Not too many major surprises took place yesterday, but a few historical trends held form as it related to upsets.
For the sixth straight season, at least one First Four team moved on to the Round of 32. Wichita State defeated Arizona 65-55, but the Shockers dominated this game from the get-go. Only a late rally by Arizona made this game respectable; Wichita led by as many as 24 points in this contest. Their next opponent will be the Miami Hurricanes.
The 5-12 line was deadly again to bracket pools and teams this year. While Indiana had a surprisingly easy time with Chattanooga last night, Yale was not only able to beat Baylor, they were even able to beat the Bears on the glass as well. The Bulldogs will play Duke in the 2nd round. The bigger surprise here was Arkansas-Little Rock pulling off the upset against Purdue; they were down 13 against Purdue with just over 4 minutes to play in the game. However, the Trojans were able to reel off an 18-5 run to close out regulation. It took them 2 overtimes, but they move on to play Iowa State in the 2nd round in Denver.
Historically, the 9 seeds have a winning record against 8 seeds, but as our colleague Scott Schwartz of the Buffet noted, the March Madness Live app kept sending “Upset Alert” notifications for some reason. Colorado looked like they were in firm control against UConn in the first half of their game, but the Huskies kicked into high gear in the 2nd half and ended up defeating Colorado 74-67. Likewise, Butler was able to defeat Texas Tech 71-61 after trailing for a good part of the 1st half in their game.
Perhaps the best finish of the night came between USC and Providence – despite missing opportunity after opportunity to take the lead against the Trojans late in their game, the Friars’ Rodney Bullock finally capitalized with a wide-open layup off an inbounds play with 1.5 seconds remaining to give Providence their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1997 (the year they also advanced to the Elite 8).
It was a mixed bag for the Big East overall – the good news was that they finally got a couple of “upset” seed line wins thanks to Butler and Providence winning yesterday. However, Seton Hall looked flustered the entire game against Gonzaga. But the most disappointing conference was the Pac-12; USC, Colorado and Arizona all lost their openers (although Utah did beat Fresno State in Round 1). It was also a mixed bag for the Big 12 – Kansas and Iowa State both won their openers, but Texas Tech and Baylor lost.
On the other hand, the ACC had a nice day thanks to Duke’s survival against UNC-Wilmington and a trio of easy wins by Miami, Virginia and North Carolina. They will go for a perfect 7-for-7 when Notre Dame, Syracuse and Pittsburgh take the floor later on today.
(10) SYRACUSE vs. (7) DAYTON (12:15 PM, CBS) – This is a rematch from a Round of 32 game that took place in Buffalo 2 years ago; Dayton had pulled the upset and would eventually advance to the Elite 8. Syracuse will be looking for revenge against a Dayton team that won a share of the Atlantic 10 regular-season crown and the top seed in its conference tournament before losing to eventual A-10 tournament champion Saint Joseph’s.
(15) UNC-ASHEVILLE vs. (2) VILLANOVA (12:40 PM, TruTV) – The NCAA Tournament makes it debut at the Barclays Center with this appetizer of a 1st-round matchup. The Bulldogs earned their golden ticket with a win over Winthrop in the Big South championship, but are likely to be outmatched against a Villanova team playing about 100 miles away from its home base of Philadelphia.
(10) VCU vs. (7) OREGON STATE (1:30 PM, TNT) – For the first time in 26 seasons, the Oregon State Beavers will be in the NCAA Tournament after a solid nonconference schedule and a .500 season in the Pac-12. VCU did not get as many signature wins this season as they’ve gotten in years past under the Shaka Smart regime, but they are the far more experienced postseason team in this early matchup in Oklahoma City.
(13) HAWAI’I vs. (4) CALIFORNIA (2:00 PM, TBS) – I hope our readers in Hawai’i gave themselves an early wake-up call for this game; the game tips off at 8:00 AM Hawaii time. This is their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2002; their reward will be playing a California team that may arguably be the most talented team in the Pac-12 (albeit a young team as well). There is an added sense of urgency for the Rainbow Warriors since they will not be eligible to return to the NCAA Tournament next season.
(15) MIDDLE TENNESSEE ST. vs. (2) MICHIGAN STATE (2:45 PM, CBS) – The Blue Raiders had a quietly solid season out of Conference USA, but thanks to their C-USA title, their road to the NCAA Tournament didn’t involve a detour passing through Dayton this year. They will have their hands full against a Michigan State team that is one of the more trendy picks to win the national title this season.
