No. 15 seeds are making a habit out of this.
One year after a pair of No. 15 seeds, Lehigh and Norfolk State, staged second round upsets in the NCAA Tournament, No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast stunned No. 2 Georgetown, 78-68, on Friday night. Guards Sherwood Brown, Bernard Thompson and Brett Comer led the Eagles on a surge early in the second half to take control of the game. FGCU led 24-22 at the intermission but stretched its advantage to 52-33 on a Chase Fieler dunk with 12:33 remaining in the second half. The Hoyas rallied late to cut the lead to four points in the final minute but could not erase the deficit.
"We didn't come here and have the attitude that we're just glad to be here," Comer told reporters after the game, via The Associated Press. "We decided we can play with anybody and we did."
With Georgetown surging late, Comer found Fieler for another dunk, an emphatic alley-oop slam, that captured the swagger and dynamism that led to Florida Gulf Coast's win.
Hoyas star Otto Porter, the Big East Player Of The Year, struggled, shooting 5 for 17 and finishing with 13 points. This is Georgetown's second upset defeat at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia this month. The Hoyas suffered a 67-57 loss to Villanova on the same floor on March 6.
Florida Gulf Coast, the Atlantic Sun Conference champions, advance to face the winner of Oklahoma and San Diego State in the round of 32.
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PHILADELPHIA — Sherwood Brown scored 24 points and Bernard Thompson had 23 to lead Florida Gulf Coast to an incredible NCAA tournament debut, a 78-68 win over second-seeded Georgetown on Friday night in the second round of the South Regional.
The Eagles, in their second season of being eligible for Division I postseason, became just the seventh No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2.
FGCU (25-10) will play the winner of the game between seventh-seeded San Diego State and No. 10 Oklahoma in the third round on Sunday.
A night after America's oldest university, Harvard, pulled off a major upset over fourth-seeded New Mexico, one of its youngest – FGCU's first student was admitted in 1997 – got one that was even bigger.
The Eagles took control with a 21-2 run that gave them a 52-33 lead with 12:28 to play, though the Hoyas used a furious rally to get within 72-68 with 52 seconds left.
It was another disappointing NCAA exit for the Hoyas (25-7), who have lost to a double-digit seed in their last four appearances.
Markel Starks had 23 points for the Hoyas.
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