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NCAA bracket 2016: Yale upends Baylor for first upset of March Madness

Yale pulled the first big upset of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

After a relatively predictable first few hours of the 2016 NCAA Tournament's first round, No. 12 Yale and No. 5 Baylor tipped off in Providence. By the end of that game, March Madness had well and fully arrived.

The Bulldogs got 31 points from Makai Mason, a new school record for NCAA Tournament play, and 18 more from Justin Sears, and controlled pace, the glass and the game against the talented Bears — despite a furious Baylor rally and an air-balled free throw with just seconds to play — to pull this NCAA Tournament's first major upset, 79-75.

For Yale, it is the first NCAA Tournament win in program history — and an incredible way to extend a first appearance in the tournament since 1962. For Baylor, it’s a second consecutive exit from March Madness at the hands of a double-digit seed. The Bears were upset by No. 14 seed Georgia State as a No. 3 seed in 2015. And for the NCAA Tournament, it’s a return to the mayhem that has traditionally been seen in matchups between No. 5 and No. 12 seeds: After a year in which No. 5s survived unscathed in 2015, No. 12s are now 1-0 in this tournament.

Yale will move on to meet No. 4 Duke, which came back from a halftime deficit and leaned on Marshall Plumlee’s career-high 23 points to defeat No. 13 UNC Wilmington, 93-85. Duke defeated Yale, 80-61, in a non-conference game in November.

The day’s only other “upsets” so far came when No. 9 Butler topped No. 8 Texas Tech, 71-61, and No. 9 UConn rallied to beat No. 8 Colorado, 74-67. Given the NCAA pedigrees of the Bulldogs and Huskies and the historical success of No. 9 seeds, though, neither feels like much of a shock.

And while No. 4 Iowa State had surprisingly little trouble with No. 13 Iona in a 94-81 triumph, No. 1 Virginia thoroughly outclassing No. 16 Hampton in an 81-45 rout was utterly predictable.

Here’s the full rundown of final scores from the 2016 NCAA Tournament so far, in case you want to update your printable March Madness bracket.

No. 4 Duke 93, No. 13 UNC Wilmington 85
No. 9 Butler 71, No. 8 Texas Tech 61
No. 9 UConn 74, No. 8 Colorado 67
No. 4 Iowa State 94, No. 13 Iona 81
No. 12 Yale 79, No. 5 Baylor 75
No. 1 Virginia 81, No. 16 Hampton 45

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