Norfolk State assured itself a place in NCAA tournament history with its stunning 86-84 victory Friday in the West Region. It’s just the fifth time since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985 that a 15 seed has toppled a 2 seed.
The others: ’91 Richmond vs. Syracuse, ’93 Santa Clara vs. Arizona, ’97 Coppin State vs. South Carolina and ’01 Hampton against Iowa State.
None of those four won their next games (Coppin State lost 82-81 to Texas) so shall we take a moment to go through this remarkable feat -- the Tigers were 21.5 points favorites -- in photos? Even a guy like Joe Posnanski couldn’t properly represent a game like this in words.
Norfolk State gathers before the opening tip. (Photo credit: Eric Francis/Getty)
Missouri’s Steve Moore and Norfolk State’s Marcos Tamares tussle for a loose ball (Francis/Getty)
Missouri’s Phil Pressey found his usual forays into the lane more challenging than normal. (Francis/Getty)
Norfolk State’s Pendarvis Williams shoots over Pressey. Williams scored 20 points. (Francis/Getty)
Kyle O’Quinn fights for a rebound. The Norfolk State star led all scorers with 26 points and had 14 rebounds. (Francis/Getty)
O’Quinn falls to ground after shooting against Missouris Ricardo Ratliffe. (Doug Pensinger/Getty)
Missouri fans who traveled to Omaha, Neb., didn’t like what they saw. (Francis/Getty)
Pressey gets tripped up by Marcos Tamares. (Pensinger/Getty)
And again, this time chasing after a rebound. (Francis/Getty)
Marcus Denmon, Missouri’s leading scorer this season, finished with 20, but few came easily. (Francis/Getty)
The Norfolk State bench could feel it in the final seconds. (Francis/Getty)
Missouri coach Frank Haith could hardly believe it. (Pensinger/Getty)
O’Quinn is helped up by Tamares. (Credit: Orlin Wagner/AP)
Brandon Wheeless celebrates on the court ... (Francis/Getty)
And his teammates celebrate off it. (Credit: Nati Harnik/AP)
Pressey and Michael Dixon, season over. (Francis/Getty)
O’Quinn applauds the effort. We applaud his. (Francis/Getty)
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