(10) TEMPLE vs. (7) IOWA (3:10 PM, TruTV) – Given how both teams finished their seasons, you probably have a feeling that these seeds should be reversed for the Hawkeyes and the Owls. Iowa began the year looking like a #1 seed contender after a red-hot start to the Big 10 season, but the 2nd half of their schedule was marred by losses at Penn State and Ohio State. Temple won the outright regular-season title in the American, and this year they were not left standing at the altar on Selection Sunday. Most of the nation will be cheering for the Owls for a potential 2nd-round matchup between Villanova and Temple for the right to advance to the Sweet 16 in Philadelphia, err, Louisville.
(15) CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD vs. (2) OKLAHOMA (4:00 PM, TNT) – Lots of hometown fans in Oklahoma City will be clocking out early today to see the hometown Sooners take on a Roadrunners team that is making their NCAA Tournament debut. Bakersfield was able to take down WAC kingpin New Mexico State in the championship game on Saturday night with a game-winning shot with under a second remaining in regulation. They have a very tall order today against the Sooners, though.
(12) SOUTH DAKOTA STATE vs. (5) MARYLAND (4:30 PM, TBS) – Our colleague Jon Teitel warned us yesterday against picking Maryland to lose in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament, although it is worth noting that one of their losses was in a 5-12 game against an underseeded College of Charleston team back in 1997. South Dakota State had beaten a couple of Power 5 minnows in Minnesota and TCU earlier in the season; beating Maryland will be a tougher chore. On the flip side, the highest seeded team that Maryland beat away from home this season? The 7th-seeded Wisconsin Badgers. Segue to…
(10) PITTSBURGH vs. (7) WISCONSIN (6:50 PM, TNT) – This is probably one out of 3 feature games in the 1st round that has been deemed worthy of primetime. Pitt has shown flashes of potential with wins at Notre Dame, at home against Duke and a 3-game sweep of Syracuse. However, Wisconsin did play their best basketball in late January and February that included wins against Michigan State, Indiana and at Maryland. March has not been as kind – they lost their regular-season finale at Purdue and had a surprising loss to Nebraska in the Big 10 tournament.
(14) STEPHEN F. AUSTIN vs. (3) WEST VIRGINIA (7:10 PM, CBS) – Another trendy upset pick comes in the form of SFA – their coach Brad Underwood was also a former assistant coach for current Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins. Will West Virginia pay the price for playing an SFA team that may well be underseeded?
(14) WISCONSIN-GREEN BAY vs. (3) TEXAS A&M (7:20 PM, TBS) -The Phoenix finally made their long-awaited return to the NCAA Tournament after a pair of near-misses in the Horizon for the past 2 seasons under former head coach Brian Wardle. Their reward is a game with a Texas A&M team that not only won a share of the SEC regular-season title, but also had some noteworthy wins against Kentucky, Iowa State and Baylor.
(16) HOLY CROSS vs. (1) OREGON (7:27 PM, TruTV) – With 4 straight road wins in the Patriot League Championship and a win against Southern in the First Four in Dayton, the Crusaders earned a spot in the Field of 64. Their reward is a cross-country flight and a game against an Oregon team that swept the Pac-12 regular season and tournament championships for the first time in its program history. And this was the deepest top-to-bottom conference that the Pac-12 has had.
(15) WEBER STATE vs. (2) XAVIER (9:20 PM, TNT) – Weber State has a history of pulling off 1st-round upsets (ask North Carolina in 1999 and Michigan State in 1995), so the Musketeers best not take the Wildcats lightly in this game. However, Weber State hasn’t played a program anywhere close to the caliber of Xavier all season long; the toughest team they’ve played is South Dakota State (which was actually a home-and-home that both teams split during the regular season).
(11) MICHIGAN vs. (6) NOTRE DAME (9:40 PM, CBS) – This is the spotlight game of the day, at least from a brand-name perspective. Michigan limped their way through the 2nd half of their season, but thanks to wins over Indiana in the Big 10 tournament and a win against Tulsa in the First Four, the Wolverines get to face a Notre Dame team that will look to match or exceed their run to the Elite 8 last season.
(11) NORTHERN IOWA vs. (6) TEXAS (9:50 PM, TBS) – While our staff at HoopsHD did not expect Northern Iowa to make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament this season, the Panthers had other ideas during the season. They already had a pair of signature wins against North Carolina and Iowa State in the noncon, and the game-winner by Wes Washpun to win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament was icing on the cake. Texas has also shown the ability to knock off protected seed caliber teams this season, home and away.
(9) CINCINNATI vs. (8) SAINT JOSEPH’S (9:57 PM, TruTV) – In years past, it would have been unimaginable to have both Cincinnati and Xavier games running simultaneously in the 1st round, but is now much more doable in the CBS/Turner era. The Hawks have the star power in this game in DeAndre Bembry and Isaiah Miles, but the Bearcats bring a very stingy defense to the table. How will UC respond after the mother of all heartbreaks against UConn last week?
