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It only took two rounds for the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds to go down in the West Region of the NCAA men’s tournament bracket. The No. 1 seed Xavier Musketeers were looked upon as one of the more susceptible high seeds to losing early on and it came to fruition and Florida State used a late rally to knock off Xavier and move on to the Sweet Sixteen. The North Carolina Tar Heels were a lot of people’s pick to make it to the Final Four out of the bracket but they were taken apart by Texas A&M in the Round of 32. ... 

The Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Louisville Cardinals have a lot in common. Both of their women’s college basketball teams ended up grabbing No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, their football teams met at the TaxSlayer Bowl back in December, and they will both be vying for a spot in the NIT Semifinals in Madison Square Garden in this game. Louisville is sure to be a favorite since it is playing at home, but there is a question of motivation after a story was released saying that the players didn’t want to participate in the NIT. ... 

It has been a wild and wacky first two rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, as several expected national title contenders have already been sent home. The headliner was the loss of the No. 1 seed Virginia Cavaliers, who became the first top seed in history to fall to a No. 16 seed. The UMBC Retrievers pulled off that historic upset before falling in the Round of 32 to Kansas State.

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If all of the March Madness action over the weekend hasn’t quenched your thirst for college basketball, the NIT has got you covered. On Tuesday night, the NIT Quarterfinals will start when the Marquette Golden Eagles host the Penn State Nittany Lions.... 

After years of wondering whether or not a No. 16 seed would ever defeat a No. 1 seed, we finally have our answer. The UMBC Retrievers made history by knocking off the overall No. 1 seed Virginia Cavaliers in a 74-54 romp on Friday night.... 

The Xavier Musketeers were seen by the oddsmakers as one of the weakest No. 1 seeds in recent memory, and they are out to prove them wrong. Xavier was listed as the fifth favorite to win the West Regional, with many expecting either the Florida State Seminoles or the Missouri Tigers to knock them off.... 

The Syracuse Orange are looking to make some history this week. No team that has ever participated in the First Four has made it to the Sweet 16, but the Orange can be the first with a win over the Michigan State Spartans. Playing three games in five days is tough, but Syracuse fans will remember what this team did during the 2009 Big East Tournament and know it can be done. The Orange are likely to be pretty big underdogs per the CBB betting odds in this one though.... 

The Clemson Tigers have had to listen to all the doubters since Donte Grantham suffered a season-ending knee injury in January. No one gave Clemson much of a chance to do anything more than get to the NCAA Tournament, and many called for the Tigers to be upset in their opening game. The Tigers persevered and easily covered on the CBB betting line in a win over New Mexico State.... 

This is just the moment that the Marshall Thundering Herd have been waiting for. Marshall is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 1980s and just picked up its first-ever NCAA Tournament win. Now, it has its sights set on an arch rival that has tried to avoid playing the school in every sport it can.... 

The Nevada Wolf Pack are on cloud nine after their first NCAA Tournament win in more than a decade. Nevada showed the NCAA Committee why it needed to be included in March Madness after losing the MWC’s automatic bid in the conference tournament. No doubt, the MWC is hoping that this will help the conference be a multiple bid league in the future.... 

This is the time of the year where the Butler Bulldogs always seem to shine. Butler has won its first NCAA Tournament game and made it into the Round of 32 for the seventh straight time. Now, the Bulldogs are looking to make their fourth Sweet 16 appearance this decade and get some revenge on an in-state rival to boot. The Purdue Boilermakers are looking to keep the dream alive despite one of their key players suffering a season-ending injury that will hurt their chances.... 

The North Carolina Tar Heels are looking to get back to the NCAA Championship Game for the third straight season. North Carolina lost to Villanova two years ago at the buzzer, but the Tar Heels claimed their sixth national championship with a win over Gonzaga last year.... 

The Villanova Wildcats are a common choice in March Madness brackets to win the championship, and their opening round result did nothing to dissuade that idea. The No. 1 seeded Wildcats cruised in their first round matchup against Radford and hope to pick up another easy win in the Round of 32 against the Alabama Crimson Tide. ... 

The Buffalo Bulls weren’t acting like underdogs in their first round matchup, telling everyone who would listen that they could knock off the No. 4 seed Arizona Wildcats. The No. 13 seed Bulls did just that, dominating in the second half to pull the upset. Buffalo hopes to knock off another one of college basketball’s best programs when they meet the Kentucky Wildcats in the second round of March Madness. ... 

It wasn’t the smoothest of starts for the No. 3 seed Texas Tech Red Raiders, who needed a late rally to avoid a first-round NCAA Tournament upset at the hands of Stephen F. Austin. Texas Tech did survive and advance and hopes to start faster in a second round matchup with the Florida Gators. ... 

The Duke Blue Devils looked every bit a national title contender in the first round of March Madness. Will they perform just as impressively when the competition ramps up? The No. 2 seed Blue Devils will face off against the No. 7 seed Rhode Island Rams in the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.... 

Quite a few people went out on a limb and predicted the Kansas Jayhawks to become the first team ever to lose to a No. 16 seed in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. There were a few tense moments early as Penn jumped out to a lead but eventually Kansas took control to move on. Now that the Jayhawks don’t have to worry about that they will aim to find a groove and make a deep March Madness run.... 

It was an uncomfortable opening round for both the Ohio State Buckeyes and Gonzaga Bulldogs, as each survived upset bids. But they did each eventually take care of business, and now No. 4 seed Gonzaga will face off with No. 5 seed Ohio State with a berth in the Sweet Sixteen on the line.... 

Many thought the No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago Rambles could pull off an upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and they followed through. Loyola-Chicago defeated the Miami Hurricanes last time out on buzzer beater and is now just one win away from a Sweet Sixteen appearance.... 

The Houston Cougars played in a barn-burner in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, escaping with a two-point win over San Diego State. The No. 6 seed Cougars will move on to the Round of 32 to face the Michigan Wolverines in a game they won’t be expected to win.... 

It took the Providence Friars almost all season, but they finally got the away from home wins they were looking for last week at the Big East Tournament. Providence had tried and failed numerous times to take down quality opponents on the road, yet Madison Square Garden was kind to the Friars. The school took out Creighton and Xavier on its way to a Big East Championship Final and took Villanova to overtime before falling. ... 

There is one team making their first ever appearance at the Big Dance this season, the Lipscomb Bisons. Lipscomb is traditionally overshadowed by its Nashville rival Belmont, but the Bisons won the Atlantic Sun in a barnburner of a game against Florida Gulf Coast to make their maiden voyage. ... 

The Creighton Bluejays are one of the most captivating teams in the country every season. Creighton plays an exciting brand of basketball that’s easy to fall in love with, but it has not had much success come NCAA Tournament time. The Bluejays have not made it to the Sweet 16 since 1974. ... 

The Virginia Cavaliers have been the best team in the country for the last half of the season. Virginia used its stifling defense to finish 31-2 and win both the ACC regular season and conference titles. ... 

Although the Purdue Boilermakers lost out to the two Michigan schools for the Big Ten regular season and conference championship, the Selection Committee awarded them with the best seed of any of the Big Ten teams. Purdue has been consistent all year long with a number of quality wins against marquee programs, and the team had a 19-game winning streak at one point. The CBB betting lines have the Boilermakers as the largest favorite of the No. 2 seeds when they take on the Cal State Fullerton Titans. ...