This feature is part of VICE Sports’ March Madness coverage.
The second day of the 2016 NCAA Tournament is in the books, and it was far wilder than the first, as a No. 15 seed, No. 14 seed and No. 13 seed all pulled off upsets, to go along with a halfcourt buzzer-beater. Let’s get caught up on all the action.
Videos by VICE
Read More: Duke-Yale Is An Underdog Battle, Whether You Like It Or Not
The biggest upset ever?
Michigan State became the eighth No. 2 seed to ever lose to a No. 15 seed, falling to the Middle Tennessee State, 90-82.
This was stunning in many ways. The Blue Raiders never trailed the Spartans, and they didn’t need a spectacular shooting performance to pull off the upset, as many underdogs do. They simply kept driving and driving, and it worked.
Moreover, MTSU wasn’t some underseeded team that didn’t get any respect from the selection committee. Coming into the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Raiders were ranked No. 125 in the country by KenPom.com and had no top 100 wins. They were seeded appropriately. Meanwhile, Michigan State was underseeded. Advanced metrics—and virtually everybody else—saw the Spartans as a No. 1-seed.
As such, it’s not crazy to say that this was the biggest NCAA Tournament upset of all-time. This wasn’t just a No. 2 over a No. 15, which is big in its own right. This was an undisputed lightweight beating the betting favorite to win the national championship. The Spartans were 17-point favorites over the Blue Raiders. That’s a lot of points!
TFW you’re all dressed up and have no place to go. Photo by Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
There’s usually some retrospective matchup quirk that can explain these kinds of upsets. When Florida Gulf Coast shocked Georgetown a few years ago, they played an up-tempo, high-flying nobody saw coming. Norfolk State once upset Missouri by taking advantage of a small, shooting-reliant Tigers team. But MTSU? They just straight-up outplayed Michigan State. Play this game 100 more times, and that might never happen again.
Don’t let someone tell you that you have recency bias—this was the biggest NCAA Tournament upset you’ve ever seen. Until a No. 16 seed beats a No. 1 seed, you won’t see a bigger one.
We have a new leader for buzzer-beater of the year
Northern Iowa pulled out an incredible win against Texas, thanks to this half-court buzzer beater from Paul Jesperson:
Iowa has the best basketball
I am from Iowa, so #bias alert here, but I am officially declaring Iowa the best basketball state. Iowa only has three million people and four Division I teams, but it is tied with Indiana for the most teams in the round of 32, with three—No. 4 Iowa State, No. 7 Iowa and No. 11 Northern Iowa. For comparison, Indiana has twice as many people and 10 Division I teams. Then there’s California, which has 38.8 million people and 24 Division I teams, but zero round of 32 teams.
As the natives say, Go Iowa Awesome.
Iowa launched the political rise of Donald Trump, and graphics like these are as good an explanation as any. Image by Kevin Trahan
Tweet of the day
Notre Dame ended up beating Michigan, but this sums up the Irish’s first half pretty well:
Stephen F. Austin’s destruction of West Virginia was a work of art
West Virginia, appropriately nicknamed “Press Virginia,” is known for the constant pressure defense it plays, no matter the opponent or the score. That has beaten both Kansas and Oklahoma this year, and it figured to frustrate a mid-major like Stephen F. Austin, as smaller teams typically don’t have the talent and raw athleticism to break the press.
But instead, the Lumberjacks broke the press better than anyone has all season, en route to an easy 70-56 win.
WVU usually forces turnovers, but SFA only turned the ball over on 10 percent of their possessions, while the Mountaineers turned it over a whopping 31 percent of the time. As a result, the Lumberjacks had a 29-4 edge in points off turnovers.
Just watch this press break. It’s beautiful:
Stephen F. Austin was one of the most underseeded teams in the tournament, and after beating West Virginia, the Lumberjacks are ranked No. 25 in KenPom. They didn’t win by shooting well or rebounding well—they just turned West Virginia’s strategy on its head.
Quote of the day
Oops!
Hawaii should be your adopted underdog
We told you to pick Hawaii as one of your upsets, because the Rainbow Warriors quietly have a really good team. They’re ranked No. 49 in KenPom, with a win over Northern Iowa and a near-win over Oklahoma. Now, they add a convincing win over Cal, beating the Bears 77-66.
Hawaii has a great chance to beat an underachieving Maryland team to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Take the Warriors, and adopt them as your team this March. You won’t regret it.
What makes Hawaii so lovable is that there is no way on Earth this team should be any good. Hawaii’s athletic department is essentially broke, and it needs state help to pay for travel expenses. That’s because a flight from Hawaii to the mainland takes at least five hours and costs over $500 per person. Everyone else in college sports plays on the mainland, so that’s where the Warriors have to go for games.
Add in that built-in disadvantage to the fact that Hawaii has a first-year head coach in Eran Ganot, who you can read about here, and this team—which was just average last season—should not be good. Yet somehow, the Warriors are. That’s a success story unlike any other in the NCAA Tournament.
Win and advance; lose, and you’re on a plane back to Hawaii. You’d be pysched, too. Photo by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Tweet(s) of the day II
Iowa senator Chuck Grassley is very bad at Twitter. (Editor’s note: by bad, we mean very, very good). He likes to talk about dead deer:
As a result, Michigan representative John Dingell had an applicable reaction to Grassley’s live-tweeting of Texas-UNI:
Dunks are good until they are bad
There are people who think that basketball should only consist of layups and mid-range jumpers. Don’t be one of those people. Dunks make everything fun. They are awesome.
Want to dunk on your opponent as time expires on your already-sealed win? Go for it. Want to dunk when a layup would be easier? Do it. Want to do a 360 dunk because 360 degrees are better than zero degrees? I support you. Almost every time is the right time for a dunk. The only wrong time for a dunk is when the time is running out and you need to get the ball out of your hands.
So guess what Cincinnati did, needing two points to go to overtime against Saint Joseph’s:
Noooooooooooooo! Do not dunk when there are 0.2 seconds left! You do not have time to dunk!
As expected, that basket was waved off and Saint Joe’s won.
VICE Sports Tom Crean Memorial Coach Photo of the Day
TFW you’re one of like six people in America to have picked Michigan State’s first-round loss. Photo by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
As always: you’re welcome, America. On to the round of 32!
