March Madness Day 1 recap: Best and worst from a day light on upsets

The 2017 NCAA tournament got underway Thursday with a full slate of 16 games that were … kind of boring.

That statement is relative, of course. March Madness is never boring. To say anything to the contrary is heresy. But whereas the first Thursday and Friday of the tournament are often filled with upsets, buzzer-beaters and chaos, this year’s curtain-raiser was anything but.

Here’s a look at a day devoid of the typical March excitement, but not completely devoid of entertainment:

STARTING FIVE

1. Northwestern wins its first-ever NCAA tournament game

Northwestern apparently isn’t satisfied with merely making history. The Wildcats, who are first-time attendees at the Big Dance, took responsibility and made Day 1 of the 2017 NCAA tournament interesting — something nobody else seemed too intent on doing. Purple-clad fans descended on Salt Lake City, and witnessed six lead changes in the final 1:36 of No. 8 seed Northwestern’s game against No. 9 seed Vanderbilt. The Wildcats pulled out a win after blowing a 15-point lead, but its the play that led to the sixth of those lead changes that everyone is talking about…

2. Matthew Fisher-Davis, first the hero, then the goat

Riley LaChance’s layup put Vanderbilt up one with under 17 seconds to play. Three seconds later, Fisher-Davis, who had spurred Vanderbilt’s second-half comeback, made a critical mental mistake. Thinking his team was down one rather than up one, he fouled Bryant McIntosh, whose two subsequent free throws were ultimately the difference in the game. It’s one of the biggest brain farts in NCAA tournament history.

On the surface, it might not have been as damaging of a play as it initially seemed. Northwestern was still shy of the double-bonus, so the foul sent the Wildcats to the line for a one-and-one. And even with two made free throws, Vanderbilt would have the ball in its hands with a chance to win the game. If Fisher-Davis had sent an average free throw shooter to the line, the play alone wouldn’t have sunk Vanderbilt’s win likelihood too low.

The issue, of course, is that McIntosh is an 86-percent free-throw shooter. The other issue was Vanderbilt’s last possession. Rather than attacking the rim, LaChance settled for an NBA-length 3-pointer with a hand in his face. Northwestern survived.

3. Favorites rule the day in 5-12 games

Northwestern was one of 14 higher-seeded teams to survive Thursday, and of the two upsets, one, No. 12 Middle Tennessee over No. 5 Minnesota, wasn’t actually an upset. The Blue Raiders were the only No. 12 seed to advance, but they did so as 1.5-point favorites. Elsewhere, Notre Dame is still alive after Princeton spurned a few potential game-winning shots. Virginia sputtered early and fell behind by 15 to UNC Wilmington, but the Cavaliers’ offense found its rhythm and sent Tony Bennett’s team onto the second round. In the night session, Monte Morris led Iowa State past Nevada. The lack of 12-5 upsets contributed to the uneventful day, but it will set up several intriguing 4-5 matchups on Saturday.

4. Middle Tennessee is the least Cinderella-y of Cinderellas

Middle Tennessee was the talk of the first two days of the tournament at this time last year after shocking Michigan State as a 17-point underdog. This year they returned as one of the bigger stories of the opening day. That’s where the similarities end, however. Whereas last year’s team was a cute little upstart that was squashed by Syracuse in the second round, this year’s squad is a legitimate threat to make more noise. It now boasts a 31-4 record and the No. 40 spot in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings, and has a big three — Giddy Potts, Reggie Upshaw and JaCorey Williams — capable of going head to head with most major conference lineups. The Blue Raiders get Butler on Saturday, and could get North Carolina in the Sweet 16. Don’t bet against them in the second round; don’t rule them out even further down the line.

5. Top seeds struggle, then pull away comfortably

Gonzaga fans were smashing panic buttons at around 2:30 p.m. ET on Thursday afternoon with the Zags toiling against 16th-seeded South Dakota State. Mark Few’s team couldn’t hit wide-open jump shots, and trailed 22-19 at the under-four timeout of the first half. But the Zags found their footing, locked down on defense, and cruised to a 66-46 victory.

Villanova’s win over Mount St. Mary’s later Thursday evening followed a similar trajectory. The Wildcats needed a Jalen Brunson bucket on the final possession of the first half to take a one-point lead into halftime. But Jay Wright’s team went to work in the second half and blew past the No. 16 seed to a 20-point victory.

Both top seeds will be tested on Saturday, Gonzaga by Northwestern and Villanova by Wisconsin, which beat Virginia Tech. But neither should worry about the early trouble Thursday.

WORST DUNK ATTEMPT OF THE DAY, PART I

Dunk City? More like Flunk City! (Sorry)

Brandon Goodwin didn’t just get stuffed by a combination of Florida State player and rim, he hit the ground hard. The Eagles battled the Seminoles, but lost by six.

WORST DUNK ATTEMPT OF THE DAY, PART II

Villanova’s Donte Divincenzo has made a bad habit out of embarrassing missed dunks. Here’s his latest:

Fortunately, DiVincenzo recovered the ball and finished the play with a layup. But still, not his best moment.

TWEET OF THE DAY

Over the past four days, the story of Northwestern and its first NCAA tournament has gone from heartwarming to, for some college hoops fans, annoying. That’s thanks to a few — OK, a lot of — Northwestern alumni in sports media who can’t stop talking/tweeting/raving about their school’s team.

There is one particularly insufferable sports journalist, however, who went to Vanderbilt. So Northwestern Athletics’ official Twitter account couldn’t resist after the Wildcats’ victory:

They weren’t the only ones taking postgame digs at Bayless either. Even one Northwestern player hit him with a quote tweet:

DAD OF THE DAY

It’s Doug Collins. No contest. Doug has set social media into a frenzy before with his reactions while watching his son Chris’ Northwestern games. Sometimes he freaks out. Sometimes he has to pace through the concourse.

Thursday, he had a new strategy: No reactions. None. Not until the final buzzer. So even with Northwestern close to locking up its win over Vanderbilt, and with Wildcats fans erupting into cheers around him…

Stay calm, Doug. Be proud. And get ready for another nerve-racking two hours on Saturday.

FATHER-CHILD FAN DUO OF THE DAY

There’s a lot going on here…

BEST POSTGAME MOMENT

It has to be Northwestern’s locker room celebration:

Followed by Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald’s intrusion:

WEIRDEST POSTGAME MOMENT

DiVincenzo must have had no clue what was going on.

SATURDAY TIP TIMES

With all of Saturday’s matchups set, the TV schedule has also been set for the first day of the second round:

More March Madness coverage from Yahoo Sports:
• NCAA tournament live blog: Follow the action with the Yahoo Sports team
• Perfectly awful: Here’s the worst NCAA tourney bracket
• Vanderbilt’s foul may be the worst March Madness blunder ever
• Former President Obama has two big mistakes in his women’s bracket