And now, finally, an answer to one of the biggest questions as the NCAA Men’s Tournament kicks off Thursday: What is a Paladin?
Turns out he’s a heartbreaker. Specifically, he’s a Virginia Cavaliers heartbreaker.
In all seriousness, the Paladin is a knight, often famed for honor and heroism.
Maybe they should also take credit for a good defense.
The Paladins of 13th seed Furman stole the show on day one, topping No. 4 seed Virginia 68-67 in a wild finish that gave us our first major upset of the day. Two hours later, No. 15 seed Princeton joined the party, defeating No. 2 seed Arizona State.
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That’s what we want on Day One Madness: brackets breaking across the country and double-digit seeds shocking everyone (except themselves, at least if you’re in Princeton).
Men’s match schedule:Complete 2023 NCAA Men’s Tournament schedule, scores and times
But the other top seeds looked dominant – which is what they are supposed to look like, especially in first-round matches. It all comes together to make for an interesting second round. But first, we have another full day of first-round matches, which could provide more chaos.
For now, here are the winners and losers from day one.
winners
Cinderella
There’s no such thing as an annoyance – or two!
First, in the Virginia-Furman game, the Paladins’ stifling and locked-in defense sent Virginia senior Kihei Clark into a panic, issuing a dangerous pass across the court as the final seconds of the game expired. This pass was intercepted by Furman’s Garrett Henn, who kicked it to J.P. Begges, who had missed his previous three attempts from long range. Pegs quietly buried the three to go up 68-67. After a timeout, Virginia’s game-winning attempt was stopped.
Then, at Arizona-Princeton, the Wildcats turned ice cold from the field in the final 4:43 (0-for-7) as Princeton pulled off an improbable 59-55 upset. Arizona missed several shots in the final minutes that could have won, and Princeton cruised to a landslide victory on free throws. It is the third year in a row that 15 players have defeated 2.
Maryland
Down as many as 13 points in the first half and looking half asleep in the first game of the day, the Terrapins came back behind 17 points and nine rebounds from forward Julian Reese, beating West Virginia 67-65. The win advanced Maryland to the second round, where they would face the #1 ranked Terps in the overall Alabama. In a slow back-and-forth race—the game featured nine ties and 11 lead changes—points in the paint (34-24 Maryland) were the difference.
The Terps will have to start and play a lot better to compete with the Tide on Saturday, but picking up the win and coming from behind should give them confidence. This is especially important when you consider how bad Maryland has been away from home (5-11 coming Thursday) this season.
University of California
A glimpse into the dominance of the #2-ranked Bruins on Thursday: Late in the first half, UCLA had more shots (16) than UNC Asheville (15). That wasn’t the case in the end, but it was still an impressive 86-53 offense. The Bruins scored 30 points on Asheville’s turnovers and dominated the Boards 40-25. All five starting players scored 10 or more points, with the exception of Tyger Campbell – he had seven points but dished out 10 assists.
duke
On a rough day for the ACC (see Virginia), the Blue Devils were not challenged in their 74-51 victory over Oral Roberts. One of the best teams in the country in the last few weeks of the regular season, the Blue Devils shot 48.4% from the field and dominated the rebounding fight (46-32). Led by Jeremy Roach’s 23 points (on just 17 shots), Duke is moving ahead to play No. 4 seed Tennessee on Saturday.
losers
Brandon Miller
The best rookie in the country, and perhaps the best player in the country, made his first rough NCAA tournament. The 6-foot-9 forward, a potential NBA lottery pick despite the controversy surrounding him, went 0-for-5 from the field in 19 minutes of play, finishing with five rebounds, three assists and three turnovers. The No. 1 seed overall could still get by without him, but Miller’s play will be crucial going forward.
Crime lovers
Man alive, there was an ugly shooting Thursday. 19 of the 32 teams that were in the action shot 43% or less from the field, with 11 shooting 40% less – and some of those teams won! None were worse than Northern Kentucky, which shot your eyes at 27.5% from the field.
Teams miss easy shots, take bad shots and miss hard on all types of shots. Defending is great, but so is seeing the ball go through the net. Hopefully Friday’s games will be nicer all around.
Houston
Sure enough, the #1 ranked Cougars won, 63-52. But the decision to play All-American goalkeeper Marcus Sasser just days after suffering a serious hip injury will be appreciated by all, and he deserves it.
Sasser, who was originally injured in the semifinals of the AAC tournament last week, is key to the Cougars’ title hopes. After re-injuring himself in the first half against Northern Kentucky, he did not see the ground in the second half. Did the Cougars cost themselves?
Virginia
Info time: What happened to Virginia basketball on March 16? If you said, “They made history,” you’re right. That wasn’t the good kind of history — and this year, history repeated itself. This has become a frustrating history for UVA.
On March 16, 2018, Virginia became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Men’s Tournament. Five years to that day, UVA again blew a game that was a clear favorite. What’s worse is how it happened. Tony Bennett’s teams are usually disciplined and smart, so losing because of a very stupid pass is tough.
Virginia has not won an NCAA Tournament game since the 2019 race, having lost twice in the first round since then.
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