LOUISVILLE, KY - MARCH 15: Jae Crowder #32 of the Marquette Golden Eagles shoots the ball over Craig Cusick #2 of the Brigham Young Cougars during the second round of the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at KFC YUM! Center on March 15, 2012 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
The Murray State Racers will try to keep their dream season alive against third-seeded Marquette in a showdown for the Sweet 16.
The third-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles and sixth-seeded Murray St. Racers proved they were worthy of their high seeds Thursday afternoon with resounding victories. The Racers beat upset-minded Colorado State by 17 after the Rams had been leading for a good portion of the first half, and they did much of it without their best player, Isaiah Canaan. Marquette beat up on Brigham Young, who didn't have another colossal comeback in them, winning by 20.
The Racers have still lost just one game all season long, to Indiana State, and were given a six-seed despite a unanimous Top 10 ranking. By playing one of their worst games of the season against the Rams — they shot 39.2 percent, 50 percent from the free throw line in 26 attempts and had just nine assists — yet still winning by 18, they proved they're not a team capable of only beating up on weaker opponents; they can beat anyone.
Marquette, like Murray State, took a long time to earn widespread respect, but behind Big East Player of the Year Jae Crowder, they played their way to a three seed, justifying that selection with their destruction of BYU Thursday. Crowder had 25 points and 16 rebounds in the win, and if he plays like that, no one on Murray State will be able to stop him or the Golden Eagles.
Game Date/Time: Saturday, March 17, 5:15 p.m. ET
Location: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Ky.
TV: CBS (National)
For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com's complete scoreboard.
For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stay with SB Nation's Selection Sunday StoryStream, and stick around SB Nation's NCAA Tournament hub for a complete printable NCAA Tournament bracket and tons of analysis on who was snubbed, who got the best bracket, and who will make it all the way to New Orleans and the Final Four.
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