The first day of March Madness delivered, to some degree, on the “madness” end of the bargain. No. 11 seed Virginia Commonwealth and No. 12 High Point won in improbable fashion. No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 11 Texas advanced, too. The day would’ve been even madder, though, if No. 16 Siena had finished its upset bid over No. 1 Duke.
Our NBC News team live-blogged all the action, and we’ll be back again today for the second day of the tournament, following every upset alert and buzzer beater. Click here to follow.
For more March Madness coverage, as always, visit NBC News.
March Madness Roundup
For an hour or so Thursday afternoon, No. 1 seed Duke seemed on the verge of losing to No. 16 Siena. Saints coach Gerry McNamara, the former Syracuse guard, had decided to play only five players — his five starters — for virtually the entire game and somehow, Siena led by 11 points at halftime. It felt like a plot pulled straight from an inspirational sports movie.
But McNamara’s strategy ultimately backfired. Siena looked gassed down the stretch, as Duke went on a 15-4 run to take the lead and close-out the game.
“The whole halftime, we were talking about, ‘We’re not going home. We’re going to do whatever we can to not go home,’ ” Duke’s Cayden Boozer said on the telecast.
In the early slate, No. 12 seed High Point finished its upset over No. 5 Wisconsin, 83-82. Chase Johnston, the Panthers’ 3-point specialist, had not made a two-point field goal all season — until he scored the game-winning layup with 11.2 seconds remaining.
Later, No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth mounted an epic second-half comeback to beat No. 6 North Carolina, 82-78, in overtime, as Terrence Hill Jr. poured in 34 points for the Rams.
Not to toot our own horn, but earlier this week, The Sports Desk highlighted VCU and High Point as teams to watch this week. On that note, No. 10 seed Texas A&M, Steve Kornacki’s predicted “Cinderella” team this year, overpowered No. 7 St. Mary’s, winning 63-50.
BYU’s AJ Dybansta, a projected top pick in the coming NBA draft, scored 35 points Thursday, but the sixth-seeded Cougars lost to No. 11 Texas, 79-71.
In a blowout win over Penn, David Mirkovic of third-seeded Illinois finished with 29 points and 17 rebounds — and grabbed more offensive rebounds than the entire Penn roster — in only 28 minutes before taking a seat.
A day of upsets looked like it might produce one more as 14th-seeded Kennesaw State cut No. 3 Gonzaga’s lead to five with two minutes remaining. But the Bulldogs held on to win their opening game for the 17th consecutive NCAA tournament.
Huskers Heaven
On Thursday afternoon, No. 4 seed Nebraska pounded No. 13 Troy, 76-47, in what typically might be a ho-hum tournament game. But this was the Huskers’ first NCAA tournament win in program history, in the program’s ninth try.
Watching from New Orleans, former Huskers star guard Tyronn Lue exulted. In 1998, Lue and Nebraska had a chance to break the drought but it slipped away. When last week I’d shown Lue, now the coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, the box score from that game, his reaction was one of frustration.
But on Thursday, Lue watched from the Four Seasons in New Orleans, during a Clippers road trip, as the Huskers never let go of their own second-half lead. He texted Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg congratulations, then texted me.
“I feel great joy for the team, for Fred and all of the fans and ex players,” he wrote. “A beautiful day.”
What We're Watching
After a full day of basketball, what do we get today? A double heaping of basketball. The first round of the men’s tournament continues, while the women’s tournament tips off.
Can mid-major Miami (Ohio), having gone undefeated in the regular season, continue its Cinderella run against Tennessee? How will St. John’s fare in this year’s tourney, after a relatively disappointing showing last year? Can California Baptist upset Kansas and top NBC prospect Darryn Peterson, as Steve Kornacki suggested?
Our NBC News team will be live-blogging all the action. Here’s the full slate of games for the men’s side, and the women, but here are a few key games to watch. All times are Eastern:
Men’s bracket:
- 12:15 p.m.: No. 7 seed Kentucky vs. No. 10 Santa Clara, on CBS
- 4:25 p.m.: No. 6 seed Tennessee vs. No. 11 Miami (Ohio), on TBS
- 7:10 p.m.: No. 5 seed St. John’s vs. No. 11 Northern Iowa, on CBS
- 9:45 p.m.: No. 4 seed Kansas vs. No. 13 California Baptist, on CBS
Women’s bracket:
- 11:30 a.m.: No. 3 seed Duke vs. No. 14 Charleston, on ESPN 2
- 4 p.m.: No. 1 seed Texas vs. No. 16 Missouri State, on ESPN
- 8 p.m.: No. 7 seed NC State vs. No. 10 Tennessee, on ESPN
Premier League Preview
The Premier League has its final weekend of the month before the international break, which is the last chance for countries to tune up before the World Cup. NBC Sports’ Joe Prince-Wright highlights this weekend’s three best matches in England’s top league.
For more on the Premier League, including info on how to watch every match, head over to NBC Sports. All times are Eastern.
Brighton vs. Liverpool — Saturday, 8:30 a.m.
Liverpool’s hopes to finish in the top four of the league hang in the balance. Liverpool hammered Galatasaray 4-0 on Wednesday to reach the Champions League quarterfinals, but all season long, the team has struggled with consistency. The pressure is mounting on manager Arne Slot after Liverpool’s sloppy draw with Spurs last weekend.
Everton vs. Chelsea — Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Chelsea were bounced out of the Champions League in embarrassing fashion after losing to PSG 8-2 on aggregate. Chelsea also has plenty of defensive injuries and they look extremely open on the counter, which is where Everton thrives.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Nottingham Forest — Sunday, 10:15 a.m
After a disastrous season, Spurs sit one point and one place ahead of Forest, just one point above the relegation zone, heading into the final eight games. But there are signs they can save themselves. Similarly, Forest is attempting to save its unraveling season from an unexpected relegation.
That’s it for now! We’ll be back Monday.
