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The NCAA tournament shed half its teams in the span of 48 hours. Heres what you missed.The weekend belonged to Juli RossiIt took Juli Rossi so long to get on a soccer field for Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, and proved so challenging to stay on the field once there, that perhaps she just wasnt ready to leave.The fourth-place team from the unimposing Ohio Valley Conference, SIU-Edwardsville eliminated ACC regular-season co-champion and No. 2 seed Notre Dame in the first round in no small part because its goalkeeper didnt play the part the script assigned her. Road teams rarely win in the first round. Of the 32 that tried it this weekend, four succeeded. Road teams really dont beat No. 2 seeds in the opening round. That had happened just once since 2008, which also happened to be the year that SIU-Edwardsville moved to Division I.But after playing Notre Dame to a 0-0 draw over 110 minutes Friday night, literally saved by eight stops from Rossi, SIU-Edwardsville advanced on the strength of two more Rossi saves and five conversions from her teammates in a penalty shootout that stretched six rounds.That video you probably saw last week of an iguana running a nightmarish gauntlet of snakes? There were moments, especially in the two overtime periods when watching Rossi dive, stretch and scramble across the goal mouth in South Bend that felt not entirely dissimilar. Perhaps her form wasnt perfect. Perhaps she let a rebound stray. But she kept the ball out of the net.If only in the soccer sense, it was her own survival mode.Rossi didnt play a game in her first two college seasons. At a position with an unforgiving depth chart, she was left to bide her time on the bench behind an upperclassman who obliterated the program record for shutouts. Finally given a chance to play this season, she missed a game and a half early with concussion symptoms. Then she missed nearly a month with a shoulder injury.None of which most of us would have ever known had SIU-Edwardsvilles season ended in the opening round of the OVC tournament against Austin Peay. Instead, after a 0-0 stalemate over 110 minutes, Rossi saved the opening attempt in the penalty shootout and the Cougars made it count. She made nine saves in the semifinal and final, one-goal games with no margin for error.Now she and the Cougars are headed to Durham, North Carolina, to play Northwestern for a place in the Sweet 16.What else stole the show in the first round?Danica Evans flip throw: The flip throw-in, wherein a player acrobatically uses the energy of a handspring to propel the ball, is, frankly, cool. But it is also frequently more fun to watch than it is useful. The aim and trajectory that can be accomplished with a regular long throw are sacrificed. But in the hands of Colorados Evans it is both crowd pleaser and game changer. Evans finished off Colorados 3-1 win against Oklahoma State with a goal of her own, but the game turned on her flip throw that set up Colorados opening goal. She was consistently able to put throws in the 6-yard box with the kind of pace and trajectory that create stress for a defense -- and mistakes like the own goal directly off a throw in the 18th minute.Colorado and Utah, which beat Texas Tech 1-0, are in the tournament in the same season for the second time since joining the Pac-12. They helped the league advance five teams and go 5-0-1 (Pepperdine eliminated Cal in a shootout). The Buffaloes also did this.Nikki Walts sense of timing: The Ohio State junior entered Saturdays game against Dayton with two goals in 19 games. She picked opportune moments to double that total and help the Buckeyes advance to the second round. First, after Dayton solidified the momentum of a goal just before halftime by scoring again to take a 2-1 lead early in the first half, Walts responded with a goal just 30 seconds later to restore order at 2-2. Then with overtime looming, she drilled a free kick from 20 yards into the top corner in the 86th minute for a 3-2 win. It was the latest non-overtime winner of the first round.NC States long wait: When NC State survived a penalty shootout at No. 4 Minnesota -- goalkeeper Sydney Wootten making two saves in the shootout and German youth international Ricarda Walkling clinching it after being helped from the field with an apparent injury -- it marked the first time the Wolfpack advanced in an NCAA tournament since 1995. In the intervening years, neighbor North Carolina won 82 tournament games. Even Duke, with its own legacy of living in the shadow cast by the Tar Heels, won 26 tournament games in that span.Illinois States streak: Illinois State lost its first three games this season and was 2-5-0 after nearly a month of competition. The number in