all, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the team’s 101-year-old chaplain, stressed defense in her pregame prayer.
“It’s amazing what happens when you get a group of young men who believe,” Loyola Chicago coach Porter Moser said. “And these guys believed.”
The underdog among the final four Midwest teams is Oregon State (19-12), picked to finish last in the Pac-12’s preseason poll. Not only did the Beavers need to win the league’s tournament just to make the field, but they’ve pulled off five upsets over teams in the NCAA Tournament — UCLA, Oregon, Colorado, Tennessee and Oklahoma State. On Sunday, the Beavers beat the Cowboys and projected NBA No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham 80-70.
Oregon State entered without a tournament win since 1982.
“We’re obviously putting everybody on notice,” Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle said. “I’m very happy for our program, but I’m extremely happy for the Pac-12 Conference. Maybe now we’ll get some damn respect.”
Houston is paying attention.
“We definitely see the path,” All-American Cougars guard Quentin Grimes said. “We have a chance to really make the Final Four with this team … (but) we have to handle business one game at a time.”
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