The Norfolk St. Spartans have pulled off the biggest upset of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, and one of the biggest upsets in the history of the tournament. The No. 15 seed is going on to the third round of the NCAA Tournament after pulling off a spectacular 86-84 victory over the Missouri Tigers.
This was not a case of Missouri starting slow and Norfolk St. hanging on, nor was it a case of bad bounces going against Missouri. If anything, it was the Spartans that found themselves on the end of some very bad calls, and Missouri shot 45 percent from behind the arc. They went blow for blow with the Tigers for 40 minutes, and barely did enough to stay in front at the end.
The biggest shot of the game was hit by Kyle O'Quinn, the best performer for the Spartans from start to finish. With 35 seconds remaining. O'Quinn got on the end of a bad airballed shot by Chris McEachin and scored on the putback, drawing a foul from Matt Pressey. That gave the Spartans an 84-81 lead. Keion Bell missed a three for Missouri on the other end and O'Quinn grabbed the rebound, then hit one of two free throws to extend the lead to four points.
Phil Pressey, who had a stunning second half for Missouri, stepped up and hit a three on Missouri's next possession to bring the gap down to one point. Norfolk State nearly gave the ball away on the inbound, but Rodney McCauley recovered the ball and was sent to the line. McCauley made the first free throw, but missed the second. O'Quinn made a spectacular play on the rebound, keeping the ball alive and forcing a tie-up. The possession arrow pointed toward Norfolk State, and they got the ball back. O'Quinn was fouled on the ensuing inbound, but missed both free throws and gave Missouri one more chance. They called timeout to set up a play with 2.9 seconds remaining.
The Tigers set up Phil Pressey with a decent look at a three off the inbound, but his shot hit off the back iron to deny Mizzou a buzzer-beater win.
Three members of each team scored 20 points, but O'Quinn stole the show with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Pendarvis Williams and Chris McEachin scored 20 points each. Phil Pressey and Michael Dixon were stunning down the stretch for Mizzou, but they couldn't overcome the struggles of Kim English and Matt Pressey.
This is Norfolk State's first ever win in the NCAA Tournament and their first ever victory over a ranked team. They move on to face the Florida Gators on Sunday.
SB Nation has teamed up with Dial Global Sports to bring you live streaming coverage of every NCAA Tournament game. To hear live streaming coverage of this game, go here.
For more coverage of Norfolk State in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, visit SB Nation D.C.'s NCAA Tournament Stream. For more coverage of the Tigers, visit Rock M Nation. Click here for a link to our NCAA bracket 2012.
Brackets on the brain? Us too! Play Yahoo! Tourney Pick'em and be a part of the craziest month of college basketball. It is fun, easy, and free.