The second day of the 2016 NCAA Tournament as the day of upsets and drama. From Middle Tennessee sending Michigan State home, to Northern Iowa beating Texas on a half-court buzzer beater, Iowa using a putback to beat Temple with time running out and Stephen F. Austin using the chaos of playing West Virginia to their advantage in another major surprise.
#15 Middle Tennessee 90 #2 Michigan State 81: THE upset of the tournament, and only the 8th time a 15 seed has beaten a number two. The Blue Raiders stunned the Spartans, the most popular brackets pick to win the tournament, with their aggression, leading wire to wire, dominating through their ability to score in the paint and answer each Michigan State run with a morale killing and-1. Reggie Upshaw led them with 21 points.
#16 Holy Cross 52 #1 Oregon 91: Despite those believing in some devine intervention, the Crusaders weren’t meant for this kind of competeition. Chris Boucher led the Ducks with 20 points, as they outscored Holy Cross by 30 points in the paint.
#15 UNC Asheville 56 #2 Villanova 86: The Wildcats avoid the fate of the Spartans, and don’t even come close that. Dylan Smith scored 14 points for the failed upset, while Daniel Ochefu grabbed himself another double double, scoring 17 points to go with 10 rebounds and 4 assists.
#15 CSU Bakersfield 68 #2 Oklahoma 82: Buddy Hield put on a show in the opening game for the Sooners in the tournament, scoring 27 points as Oklahoma avoided any trouble. Isaiah Cousins and Jordan Woodward helped out with a combined 31 points.
#14 Stephen F. Austin 70 #3 West Virginia 56: There were warning signs all over this game, but it was a lot wilder than expected. Each team turned the ball over 22 times, but the Mountaineers finished with just 30.8% from the field, and struggling to stop Thomas Walkup who finished with 33 points.
#15 Weber State 53 #2 Xavier 71: Xavier didn’t trail once in a game they struggled to break loose from Weber State until the very end. James Farr led them with 18 points, Joel Bolomboy scored 14 for the small school out of Utah.
#14 Green Bay 65 #3 Texas A&M 92: Danuel House scored 20 points and Tonny Trocha-Morelos added 15 points as the Aggies cruised to victory thanks to 51 second half points. Khalil Small scored 22 points for Green Bay.
#12 South Dakota State 74 #5 Maryland 79: Things got a little bit close in the end, but a nice defensive play from the Terps put them in the round of 32, with Jake Layman hitting shots from everywhere to finish with 27 points. Deondre Parks led the Jackrabbits with 22 points.
#13 Hawaii 77 #4 California 66: This is the first win in school history for the Warriors in the NCAA Tournament, and although that big of an upset (double digit seed with a double digit win) usually ends in the next game, they’ll take it. Senior Quincy Smith led Hawaii with 19 points.
#10 Temple 70 #7 Iowa 72: The bad form of Iowa showed against a difficult Temple team, but the Hawkeyes made it through on a Adam Woodbury putback off of a missed shot to win it at the buzzer (not the only Iowan team to do it on Friay). Jarrod Uthoff led Iowa with 23 points.
#10 Syracuse 70 #7 Dayton 51: Some doubted whether the Orange deserve to be in the tournament, but they looked more than capable in their impressive win over the Rams, with Malachi Richardson scoring 21 points and Tyler Roberson scored 10 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, taking 8 offensively.
#10 VCU 75 #7 Oregon State 67: Their first NCAA Tournament in 26 years ended quickly for the Beavers, getting 13 points from Drew Eubanks and not much else. JeQuan Lewis scored 21 points and Mo Alie-Cox added 20 points in an impressive victory.
#10 Pittsburgh 43 #7 Wisconsin 47: An ugly game that is fun to watch (just 38 points in the first half combined), with both teams shooting a combined 35-for-101 from the field. Wisconsin is the 1st team to win an NCAA Tournament game scoring fewer than 50 points since 2003. Ethan Happ led them with 15 points.
#11 Northern Iowa 75 #6 Texas 72: The moment of the first round, and one of the biggest in recent years, as Paul Jesperson hit a half court shot to beat the buzzer and stun the Longhorns, sending the Panthers into the round of 32, being the second Iowa team on the day to win the game on the buzzer.
#11 Michigan 63 #6 Notre Dame 70: The Wolverines didn’t turn their First Four win into a long run in the tournament, blowing a 12-point halftime lead to a more talented Irish team that had their ups an downs during the season. V.J. Beachem led them with 18 points.
#9 Cincinnati 76 #8 Saint Joseph’s 78: The only 8 seed to win, thanks to Isaiah Miles sinking a game winning three pointer with 11 seconds to go. The Bearcats got a dunk off which initially appeared to beat the clock, but was ruled as completed past the buzzer, resulting in the Hawks moving on.