The NCAA tournament's first round, which featured a record 10 double-digit seeds pulling off upsets, is concluded and now the round of 32 begins. But first let's take a look back on the most memorable moments from Thursday and Friday that will be etched in our brains all weekend.
1. No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee slays 'Goliath'
The Blue Raiders put on the 2016 NCAA tournament's proverbial glass slipper by stunning No. 2 seed Michigan State on Friday in the first round. The Cinderella became just the eighth No. 15 seed to upset a No. 2 and now meets Syracuse in the second round with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. They'll look to make more history and replicate (or one-up) 2013's storybook finish from Florida Gulf Coast, the only No. 15 to reach the Sweet 16.
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“If you believe in Vegas odds, they were the second favorite to win it all,” Middle Tennessee athletics director Chris Massaro said. “That's a team that wins in March. That’s the biggest win we’ve ever had. We took down Goliath.”
"I've had some tough losses in my career, but I don't think there's been one tougher than this one," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said after the game.
2. Northern Iowa at the buzzer
As if March Madness wasn't already in full throttle, Northern Iowa's Paul Jesperson put the exclamation mark on a bracket-busting two days with his halfcourt game-winner on Friday night in a 75-72 upset of Texas.
"It felt good when it left my hands," Jesperson said in a postgame interview. "I'm just thankful we get to live another day."
Texas guard Isaiah Taylor had tied the game with a six-foot jumper with 2.7 seconds left. Instead of overtime, Jesperson took a long pass near midcourt, dribbled toward the center circle and then unleashed the winner.
"I thought we were gonna be in overtime," UNI coach Ben Jacobson said in a postgame interview. "I was in-between on taking a timeout or not. I'm glad they found Paul."
3. Josh Hagins and Little Rock take down Purdue
Little Rock senior guard Josh Hagins sank clutch shot after clutch shot to lead the No. 12 seed Trojans to an 85-83 double-overtime win against No. 5 Purdue on Thursday. “I wasn’t ready to quit. If we were going to go out, we were going to go out swinging. I made shots and missed them, but I wasn’t going to sit there and watch us lose,” said Hagins, who finished with a record 31 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. Little Rock coach Chris Bears masterfully changed the game plan to help spark a monstrous comeback when the Trojans seemed down and out.
4. Stephen F. Austin stuns West Virginia
Lumberjacks guard Thomas Walkup scored 25 of his 33 points in the second half — 19 from the free-throw line — to lead Stephen F. Austin to a shocking 70-56 victory against No. 3 West Virginia. The 14th-seeded Lumberjacks beat the heavily-favored Mountaineers at their own game in forcing 22 turnovers, and capitalizing, to notch their second major NCAA tournament upset in three years; they also beat VCU in 2014.
5. Yale upsets Baylor
Yale sophomore guard Makai Mason engineered a huge 79-75 upset against Baylor with a career-high 31 points, including 11-for-11 from the charity stripe. “I thought Mason really controlled the game,” said Baylor coach Scott Drew. Coach James Jones' Bulldogs were in their first NCAA tournament since 1962 but looked like the dominant team against their Big 12 foe, out-rebounding the Bears 28-18.
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