There haven’t been any stunning buzzer-beaters – yet – but the first round of the men’s NCAA Tournament provided everything from some upsets to top seeds flexing their muscles en route to the second round.
We started off with 68 teams and the field shrunk to 32 by the end of Friday night. It was non-stop basketball in the past 48 hours, and there are plenty of notable points coming from the first-round results. On Friday, Duke’s star showed little trouble in his return, the Big Ten capped off to a fantastic start and things continued to get worse for the ACC.
Now that the opening round is complete we can look forward to the second round, but before that, here are the winners and losers from Friday’s first-round action:
Winners
Cooper Flagg
There was much worry about the health of Cooper Flagg in the NCAA Tournament. Even if Duke faced No. 16 Mount Saint Mary’s, the chance at a national championship hinged on the star freshman.
It took just less than two minutes for all worries to go away. Flagg absorbed contact for a bucket and the foul, looking like the same person who could win the national player of the year. He didn’t appear to have any problems in the 22 minutes he played as he caused havoc on both sides of the court near the rim. He finished with 14 points, a team-high seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
The competition will get tougher for Duke with Baylor up next in the second round, but Flagg’s NCAA Tournament debut should erase any doubt of him being limited and keep the Blue Devils a heavy title favorite.
Colorado State
Two weeks ago, Colorado State wasn’t even considered for the NCAA Tournament. Flash forward to Friday and the Rams are into the Round of 32 and their hot streak continues. A strong second half and a career-day from sophomore guard Kyan Evans propelled 12th-seeded Colorado State past No. 5 Memphis.
The momentum keeps rolling for Colorado State as its now won 11 in a row. The Rams needed every single one of them to make the Big Dance, and Colorado State has proven how a strong conference tournament can translate into March Madness success. It is now in the second round for the first time since 2013 and, with how good the offense has been, the Rams have a chance of making the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1969.
Big Ten’s perfect start
The Big Ten couldn’t have had a better start, as all eight of its teams have moved on to the second round. Michigan had to fend off a potential upset bid by UC San Diego, but better-seeded teams such as Purdue and Wisconsin didn’t have much trouble against double-digit seeded teams on Thursday. Plus, UCLA dominated Utah State in a 25-point victory.
Maryland kept the streak alive on Friday as it cruised to a victory against Grand Canyon. Illinois, Michigan State and Oregon all did the same with large victories. What’s even more impressive was it’s mostly been dominance. The average margin of victory for the Big Ten schools was 19.8, showcasing the strength it had. Could the Big Ten keep the streak going in round two?
Connecticut’s three-peat chances
The odds aren’t in its favor, but Connecticut still has a chance to be the second three-peat champion with a victory over a stingy Oklahoma team. The Sooners certainly put up a fight, but the Huskies had the clutch gene still on their side for the eight-point win.
It’s now 13 consecutive tournament wins for Dan Hurley, and this one may have been the most impressive given how weird this season has been at UConn. Oklahoma had all the makings of a team to end its season, but Hurley knows how get his team victories in March. After all, there is a reason he has the second-best winning percentage in the tournament behind John Wooden.
A big challenge awaits UConn on Sunday with Florida next, but the Huskies deserve credit for not folding.
The Pitino family
Another round of hoops is in store for the Pitino boys after New Mexico defeated Marquette. The Lobos and Golden Eagles were close throughout the night before a late 11-0 run gave New Mexico a 10-point lead that created enough space from Marquette.
Now both Rick and Richard Pitino will be coaching in the Round of 32 in the same tournament for the first time. What’s even more remarkable is Richard Pitino’s victory ended a long NCAA Tournament win drought for the Lobos. They lost their past four tournament games and hadn’t won since 2012. Both Pitino coaches have taken on jobs where March Madness success hadn’t happened in quite some time, and they both will play at least one more game this weekend.
Losers
Upsets
Where was the madness?
It’s been the tournament of favorites so far with only three upsets – teams seeded No. 11 or higher – in the first round. McNeese and Drake did it on Thursday and only Colorado State was able to do it on Friday. It’s the lowest amount of first-round upsets in the NCAA Tournament since 2007 when only two happened.
While it’s a testament to some of the best teams in the country proving themselves, it’s certainly taken away what many people watch the tournament for, especially when seven happened in last year’s opening round. There’s still a chance some upsets could happen in the second round and double-digit seeded teams go on Cinderella runs, but it’s not a good start for chaos.
Memphis
Penny Hardaway has brought relevance back to his alma mater, but it has yet to translate into March success. Despite solid performances from Dain Dainja and Colby Rogers, Memphis clearly missed Tyrese Hunter as the Tigers got cold in the second half and Colorado State raced past them to pull off the upset.
It’s fair to question Memphis’ ceiling now with Hardaway. Yes, the Tigers have won at least 20 games in his seven seasons in charge, but it’s amounted to only four NCAA Tournament appearances. Even worse, Hardaway is 1-3 in the tournament and it marks two consecutive one-and-done appearances. This loss may be the worst yet given the No. 5 seed was Memphis’ best spot since it was a No. 2 seed in 2009. The Tigers had their best chance at finally making the Sweet 16 again for the first time since 2009, but it ends in an early exit. Memphis might just be a true mid-major that can’t show out when the lights shine bright.
North Carolina adds to ACC’s rough showing
It followed the typical North Carolina script. Against Mississippi, the 11th-seeded Tar Heels fell way behind in the first half, made a furious comeback attempt to make it close in the final minutes, but they couldn’t do enough at the end for a narrow loss. North Carolina lost to the Rebels 71-64, nearly pulling off the second major upset of the day.
There was plenty of debate about North Carolina’s inclusion into the field, but its elimination from the tournament means three of the four ACC teams are done after two days. Duke is the lone remaining team and it very well could save the conference by winning the national championship, but it won’t erase the fact it’s been a season to forget in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
SEC’s mediocre first round
First off, the top heavyweights of the SEC remain national championship contenders. Auburn, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee all had little trouble in their first games and will be tough to beat.
But as for the rest of the conference, it wasn’t a first round to write home about. The SEC finished the first round 8-6, with the majority of losses happening to those teams that struggled a bit in conference play but did enough to get in the field. Texas lost in the First Four, Georgia and Missouri got handled on Thursday, and Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma all fell short on Friday. It’s not a bad record, but it certainly doesn’t help the argument the SEC deserved to get a record 14 teams in the field. Maybe there should have been less.
There’s still a very good chance the national champion is from the SEC, but Greg Sankey sure wishes more of his teams were in considering it now has the same amount as the Big Ten – which didn’t have any team lose.
Kevin Willard
It’s hard to advance in the NCAA Tournament and be in the loser category, but the situation with Maryland coach Kevin Willard is overshadowing a phenomenal season by the Terrapins. After beating Grand Canyon, it should have been a celebration of Maryland’s largest NCAA Tournament win in team history. Instead, Willard threw some shade at reporters regarding what he said a day earlier about his job and now former athletic director Damon Evans.
‘I’ve talked to these guys, they know what’s going on. I’ve been open with them, I’ve been honest with them, they know exactly what’s going on,’ he said. ‘Whatever I say you’re gonna write whatever you wanna say anyways. This is a waste of my time. We have a website that might as well be TMZ. So, I can’t do anything about it, I can’t do anything about Twitter, I can’t do anything about what’s going on.’
The Terrapins have the potential to go on a deep run this month, and the focus should be on trying to make the first Final Four since 2002. Instead, Willard seems busy trying to build a case to leave, perhaps to Villanova, once the season ends. Not a great look for a real good team.
(This story was updated with more information.)