NCAA Tournament 2012: Madness Missing As Favorites Rule Day 1

It happens just about every other year. A 15 seed doesn’t beat a 2 or a 14 doesn’t upset a 3, and everybody immediately starts in with the “I thought it was supposed to be ‘March Madness’” talk.

As much as I’d like to fork-stab these people for tampering with a perfectly lucid basketball buzz, they had more of a legitimate gripe on Thursday than they ordinarily do.

Seth Davis posed this question on Twitter in the game’s dwindling moments: with his persistent back issues and a talent vacuum next year, could this have been the last game Calhoun coached? Let’s hope not, because this would be his long, celebrated tenure’s last moment.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

The Pac-12 looked like the weakest power conference heading into the 2012 NCAA Tournament. One half into its Second Round game against No. 6 UNLV, No. 11 Colorado is dead-set on puncturing that perception, dominating the Runnin’ Rebels for a 36-25 halftime lead.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

The No. 2-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes tipped off against No. 15 Loyola late Thursday night with the Greyhounds hoping to pull a big upset in the first round, keeping the game close early on. That was early on, however, as the Buckeyes were able to get their flow going and pull away from Loyola, taking a 42-31 lead into halftime.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stay with SB Nation’s Selection Sunday StoryStream, and stick around SB Nation’s NCAA Tournament hub for a complete printable NCAA Tournament bracket and tons of analysis on who was snubbed, who got the best bracket, and who will make it all the way to New Orleans and the Final Four.

There’s not a ton going on in the NCAA Tournament right now. UConn forgot to show up and is starting to finally come alive against Iowa State, but it’s not incredibly entertaining at the moment. However, we did get a peek at a broken net and a man on a ladder trying to repair it in the early moments of Ohio State-Loyola!

Here’s how it broke:

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stay with SB Nation’s Selection Sunday StoryStream, and stick around SB Nation’s NCAA Tournament hub for a complete printable NCAA Tournament bracket and tons of analysis on who was snubbed, who got the best bracket, and who will make it all the way to New Orleans and the Final Four.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stay with SB Nation’s Selection Sunday StoryStream, and stick around SB Nation’s NCAA Tournament hub for a complete printable NCAA Tournament bracket and tons of analysis on who was snubbed, who got the best bracket, and who will make it all the way to New Orleans and the Final Four.

It just hasn’t been a good day for Baylor forward Perry Jones III so far. He’s 1-for-6 with two points, and just hasn’t been much of a factor for the Bears.

Oh, and this happened.

There’s always a moment during the third Thursday in March that allows you to declare that the NCAA Tournament has (un)officially begun.

This year, that statement was made around the country during the final minutes of tonight’s VCU – Wichita State thriller, as the Rams advanced through to the third round with a 62-59 victory.

Jones’ brilliant career ended with a thud instead of the bang he would have wanted, scoring just 13 points and grabbing only four rebounds. Despite superior size, the Mountaineers were outplayed down low, and with ice-cold shooting, they couldn’t keep up with the Bulldogs.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stay with SB Nation’s Selection Sunday StoryStream, and stick around SB Nation’s NCAA Tournament hub for a complete printable NCAA Tournament bracket and tons of analysis on who was snubbed, who got the best bracket, and who will make it all the way to New Orleans and the Final Four.

Real analysis from Bomani Jones and Dan Rubenstein can be found below.

Wolters scored nine points in the first half, but he had eight through 10 minutes as his shot went cold along with that of his teammates. After coming out absolutely on fire, the Jackrabbits’ shooting percentage fell to 37.5 percent at the half. You have to wonder if they have another run in them to come back.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

If I told you the following photo was of the BYU mascot faceplanting on the court, you’d probably believe me. I’m not sure, however, if you’d believe this is the BYU mascot breakdancing. Judge for yourself...

We can go ahead and close the book on Western Kentucky. When the Kentucky Wildcats are holding a dunk contest in the middle of the game, rest assured this one is in hand. On the plus side, we have GIFs!

From the first half, Terrence Jones does fun things.

They may be a bit less physical down low, but the Gonzaga Bulldogs are scoring at will along the perimeter.

Freshman sensation Kevin Pangos leads all scorers with 13 points, spearheading Gonzaga’s 50 percent shooting from the floor.

That’s more of a literal statement. Watch enough of the NCAA Tournament matchup between Baylor and South Dakota State in high definition, and you may just go blind. The Bears’ uniforms are bright. Like, reflective bright, even on television.

Photos after the jump, so they don’t sneak up on you.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stay with SB Nation’s Selection Sunday StoryStream, and stick around SB Nation’s NCAA Tournament hub for a complete printable NCAA Tournament bracket and tons of analysis on who was snubbed, who got the best bracket, and who will make it all the way to New Orleans and the Final Four.

This has been brought up before, but it’s always worth pointing out the Deniz Kilicli/WVU mascot split screen. They’re almost in separated at birth territory.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stay with SB Nation’s Selection Sunday StoryStream, and stick around SB Nation’s NCAA Tournament hub for a complete printable NCAA Tournament bracket and tons of analysis on who was snubbed, who got the best bracket, and who will make it all the way to New Orleans and the Final Four.

In a way, the GIF kind of reminds me of Pat Fitzgerald’s moment.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

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Vandy was a tough draw for Harvard in the opening round of the East regional. Harvard played a close game until Vanderbilt went on a 16-3 to end the first half.

The Commodores are hitting 50 percent from the field, including a five-for-nine effort in three-point shots. Harvard is hitting just 37 percent of their field goal attempts as they struggled against the Vandy defense. Vanderbilt is also out-rebounding Harvard, 18-9.

James Southerland put the Orange back on top with a three-point jumper just after the 10-minute mark in the second half. Syracuse would keep the lead right through the game’s final buzzer.

The win was not without a point of contention, however. A controversial lane violation call gave the Orange two free points late in the game.