March 19, 2015
Rick Wilson/AP
Georgia State's R.J. Hunter comes off the court after making a game winning shot against Baylor, as head coach Ron Hunter, back left, and Ryann Green (2) celebrate.
It didn't take very long for brackets around the country to begin crumbling on Thursday afternoon as March Madness officially* got underway with the start of second-round games.
NOT EVEN 3 HOURS IN AND YOUR BRACKET IS TOAST. pic.twitter.com/ngrN64SeEr
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 19, 2015
The first three matchups of the day all featured No. 3 seeded teams against 14-seeds, two of which saw the lower seed advance. It's the first time since 1995 that two No. 14s have advanced to the Round of 32. And we've only just begun.
The first big upset of the tournament came from the South Region, where the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Blazers stunned Big 12 tournament champions Iowa State, 60-59.
#BracketBusted! Only 5% of you had UAB over Iowa St. #UABvsISU pic.twitter.com/WLQs48235K
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 19, 2015
After that upset, according to ESPN, just a small percentage of fans with perfect brackets:
Only 3.4% of 11.5M brackets are perfect THROUGH TWO GAMES! #TheRoadToNoPerfectBrackets
— ESPN Fantasy Sports (@ESPNFantasy) March 19, 2015
So don't feel too bad if your bracket is in shambles by the time you get home from work on Thursday. Pretty much everyone is in the same boat.
And if you missed any of the action while you were busy putting cover sheets on your TPS reports, here's a recap of what happened in the tournament's early goings:
Iowa State was a trendy pick to make a run in the tournament this year. Unfortunately for people who, like me, picked them to advance to the Final Four, they became the first of two three-seeds to be eliminated on Thursday. But who cares? Your bracket wasn't going to be perfect anyway.
For Iowa State, it was familiar territory:
Not the first time Iowa St has been shocked in March. In 2001, the 2-seed Cyclones lost to 15-seed Hampton. #tbt pic.twitter.com/Rhq39NoW08
— CBS Sports CBB (@CBSSportsCBB) March 19, 2015
For UAB, it was huge win that featured a clutch finish. First, there was this three from Robert Brown to give the Blazers a 56-55 lead with just under a minute to play:
On the ensuing possession, Iowa State got a quick bucket from Monte Morris to put them back up by one. But UAB was not about to go quietly. William Lee hit this game-winner with 23 seconds left to play:
But that was just the prelude to what followed...
It's hard to pick what the bigger upset was on Thursday: UAB-Iowa St. or Georgia St.-Baylor. Both were great games. Both featured several OK-now-this-game-is-over moments. Both featured clutch, game-winning shots.
But the storylines in this one. Oh, the storylines!
First, there's coach Ron Hunter, who tore his Achilles' tendon while celebrating the team's conference title win and automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Therefore, he was coaching from a rolling office chair.
With his torn Achilles, Georgia State’s Ron Hunter is coaching from a rolling office chair: http://t.co/uuzEvtPqa1 pic.twitter.com/FhSOELkdGU
— SB Nation (@SBNation) March 19, 2015
Then there's Kevin Ware. Remember him? I don't blame you if you've tried to wipe the memory of him breaking his leg on national television from your memory. He was on Louisville's 2013 National Championship team, but his tourney was cut short when he was injured in the team's Elite Eight win over Duke. Ware has since transferred to Georgia State, where he averages 7.7 points in 28.4 minutes per game.
Also, one of their best players was out:
Ryan Harrow is not playing for Georgia State vs Baylor. Harrow team ranks this season: 2nd in PPG, 1st in APG, 2nd in 3-pt FG.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 19, 2015
And did I mention their leading scorer, R.J. Hunter, is the coach's son?
Well all that came together on Thursday in a scene that almost perfectly described why this time of year can be so fun.
Ware got a bit of redemption, winning an NCAA Tournament game on his new team. Hunter, who scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the second half, hit the game winning three, and sending his injured father to the floor in excitement.
And here's a closeup of Hunter hitting the deck:
After the game, he was fired up to say the least:
He even had a message for his doubters, specifically President Barack Obama:
They'll face the winner of Xavier-Ole Miss on Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla.
Larry Brown's SMU team lost to UCLA, 60-59, on a call that will be broken down, analyzed, scrutinized and likely criticized. I think the call was just fine, but take a look for yourself:
It was, however, the first time I've seen a game end like that. To say that UCLA didn't have much of a chance to complete the comeback would be a bit of an understatement:
Glitch in the matrix RT @numberFire: More complete and utter insanity: SMU 98.37% with 1:25 left. Ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/Tg3OPLExB9
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) March 19, 2015
There was a lot of talk heading into the tournament that UCLA -- a bubble team at best -- didn't belong in the field. Now, they'll have a chance at getting to the Sweet 16 when they face No. 14 UAB on Saturday.
