The Final Four put its first two teams into the 2012 NCAA Tournament on a Tuesday evening when the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the BYU Cougars won their play-in games. The Hilltoppers remain in the tournament as the only team with a losing record, but an upset over the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats and then two more wins would guarantee them at least a .500 record when all is said and done.
Related: March Madness for the Rocky Mountain Region | Printable NCAA Bracket
The Hilltoppers picked up a No. 16 seed by defeating the Miss Valley St Delta Devils, 59-58, in the first game of the day. Western Kentucky was down by 16 points with five minutes left in the game and made a furious charge to comeback. T.J. Price led the effort and had a three-point play with 33 seconds left to break a 54-54 tie. Derrick Gordon added 11 points and 11 rebounds while George Fant had nine points and 11 rebounds.
BYU had been down by 25 points during the first half to the Iona Gaels, but a second-half surge had them in the lead with less than two minutes left in the game. They picked up a 78-72 victory to complete the 31-point swing. The Gaels scored just 17 points in the second half after opening up with 55 in the first 20 minutes.
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