10 biggest takeaways from Friday’s NCAA Tournament action

If you had any doubts about whether or not March would truly go mad, Friday answered those doubts with authority. We saw close games up and down the slate of games, highlighted by a historic upset.

For thirteen consecutive hours Friday, the NCAA Tournament treated fans to non-stop action. While some fans may grumble about how that action affected their favorite team or their bracket, the drama could not be topped. From a neutral perspective, Friday’s collection of games were as juicy and as rich as any viewer could have hoped for.

The 16 games on Friday had vast implications for specific teams, the rest of the tournament, and college basketball as a whole. Here are the ten biggest takeaways from the crazy day.

1. UMBC delivers biggest upset in college basketball history

There is no storyline from this day or this tournament that will match UMBC’s upset of Virginia. It was the most shocking result in college basketball history. Not only did a 16 seed beat a 1 seed, but they blew out the top overall seed.

Once the Retrievers started sinking shots in the second half, the game never felt close. Virginia fans, disciples, and defenders always mention the Cavaliers’ leads and point out how their pace makes the margin even more insurmountable. The same turns out to be true when the tables turned. Virginia, facing its largest deficit this season, did not have the time or patience to run its normal offense. The Cavaliers forced shots and failed to get into a rhythm.

That’s not to take anything away from UMBC. The Retrievers were spectacular, led by Jairus Lyles. The scoring point guard won the America East Tournament final with a game-winning three at Vermont and then outdid himself versus Virginia. Lyles had 28 points on 9-11 shooting from the field. Even against the best defense in college basketball, he did everything he wanted. If he continues to play like that, there’s no reason the Retrievers road ends here.

2. Purdue with a hollow victory

As a number two seed, Purdue was expected to easily handle its first round game. The Boilermakers did just that, disposing of Cal State Fullerton fairly easily. Matt Painter had to have felt pretty good about his team after one NCAA Tournament game, at least for a few hours.

Before the afternoon had even finished though, his starting center Isaac Haas had taken X-rays and learned of a broken bone in his elbow that will keep him sidelined for the rest of the tournament. Haas is not just a good player for the Boilermakers, he is the cog at the center of much of what Purdue is trying to accomplish. Learning to play without the 7-foot-2 center on the fly in a matter of days will not be easy.

Thankfully for Purdue, Painter is afforded a luxury most coaches do not have. Purdue’s bench features a second 7-foot-2 center, Matt Haarms. The Dutch big man is built differently and plays very differently than Haas. Haarms is thinner and more mobile, causing altered and missed shots at the rim. He’s a more effective defender than Haas. Haarms isn’t the offensive scorer than Haas has become this year, so the Purdue perimeter players will need to pick up the slack. Carsen Edwards will need to score more and look to get Haarms easy baskets in the paint.

3. Syracuse keeps the First Four streak alive

Eight years ago, the NCAA decided to expand the NCAA Tournament, allowing three more bubble teams in as at-large bids. The last four at-large bids now play each other in Dayton, Ohio for a spot in the round of 64. In all eight years of this new practice, one of the teams advancing from Dayton has then won at least more tournament game.

Syracuse continued that trend this March, upsetting TCU on Friday. With just two days to prep for the vaunted Syracuse zone, the Horned Frogs were bottled up and frustrated. Jamie Dixon took his alma mater to its first tournamentin 20 years, though expectations plummeted after point guard Jaylen Fisher was lost for the season to injury.

Syracuse advances to face Michigan State on Sunday. If Sparty can solve the Orange zone, there’s a chance they’d then face Duke, who also now only plays an effective zone defense. Tom Izzo has his work cut out for him.

4. Big-name teams win tough games

First round games can be a bit of a trap for high seeds. You don’t want a game that’s too close for comfort, with a bad call or the wrong bounce of the ball able to end your season. It can also be tricky to win in a monstrous blowout where your starters barely break a sweat. Every year one of the teams who coasts through the first round comes out flat in the second round.

There is a middle ground, where a game can be a test, but never truly hang in the balance. We saw quite a few of those on Friday.

Cincinnati kept Georgia State at arms-length for the entire game, pulling away to seal the victory. The Bearcats defense, always stingy, showed up late and stifled Georgia State.

West Virginia’s press gave Murray State tons of trouble. The Racers turned the ball over 16 times and West Virginia capitalized. Jevon Carter was dialed in, determined to stop Murray State leading scorer Johnathan Stark. Carter held Stark to just 9 points.

Michigan State attempted to pull away from Bucknell for the entire second half, but the Bison would not go away. Even when Sparty had built a lead and Patriot League Player of the Year Zach Thomas had fouled out, the Bison continued to chip away. Michigan State won by just four points, in a game that didn’t feel that close for most of the second half.

5. North Carolina and Xavier took care of business

On a day where seemingly everything devolved into chaos, some things went according to plan. Though North Carolina and Xavier both took on early runs from their low-seeded opponents, the Heels and Musketeers separated themselves in the second half and collected easy wins.