Like Georgia State, UCLA featured a father-son connection. And it even carried into the final, controversial shot, which was hit by Bryce Alford, son of Bruins coach Steve Alford.
Alford led all scorers with 27 points (9-11 from three), including the controversial game-winner.
"Ew, you can't pick Ohio State."
That's what I was told. Then I showed her D'Angelo Russell highlights.
As expected, the Buckeyes freshman put on a show in Portland, leading his team with 28 points in 75-72 overtime win over Shaka Smart's VCU Rams. Even when he was missing his shots, Russell was doing so in style:
Even though he missed the shot, this move from D’Angelo Russell is nasty #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/7K2qatPtun
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 19, 2015
Late in the game, Russell took an elbow to the face that cut him just above the eye.
It left him looking like this:
Don't know about shedding tears, but D'Angelo Russell got the sweat and blood part down: http://t.co/DSWhnclc74 pic.twitter.com/iZ0oIFMVRL
— LostLettermen.com (@LostLettermen) March 19, 2015
At first, I thought we were going to be deprived of watching him try to win this game for his team. The was tied 58-58 with 4:46 remaining. By the time they got the bleeding to stop and patched him up -- assuming he was healthy enough -- I figured the game would be all but over.
But then Ohio State called a time out. And the referees went to the monitor. Not only did they waste enough time for Russell to heal up, but they called a flagrant foul on VCU's Doug Brooks and he was back in time to shoot the free throws.
As it turns out, the didn't need much from Russell down the stretch, as he was held scoreless over the last 4:45 of regulation. He would score four of his team's nine points in overtime, however, to help the Buckeyes earn a date with Arizona in the third round.
And now for the few games that didn't feature an upset:
In the first game of the day, Mike Brey's Fighting Irish got all they could handle from Northeastern as they hung on for a 69-65 win over the Huskies.
Perhaps the highlight of the game came from sophomore guard Demetrius Jackson, who had nine points, four rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and eight assists, including this gem:
Look at the score in that highlight. Notre Dame goes up by 11 points on that bucket with six and a half minutes left. Northeastern would claw back, cutting the lead to 67-65 with under a minute remaining.
In fact, the Huskies had a chance to tie or win the game on a final possession, but failed to get a shot off, despite Notre Dame's aggressive defense allowing someone to get THIS wide open:
PASS IT TO THAT GUY DAMMIT pic.twitter.com/jMDEGLJ5Vj
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) March 19, 2015
After the game, Brey was relieved his team survived, unlike Iowa State and Baylor:
Notre Dame coach Mike Brey on the UAB-Iowa St. upset: "They took the bullet, not us."
— Dan Gelston (@APgelston) March 19, 2015
Zach Auguste was stellar for the Irish, scoring 25 points in 27 minutes on 10-for-14 shooting. He also committed just one turnover.
Notre Dame will face Butler or Saturday in Pittsburgh.
Butler's Kellen Dunham, who led all players with 20 points, hit a three with 1:20 left in the game to pretty much seal the 56-48 victory for the Bulldogs.
Dunham buries the 3 for Butler out of HORNS https://t.co/VMICuCpTcH
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) March 19, 2015
Butler lead most of the way, but got a scare when Roosevelt Jones left with a knee injury. It looked serious but wasn't, and Jones was able to return and help his team down the stretch. They'll face Notre Dame on Saturday.
Texas was getting a lot of love as a potential upset, but they joined Baylor and Iowa State as Big 12 teams that couldn't make it past their first game.
Perhaps I wasn't giving the Big East enough* credit. I incorrectly picked both Butler and Xavier to lose in the first round.
*I was certainly giving too much to the Big 12.
Xavier, who had an easier time than fellow No. 6 Butler, cruised past Ole Miss, 76-57, in Jacksonville. Ole Miss beat BYU on Tuesday in the First Four.
Center Matt Stainbrook of the Musketeers led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting. They'll take on Georgia State on Saturday with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.
Hey, a game that actually went the way it was supposed to go. Arizona lead the whole way, cruising to a 93-72 win.
They'll face the winner of Ohio State and VCU.
• No. 7 VCU vs. No. 10 Ohio State
After that, Rich Hofmann will have you covered for the night games, which start at 6:50 p.m. as Villanova faces Lafayette.
Get live updates and analysis from full slate of 16 NCAA Tournament games on Thursday. For an updated bracket, click here.
