In the first game of the day Wednesday at the Elite Eight at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana Saint Anselm set the tone of a trio of upsets. The NCAA started reseeding the teams when the school reached the Elite Eight four seasons ago. Before Wednesday no team seeded lower than fourth had secured a victory. That changed in a big way yesterday.
In the first game of the day fifth seeded Saint Anselm was a 94-84 winner over fourth seeded Nova Southeastern. The loss by the Sharks ended what was the school's first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
In the second game of the day MercyHurst slowed down the high powered offense of the Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State. The game would come down to the final 30 seconds but Northwest Missouri State would escape with a 55-51 win despite the Lakers controlling the tempo the entire game. With the win the Bearcats still have a chance to be the first team since Findlay in 2009 to finish the season undefeated and as national champion's.
In the third game Southern Indiana was a 94-84 upset winner over the West Texas A&M Buffaloes. Southern Indiana was the seventh seed while the Buffaloes were the two seed.
In the last game of the day sixth seeded Point Loma was a 87-74 winner over third seeded and perennial power Queens (NC) 87-74.
Wednesday's Quarterfinals:
(1) Northwest Missouri State 55 (8) MercyHurst 51
(5) Saint Anselm 91 (4) Nova Southeastern 81
( 6) Point Loma 87 (3) Queens (NC) 74
(7) Southern Indiana 94 (2) West Texas A&M 84
Thursday's Semifinals:
(1) Northwest Missouri State 76 (5) Saint Anselm 53
(6) Point Loma 81 (7) Southern Indiana 71
Saturday: Championship Game :
(1) Northwest Missouri State vs (6) Point Loma 3 PM
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