GENERAL NEWS

Getting to 32: The best of March Madness continues

Mar 21, 2015, 5:17 AM | Updated: 5:18 am

March Madness has officially arrived, and with it comes the inevitable fluttering ashes of brackets long destroyed.

You may not make it past the second round without your picks imploding, but with or without you, the coolest moments in college basketball just keep coming.

Take a pause from your losing bracket bonfire to stay updated on the best — and worst — of this year’s NCAA Tournament.

See what happened on the first day of the Round of 64.

March 20, Round of 64

(2) Kansas 75, (15) New Mexico State 56

What happened was, the Aggies blinked and Kansas did this:

The Big 12 used its Rock Chalk lifeline to finally get on the board.

(7) Michigan State 70, (10) Georgia 63

Remember upsets? Those were fun. Sigh.

Good thing the Sparty Party didn’t do this:

(5) Northern Iowa 71, (12) Wyoming 54

SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING COOL.

(5) West Virginia 68, (12) Buffalo 62

For the first time since 2007, a 12-seed didn’t upset a 5-seed in the tournament.

But boy, Buffalo sure tried.

And then, the dagger from the Mountaineers:

It has to be said: Bye, son.

(7) Wichita State 81, (10) Indiana 76

Fred Van Vleet put up 27 points to help the Shockers knock Indiana out-diana of the tournament.

Indiana needed a stop. Indiana did not get a stop.

The Hoosiers’ run came to an end, not with a bang, but with a grimace:

Tom Crean Is Dead Inside, Part II.

Wichita State will face Kansas for the first time since 1993.

(2) Virginia 79, (15) Belmont, 67

Belmont hoped to Bruin Virginia’s shot at the title, and were down by just three with three minutes to play, thanks to Craig Bradshaw’s magical banked 3-pointer — that he’d like you to know he totally called.

Still, the Cavalier’s 45.6 percent shooting would’ve been a tall order to beat — and then this happened:

Virginia is unimpressed by yesterday’s upsets.

(4) Louisville 57, (13) UC Irvine 55

Yeah, Louisville won, blah, blah, blah…

This game was all about Mamadou N’Diaye:

And UC Irvine’s undeniable swagger:

And did we mention N’Diaye?

The scrappy Anteaters (yes, that’s their mascot) stayed in it the whole time:

Quentin Snider, who was clutch all game, knocked down two free throws to fend off the amped ‘Eaters.

(4) Maryland 65, (13) Valparaiso 62

The Terps survive.

Big Maryland moment:

(8) Oregon 79, (9) Oklahoma State 73

Ah, the Highlighter Cup.

Neon. Neon everywhere.

Like on this posterizing Joseph Young dunk:

Led by the Pac-12 Player of the Year, Oregon shot 50 percent in the first half to knock out Oklahoma State for the second time in three years.

Pretty great start for the Pac-12, too:

(1) Duke 85, (16) Robert Morris 56

Water break.

(Which is what Jahil Okafor had to take when he was pulled for doing this:)

(7) Iowa 83, (10) Davidson 52

Water and snack break.

(3) Oklahoma 69, (14) Albany 60

Upset alert! (lol jk)

Also, Lon knows how to dance.

Could we be on our way to history?

(1) Wisconsin 86, (16) Coastal Carolina 72

*yawns, stretches*

Nobody had this one in their brackets, nobody at all.

Frank the Tank had 27 points, and we’re sure his adorable puppy is so proud:

Still no upsets.

(8) San Diego State 76, (9) St. John’s 64

This is all.

Oh wait, this too:

Okay, and this:

(2) Gonzaga 86, (15) North Dakota State 76

Gonzaga had a Wiltjer, and so they found a way.

First, the poke-n-plunge:

Then, the Bulldogs rallied behind Kyle Wiltjer’s 23 points, 8 rebounds to finish.

We sort of feel bad for NDSU after this, though:

(11) Dayton 66, (6) Providence 53

FINALLY! AN UPSET!

Dayton caused a stir for the second year in a row, this time advancing and preventing all higher seeds going 16-0 on the day.

This little refereeing snafu may well have been the story of the game:

And here’s your final tally:

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