No. 2 Ohio State defeated No. 15 Loyola (Maryland) in the final Thursday game of the NCAA Tournament at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The Buckeyes will advance to face No. 7 Gonzaga, which beat West Virginia earlier in the day.
Ohio State won 78-59 in a game that was delayed by a broken net. Deshaun Thomas had 31 points and 12 rebounds, while Jared Sullinger had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
As I type this late Thursday night, we're still waiting for Colorado vs. UNLV to end, but Ohio State's victory was typical of a day in which the higher seeds usually came out on top. True, No. 1 Syracuse needed help from the refs to avoid what could have been a stunning upset by UNC-Asheville, but the only team to pull off an upset on Thursday was No. 12 seed and 2011 Cinderella team VCU, which beat No. 5 Wichita State, 62-59. (Higher-seeded teams Murray State, Kansas State, Louisville, Wisconsin, Marquette, New Mexico, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Baylor, Iowa State and Indiana were also all winners.)
Here's a full printable NCAA Tournament bracket.
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