NCAA Tournament First Round Rundown: Friday, March 18
Not too many major surprises took place yesterday, but a few historical trends held form as it related to upsets.
For the sixth straight season, at least one First Four team moved on to the Round of 32. Wichita State defeated Arizona 65-55, but the Shockers dominated this game from the get-go. Only a late rally by Arizona made this game respectable; Wichita led by as many as 24 points in this contest. Their next opponent will be the Miami Hurricanes.
The 5-12 line was deadly again to bracket pools and teams this year. While Indiana had a surprisingly easy time with Chattanooga last night, Yale was not only able to beat Baylor, they were even able to beat the Bears on the glass as well. The Bulldogs will play Duke in the 2nd round. The bigger surprise here was Arkansas-Little Rock pulling off the upset against Purdue; they were down 13 against Purdue with just over 4 minutes to play in the game. However, the Trojans were able to reel off an 18-5 run to close out regulation. It took them 2 overtimes, but they move on to play Iowa State in the 2nd round in Denver.
Historically, the 9 seeds have a winning record against 8 seeds, but as our colleague Scott Schwartz of the Buffet noted, the March Madness Live app kept sending “Upset Alert” notifications for some reason. Colorado looked like they were in firm control against UConn in the first half of their game, but the Huskies kicked into high gear in the 2nd half and ended up defeating Colorado 74-67. Likewise, Butler was able to defeat Texas Tech 71-61 after trailing for a good part of the 1st half in their game.
Perhaps the best finish of the night came between USC and Providence – despite missing opportunity after opportunity to take the lead against the Trojans late in their game, the Friars’ Rodney Bullock finally capitalized with a wide-open layup off an inbounds play with 1.5 seconds remaining to give Providence their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1997 (the year they also advanced to the Elite 8).
It was a mixed bag for the Big East overall – the good news was that they finally got a couple of “upset” seed line wins thanks to Butler and Providence winning yesterday. However, Seton Hall looked flustered the entire game against Gonzaga. But the most disappointing conference was the Pac-12; USC, Colorado and Arizona all lost their openers (although Utah did beat Fresno State in Round 1). It was also a mixed bag for the Big 12 – Kansas and Iowa State both won their openers, but Texas Tech and Baylor lost.
On the other hand, the ACC had a nice day thanks to Duke’s survival against UNC-Wilmington and a trio of easy wins by Miami, Virginia and North Carolina. They will go for a perfect 7-for-7 when Notre Dame, Syracuse and Pittsburgh take the floor later on today.
(10) SYRACUSE vs. (7) DAYTON (12:15 PM, CBS) – This is a rematch from a Round of 32 game that took place in Buffalo 2 years ago; Dayton had pulled the upset and would eventually advance to the Elite 8. Syracuse will be looking for revenge against a Dayton team that won a share of the Atlantic 10 regular-season crown and the top seed in its conference tournament before losing to eventual A-10 tournament champion Saint Joseph’s.
(15) UNC-ASHEVILLE vs. (2) VILLANOVA (12:40 PM, TruTV) – The NCAA Tournament makes it debut at the Barclays Center with this appetizer of a 1st-round matchup. The Bulldogs earned their golden ticket with a win over Winthrop in the Big South championship, but are likely to be outmatched against a Villanova team playing about 100 miles away from its home base of Philadelphia.
(10) VCU vs. (7) OREGON STATE (1:30 PM, TNT) – For the first time in 26 seasons, the Oregon State Beavers will be in the NCAA Tournament after a solid nonconference schedule and a .500 season in the Pac-12. VCU did not get as many signature wins this season as they’ve gotten in years past under the Shaka Smart regime, but they are the far more experienced postseason team in this early matchup in Oklahoma City.
(13) HAWAI’I vs. (4) CALIFORNIA (2:00 PM, TBS) – I hope our readers in Hawai’i gave themselves an early wake-up call for this game; the game tips off at 8:00 AM Hawaii time. This is their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2002; their reward will be playing a California team that may arguably be the most talented team in the Pac-12 (albeit a young team as well). There is an added sense of urgency for the Rainbow Warriors since they will not be eligible to return to the NCAA Tournament next season.
(15) MIDDLE TENNESSEE ST. vs. (2) MICHIGAN STATE (2:45 PM, CBS) – The Blue Raiders had a quietly solid season out of Conference USA, but thanks to their C-USA title, their road to the NCAA Tournament didn’t involve a detour passing through Dayton this year. They will have their hands full against a Michigan State team that is one of the more trendy picks to win the national title this season.
