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NCAA Tournament: Tense day claims Duke, Louisville; North Carolina survives

 
Head coach Rick Pitino of the Louisville Cardinals  reacts against the Michigan Wolverines in the first half during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 19, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. [Getty Images]
Head coach Rick Pitino of the Louisville Cardinals reacts against the Michigan Wolverines in the first half during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 19, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. [Getty Images]
Published March 20, 2017

It was a white-knuckle Sunday for favorites in the NCAA Tournament, with some surviving to move on to the Sweet 16 but others packing their bags.

No. 7 seed South Carolina upset No. 2 seed Duke 88-81 in the East Region. No. 7 seed Michigan rallied past No. 2 Louisville 73-69 in the Midwest Region. No. 1 seed North Carolina scored the game's final 12 to rally past No. 8 Arkansas 72-65 in the South. No. 3 seed Oregon got a tying 3-pointer then the winning 3 from Tyler Dorsey (27 points) and rallied past No. 11 Rhode Island 75-72 in the Midwest. No. 2 seed Kentucky battled past No. 10 Wichita State 65-62 in the South. And No. 3 seed Baylor sweated out a down-to-the-wire 82-78 win over No. 11 Southern California in the East.

The Heels are the only ACC team to reach the Sweet 16. Louisville and Duke were the seventh and eighth ACC teams ousted.

"We weren't going to give in,'' South Carolina coach Frank Martin said. "It's a beautiful day for our state.''

Sindarius Thornwell had 24 points and Chris Silva scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half as South Carolina advanced to its first Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament's expanded bracket.

The Gamecocks (24-10) trailed by 10 early in the second half after one of its coldest shooting stretches of the season to start. But behind outside shooting y Thornwell, who was the SEC player of the year, and Silva's dominance underneath, South Carolina rallied to win two NCAA games for the first time in 44 years.

Playing in Greenville, S.C., the Gamecocks rushed to their fans when things were over, celebrating one of the biggest wins in program history.

Duke (28-9) was attempting to reach the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in eight seasons. The Blue Devils, though, could not surmount South Carolina's stifling defense. Leading scorer Luke Kennard had his second straight subpar shooting game, finishing 1 of 6 for 11 points and fouling out.

Meanwhile, the Kentucky result had Lynn Marshall, the wife of Shockers coach Gregg Marshall, led away by security for staying in the stands and loudly cursing about the officiating after the game.

Kansas, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest, opened up a tight game in the second half to defeat No. 9 Michigan State 90-70.

Kansas and North Carolina join Gonzaga as No. 1 seeds still alive. Villanova lost Saturday.

"I don't mind saying I feel a little lucky," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "Every now and then, I knock in a long putt, too."