After Friday’s first few games of play in the 2016 NCAA Tournament yielded the event’s biggest upset, the second set of afternoon contests delivered a reminder of why we call it March Madness.
March Madness bracket 2016: Middle Tennessee State upset shakes up NCAA Tournament
The Blue Raiders blew the Midwest Region wide open.
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
No. 15 Middle Tennessee State never trailed and made 11 threes, controlling the game from wire to wire against No. 2 Michigan State and taking down a national title favorite in the first round. The Blue Raiders’ 90-81 win is arguably the biggest in NCAA Tournament history, and also the fourth by a No. 15 seed over a No. 2 seed since 2012.
It also blows open the bottom of the Midwest Region, where No. 3 Utah is both the highest seed remaining and the only single-digit seed that could still make the Elite Eight.
The late afternoon window yielded an overtime game decided on a buzzer-beater, too. Iowa's 72-70 win over Temple was the first win for a No. 7 seed in this NCAA Tournament and probably the result of a missed call on an offensive foul, but Adam Woodbury and the Hawkeyes are moving on.
In the other two games of the late afternoon, Buddy Hield helped No. 2 Oklahoma pull away from No. 15 Cal State Bakersfield late for a win with a deceptively lopsided score, and No. 5 Maryland survived a charge by No. 12 South Dakota State to move on to the second round.
Here are Friday’s final scores from the 2016 NCAA Tournament. You now need a new printable March Madness bracket, with Michigan State out, so you should go print that.
No. 10 Syracuse 70, No. 7 Dayton 51
No. 2 Villanova 86, No. 15 UNC Asheville 56
No. 10 VCU 75, No. 7 Oregon State 67
No. 13 Hawai’i 77, No. 4 California 66
No. 15 Middle Tennessee State 90, No. 2 Michigan State 81
No. 7 Iowa 72, No. 10 Temple 70 (OT)
No. 2 Oklahoma 82, No. 15 Cal State Bakersfield 68
No. 5 Maryland 79, No. 12 South Dakota State 74
Friday’s evening session:
No. 7 Wisconsin vs. No. 10 Pittsburgh (6:50 p.m., TNT)
No. 3 West Virginia vs. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin (7:10 p.m., CBS)
No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 14 Green Bay (7:20 p.m., TBS)
No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 16 Holy Cross, (7:27 p.m., truTV)
No. 2 Xavier vs. No. 15 Weber State (9:20 p.m., TNT)
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Michigan (9:40 p.m., CBS)
No. 6 Texas vs. No. 11 Northern Iowa (9:50 p.m., TBS)
No. 8 Saint Joseph’s vs. No. 9 Cincinnati (9:57 p.m., truTV)
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