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Reviewing Day 1 of March Madness

 

Saint Peter's celebrate the upset (Zach Bolinger, The Associated Press)

    The Madness has begun. An insane Saint Peter's victory over Kentucky busted millions of brackets. After just 1 day, over 20 million brackets lost their chance at perfection, with Kentucky's loss and Richmond's victory over Iowa the prime candidates.
    Just 192 perfect brackets remain in the world, per the official NCAA site, so if you're one of them, well done. Though I whiffed on Kentucky, Connecticut and San Francisco, I had a pretty fruitful day at the office. I went 13-3 and I nailed the Richmond-Iowa upset. My full bracket is down below and I have some tough calls for tomorrow. 
    The games that have me worried are Ohio State over Loyola Chicago, USC over Miami, Notre Dame to win against Alabama, Virginia Tech to take down Texas and my craziest call of the first round, UAB to beat Houston.
    Now that we know what games I have my eye on for Day 2, let's review a wild Day 1 of March Madness.
    In this article, I'll shine a light on the most intriguing games of the day and delve into some key storylines that could impact my bracket as well as yours.



Kentucky Exposed by Lack of Depth

    The reason why so many people had Kentucky going far in their brackets was Wooden Award finalist Oscar Tshiebwe. He's been brilliant all year and last night was no difference. Tsiebwe feasted in the paint, racking up 30 points and 16 rebounds in a truly dominant performance. You'd expect that a game like that from one of the country's best would be enough to beat a somewhat weaker Saint Peter's side. 
    However, the Wildcats lack of depth scoring and floor spacing doomed them to an embarrassing exit in the Round of 64. Saint Peter's made 9 three pointers compared to just 4 for Kentucky. While Saint Peter's second top scorer was Doug Edert with 20 points, Kentucky's top sidekick was Sahvir Wheeler with just 11.
    Luckily for me, I had Kentucky going out before the Sweet 16 for these precise reasons, so it doesn't hurt my bracket too much. Saint Peter's will now go on to play against Murray State, where they will once again be heavy underdogs.

Iowa Fail on the Biggest Stage

    Yet again, the Iowa Hawkeyes didn't live up to expectations in March, falling to the Richmond Spiders. Iowa were a trendy Final 4 pick with a dominant stretch recently. Forward Keegan Murray is one of the biggest college stars in the country, but he couldn't help his team avoid the 5-12 upset. 
    I picked Richmond, because they really seem like a giant killer. They've been hot lately and hey have a history of upsets in the NCAA tournament. However, don't get it twisted. Richmond didn't win this game. Iowa lost it.
    Richmond will now play Providence in a winnable game with a Sweet 16 berth on the line.

Tennessee Look Incredible

    If all goes well, we will have an incredible Elite Eight match between Arizona and Tennessee. Arizona are the best team in the country, by my estimation, and Tennessee are capable of utterly dominating on offense.
    Against Longwood, the Volunteers put on a clinic, scoring at 60% efficiency and making 14 3-pointers. It will be tough to keep up that level of brilliance against tougher opponents, but to me, Tennessee and Arizona are on a collision path. As you can see from my bracket, I anticipate that the Wildcats will prevail, but I didn't imagine that the Vols would dominate the way they did against Longwood.
    Tennessee will fight Michigan in the second round. The Wolverines used their size advantage to get past the 6th seeded Colorado State and will make it more difficult on Tennessee to dominate.

UCLA Could Struggle Against Saint Mary's

    After a Final Four run last year, UCLA were widely expected to have a chance to go even further this year after returning their entire starting 5. However, they looked very vulnerable in their first game against Akron. 
    It was an inefficient shooting night for the Bruins with their top two players, Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez performing particularly poorly. 
    Their opponents in the round of 32 will be the Saint Mary's Gaels, who I predicted to make the Final 4. They've beaten Gonzaga this season and they have the slow pace necessary to pull off some upsets. 
    If UCLA are to replicate 2020's success, they'll need to get more open looks against a polished Gaels team. That's a matchup that I will absolutely be watching.

New Mexico State Pulls Off the Upset

    One of my rare mistakes on the night was picking UConn to beat the New Mexico State Aggies. I knew Teddy Allen was a good player, but I didn't expect the bucket-getting masterclass to lead the Aggies over the Huskies.
    Luckily, I didn't have as much faith in UConn as others did (I only picked them to win one game), so it doesn't hurt my bracket too much. Either way, it was an impressive win by New Mexico State. Allen definitely looks like the type of player that could become a hero for a smaller school. He'll have his hands full against an athletic Arkansas Razorbacks team, but Arkansas' shooting woes should provide the Aggies with hope that they can advance.


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