Walter Offett and DJ Cooper Lead Upstart Ohio Bobcats into Sweet 16

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 18, 2012

In the search for the tournament's most broken bracket, the Midwest region comes up a winner and it could have been worse had Purdue been able to hang on against 2nd-seeded Kansas Sunday night.

While the Jayhawks moved onto the Sweet 16, as did #1 seed North Carolina, the middle of the bracket became a mess as #11 NC State stopped #3 Georgetown and #13 Ohio prevailed over the 12 seed from South Florida. While the Bobcats may be accused of bottom-feeding, they still managed a to make the round of 16, no mean feat for a school from the Mid-America conference, whose teams are supposed to genuflect and gently give way to teams from the power conferences.

Ohio may be a small school without much of a basketball pedigree, in sharp contrast to their upcoming opponent, North Carolina, a programs whose legendary players and coaches - like Michael Jordan and Dean Smith - fill the record books and are woven into the fabric of March Madness.

What the Bobcats do have is a sound back court, a small detail that may come in handy against the Tar Heels, who may be without point guard Kendall Marshall in their upcoming meeting (Friday, March 23, 7:47 pm, TBS) after Marshall suffered a fractured bone in his right wrist in the Tar Heels' win over Creighton.

In Ohio's 62-56 triumph over South Florida, the champions of the Mid-America conference were led by their back court duo of Walter Offett and DJ Cooper, who scored 21 and 19 points, respectively. Offett was 7-for-9 from the field, 4-for-4 on three-pointers and had three rebounds and four steals. Cooper was 7-for-9 from the foul line, with seven assists, six rebounds and a pair of steals.

With a pair of guards with that kind of capability, Ohio is a threat whenever and wherever they play. North Carolina had better not be looking past the surprising Bobcats.

Conference tournaments UPDATE, late, late games, 3/10/12

Big East: Louisville 50 Cincinnati 46 -In a game that more resembled a rugby scrum than a basketball tournament final, Louisville narrowly prevailed over a Cincinnati team that scored just 14 first half points but managed to slice into the Cardinals' ten-point half time lead to make the game close. The final score was the lowest point total for a Big East final ever, but Louisville claimed its second title in four years, the last coming in 2009.

Both Louisville and Cincinnati are all but guaranteed at-large NCAA bids, the focus being on how high they are seeded and to which regions they will be assigned.

Mountain West: New Mexico 68 San Diego State 59 - The Lobos get the automatic invitation, but the Aztecs, along with UNLV and possibly Colorado State will represent the Mountain West conference in the tourney.

PAC-12: Colorado 53 Arizona 51 - Thier first year in the conference, Colorado receives the bid to the NCAA tournament from the feeble PAC-12, which may only send two teams to the dance.

Mid-American: Ohio 65 Akron 64 - Point guard DJ Cooper scored 23 points for the Bobcats (27-7), which set a school record for wins, capping its season by getting the MAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years.

SWAC - Mississippi Valley State 71 Texas Southern 69 - Texas Southern's Omar Strong pumped in a game high 30 points, but the Delta Devils get the automatic bid and go dancing in the NCAAs.

Big West - Long Beach State 77 UC Santa Barbara 64 - Casper Ware dropped in 33 points for the 25-8 49ers, which also won the regular season outright with a 15-1 conference record.

WAC - New Mexico State 82 Louisiana Tech 57 - Senior forward Wendell McKines had another one of his routinely spectacular performances, leading the Aggies to the WAC championship with 27 points and 14 rebounds.

Kentucky, Northern Iowa, Washington Move on; Georgetown Stunned by Ohio

NCAA Tourney Update

Midwest Region

9 Northern Iowa 69
8 UNLV 66
Ali Farokhmanesh scored a game-high 17 points and gave Northern Iowa the lead on a long three-pointer with 4.9 seconds left as the Panthers moved into the second round. Farokhmanesh hit 5 of 9 from beyond the arc.

14 Ohio 97
3 Georgetown 83
If you're looking for the Cinderella of the 2010 tourney, look no further than the Ohio Bobcats, out of the Mid-Aerican conference. The Bobcats were the #9 seed in their conference tourney, winning four straight to earn the automatic bid. On the opening night of the tournament, Ohio took Georgetown out behind the woodshed for a good, old fashioned whipping. Ohio grabbed an early lead and never looked back, using deft passing and torrid outside shooting to establish, at one juncture, a 19-point lead.

The Bobcats were led by guards Armon Bassett and D.J. Cooper. Basset scored a game-high 32 points, while point man Cooper tallied 23, with 3 steals, 3 rebounds and 8 assists.

East Region

1 Kentucky 100
16 East Tenn. St. 71
No surprises as the Kentucky Wildcats, the nation's tallest team, dominated the interior and hammered East Tennessee State into submission and a quick exit. Freshman Eric Bledsoe and senior Patrick Patterson had 29 and 22 points, respectively.

11 Washington 80
6 Marquette 78
Quincy Pondexter scored on a drive to the hoop with 1.7 seconds left to supply the winning margin for underrated Washington, winners of the PAC-10 tourney. The game was another close call, evening Marquette's record in games decided by four points or less at 8-8, the most in the nation. Pondexter finished with 18 points; teammate Isaiah Thomas led the Huskies with 19.