Richard Clement / Reuters

Marquette's Dwight Burke tries to grab the ball in front of Missouri's Kim English. English hit two key free throws in the final seconds of the Tigers' win on Sunday.

Nearly lost in the commotion was the return of Marquette’s Dominic James, who made an unexpected comeback less than a month after a broken foot was supposed to have shut down his season. Largely considered Marquette’s best player, he got plenty of playing time but didn’t make a difference.

He played 17 minutes but didn’t take a shot and wasn’t on the floor at the end.

“Above all else, I wanted him to finish his career in a uniform,” Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. “Regardless of the result, I wanted him to have closure in regards to his basketball career at Marquette.”

Not a great way to end it, though, and the game must have brought flashbacks for Marquette, which trailed by 17 to Villanova in the second round of the Big East tournament, came all the way back but ended up losing by one.

As for Missouri — well, it must be good to know it has another reliable player to depend on now that it’s one of the final 16.

“We knew that he was one of the best shooters on the floor,” James said. “Obviously, we didn’t want to give him any looks. But he got it going early. It gave him a little more confidence.”

This one figures to sit hard back in Milwaukee for a while.

Slideshow   The Madness continues Highlights from the NCAA tournament's second round, including Syracuse's game against Arizona State. more photos

There was also some confusion at the end, when the refs had to go to the replay to see if the clock had run out when the ball went out after Marquette’s final desperation heave.

Tiller’s quick return to the game also brought boos, though that was within the rules.

“I don’t know,” Matthews said when asked about the crazy finish. “I don’t think I had any thoughts. I was just kind of replaying in my head, I guess, how we got to that point.”

A horror show for him.

Something much different for Missouri’s new star.

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