The good, the bad and the ugly: Recapping action from the NCAA Elite Eight

The Final Four was decided for the NCAA men's basketball tournament this past weekend. Here is a recap of the good, bad and ugly from the Elite Eight games.

The 2013 NCAA men's basketball tournament has been highlighted by a plethora of upsets, so it was only appropriate that one of the shockers made it to the Final Four. Well, the Shockers actually. No. 9 Wichita State orchestrated another impressive dethroning, this time against No. 2 Ohio State, 70-66 in the closest contest of Elite Eight action. Although the other three games ended as virtual blowouts, there was a lot to take away from the weekend.

The Good:

Wichita State keeps on shocking in upset over Ohio State

• In a tournament of so-called Cinderellas, Wichita State has kept on dancing all the way to the Final Four. The Shockers (30-8) haven't gotten lucky, either. After dispatching No. 8 Pittsburgh 73-55 to start the tournament, the Shockers got a date with the regular-season No. 1 seed, Gonzaga. In a spirited contest, Wichita State became the first team this year to knock out a No. 1 seed in any of the regions with a 76-70 victory. After wiping out another Cinderella's hopes by defeating No. 9 La Salle, Wichita State was at it again, knocking off No. 2 Ohio State, 70-66. They are the highest seed of the remaining four teams, and have a match-up with another No. 1 seed in Louisville.

  The Shockers have made it this far thanks to their "play angry" mentality and never-back-down attitude. They are not necessarily led by a single prolific scorer, but spread the wealth and keep opponents guessing. They have had at least three players in double figures in every tournament game so far. Against Ohio State, they were led by Malcolm Armstead (14 points), Fred Van Vleet (12 points) and Cleanthony Early (12 points).

Syracuse's vaunted zone defense stifles Marquette

• Syracuse doesn't necessarily beat teams with a high-powered offense. Instead, it was that vaunted 2-3 zone defense that got the job done once again against No. 3 Marquette. The No. 4 Orange (30-9) held Marquette to just 39 points in a 55-39 victory, which sent coach Jim Boeheim to his fourth Final Four, and his first since Carmelo Anthony led Syracuse to the 2003 NCAA Championship. Michael Carter-Williams was named the regional's top player after another outstanding performance. He racked up 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists, five steals and only one turnover.

  This was the first time that Marquette was held under 47 points all season. Their 39 points was also the lowest total in an NCAA tournament regional final since the shot clock was introduced in 1986. In the tournament, Syracuse as a team is averaging 6.5 blocks and 10.8 steals, while forcing opponents into 29 percent shooting, including 15 percent on 3-pointers, according to Sporting News.

The Bad:

Seth Curry goes cold for Duke in blowout loss to Louisville

• No. 2 Duke (30-6) kept it close against No. 1 Louisville for awhile, but fell hard in the second half to lose by more than 20 points in an 85-63 blowout finish. Seth Curry, who has been so outstanding for the Blue Devils, went ice cold when they needed him to stay hot. Curry did not make a single basket in the first half, and did not even attempt a shot until almost nine minutes into the game according to a recap by Sporting News. He scored all 12 of his points in the second half, but at that point it was too little, too late. Louisville (33-5) took off on a 20-4 run in the second half, dominating Duke despite having to regroup from Kevin Ware's gruesome leg injury. Of course Curry is not the sole reason Duke lost, but his disappearance in the first half hurt a team that has relied on his outside presence to complement Mason Plumlee's inside one.

Florida loses against first team ranked higher than No. 11

• No. 3 Florida is not an overrated team, but losing to the first team they faced in the tournament that didn't have a double-digit ranking was not a pretty way to go out. The Gators (29-8) could not handle the offensive firepower of No. 4 Michigan (30-7), which cruised to victory, 79-59. The Wolverines dominated Florida by taking a 47-30 halftime lead and never looking back. Florida had a relatively favorable ride seeding wise to the Elite Eight, drawing No. 14 Northwestern State, No. 11 Minnesota and No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast. In the Michigan contest, Florida stumbled against a team that simply overpowered them in almost every aspect of the game, resulting in another disappointing finish to a tournament that held such promise. For the third straight year, Florida lost in the regional final and had to watch another team cut the nets down.

The Ugly:

Kevin Ware suffers a gut-wrenching leg injury in Louisville's win

• Louisville guard Kevin Ware was simply contesting a 3-pointer by Duke's Tyler Thornton with 6:33 left in the first half, an ordinary play in a basketball game. What happened as a result was anything but ordinary, however, as reported by Sporting News. Ware landed awkwardly and a bone in his right leg could be seen pushing against his skin. The images were hard to watch, and the arena went silent. The injury had coach Rick Pitino with tears in his eyes, and several players on both sides were overcome with shock and emotion. Yet despite the ugliness of the injury, Ware's spirit was indomitable. In an interview, Pitino said that before he was taken to the hospital, Ware told teammates to win the game. His teammates rallied around his battle cry, and won it for Ware. The Final Four is in Atlanta, Ga., which is where Ware played high school basketball at Rockdale County.