THE NIGHT BAYLOR WENT OUT
Georgia St. upset busts West bracket
Maybe if everyone’s bracket is busted, no one’s is?
It was barely after lunch on the West Coast when Georgia State finished the second big upset of the day — in just the first three games. Between the Panthers upset of Baylor and UAB’s takedown of Iowa State, two No. 3 seeds falling that quickly on the tournament’s first big day left almost every bracket blemished.
ESPN says that three games into Thursday, more than 99 per cent of the brackets submitted on their website were damaged by the upsets. That leaves only about 87,000 out of 11.6 million still with a perfect bracket or 0.7 per cent.
Spokesman Josh Krulewitz tweeted that nearly 1 in 6 of ESPN’s brackets — 16 per cent — had Iowa State in the Final Four, and 5.1 per cent had Baylor there.
Just 3.1 per cent of Yahoo Sports users picked UAB to win and 5.9 picked Georgia State.
Just another opening day of the NCAA Tournament. March Madness, indeed:
UAB 60, IOWA ST. 59
William Lee scored the last four points for the 14th- seeded Blazers in their upset win Thursday.
The Blazers ( 20- 15) came in as one of the youngest teams in the field and with nobody having played in this tournament before. They wound up winning the program’s first NCAA game since 2005.
The third- seeded Cyclones ( 25- 9) couldn’t hold onto a 55- 51 lead with 3: 13 left as the Blazers outscored Iowa State 9- 4 down the stretch.
Robert Brown had 21 points and Lee finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers who dominated the boards 52- 37, including 19 on the offensive glass.
Morris finished with 15 points for the Cyclones, who were making a school- record fourth straight tournament appearance.
GEORGIA ST. 57, BAYLOR 56
R. J. Hunter kept firing away, eventually lifting Georgia State over Baylor and knocking his father right off his seat.
Hunter’s 3- pointer with 2.7 seconds remaining capped a comeback from a 12- point deficit and lifted the 14th- seeded Panthers over the third- seeded Bears.
With Ron Hunter working the sideline in a rolling chair less than a week after tearing his left Achilles tendon celebrating Georgia State winning the Sun Belt Conference championship, R. J. shrugged off a poor shooting performance to come through when his team needed him most.
Baylor ( 24- 10), which got 18 points and 15 rebounds from reserve Taurean Prince, did not score after going up 56- 44 on two free throws with 2: 54 remaining.
The junior guard’s steal and layup trimmed Baylor’s lead to 5653, and he drained an NBA- range 3 for the win after the Bears’ Kenny Chery missed the front end of a 1- and- 1 that could have put the game away for the Bears.
Hunter finished with 16 points on 5- of- 12 shooting.
UCLA 60, SMU 59
Bryce Alford made four 3- pointers in the final 3: 40, his last on a rare goaltending call with 13 seconds remaining, to push 11th- seeded UCLA to the upset.
NOTRE DAME 69, NORTHEASTERN 65
Zach Auguste scored 25 points, Jerian Grant added 17 and Notre Dame dodged a scare trying to erase its futile NCAA Tournament history.
The third- seeded Fighting Irish ( 30- 5) returned to the tournament after a one- year absence. They have traditionally struggled in the tournament under coach Mike Brey. They made only one Sweet
16 since 2001.
BUTLER 56, TEXAS 48
Kellen Dunham scored 20 points, including a pivotal 3- pointer with 1: 18 to play, to lift sixth- seeded Butler ( 23- 10).
The Longhorns ( 20- 14) added to a miserable day for the vaunted Big 12. Texas joined Baylor and Iowa State, both No. 3 seeds, as early tournament exits.
ARIZONA 93, TEXAS SOUTHERN 72
Rondae Hollis- Jefferson had 23 points, 16 in the first half, along with 10 rebounds for second- seeded Arizona.
Pac- 12 freshman of the year Stanley Johnson added 22 points for the balanced Wildcats ( 32- 3), who led by as many as 27 points.
XAVIER 76, MISSISSIPPI 57
Matt Stainbrook scored 20 points and Dee Davis added 17 for the sixth- seeded Musketeers.
The 6- foot- 10 Stainbrook took advantage of his size in the post, making 8 of 10 shots in the paint and adding nine rebounds and five assists. Davis hit 4 of 9 shots from 3- point range for Xavier ( 22- 13).
OHIO ST. 75, VCU 72, OT
D’Angelo Russell scored 28 points and rallied 10th- seeded Ohio State from an early 12- point deficit for the overtime win.