NCAA Bracket 2017: Thursday’s results, highlights, and more from the NCAA Tournament

SAN JOSE, Calif. - It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Not to the common college basketball fan, nor to the stathead who parses KenPom as a nighttime ritual.

Xavier was bad: a preseason top-10 team that didn’t really look the part out of the gate. Then the Musketeers lost their rudder in February following the season-ending ACL injury to star guard, Edmond Sumner.

Follow Friday’s NCAA tournament action in our live blog here. Below is Thursday’s live blog.

The first round of the NCAA tournament started around lunchtime on the East Coast on Thursday, and it continued deep into the night. This post has been a live, updated file about everything exciting happening at tournament sites across the country. You can read back on it as a sort of running diary of March Madness’ first full day.

Sometimes you don’t need to shoot your shot. Sometimes you just need to be smart.

With five seconds left in the game between the 12-seed Princeton Tigers and the five-seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Princeton’s Amir Bell dribbled up the left sideline and passed the ball to Devin Cannady, who was on the left wing, some three feet behind the three-point line. As soon as he caught the ball, Cannady shot the deep three. There were still four seconds on the clock and Princeton was only down 59-58. A layup would have done the job. Cannady missed his shot and Princeton lost.

The Arizona Wildcats cemented themselves as one of the teams to beat in the NCAA tournament with an impressive 100-82 victory over North Dakota on Thursday.

It’s the third time in program history that Arizona has scored at least 100 points in an NCAA tournament game:

The NCAA tournament is supposed to earn its nickname on opening day. America expects buzzer-beaters and upsets and a serious lack of work productivity all while a 16-game schedule unfurls from the early afternoon until midnight.

It’s basketball Christmas, and it’s beautiful because we never know exactly what we’re going to get.

A foul that shouldn’t have been committed. A win for a college that had never even been to the NCAA tournament. An underhanded free throw, and one with a form that hurts to look at. Many great dog mascots. There’s no other way that this year’s March Madness could have started, and it’s why we love the tournament.

Thursday’s most memorable game feature the Northwestern Wildcats vs. the Vanderbilt Commodres, and was won on a foul that never should have been committed. Up one with 20 seconds left, Vanderbilt’s Matthew Fisher-Davis fouled Northwestern’s Bryant McIntosh after he forgot the score. McIntosh is an 86-percent free throw shooter, and he calmly hit both shots to put the Wildcats ahead. Northwestern successfully played defense and came away with a 68-66 win.

You know Florida Gulf Coast as Dunk City, the tiny school that rolled to the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed back in 2013 behind the power of sweet alley-oops. The Eagles are back in the tournament this year, and yes, they still dunk. But there’s something even more notable about FGCU this season than dunks.

I mean, look at this damn free throw:

No. 10 VCU lost 85-77 to No. 7 St. Mary’s on Thursday evening in the first round of March Madness. Despite the loss, there was one beautiful highlight for the Rams, but it didn’t involve anything happening on the court. No, it came courtesy of a member of the VCU band.

During the game, TBS’ camera crew caught a member of the band sensually gyrating while playing the hell out of his instrument. I mean, look at this dedication.

We’ve seen Doug Collins do this before. The long-time NBA coach has been a fixture at Northwestern games this season as his son Chris Collins has led the Wildcats to their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. If Chris mostly seems cool and calm on the sidelines, his old man is exactly the opposite.

Northwestern and Vanderbilt played the most heart-stopping game of the tournament so far, with the Wildcats winning in the final seconds after a terrible foul by Vandy. Collins could barely watch from the stands:

Vermont senior guard-forward Kurt Steidl has been a contributor for the Catamounts for four seasons. This year, the program made its first NCAA tournament since 2012, which meant Thursday’s game against Purdue was Steidl’s tournament debut.

In one of the sadder scenes of the day, Steidl went down during the first half with a non-contact left knee injury. Steidl got to his feet with the help of a team trainer, but he didn’t look like a man primed to return to the game.

