This is not new news by any means, but I was looking at the sites for the 2012 and 2013 NCAA basketball tournaments and noticed the Palace of Auburn Hills will be hosting second and third round games in 2013. The games are set to be held on March 21 and 23 (Thursday and Saturday), and Oakland University will be the host.
↵The last time the NCAA tournament held games at the Palace was in 2006, and upsets were the big story. Northwestern State, a No. 14 seed, beat No. 3 Iowa, 64-63, thanks to a three-pointer with five-tenths of a second left. The finish was awesome, especially since Iowa quickly came down the floor and almost made a buzzer beater to thwart the upset bid.
↵Northwestern State went on to lose to West Virginia in the round of 32 teams, but Bradley provided another upset in that round by beating Pittsburgh, a No. 5 seed. Bradley upset No. 4 Kansas in the opening round, 77-73. The win over Pittsburgh was by six points.
↵Other cities that will host second and third round games in 2013 are Lexington, Salt Lake City, San Jose, Austin, Dayton, Kansas City and Philadelphia.