There are losses, and then there are meltdowns, and then there is this. North Carolina blew a 19-point lead in the second half and collapsed to No. 11 seed VCU, 82-78, in overtime. It’s the sixth-worst collapse in Round of 64 history and a cursed last month for UNC has somehow descended into a finish from the depths of hell.
There is no coming back from this moment. North Carolina used its powerful transition attack to dominate for the first 30 minutes. Henri Veesaar’s 3-pointer extended the lead to 15 with less than 10 minutes left.
And then defense became utterly optional, and somehow, the plan and execution on offense were even worse.
VCU guard Terrence Hill Jr. scored 14 of his game-high 34 points in the final nine minutes of regulation to force overtime, and North Carolina’s offense also had 11 empty possessions in 13 opportunities to end regulation.
Two missed front ends, including one by senior Seth Trimble with 29 seconds to go, were brutal. The last play of regulation was doomed from the start, and UNC fumbled it out of bounds. It didn’t score a single bucket in overtime, and yet had a chance to force double-overtime when Veesaar toed the line for a pair of free throws down 80-78.
Brick, unintentionally.
Brick, intentionally.
Ballgame.
Caleb Wilson could only bury his face in his hands. The same hands that betrayed him and kept him sidelined with a broken thumb on an innocuous dunk in practice on the eve of the regular-season finale against Duke.
It’s a fitting bow on a disastrous season for North Carolina that started with loads of promise as Wilson exceeded all expectations on his way to All-American honors, but also included Trimble breaking his arm in a wild weight-room accident and Wilson somehow breaking both his left hand and his right thumb in stunning ways. Now it has to swallow one of the worst postseason losses in North Carolina history and kickstart a load of questions surrounding Hubert Davis’ future after he couldn’t steer the Tar Heels away from disaster. A 26-42 record in Quad 1 games isn’t acceptable. Blowing a 19-point lead to VCU ain’t it, either.
Let’s dive into the winners and losers from Thursday’s electric opening slate of March Madness. No one had it worse than North Carolina, although Wisconsin fans might argue otherwise.
Loser: Wisconsin lets go of the rope at the worst time
Wisconsin’s ridiculously fun season is over far too early and in the most stunning fashion. High Point rocked the Badgers, 83-82, with a stunning rally in the nick of time. Nick Boyd looked … mortal if only for a moment. The all-everything point guard delivered 27 points, six assists and five boards in this one, but the audacious lefty didn’t have one more bucket in his bag down the stretch. Boyd’s final stat line is glitzy, but the senior will rue the missed layups in crunch time.
All season long, Wisconsin has walked teams down in the second half. This time, the script was flipped on the Badgers as High Point erased an eight-point deficit in closing time.
Wisconsin got 49 points combined from John Blackwell and Boyd. It shot 39% from 3-point. The team with the best collection of high-end wins will not advance to the Round of 32.
The opposite side of the coin in March Madness is BRUTAL. — Isaac Trotter
Winner: Siena’s special stuff
Yeah, Siena ended up losing to top-seeded Duke, 71-65. Sure, this injured team with no depth ran out of gas down the stretch. A couple of missed dunks and a 3-pointer that did everything but drop may stick in Gerry McNamara’s head forever.
But the feeling they brought back to this wonderful tournament is going to stick for a while. Cinderella was in our presence for all of 38 minutes. The Saints gave Duke the business deep into the second half. They led 43-32 at the break. They led 61-56 with 7:34 to go. McNamara’s boys were right there, frustrating eventual National Player of the Year, Cameron Boozer, along the way. — Trotter
Winner: High Point strikes late to stun Wisconsin
26-year-old, sixth-year senior Chase Johnston notched his One Shining Moment to help High Point rally from an eight-point deficit with four-and-change to go and stun Wisconsin, 83-82. Johnston drilled three triples from the parking lot and deposited the game-winning layup — the 3-point specialist’s first two-point bucket of the season — to send High Point into the second round.
Big, bad Darius Acuff and Arkansas awaits. — Isaac Trotter
Winner: Nebraska gets its first-ever tournament victory
Nebraska was the only program within the high-major structure (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten and SEC) without an NCAA Tournament victory entering the day. That is no longer the case. At long last, the No. 4 seed Cornhuskers have won a game in the Big Dance after dispatching No. 13 seed Troy 76-47. No team has ever notched its first-ever NCAA Tournament win by a wider margin.
This was the first time since 2011 that two teams with a combined zero NCAA Tournament wins have met. But after a hot start from the Trojans, their upset bid fizzled in a barrage of Nebraska 3-pointers and second-chance points. Pryce Sandfort led the charge with 23 points and seven makes from beyond the arc for Nebraska, which will advance to face No. 5 seed Vanderbilt in the second round. Seventh-year coach Fred Hoiberg won just seven games in each of his first two seasons, but his slow build began to take hold over the past three seasons. Now, it has led to a historic breakthrough for one of the sport’s long-suffering programs. – Cobb
Loser: South Florida goes cold in upset bid
No. 11 seed South Florida staged an admirable late rally to turn a Louisville blowout into a tight game, but the Bulls couldn’t overcome a woeful shooting performance as their upset bid fell short in an 83-79 loss to the No. 6 seed Cardinals. South Florida’s 5 of 33 effort from beyond the arc (15.2%) marked its second-worst of the season by percentage. The five makes also tied for the second-fewest of the season from a USF team that became a trendy upset pick following the revelation that the Cardinals would be without star freshman Mikel Brown Jr.