North Carolina held Lipscomb to just 35 percent shooting from the field, and only 25 percent outside the arc. On offense, Kenny Williams led the way for the Heels. He sank four of five attempts from 3-point land. Senior glue guy Theo Pinson stuffed the stat sheet himself, adding 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Xavier trailed late in the first half before spurting to a run and never looking back. Trevon Bluiett, JP Macura, and Kareem Kanter all topped 20 points and led the Musketeers to 102 total points. Kanter was particularly impressive, notching 24 points in just 20 minute of play.

6. Texas exits in somewhat fitting fashion

Texas sat on the bubble at the end of the regular season because the Longhorns played a brutal schedule and came away with a mixed bag of results. While battling through that difficult slate, Texas played seven overtime games. The Longhorns were mere seconds away from a much better record or a far worse fate than the NCAA Tournament.

It was fitting then for Texas’ first round tournament game to head to an extra session with the score tied. Nevada made a late charge to tie the game then got red-hot in overtime. Caleb Martin made three longballs to put the Wolf Pack ahead and finalize the win.

It was his twin brother Cody Martin who paced the Pack in regulation. With the two-pronged attack of the Martin twins, the Wolf Pack could carry the momentum of the overtime win into an upset on Sunday.

7. Creighton’s Marcus Foster exits with a whimper

One of the most intriguing storylines coming out of the bracket reveal centered on the 8-9 game in the South Region. Creighton is led in scoring by fifth-year senior guard Marcus Foster. In his last two seasons with the Bluejays, Foster has become of one the best isolation scorers in college basketball.

Creighton was matched with Kansas State, Foster’s former school. After bursting onto the scene with a brilliant freshman year, Foster struggled as a sophomore. He and coach Bruce Weber battled, with Weber eventually suspending Foster and finally removing him from the program.

Foster’s performance in the first round game was sure to be dissected by college basketball fans and media everywhere as either heroic or a failure. Sadly for Foster, his game turned out to be the latter. He forced shots and made just 2 for 11 from the field. His final collegiate game ended with just five points, and Creighton lost to Kansas State, without Dean Wade, the Wildcats leading scorer, available due to injury.

8. Auburn cuts it close

Every SEC team not named “Kentucky” tends to sit under the radar in college basketball. That’s the nature of the beast in the conference. Big Blue has dominated, and for most of the rest of the SEC schools, basketball is an afterthought.

When Auburn started to get hot this season, people shrugged them off. The Tigers were dominating while no one (except maybe Charles Barkley) was watching.

Finally when the bright lights found Auburn in the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers nearly blew the opportunity. College of Charleston hung around for the entire game, and likely would have built a lead if the Cougars had shot better than 50 percent from their free throw line. Charleston hoisted a shot to tie the game on its final possession, but came up well short – perhaps thanks to an uncalled Auburn foul.

The Tigers escaped to another chance to prove themselves, Sunday versus Clemson.

9. Butler rides the roller coaster

The Butler Bulldogs have been a high variance team all season long. They have been capable of hot shooting and high-octane offense, but also susceptible to cold spurts. We saw both ends of the spectrum quickly for Butler on Friday.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 21-2 lead over Arkansas. Everything Butler tried to do on offense, it found way to accomplish. The Bulldogs cut through the Razorbacks’ defense like a hot knife through butter.

In the blink of an eye, Arkansas came charging back. Before Butler could even react, the Bulldogs trailed 27-26. Arkansas had totally changed the pace and style of the game. Butler then used halftime to reset and recalibrate, opening up a lead again in the second half. The Bulldogs held that lead and got a win, controlling the game in its final moments.

Purdue saw exactly how Butler could pull of an upset on Sunday, but also a flash of how to attack the Bulldogs and send them home.

10. Marshall exploits Wichita State’s weakness

Wichita State became the second 4 seed to drop its first round match-up, losing to Marshall Friday afternoon. The Thundering Herd, like Buffalo did to Arizona Thursday night, attacked their opponents’ biggest weakness.

Both Arizona and Wichita State struggled defensively all season long. Marshall clearly saw those issues in their scouting and exploited Wichita State’s soft defense. Marshall guard Jon Elmore was fantastic, carrying the Herd to the win. Elmore had 27 points on just 13 field goal attempts. The junior scorer sank 4 of 8 from outside the arc and added 11 for 15 from the free throw line, testing the Shockers’ defense in every phase of the game.

In Wichita State’s first year as a power conference club, this loss will sting. Moving to the American Athletic Conference helped the Shockers earn a high seed, yet Wichita State could not execute and make a run in the tournament.

Shane McNichol covers college basketball and the NBA for Larry Brown Sports. He also blogs about basketball at Palestra Back and has contributed to Rush The Court, ESPN.com, and USA Today Sports Weekly. Follow him on Twitter @OnTheShaneTrain.