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2016 NCAA Tournament: A Day Full of Upsets

By Shelby Caudill

Mar 18, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders players celebrate after the game against the against the Michigan State Spartans in the first round in the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Scottrade Center. Middle Tennessee State won 90-81. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders players celebrate after the game against the against the Michigan State Spartans in the first round in the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Scottrade Center. Middle Tennessee State won 90-81. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
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Day Two of the 2016 NCAA Tournament Was a Day Full of Upsets

I love March. I love the NCAA Tournament. I love upsets. Therefore, day two of the 2016 NCAA Tournament was a lot of fun for me.

In case you missed it, there was even an upset of a unprecedented 2-seed, a team many thought were going to win it all.

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Let’s take a look at what happened in day two of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

15-Middle Tennessee State University 90, 2-Michigan State 81-You read that right, the 15-seeded Middle Tennessee State took down the 2-seeded Michigan State Spartans. I, like many others, thought the Spartans were almost a shoe in for the Final Four, but the Blue Raiders had other plans. Up six at the half, the Blue Raiders were just too much for the Spartans to handle, every time the Spartans would catch up, the Blue Raiders had a response. It may be one of the biggest upsets in recent NCAA history.

1-Oregon 91, 16-Holy Cross 52-The Oregon Ducks were too much for Crusaders to handle. They stood no chance, it’s as simple as that.

2-Villanova 86, 15-UNC Asheville 56-Similar to that Oregon-Holy Cross game, the Villanova Wildcats were too much for the UNC Asheville Bulldogs to handle. It was an easy win for the Wildcats to send them into the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

2-Oklahoma Sooners 82, 15-CSU Bakersfield 68-The Roadrunners gave the Oklahoma Sooners a run for their money for most of the game, but the Sooners prevailed as time ran out. Honestly, I felt like the Roadrunners had a chance until empty possessions plagued them. It was a close game many times, but the Sooners were just too much.

14-Stephen F. Austin 70, 3-West Virginia 56-I don’t know what happened to the West Virginia Mountaineers. They must’ve looked past the Lumberjacks and allowed them to take advantage of that. I had a lot of faith in the Mountaineers to make it quite far in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, but they were absolutely rolled in day two. The Lumberjacks took the lead and never looked back and never allowed the Mountaineers to get in-sync.

2-Xavier 71, 15-Weber State 53-The Weber State Wildcats put up a good fight against the Xavier Musketeers, but they just couldn’t keep up with the talent of the Musketeers. It wasn’t an easy win per say, the Wildcats did leave it all out on the court, but ultimately fell to the Musketeers.

3-Texas A&M 92, 14-Green Bay 65-It was a slow start for both the Texas A&M Aggies and the Green Bay Phoenix until the end of the first half. Once the Aggies got in a rhythm, the Phoenix stood no chance. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t rule out the Aggies making a run in the tournament.

5-Maryland 79, 12-South Dakota State 75-This was not a run away win by the Maryland Terrapins, in fact, many times I thought the South Dakota State Jackrabbits were going to pull out the win. But the Terrapins made game winning plays towards the end and luckily pulled out the win after fouling a three-point shooting Jackrabbit. Maryland should be interesting to watch going forward.

13-Hawaii 77, 4-Cal 66-Talk about another upset. I thought the Cal Golden Bears were set to make a small run in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. However, the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors took the lead, lead at halftime and never looked back.

7-Iowa 72, 10-Temple 70-This was a fun game to watch. It was tied at the end of regulation and was won by the Iowa Hawkeyes by a last second tip in. The Temple Owls did everything they could to upset the Hawkeyes, but just didn’t prevail in overtime.

10-Syracuse 70, 7-Dayton 51-I knew the Syracuse Orange were going to be too much for the Dayton Flyers to handle…and they were. The Orange upset the Flyers with an easy win to move on in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, somewhere they weren’t even sure they’d be this year.

10-VCU 75, 7-Oregon State 67-The VCU Rams easily handled the Oregon State Beavers. Another upset of a seven-seed. It wasn’t an exciting game, but they all can’t be.

7-Wisconsin 47, 10-Pittsburgh 43-Even though the Wisconsin Badgers only scored 16 in the first half and the Pittsburgh Panthers scored 22, the Badgers were able to outscore the Panthers in the second half. Ugly game, low score, no fun.

11-Northern Iowa 75, Texas  72-Watch out for the Northing Iowa Panthers. They’ve knocked off the overall number one seed earlier in the year and have what it takes to make a run in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. It came down to the wire, but the Panthers were able to make a half-court last second shot to win.

6-Notre Dame 70, 11-Michigan 63-Up until the end of the second half, this was an exciting game to watch. Personally, I thought the Notre Dame Fighting Irish was going to run away with the win, but the Michigan Wolverines made it hard. By the second half, I fully thought the Wolverines were going to pull the upset. However, as usual, the Fighting Irish made key plays towards the end to pull out the win.

8-St. Joseph’s 78, 9-Cincinnati 76-Another game that came down to the wire, the St. Joseph’s Hawks ultimately ended the Cincinnati Bearcats season. It was a close game from the tip, but the Hawks were able to prevail.

I don’t know about you, but I am ready for day three.

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