NCAA Tournament 2015: Best and worst of all the madness from day 2

Second acts are hard, especially when what’s being followed is considered by many to be among the best pieces of work in the history of the field.

Thursday gave the college hoops world five one-point NCAA Tournament games on the same day for the first time ever, four double-digit seed winners, and eight games that came all the way down to a final shot. You have to give Day 2 credit for at least trying, but nearly becoming the first modern era (since tournament expansion in 1985) opening Thursday or Friday without a single upset wasn’t the type of history fans were hoping to see from the big dance’s first curtain call.

Still, when you take everything into consideration, that was one heck of a Round of 64, and it has me giddy about everything the next two weeks might hold. Before starting down that road, however, we must look back at everything that took place on Day 2.

Yes, we must.

1. (4) Louisville 57, (13) UC Irvine 55 (East)

It would have been difficult to refer to a team with a 7’6 center as a “giant killer,” but UC Irvine nearly made that a conversation worth having.

Louisville won despite a game effort from Friday’s unofficial tournament sweetheart, Mamadou Ndiaye. The 7’6 native of Senegal frustrated the Cardinals’ frontcourt players all game long, and finished with 12 points, most of them coming on dunks where his feet hardly left the ground.

The player who looks like a small child defending Ndiaye in that clip is Louisville freshman Anas Mahmoud. He is 7’0 tall.

Thanks for the memories, Ndiaye. You will be missed.

2. (4) Maryland 65, (13) Valparaiso 62 (Midwest)

It was also a terrifying day for another No. 4 seed, as Maryland survived a significant test from Valparaiso in the Midwest. It was a victory that didn’t come without some controversy in the closing seconds.

So we’ll ask the players in question, was it a foul?

“I thought so,” Carter said.

“I think I got it clean,” said Ram.

Hmm.

3. (7) Wichita State 81, (10) Indiana 76 (Midwest)

This game likely wouldn’t have come close to cracking the best games list on Thursday, but that’s okay, we’ve got to stop comparing the two. Some people like Bad Boys 2 more than Bad Boys. That doesn’t mean it’s better, you know? You did great Friday, and this game was a large part of the reason why.

Wichita State trailed this game by three at halftime and by five early in the second half, but used runs of 8-0 and 15-3 to pull ahead and claim its sixth NCAA Tournament victory in the last three years. Indiana fell despite 11-of-22 from beyond the arc (stat guy says that’s 50 percent), shooting 85 percent from the free throw line, and having four players score in double figures.

For the game, Shockers attempted 14 more free throws than Indiana, and connected on 12 more than the Hoosiers. When the final horn sounded, Tom Crean made sure he let the officials know how he felt about those numbers.

The master of subtlety at work.

Indiana is now 0-6 all-time in the tournament when seeded eighth or worse.

1. Iowa

The Hawkeyes’ 31-point beatdown of Davidson was the largest in the programs’s 53-game tournament history, and the largest margin of victory ever in an NCAA Tournament 7/10 game. Suffice it to say, there was a lot of frustration being worked out before, during and after the program’s first victory in the big dance since 2001.

Go crazy, BHGP.

2. Dayton

Basketball fans weren’t treated to an “upset” until the wee hours of Saturday morning when 11th-seeded Dayton pulled away late for a 66-53 victory over Providence. The win marked the first time the Flyers, who danced all the way to the Elite 8 a year ago, have ever won multiple tournament games in back-to-back years.

The win also kept alive the magical tradition of the opening round “Cinderella.” Since its inception in 2011, the First Four has produced a Final Four team, three Sweet 16 teams and at least one Round of 32 team in all four years. Ole Miss was pummeled by Xavier on Thursday, leaving Dayton as the team responsible for prolonging the trend.

3. Northern Iowa

I’m not sure enough people are discussing the Panthers as a legitimate Final Four contender. They’ve got the right draw with the right games, and on Friday they showed the hoops world that they plan on taking full advantage.

This was Northern Iowa’s first victory in the tournament since shocking No. 1 overall seed Kansas back in 2010. If they play the same way on Sunday, then Panther fans likely aren’t going to have to wait nearly as long between big dance successes.