(10) TEMPLE vs. (7) IOWA (3:10 PM, TruTV) – Given how both teams finished their seasons, you probably have a feeling that these seeds should be reversed for the Hawkeyes and the Owls. Iowa began the year looking like a #1 seed contender after a red-hot start to the Big 10 season, but the 2nd half of their schedule was marred by losses at Penn State and Ohio State. Temple won the outright regular-season title in the American, and this year they were not left standing at the altar on Selection Sunday. Most of the nation will be cheering for the Owls for a potential 2nd-round matchup between Villanova and Temple for the right to advance to the Sweet 16 in
Philadelphia, err, Louisville.(15) CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD vs. (2) OKLAHOMA (4:00 PM, TNT) – Lots of hometown fans in Oklahoma City will be clocking out early today to see the hometown Sooners take on a Roadrunners team that is making their NCAA Tournament debut. Bakersfield was able to take down WAC kingpin New Mexico State in the championship game on Saturday night with a game-winning shot with under a second remaining in regulation. They have a very tall order today against the Sooners, though.
(12) SOUTH DAKOTA STATE vs. (5) MARYLAND (4:30 PM, TBS) – Our colleague Jon Teitel warned us yesterday against picking Maryland to lose in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament, although it is worth noting that one of their losses was in a 5-12 game against an underseeded College of Charleston team back in 1997. South Dakota State had beaten a couple of Power 5 minnows in Minnesota and TCU earlier in the season; beating Maryland will be a tougher chore. On the flip side, the highest seeded team that Maryland beat away from home this season? The 7th-seeded Wisconsin Badgers. Segue to…
(10) PITTSBURGH vs. (7) WISCONSIN (6:50 PM, TNT) – This is probably one out of 3 feature games in the 1st round that has been deemed worthy of primetime. Pitt has shown flashes of potential with wins at Notre Dame, at home against Duke and a 3-game sweep of Syracuse. However, Wisconsin did play their best basketball in late January and February that included wins against Michigan State, Indiana and at Maryland. March has not been as kind – they lost their regular-season finale at Purdue and had a surprising loss to Nebraska in the Big 10 tournament.
(14) STEPHEN F. AUSTIN vs. (3) WEST VIRGINIA (7:10 PM, CBS) – Another trendy upset pick comes in the form of SFA – their coach Brad Underwood was also a former assistant coach for current Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins. Will West Virginia pay the price for playing an SFA team that may well be underseeded?
(14) WISCONSIN-GREEN BAY vs. (3) TEXAS A&M (7:20 PM, TBS) -The Phoenix finally made their long-awaited return to the NCAA Tournament after a pair of near-misses in the Horizon for the past 2 seasons under former head coach Brian Wardle. Their reward is a game with a Texas A&M team that not only won a share of the SEC regular-season title, but also had some noteworthy wins against Kentucky, Iowa State and Baylor.
(16) HOLY CROSS vs. (1) OREGON (7:27 PM, TruTV) – With 4 straight road wins in the Patriot League Championship and a win against Southern in the First Four in Dayton, the Crusaders earned a spot in the Field of 64. Their reward is a cross-country flight and a game against an Oregon team that swept the Pac-12 regular season and tournament championships for the first time in its program history. And this was the deepest top-to-bottom conference that the Pac-12 has had.
(15) WEBER STATE vs. (2) XAVIER (9:20 PM, TNT) – Weber State has a history of pulling off 1st-round upsets (ask North Carolina in 1999 and Michigan State in 1995), so the Musketeers best not take the Wildcats lightly in this game. However, Weber State hasn’t played a program anywhere close to the caliber of Xavier all season long; the toughest team they’ve played is South Dakota State (which was actually a home-and-home that both teams split during the regular season).
(11) MICHIGAN vs. (6) NOTRE DAME (9:40 PM, CBS) – This is the spotlight game of the day, at least from a brand-name perspective. Michigan limped their way through the 2nd half of their season, but thanks to wins over Indiana in the Big 10 tournament and a win against Tulsa in the First Four, the Wolverines get to face a Notre Dame team that will look to match or exceed their run to the Elite 8 last season.
(11) NORTHERN IOWA vs. (6) TEXAS (9:50 PM, TBS) – While our staff at HoopsHD did not expect Northern Iowa to make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament this season, the Panthers had other ideas during the season. They already had a pair of signature wins against North Carolina and Iowa State in the noncon, and the game-winner by Wes Washpun to win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament was icing on the cake. Texas has also shown the ability to knock off protected seed caliber teams this season, home and away.
(9) CINCINNATI vs. (8) SAINT JOSEPH’S (9:57 PM, TruTV) – In years past, it would have been unimaginable to have both Cincinnati and Xavier games running simultaneously in the 1st round, but is now much more doable in the CBS/Turner era. The Hawks have the star power in this game in DeAndre Bembry and Isaiah Miles, but the Bearcats bring a very stingy defense to the table. How will UC respond after the mother of all heartbreaks against UConn last week?