No. 9 Northern Iowa shocked No. 1 Kansas 69-67 to advance to the Sweet 16

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Northern Iowa 69, Kansas 67.

 

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• Yes, you read that right. Someone other than the Jayhawks will win this tournament.

• Northern Iowa controlled this game from start to finish but needed some unbelievable heroics to pull it out in the end. Ali Farokhmanesh, hero of March, did it again. After hitting the 3 that beat UNLV on Thursday, he hit another one -- and a questionable shot it was -- with 35 seconds left for a four-point UNI lead, then made two free throws to clinch it.

• Northern Iowa epitomized team, getting something from everyone it played. Ben Jacobson, coaching star of March, regularly plays 10 men and it paid off brilliantly in this game. So many Panthers stepped up and made huge plays.

• For Kansas, it is a gruesome underachievement. The solid favorite to win the national title doesn't even make the Sweet Sixteen. Bill Self has his title, but also now another crashing NCAA tourney disappointment. Kansas has now lost in the second round three times as a No. 1 seed, most of any school.