Even without Brown, who has been dealing with a nagging back injury, Louisville’s offense hummed as it opened up a 23-point lead in the second half. Isaac McKneely led the way with 23 points on 7 of 10 shooting from 3-point range as the Cardinals drilled 13 of 25 triples while advancing to face No. 3 seed Michigan State on Saturday. – David Cobb
Winner: TCU gets a crack at Duke
No. 9 seed TCU beat high-end opponents like Florida, Wisconsin and Texas Tech away from home this season and also toppled Iowa State at home. The Horned Frogs are proven giant slayers, and they’ll get a crack at Duke on Saturday after surviving to beat Ohio State 66-64 in the opening game of the first round.
TCU held on for dear life after leading by as much as 15 late in the first half. Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton missed a would-be game-winner from half court as time expired to send the Horned Frogs dancing into the second round for the third time in the past five years. Given how shaky Duke looked against Siena — and who TCU has already beaten this season — the Horned Frogs look more than capable of making a Sweet 16 push. — Cobb
Loser: Duke gets a reality check
Duke forward Maliq Brown said the quiet part out loud after his team’s 71-65 win over No. 16 seed Siena. Brown admitted the Blue Devils expected a “cakewalk.” The game proved anything but. Duke trailed by as many as 13 before using a strong second half to avoid what would have been one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history.
The narrow escape should serve as a wake-up call heading into a matchup with No. 9 seed TCU on Saturday. If the Blue Devils deliver a similar performance, an early exit could be looming. — Salerno
Winner: Mid-major schedulers
High Point did not play a single high-major team until today against Wisconsin. That’s no coincidence. The Panthers are one of the best-resourced mid-major teams in the country, and this deep, talented roster is proof of that.
There’s a reason no high-major willingly signed up to play High Point or Miami (Ohio), Saint Louis, Belmont, Bradley or Northern Iowa. Akron had to go to Purdue to get a game. Add UNC-Wilmington, the CAA regular-season champs, to the list of teams that couldn’t get a spot on a schedule.
Perhaps the emergence of Wins Above Bubble can help change the script. Stanford earned +0.52 WAB for beating Saint Louis on a neutral floor in the Acrisure Invitational. It ended up as the third-best win of the season for the Cardinal.
The idea that there isn’t any upside to playing good mid-major teams rings hollow. In fact, it looks more and more like fear. — Trotter
Winner: Cayden Boozer shows his moxie
Duke was dead to rights and Cayden Boozer just refused to let the Blue Devils go down. The freshman guard delivered 19 points, five assists and zero turnovers. It’s the second-straight game where Cayden, not Cameron, has been Duke’s best player.
The poise and toughness is obvious, but the basketball IQ was on full display. Siena’s half-court defense was swarming a Duke team that is short-handed and doesn’t have enough shooting right now. What did Cayden Boozer do? Pedal to the floor in transition whenever an opportunity presented itself.
Duke doesn’t win this game without the lesser-hyped Boozer brother. — Trotter
Winner: Arkansas’ hyped freshmen make history
Hawaii‘s no-help defense looked like a bad idea on paper against these vroom-vroom Arkansas guards, and sure enough, Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas passed the initial NCAA Tournament test with flying colors.
Acuff totaled 24 points and seven assists. Thomas was right on his heels with 21 points and five assists. It’s the first freshman duo in men’s NCAA Tournament history to notch at least 20 points and five assists in the same game.
Special showing from a special duo. — Trotter
Loser: Saint Mary’s goes out with a whimper
Saint Mary’s‘ bout with sickness came at the wrong time, as the No. 7 seed Gaels fell 63-50 to No. 10 seed Texas A&M while leading scorer Paulius Murauskas came off the bench due to illness. The Gaels wilted against A&M’s up-tempo style while committing an uncharacteristic 18 turnovers. Rashaun Agee led the way for Texas A&M with 22 points on 7 of 11 shooting. This marks nine NCAA Tournament appearances in a row in which Saint Mary’s has failed to advance beyond the first weekend. First-year Texas A&M coach Bucky McMillan has his first win in the Big Dance after leading Samford agonizingly close to a win over Kansas two years ago. — Cobb
Loser: Dybantsa shines, but can’t get help in BYU’s loss
Despite recording 35 points and 10 rebounds, BYU star AJ Dybantsa’s career is likely over after his team suffered an 79-71 loss to No. 11 seed Texas.
The Cougars had been without star guard Richie Saunders for the past month due to a season-ending ACL tear, and the loss underscored how far their ceiling dropped without him. Dybantsa and Robert Wright III combined to score 49 of BYU’s 71 points. Simply put, BYU did not have enough firepower beyond Dybantsa.
After reaching the Sweet 16 in Year 1 under Kevin Young, BYU’s season ended before the close of the first day of the first round. – Salerno
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