the loss column hasnt budged, and the Redbirds will join SIU-Edwardsville and Northwestern in Durham, North Carolina, this weekend as No. 3 Duke hosts what are officially second and third round games and unofficially the Land of Lincoln invitational. By eliminating host Michigan in a penalty shootout Saturday, Illinois State became one of those four road teams to advance and extended its unbeaten streak to 15 games.Looking out for No. 1sTop seeds Florida, South Carolina, Stanford and West Virginia advanced by a combined 17-0 margin in the first round. Only Florida, which not coincidentally had far and away the toughest assignment at home against Florida Gulf Coast, had to sweat a tie into the second half.History favors the top seeds to make it through the second weekend, too. Since the carnage of 2010, when only one No. 1 seed reached the quarterfinals, 19 of 20 top seeds made it at least that far over the past five tournaments. That doesnt mean it will be easy for this years aspirants.It wont be easy for West Virginia, a potential Sweet 16 pairing against No. 4 UCLA, most of all. Stanford hosts old rival Santa Clara in the second round. And Floridas entire bracket looks like one big trap. But all can look at South Carolinas path and be grateful it isnt theirs.The Gamecocks face the potential of a Sweet 16 game against fourth-seeded BYU, the same team ranked one spot behind them in the NSCAA Top 25 (and with two more first-place votes). That semifinal-quality matchup will only happen if South Carolina first handles ranked Colorado, which tied for second place in arguably the nations toughest conference, and if BYU gets by ranked Oklahoma, which, by the way, already tied South Carolina this year.In six games this season against teams that entered the NCAA tournament ranked, South Carolina scored more than one goal just twice. It also didnt allow many goals in those games, of course, and its defense at home is a formidable thing. But while the Gamecocks remain the favorites, theyre going to have to play like it to survive the week ahead.Second-round must-seesNo. 4 Auburn vs. Connecticut: It wont get as much attention as the matchup that follows on the list, but this could be the College Cup spoiler special. Auburn throttled South Alabama 4-0 in the first round and is 10-2-0 with 30 goals since a narrow loss to South Carolina in September (half of those games against NCAA tournament teams). But Connecticuts Rachel Hill and Stephanie Ribeiro have 37 goals between them this season, including two in a 4-2 first-round win over Albany.Penn State vs. No. 3 Virginia: Its the defending national champion Nittany Lions against a program that reached at least the Sweet 16 in each of the past 11 tournaments. Up and down all season, Penn State was very much up in a 6-0 win against Bucknell in the first round. The sum of individual parts like Frannie Crouse, Nickolette Driesse, Megan Schafer, Charlotte Williams and Salina Williford still has the potential to add up to much more than the typical unseeded offense.Rutgers at No. 2 Georgetown: The first sign that Georgetown was a team of consequence this season, before it beat Virginia and West Virginia, was a 2-1 win over Rutgers. Rachel Corbozs second goal of the game ended matters just 35 seconds into overtime. The Scarlet Knights enter the rematch in a good run of form, comfortable 3-0 winners against Harvard in the first round after wins over Penn State and Northwestern in the Big Ten tournament.Texas A&M at No. 2 USC: One of the most appealing games of the entire week ahead is a potential Sweet 16 encounter between USC and Florida State, the storied Seminoles on the road against a senior-laden success story. But those USC seniors first have to deal with an opponent that has a lot of institutional memory when it comes to the postseason. By winning 1-0 at TCU in front of the second-largest crowd of the first round, the Aggies continued a streak of reaching the second round every year since 1998.Wisconsin at No. 1 Florida: While the FIFA Under-20 Womens World Cup is underway in Papua New Guinea, this game marks the end of the collegiate road for two alums of the 2014 U-20 World Cup. Either Floridas Savannah Jordan or Wisconsins Rose Lavelle will have to turn their attention to the NWSL. Lavelle steered the Badgers here with a long-distance strike for the only goal in a 1-0 win at Marquette, but Jordan has a lot of help in Gainesville.Where are all the people?South Carolina lived up to its seed in a 7-0 first-round rout of Alabama State. But it came close to losing another No. 1 ranking in the process. The Gamecocks entered the first round as the nations attendance leader, averaging more than 3,000 fans per game. But because BYU drew the largest crowd of the first round against UNLV