The first day of March Madness delivered, to some extent, on the “madness” finish of the discount. No. 11 seed Virginia Commonwealth and No. 12 High Point received in unbelievable vogue. No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 11 Texas superior, too. The day would’ve been even madder, although, if No. 16 Siena had completed its upset bid over No. 1 Duke.
Our NBC News crew live-blogged all of the motion, and we’ll be again once more at this time for the second day of the match, following each upset alert and buzzer beater. Click here to follow.
For extra March Madness protection, as at all times, go to NBC News.
March Madness Roundup
For an hour or so Thursday afternoon, No. 1 seed Duke appeared on the verge of dropping to No. 16 Siena. Saints coach Gerry McNamara, the previous Syracuse guard, had determined to play solely 5 gamers — his 5 starters — for just about your complete recreation and by some means, Siena led by 11 factors at halftime. It felt like a plot pulled straight from an inspirational sports activities film.
But McNamara’s technique in the end backfired. Siena regarded gassed down the stretch, as Duke went on a 15-4 run to take the lead and close-out the sport.
“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 stated on the telecast.
In the early slate, No. 12 seed High Point completed its upset over No. 5 Wisconsin, 83-82. Chase Johnston, the Panthers’ 3-point specialist, had not made a two-point subject aim all season — till 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 time beyond regulation, as Terrence Hill Jr. poured in 34 factors for the Rams.
Not to toot our personal horn, however earlier this week, The Sports Desk highlighted VCU and High Point as groups to look at this week. On that observe, No. 10 seed Texas A&M, Steve Kornacki’s predicted “Cinderella” team this 12 months, overpowered No. 7 St. Mary’s, successful 63-50.
BYU’s AJ Dybansta, a projected top pick within the coming NBA draft, scored 35 factors Thursday, however the sixth-seeded Cougars misplaced to No. 11 Texas, 79-71.
In a blowout win over Penn, David Mirkovic of third-seeded Illinois completed with 29 factors and 17 rebounds — and grabbed extra offensive rebounds than your complete Penn roster — in solely 28 minutes earlier than taking a seat.
A day of upsets regarded prefer it would possibly produce yet another as 14th-seeded Kennesaw State lower No. 3 Gonzaga’s result in 5 with two minutes remaining. But the Bulldogs held on to win their opening recreation for the seventeenth consecutive NCAA match.
Huskers Heaven
On Thursday afternoon, No. 4 seed Nebraska pounded No. 13 Troy, 76-47, in what usually is perhaps a ho-hum match recreation. But this was the Huskers’ first NCAA match win in program historical past, in this system’s ninth strive.
Watching from New Orleans, former Huskers star guard Tyronn Lue exulted. In 1998, Lue and Nebraska had an opportunity to interrupt the drought nevertheless it slipped away. When final week I’d proven Lue, now the coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, the field rating from that recreation, his response was one in all frustration.
But on Thursday, Lue watched from the Four Seasons in New Orleans, throughout a Clippers highway journey, because the Huskers by no means let go of their very 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 can we get at this time? A double heaping of basketball. The first spherical of the boys’s match continues, whereas the ladies’s match ideas off.
Can mid-major Miami (Ohio), having gone undefeated within the common season, proceed its Cinderella run towards Tennessee? How will St. John’s fare on this 12 months’s tourney, after a comparatively disappointing displaying final 12 months? Can California Baptist upset Kansas and high NBC prospect Darryn Peterson, as Steve Kornacki recommended?
Our NBC News crew can be live-blogging all of the motion. Here’s the total slate of video games for the men’s side, and the women, however listed below are a number of key video games to look at. All occasions 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 remaining weekend of the month earlier than the worldwide break, which is the final probability for nations to tune up earlier than the World Cup. NBC Sports’ Joe Prince-Wright highlights this weekend’s three finest matches in England’s high league.
For extra on the Premier League, together with information on the way to watch each match, head over to NBC Sports. All occasions are Eastern.
Brighton vs. Liverpool — Saturday, 8:30 a.m.
Liverpool’s hopes to complete within the high 4 of the league grasp within the stability. Liverpool hammered Galatasaray 4-0 on Wednesday to succeed in the Champions League quarterfinals, however all season lengthy, the crew has struggled with consistency. The stress is mounting on supervisor Arne Slot after Liverpool’s sloppy draw with Spurs final weekend.
Everton vs. Chelsea — Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Chelsea have been bounced out of the Champions League in embarrassing vogue after losing to PSG 8-2 on aggregate. Chelsea additionally has loads of defensive accidents and so they look extraordinarily open on the counter, which is the place Everton thrives.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Nottingham Forest — Sunday, 10:15 a.m
After a disastrous season, Spurs sit one level and one place forward of Forest, only one level above the relegation zone, heading into the ultimate eight video games. But there are indicators they’ll save themselves. Similarly, Forest is trying to avoid wasting its unraveling season from an sudden relegation.
That’s it for now! We’ll be again Monday.