A killer crossover that puts a defender on the ground is one of the great joys of basketball. It’s right there with a huge dunk or emphatic block as the plays that make fans get out of their seats and take notice.

Purdue freshman guard Carsen Edwards knows this well. He wanted to make an impression in his first NCAA tournament game and he did just that.

1. Skip Bayless went to Vanderbilt.

2. Skip Bayless sounded quite certain Vanderbilt would beat Northwestern on Thursday, in Northwestern’s first NCAA tournament game ever.

The No. 4 Florida Gators are taking on No. 15 East Tennessee State in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament at the Amway Arena in Orlando, Fla. On the sidelines, there are jugs of Powerade for players and coaches to drink. You might be wondering why this is a big deal, but here’s the thing: the University of Florida invented Gatorade, and the Gator athletic teams have an official sponsorship with the sports drink.

You see, this all boils down to the whole sponsorship aspect of the NCAA, and the NCAA Tournament. Coca-Cola is an official sponsor of the NCAA Tournament, and Coca-Cola owns Powerade, the inferior, not-as-tasty little brother to Gatorade (that’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it, don’t @ me.)

If you tuned into the Florida’s game against East Tennessee State on Thursday, you likely saw Florida guard Canyon Barry taking (and making) his free throws underhanded.

This is not a gimmick. Barry takes granny-style foul shots all the time, and the reason it’s such a spectacle is that he’s really, really good at it. Barry entered Thursday shooting 88 percent this year at the line, in his first year since transferring to UF from the College of Charleston. He’s made his free throws an art form.

No 16 seed has ever defeated a 1 seed in NCAA Tournament history, and that didn’t change on Wednesday.

The top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs took down the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, 66-46, to advance to the round of 32.

The Virginia Cavaliers advanced to the second round of March Madness, but it looks like they’re going to be down a star player on Saturday. Defensive stud Isaiah Wilkins has strep throat, which limited him to just a few minutes of play against UNC-Wilmington.

Wilkins tried to play through his illness, but was quickly pulled and looked absolutely miserable on the bench.

Below you will find one of the most unfortunate things I’ve seen on a basketball court in a while. Here is Elijah Macon of West Virigina playing great defense before this dude who I refuse to name from Bucknell launches a ball to this face.

Let’s break it down:

The No. 12 Princeton Tigers almost delivered No. 5 Notre Dame a crushing March Madness upset in first game of the NCAA tournament’s first round. The Tigers trailed by a point and carried the ball up the court in the game’s final 10 seconds, but they settled for a long three-pointer and missed it. Notre Dame escaped with a 60-58 win.

Princeton’s Devin Cannady opted to shoot a three-pointer instead of driving to the basket, even though two points would’ve won the game. The three was a deep one, and it didn’t fall. It would’ve been a remarkable moment if it had.

There’s something uniquely manic about the first weekend of March Madness. So many games are going on, you know you can’t watch them all. The matchups are taking place at various arenas all across the country, and it’s impossible to keep track of what location a certain game is happening in if you’re constantly skipping between channels.

It’s a unique experience for announcers, too. A single crew will announce all four games that happen on Thursday or Friday, bringing in the widely recognizable announcers and people you’ve likely never heard of. Working four games in a day is incredible.

Arguably one of the greatest days of the entire sports year is finally here, the first day of the NCAA tournament. There will be plenty of action on day one, including the defending National Champion, Villanova Wildcats, starting their road to repeat titles. If you’re away from a TV for any reason on Thursday, you’ll still be able to watch any game you’d like.

Every game will be streamed online here on March Madness Live. If you’re away from a computer, you can download the app to stream from your mobile device in the App Store or Google Play store. It will also be available on Roku. It should be noted that March Madness Live requires authentication through your TV provider login.

On Thursday morning CBS Sports’ March Madness bracket site went down. Likely crushed under the weight of traffic, what followed for thousands of procrastinators was their worst nightmare. Waiting to fill out their brackets until the last second, they quickly realized how serious things had become.

Tom Crean Anger Level: