While the rest of the NCAA Tournament descended into varied
states of chaos, the East was a picture of order and stability, and fans with
East Regional tickets can look forward to seeing each of the top four seeds
this weekend in the nation’s capital.
Indiana, Miami, Marquette and Syracuse took very different paths to reach
the Sweet 16, but they all managed to navigate the madness that is the first
weekend of the Big Dance. Indiana had few problems taking care of James Madison
in their first game, but needed a strong second half to pull away from Temple. Miami
crushed University of the Pacific before outlasting Illinois. No team has lived
on the edge in the NCAA Tournament more than Marquette, who beat Davidson 59-58
in the first round before squeaking past Butler, 74-72. Meanwhile, Syracuse
annihilated Montana 81-34, then coasted in the second half for a six-point
victory over Cal.
