Craziness, upsets and games that were decided in the waning sections of action. If you didn't love the second round of the 2014 NCAA tournament, then you probably aren't a fan of college basketball.
The Cinderella stories are already beginning to take shape, and the third round of the tournament will be what really sets the stage for the tournament's top stories. Schools like Mercer, Stephen F. Austin and Harvard have a chance to cement themselves in college basketball history with another win to advance to the Sweet 16.
Harvard is the only one of those three teams in action on Day 1 of the round of 32. We'll have to wait another day to watch the exploits of the other two squads.
There's still plenty of exciting basketball to watch on Saturday. Below, we'll keep track of it all. Check back throughout the first day of the third round for scores, highlights and analysis.
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Recap
The day got under way with No. 1 Florida taking on No. 9 Pittsburgh, and the Gators were able to hold off the Panthers after they trounced No. 8 Colorado in the round of 64.
Neither team shot particularly well in this one. The Gators converted on just 25 of 58 attempts (43.1 percent), but the Panthers were far worse. They shot just 37.3 percent from the floor. Pittsburgh had just one player (Talib Zanna) in double figures as a result.
Scottie Wilbekin stole the show for Florida. He dropped 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting. The highlight of his shooting day was this buzzer-beater three at the end of the first half:
Head coach Billy Donovan had only great things to say about Wilbekin following the win:
The Gators will now take on either UCLA or Stephen F. Austin State University in the Sweet 16.
In the second game of the afternoon, Louisville and Saint Louis took part in what can only be described as the worst half of the tournament to date. The Cardinals and the Billikens combined for just 41 points, with Louisville at a nine-point advantage at the half.
Saint Louis failed to get solid contributions from anyone not named Jordair Jett, Rob Loe or Dwayne Evans. The three combined for 41 of the team's 51 points. Jett was prolific at getting to the basket, but he was putrid from the free-throw line. Jett was just 3-of-9 from the stripe despite a career percentage hovering just over 60.
The Cardinals got out of the gate slowly, but Luke Hancock did his best to keep the Cardinals ahead. He scored 21 points in total as the game's leading scorer.
In the end, this one really came down to missed shots. The Billikens were 0-of-15 from deep—the worst in NCAA tournament history. Louisville converted on 6-of-17 from that distance.
Louisville will take on either Wichita State or Kentucky in the Sweet 16.
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