A pair of lower-seeded teams made their Cinderella bids, and another two nearly knocked off college basketball Goliaths on Thursday in the NCAA tournament.
VCU, the No. 11 seed in the South Region, stunned No. 6 seed North Carolina 82–78 in overtime at Greenville, South Carolina. Terrence Hill Jr. buried a late three-pointer, and the Tar Heels missed free throws down the stretch. It marked the second consecutive first-round exit for the storied program from Chapel Hill.
“Yeah, that’s a big thinking question, and I apologize, I’m just not there right now,” UNC head coach Hubert Davis told reporters afterward. “Just really sad that we’re not continuing to play and to move forward because I have loved and enjoyed this team. I enjoy and love all of them, but I’ve just really enjoyed coaching this team.
“I really wanted this group and these kids to experience more. But other than that, it’s I’m just thinking about these guys and the rest of the guys that are in the locker room.”
VCU boasts its own college basketball lore, highlighted by a 2011 Final Four appearance. This year’s Rams team slipped into the Big Dance by winning the Atlantic 10 conference tournament, and head coach Phil Marelli Jr. acknowledged the tradition this squad is carrying.
“This is a storied program. I’m very fortunate to be here. There are a lot of players and coaches who came before us. As my dad would say, we aren’t the greatest, we’re just the latest,” Martelli told reporters.
High Point, the No. 12 seed in the West Region, became the other latest bracket buster with an upset of No. 5 seed Wisconsin 83–82 in Portland. The Panthers grabbed the lead at the end on Chase Johnston’s layup with 11.2 seconds remaining.
“They played a terrific game. Hit some unbelievable shots,” Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard acknowledged afterward with the media. “That’s the heartache that comes with this tournament, is that team plays exceptionally well, and you get sent home when you don’t take care of things you need to take care of.”
High Point took care of business as the first Big South team to win a first-round game since 2007. The Panthers showed they belong as one of six teams with 30 or more wins.
“It looks pretty obvious to me that high-majors need to play mid-majors early in the season,” Clayman told CBS Sports after the game. “Because they said we didn’t play nobody. We played somebody now.
“Nobody would play us. Just like they wouldn’t play Miami [Ohio],” he added. “But they gotta play us in this tournament.”
Duke, one of the other teams with 30 wins, found out the caliber of hungry mid-major squads as No. 16 seed Siena built a historic 43–32 lead at halftime over the No. 1 seed Blue Devils. That marked the largest halftime lead ever by a No. 16 seed, but the Saints couldn’t become the second No. 16 seed to upset a top seed as Duke stormed back to escape, 71–65 in Greenville.
“They’re incredibly ready to play,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer told reporters. “We made some mistakes early that they made us pay for. All of a sudden, you want to win very badly. So you can start making plays to try to get back in the game that are probably uncharacteristic of who we’ve been.”
Third-seeded Gonzaga in the West Region likewise escaped an upset on late Thursday night, 73–64, over No. 14 seed Kennesaw State in Portland. Kennesaw State pulled within five points on free throws, 69–64, but the Zags finished the game with a 4-0 run to seal the win.
“I always understand just how hard it is to win a game,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few told reporters afterward. “I think that’s one of the things I’m most proud of: the streak of 27 straight (NCAA Tournaments). Then, also the fact that we’ve won games in this thing, 17 straight.”
“It’s really, really tough to win games in this tournament. I’m really happy we got through this one,” Few added. “It wasn’t pretty, but the bottom line is, you just win [and] now we get to move on.”
Nebraska fans know all too well how tough it is to win a tournament game. The No. 4 seed Cornhuskers won for the first time ever in the Big Dance on Thursday by throttling No. 13 Troy 76–47 in the South Region.
“Just really proud of these guys. Happy to get this win for the first one in the history of the program,” Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters afterward. “Most wins in a single season in the history of the program, but we can’t be satisfied.”
Fifth-seeded Vanderbilt will get the Cornhuskers next after beating No. 12 McNeese State 78–68. Fellow SEC teams Texas A&M, Texas, and Arkansas also advanced, but Georgia fell short against St. Louis.
The Big 12 had a near-perfect day with Houston and TCU advancing, and the Big Ten had three teams advance with Michigan, Michigan State, and Illinois. The ACC had Louisville, in addition to Duke, advancing.
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