And now, finally, an answer to one of the biggest questions as the NCAA Men’s Tournament began on Thursday: what is a paladin?
It turns out to be heartbreaking. More specifically, it’s heartbreaking for the Virginia Cavaliers.
More seriously, a paladin is a knight, often renowned for his honor and heroism.
Maybe they should be credited for good defense as well.
Furman’s 13th-seeded Paladins stole the show on Day 1, outscoring No. 4 seed Virginia 68-67 in a wild finish that gave us our first major upset of the day. Hours later, No. 15 seed Princeton joined the party, knocking out No. 2 seed Arizona.
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That’s what we want on day one of Madness: parentheses that break nationwide and double-digit seeds that shock everyone (except themselves, at least if you’re in Princeton).
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But other top seeds looked dominant – which is what they’re supposed to look like, especially in their first-round matches. It all comes together to deliver an intriguing second round. But first, we still have a full day of first-round matches, which can create even more chaos.
For now, here are the winners and losers from Day 1.
Winners
Cinderella
There’s no such thing as an upheaval – or two!
First, in the Virginia-Furman game, the Paladins’ stifling and trapping defense had Virginia elder Kihei Clark freaking out, and he threw a dangerous cross pass as the final seconds of the game drew to a close. That pass was intercepted by Furman’s Garrett Hien, who kicked JP Pegues, who had missed all three of his previous long-range attempts. Pegues calmly buried the 3 to come back 68-67. After a time out, Virginia’s attempt at victory was called off.
Then, in Arizona-Princeton, the Wildcats were ice cold from the field in the 4:43 (0 for 7) final as Princeton went an unlikely 59-55 upset. Arizona missed many shots in the final two minutes that could have won it, and Princeton iced the victory with free throws. This is the third year in a row that a 15 beats a 2.
Maryland
Trailing as much as 13 points in the first half and looking half asleep in the first game of the day, the Terrapins came back behind sophomore forward Julian Reese’s 17 points and nine rebounds, beating West Virginia 67 -65. The victory moved Maryland through to the second round, where the Terps will face No. 1 seed Alabama overall. In a back and forth — the game had nine draws and 11 lead changes — points in the paint (34-24 Maryland) were the difference.
The Terps will need to start and play much better to compete with the Tide on Saturday, but picking up a win and coming from behind should give them confidence. This is especially important when you consider how far from home Maryland has been (5-11 coming Thursday) this season.
UCLA
A look at the No. 2-seeded Bruins’ dominance on Thursday: At one point late in the first half, UCLA had more shots made (16) than UNC Asheville had attempts (15 ). It didn’t in the end, but it was still an impressive 86-53 blitz. The Bruins scored 30 points on Asheville turnovers and outscored the boards 40-25. All five starters scored 10 or more points, except for Tyger Campbell – he had seven points but handed out 10 assists.
duke
On a tough day for the ACC (see Virginia), the Blue Devils were never challenged in their 74-51 win over Oral Roberts. One of the best teams in the country in the final weeks of the regular season, the Blue Devils shot 48.4% from the field and dominated the battle for rebounds (46-32). Led by Jeremy Roach’s 23 points (on just 17 shooting), Duke advances to face No. 4-seeded Tennessee on Saturday.
losers
Brandon Miller
The best freshman in the country, and perhaps the best player in the country, had a tough first NCAA tournament. The 6-foot-9 forward, a likely NBA lottery pick despite the controversy swirling around him, went 0 for 5 from the field in 19 minutes of play, finishing with five rebounds, three assists and three turnovers. The No. 1 seed overall has always had a win without him, but Miller’s play will be critical going forward.
Offense Fans
Man alive, there were some nasty shootings on Thursday. An impressive 19 of the 32 teams that were in action shot 43% or less from the field, with 11 teams shooting less than 40% — and some of those teams won! None were worse than Northern Kentucky, which shot 27.5 percent from the field.
Teams missed easy shots, took bad shots, and missed all kinds of shots badly. The defense is great, but seeing the ball go through the net is just as great. Here’s hoping Friday’s games look better all around.
Houston
Of course, the No. 1 seeded Cougars won 63-52. But the decision to play All-American guard Marcus Sasser just days after suffering a serious groin injury will be questioned by everyone, and rightfully so.
Sasser, who was initially injured in the semifinals of the AAC tournament last week, is key to the Cougars’ title hopes. After re-injuring himself in the first half against Northern Kentucky, he didn’t see the ground in the second half. Did the Cougars just cost each other?
Virginia
Trivia time: What happened to Virginia basketball on March 16? If you said “they made history”, you would be right. It wasn’t the right kind of story — and this year, history repeated itself. This becomes a jinxed date for UVA.
On March 16, 2018, Virginia became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed in the NCAA Men’s Tournament. Five years later to the day, UVA again missed a game in which they were the clear favorite. The worst is how it happened. Tony Bennett’s teams are generally disciplined and smart, so losing to an extremely stupid pass is tough.
Virginia hasn’t won an NCAA tournament game since the 2019 title race, having lost twice in the first round since then.
