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:
With its win today, Kansas claims the most Round of 64 wins since 1985. pic.twitter.com/YB05pswvh9
— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) March 20, 2015
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.
No #MarchMadness upsets yet today. Michigan State moves past Georgia, 70-63.
— Mashable (@mashable) March 20, 2015
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.
Arkansas, Utah, Northern Iowa have won. West Virginia leads Buffalo 55-48, 7:57 left
Last time all four 5 seeds won in Round of 64: 2007
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 20, 2015
Buffalo has climbed all the way back. 62-62 w/ 2:24 left.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) March 20, 2015
The University at Buffalo — one of my schools — has a shot to win an NCAA Tournament game. This is what LSD must be like.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) March 20, 2015
And then, the dagger from the Mountaineers:
#5 West Virginia edges out #12 Buffalo in a close one, winning 68-62. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/NfSWJybHZJ
— Mashable (@mashable) March 20, 2015
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.
HIGHLIGHT: Late-game layup propelled the Shockers to victory http://t.co/YDyTGInvDu
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 20, 2015
The Hoosiers’ run came to an end, not with a bang, but with a grimace:
Tom Crean right now! pic.twitter.com/QD1mopPyGK
— Arizona Sports 98.7 (@AZSports) March 20, 2015
Tom Crean Is Dead Inside, Part II.
Poor Tom Crean pic.twitter.com/U9iIkFO3MJ
— Andrew Doughty (@Adoughty88) March 20, 2015
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:
HIGHLIGHT: Big and-one lifts the Cavaliers to victory http://t.co/ejdUObYHu3
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 20, 2015
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:
The “official” team photo for UC Irvine C Mamadou Ndiaye: pic.twitter.com/dp6EoNsnE5
— SportsNation (@SportsNation) March 20, 2015
And UC Irvine’s undeniable swagger:
UC Irvine is dancing and the Eaters aren't going down without a fight! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/TTqt2mNA7Z
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 20, 2015
And did we mention N’Diaye?
HE’S SO TALLLLLL
http://t.co/HqVxci5hzn
https://t.co/XC15QyIZEr
— SB Nation (@SBNation) March 20, 2015
This crowd has never loved anything as much as it loves every basket by 7-6 Mamadou Ndiaye.
— Kevin Pelton (@kpelton) March 20, 2015
The scrappy Anteaters (yes, that’s their mascot) stayed in it the whole time:
Louisville 53
UC Irvine 53
1:56 left
We strongly recommend you put on TBS. #MarchMadness
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 20, 2015
Quentin Snider, who was clutch all game, knocked down two free throws to fend off the amped ‘Eaters.
CARDS ESCAPE!
Quentin Snider knocks down two FTs with 8.9 seconds left to lift Louisville past UC Irvine, 57-55. pic.twitter.com/1X0KrjYMK7
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 20, 2015
The Louisville-UC Irvine game gave us our first one possession final of the day in the NCAA Tournament.
There were eight yesterday.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 20, 2015
(4) Maryland 65, (13) Valparaiso 62
The Terps survive.
I love Maryland Basketball to death. Which is good because they'll make my death come way sooner than it should.
— Jon (@JBSeligman) March 20, 2015
Big Maryland moment:
HIGHLIGHT: Terrapins extend their lead behind a big slam http://t.co/pDxX5Jpb3r
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 20, 2015
(8) Oregon 79, (9) Oklahoma State 73
Ah, the Highlighter Cup.
“As the higher seeded team you get to wear your home white jerseys, Oregon.” “Oh we don't own those, will neon do?”
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) March 20, 2015
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:
W/the #Oregon win, the @pac12 is 4-0 and now 8-2 in the “2nd round” of the 2014 & 2015 #NCAATournament's combined. #Pac12 #ArizonaWildcats
— Jared Cohen (@Jared_Sports360) March 21, 2015
(1) Duke 85, (16) Robert Morris 56
Water break.
(Which is what Jahil Okafor had to take when he was pulled for doing this:)
Coach K freaked out when Jahlil Okafor showboated and missed a dunk: http://t.co/QijdMWZ31W https://t.co/UgCv6pqmTW
— SB Nation (@SBNation) March 21, 2015
(7) Iowa 83, (10) Davidson 52
Water and snack break.
(3) Oklahoma 69, (14) Albany 60
Upset alert! (lol jk)
Oklahoma wins 69-60 over Albany. The great tease day in Columbus continues.
— Pete Thamel (@SIPeteThamel) March 21, 2015
Also, Lon knows how to dance.
Oklahoma's Lon Kruger is first coach to win an NCAA tournament game at five schools http://t.co/76u1pKupGf pic.twitter.com/QYVYEY0dRt
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 21, 2015
Could we be on our way to history?
The NCAA tournament has never had a first round day where the higher seed has won every game. We're looking at you Dayton!
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 21, 2015
(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:
Wisconsin star Frank Kaminsky got a tiny, incredibly adorable puppy last month: http://t.co/E7ac6hNx7s pic.twitter.com/B2cMv6QyD4
— SB Nation (@SBNation) March 21, 2015
Still no upsets.
(8) San Diego State 76, (9) St. John’s 64
This is all.
I'm sure this victory by the Aztecs over the Catholics makes up for the loss of Tenochtitlan.
— Old Hoss Radbourn (@OldHossRadbourn) March 21, 2015
Oh wait, this too:
HIGHLIGHT: Monster jam by the Aztecs! http://t.co/B2SdmIRKyR
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 21, 2015
Okay, and this:
This is the first time since 2002 that No. 8 seeds went 4-0 vs No. 9 seeds. #MarchMadness
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 21, 2015
(2) Gonzaga 86, (15) North Dakota State 76
Gonzaga had a Wiltjer, and so they found a way.
First, the poke-n-plunge:
HIGHLIGHT: Great defense leads to a breakaway slam for the Bulldogs! http://t.co/BTFjSjv59o
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 21, 2015
Then, the Bulldogs rallied behind Kyle Wiltjer’s 23 points, 8 rebounds to finish.
We sort of feel bad for NDSU after this, though:
Cinderella may not wear green & yellow this year. But a bunch of hard-nosed, tough-as-nails guys who won't quit do. And we love 'em.
— NDSU Basketball (@NDSUmbb) March 21, 2015
(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:
Ed Cooley gets a technical for throwing a chair in frustration https://t.co/bXkGMWUP0o
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 21, 2015
And here’s your final tally:
Corrected … Records by conference: ACC: 6-0. Pac-12: 4-0. Big Ten: 5-2. Big East: 4-2. SEC: 3-3. Big 12: 3-4. A-10: 2-2. MVC: 2-0.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) March 21, 2015