and South Carolina drew just 939 fans to its game, the gap between first and second shrank to almost nil (2,970-2,957).Unfortunately for the tournament, BYU was the exception to the rule with its crowd of 3,276.In all, 19 of 32 first-round hosts drew smaller crowds in the first round than each of those schools averaged in the regular season. The difference was marginal in some cases, but it was also striking in others -- beyond just South Carolina. Penn State drew 573 people, nearly 800 fewer than it averaged in the regular season. Notre Dame drew just 261, down from more than 1,000 per game in the regular season. Virginia drew nearly 1,100 fewer than its average.There were unique circumstances -- it was a decidedly cold night in State College, Pennsylvania; there was a basketball game going on next door at Notre Dame, etc. And there is always the issue of NCAA tournament ticket prices, which are higher than regular-season prices almost across the board (in a handful of cases replacing free admission). But if part of the objective in reshaping the tournament format from 16 sites the opening week to 32 sites was to boost attendance (while simultaneously lowering travel costs), the evidence of success is scarce. Jean-Francois Jacques Jersey . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. Mark Messier Oilers Jersey . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. http://www.officialoilersfanstore.com/authentic-bill-ranford-oilers-jersey/ . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Kris Russell Oilers Jersey . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. Kyle Brodziak Jersey . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. NEW YORK -- Mistie Bass, Kelsey Bone and their Mercury teammates met with Phoenix police a few weeks ago after practice.It was an eye-opening experience and an encouraging one for the disheartened Bass.That was such a great opportunity for us to ask some great questions. I dont think the system that is in place in Phoenix is the system in place everywhere, Bass said after practice Friday as Phoenix prepared for the second round of the WNBA playoffs. To see a model that is so crystal clear and to talk about their training and how much training they get.Bass said she learned the Phoenix police go through simulated processes for shoot or no-shoot situations. She was impressed officers have to pass those tests or return to training.Bass and Bone applaud the Phoenix police, but they also see police shootings of black men as a national problem. Bone first started kneeling during the national anthem a few weeks ago following what San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick did at a preseason game.Bass, a Duke graduate whose father is singer Chubby Checker, joined Bone on Wednesday, kneeling before the Mercurys playoff game against Indiana. The entire Fever team also knelt and locked arms that game. The pair said they will do it again Saturday night before Phoenixs game against the New York Liberty at Madison Square Garden. Bass expects many of the Liberty players to join.For me personally, my heart is too heavy to be able to stand, Bass said. The systematic reasoning of the flag in general is freedom, justice and liberty and thats not for everybody it seems.Fever player Marissa Coleman sharedd via Facebook on Thursday a lengthy post explaining her decision to protest during the anthem.ddddddddddddShe explained she has family who served in the military and her father is a retired police officer.Coleman wrote The bigger disrespect to this country and those who fight for it is staying silent on these issues that plague African-Americans and people of color.Bone had her own reason for kneeling.As someone who grew up in the South, my dads side of the family is from Birmingham, Alabama, and my grandparents on my moms side are from Louisiana, Bone said. Ive seen racism my whole life. Me kneeling isnt to call an end to racism. To me, we live in a country thats built on some form of racism. Youre not going to get rid of it.Bones dad is 6-foot-7 and 350 pounds. Her uncles are just as large.They are big black dudes, she said. Id be doing a disservice to my family and my heritage if I didnt use my platform and my voice. For the past three years of my life, I live in Turkey. Every year theres been bombing, terror and issues. The first thing I wanted to do is run home. But what is home? Am I any safer at home than a country that is terror-stricken?All three players know there is a lot of work to be done, but this is a starting place.By people seeing our protests it opens up conversations, Bass said. Conversations are always a good thing as it gets people talking and hopefully that will lead to change.---Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg ' ' '