1. Providence

2. Davidson

When you lose by 31 this is also what happens. Still, this performance should in no way diminish what Bob McKillop and the Wildcats were able to accomplish this season.

Making the massive jump from the SoCon to the Atlantic 10, Davidson went from the preseason pick to finish dead last in the conference, to the league’s outright regular season champion. On Friday, however, they ran into an Iowa team with size they had no answer for. Toss in some uncharacteristic foul trouble for A-10 Player of the Year Tyler Kalinoski, and it becomes a bit easier to see how things got so out of hand.

3. St. John’s

Without Obekpa, arguably the nation’s best shot-blocker and unquestionably the nation’s best uniform-wearer, the Aztecs dominated inside. They scored at will around the rim in the second half, and got 18 total points off of 13 offensive rebounds.

After the game, leading scorer D’Angelo Harrison didn’t mince words when the topic of Obekpa, who was suspended for a failed drug test, was brought up.

“Oh, I am upset about it and I will have some words for him when we get back,” Harrison said. “All we needed was a little push from the big guy. I’m disappointed and this should have been a very different ending for all of us.”

If Harrison meant for those “words” to inspire Obekpa, he may be fighting a meaningless battle, as head coach Steve Lavin said Friday night that he “wouldn’t be surprised at all” if the big man never plays another game at St. John’s.

The potential national Player of the Year was in fine form for the first game of his final tournament run, scoring 27 points and grabbing 12 rebounds as the Badgers breezed past Coastal Carolina.

The Hawkeye star scored a game-high 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting in Iowa’s blowout of Davidson. White is the first Iowa player since 1984 to score 20 or more points in at least six straight games.

The Ducks are still dancing thanks to Young, who poured in 27 points in a 79-73 win over Oklahoma State.

Fred VanVleet, Wichita State

Tied a career-high with 27 points as the Shockers moved on past Indiana.

Salute to the junior guard, who helped Belmont put a scare into Virginia by scoring a game-high 25 points.

1. The No. 5 Seeds

For the first time since 2007, all four No. 5 seeds -- West Virginia, Northern Iowa, Arkansas and Utah -- have advanced to the round of 32. Way to buck the narrative, fellas.

2. Kendall Pollard’s block on Kris Dunn

With no player taller than 6’6, Dayton is just about the last team you expect to see doing something like this.

3. Perfect bracket person

After two full days of action, just one of the 11.57 million brackets which were filled out on ESPN.com remains perfect. That person (whose bracket you can see here) has Duke defeating Kansas for the national title. Final score? 56-0.

1. The technical foul call on Ed Cooley

With his team still clinging to life late in its game against Dayton, Providence head coach Ed Cooley drew a technical foul for doing this.

That is just an atrocious decision by the official, who deserves every bit of the criticism he’s been taking for the whistle.

2. Jahlil Okafor’s showboating attempt gone wrong

When you go for an unnecessary reverse dunk against a No. 16 seed and miss, you should expect to draw some heat.

3. Scoochie Smith’s flop

Best name. Worst acting job.

1. Wayne Blackshear/Luke Nelson

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in one shot

Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

2. Ed Cooley

This is another accurate summation of an entire game in one shot.

Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

3. Tom Crean

And so ends the season of Crean Face.

1. Oregon’s Joseph Young

2. Derek Cooke Jr., Wyoming

Whatever, offensive fouls don’t even really count.

3. Mamdou Ndiaye, UC Irvine

He’ll be slapping the floor of our hearts for the rest of the month.

2. “Any time you get a win this time of year, you need to celebrate it. It’s a special, special happening. You never take it for granted. I sure never take it for granted and I make sure these guys don’t.” -- Gonzaga coach Mark Few

3. “We’re an interesting team.” -- Michigan State coach Tom Izzo

4. “Survived again.” -- Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan’s opening statement after his team’s 86-72 win over Coastal Carolina

5. “My third year here now, and I fell short twice. It feels good to come and get a win.” -- Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield on finally tasting victory in the tournament

Mother of God, there’s more.