The last Pac-10 team standing took a dive and a Cinderella shattered its slipper in wild day of NCAA Tournament action. Two games decided by a total of five points, one of which went to overtime, set half the Final Four bracket, with the other half to be decided on Sunday.
Last year's Cinderella, the Butler Bulldogs, became this year's Final Four party crasher, coming from the No. 8 seed to make the Final Four with a 74-71 overtime win over Florida. The Gators had a chance to win with the final shot in regulatoin, but Erving Walker's deep three at the buzzer came up short, sending the first Elite Eight game of the day into overtime. In the extra frame, Ronald Nored and Shelvin Mack came up big, using clutch free throw shooting to put the Bulldogs into the lead with time winding down. Again, Florida had a shot at the tie, but Butler corralled the miss, threw the ball down-court and hung on for the three-point win.
In the nightcap, Derrick Williams was his usual dominant self, harassing the UConn big men in the paint all night long and almost single-handedly keeping Arizona in the game. But in the end, Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb were too much as the Connecticut Huskies took charge late in the second half. Arizona came storming back and, like Florida, had a chance to tie or win outright at the end of regulation with the final shot. Two attempts from three-point range by the Wildcats were off the mark just before the buzzer, giving UConn the 65-63 win.
Here's a look at the updated bracket ahead of Sunday's Elite Eight games. You can find the updated printable bracket at SB Nation, as well.
EAST REGION
No. 2 UNC vs. No. 4 Kentucky
WEST REGION
No. 3 Connecticut Huskies def. No. 5 Arizona Wildcats, 65-63 OT
SOUTHWEST REGION
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 11 VCU Rams
SOUTHEAST REGION
No. 8 Butler def. No. 2 Florida, 74-71
We'll be recapping all the games, and updating the bracket, here in our NCAA Tournament results StoryStream. Stay tuned and check back for updates throughout the weekend.