On Day One of the (real, non-First Four) men's NCAA basketball tournament, we witnessed plenty of March Madness magic. Crazy upsets, monstrous dunks, snarky press conferences and locker room dance parties. Oh, and a whole lotta folks whining about their busted brackets, natch.
The first real Vine-ready moment of the 2016 tourney came courtesy of Baylor's multi-sport stud Rico Gathers, who hopes to head to the NFL after his basketball season ends. During the first half, Yale's Nick Victor tried to take it up strong, but 6-foot-6, 275-pound Gathers was stronger, coming with the kind of rejection that would give you nightmares for days.
Well, Victor might've had nightmares, but his No. 12 seeded Bulldogs pulled an upset and sent Gathers and Baylor packing their bags. That block is ancient history for Victor now, as the Bulldogs secured the school's first-ever NCAA tournament win in its first tourney appearance in 54 years. The team was led by tenacious sophomore guard Makai Mason, who put up a career-high 31 points, all the while looking just like fellow Yalie Logan Huntzberger from "Gilmore Girls."
After the loss, Baylor's Taurean Prince provided us with our first salty sound bite, responding to a reporter's question very, very literally. When asked how the Bulldogs managed to grab more rebounds than his Bears, Prince had this to say.
Yale's victory over Baylor may have been the day's biggest surprise, but there were a few more thrills and one scary spill to come. First, the spill. During the first half of Virginia's contest with Hampton, coach Tony Bennett fainted on the sideline and had to head back to the locker room early to be treated. He attributed his lightheadedness to dehydration and returned in the second half to lead the Cavaliers to a win. Some very confused fans wished the other Tony Bennett well, inspiring him to send out this tweet.
Elsewhere in the Midwest Region, the battle between No. 5 seed Purdue and No. 12 seed Arkansas-Little Rock stretched into two overtimes. Trojans senior Josh Hagins hit the game-tying three to force the first OT and finished with 31 points to send his under-the-radar squad into the second round. To celebrate, the team treated coach Chris Beard to a locker room mosh pit that would rival the likes of a Slayer concert.
The later games provided plenty of drama, as well. First we saw Arizona outmatched from start to finish by upstart Wichita State, which had to get through the First Four round before facing Arizona. Gregg Marshall's guys used stifling defense to build a 31-19 halftime lead and hold off an Arizona team that failed to reach the second round for the first time since 2011. The lasting image from the game is Wildcats coach Sean Miller sweating through his shirt basically from tip-off on, becoming a meme for all the wrong reasons.
Out in the East Region, Providence took advantage of USC's mistakes to grab an upset win and punch their ticket to the next round. After missing key free throws down the stretch, the Trojans found themselves up 69-68 with just three seconds left in regulation. It seemed the game was all but won, but their defense fell apart on the in-bounds play, leaving Providence sophomore Rodney Bullock wide open under the basket for the winning layup. Brutal doesn't being to cover it.
In the final game of the night, No. 11 seed Gonzaga upset No. 6 seed Seton Hall, which looked to be seriously affected by the altitude in Denver. The devastation was palpable. Members of the Pirates' squad were shown crying on the bench and the Seton Hall "Rock Lobsters" were left hanging their antennae in shame.
It seems greedy to ask for more after such a spellbinding start, but there are a few magical moments from recent years that you gotta hope this year's tourney can match. The Mercer Nae Nae. Nigel Hayes testing the stenographer with tricky words like "syzygy." Georgia State's Ron Hunter falling off his chair in excitement as his son hit a game-winning three. And, of course, we need a band member losing their ish. Someone like this guy, or the crying Villanova piccolo player battling through her tears to gut out a song.
I know, I know. It was just Day One. As we settle in for another day of games, there's a whole lot more Madness to come.