As you settle into the dent on your couch, The Athletic is breaking down the action from Thursday’s first-round games.
You’ve got your laptop, your friend’s laptop, a TV, a second TV and a tablet for streaming. It’s Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament with 16 games over 12 hours of mostly nonstop basketball.
That’s Madness of the March variety.
As you settle into the dent on your couch, The Athletic is breaking down the action. Our takeaways from Thursday’s first-round games:
PITTSBURGH – Oakland delivered the biggest upset on the opening day of the NCAA Tournament so far, birthed a new legend of March Madness and lit Kentucky coach John Calipari’s seat completely on fire Thursday night. Behind Jack Gohlke’s 10 made 3-pointers and 32 points off the bench, the 14th-seeded Golden Grizzlies stunned No. 3 seed Kentucky, 80-76.
Calipari, a Hall of Fame coach who led the Wildcats to the 2012 national championship, has now failed to make the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for a fourth consecutive season. He missed the tournament in 2021, lost to 15-seed Saint Peter’s in 2022 and fell in the second round to Kansas State last year. Now this. Kentucky and athletic director Mitch Barnhart, for the first time since hiring Calipari in 2009, must seriously consider whether it’s time for a change.
One major deterrent is Calipari’s massive buyout, north of $30 million if he’s fired this offseason, but another postseason flameout should be enough to at least consider it. — Kyle Tucker
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Colorado State got Virginia out of its game in the second half, at least to some extent, but the Rams couldn’t get any closer to Texas than six points and fell 56-44 to the Longhorns at Spectrum Center.
The Midwest Region No. 7 seed Longhorns (21-12) advanced to Saturday’s round of 32 and await the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 2 seed Tennessee and No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s. That could mean facing former longtime coach Rick Barnes, of course. Texas coach Rodney Terry was an assistant for Barnes at Texas from 2002-11, then returned in 2021 as associate head coach under Chris Beard.
The Longhorns’ top scorers had bad shooting nights, but Max Abmas and Dylan Disu — who combined to go 10-for-33 from the floor, 1-for-12 from 3-point range — managed some key baskets and scored 12 apiece. Chendall Weaver was key off the bench with 11 points and Tyrese Hunter had a spectacular defensive performance against Colorado State star Isaiah Stevens.
Stevens led the Rams with 10 points but was just 4-for-16 from the field. Colorado State had an all-time ugly first half with 11 points — after holding Virginia to 14 in the first half of its First Four win over the Cavaliers and tripled that in the second. But the Rams could never string together enough plays to apply serious pressure to Texas. The Longhorns won with a single made 3-pointer, from Abmas. — Joe Rexrode
OMAHA, Neb. — Duquesne has been one of the best defensive teams in college basketball during a nine-game winning streak that now has the Dukes on its way to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.
The Dukes won their first tournament game since 1969 with a 71-67 win over sixth-seeded BYU. The Cougars missed their first eight shots and struggled with Duquesne’s constant pressure.
It was a masterful defensive game plan from veteran coach Keith Dambrot, who is retiring at the end of the season. His team has embraced a defensive identity late in the season, and with BYU surging down the stretch, Duquesne’s Jimmy Clark III jumped into a passing lane and threw down a dunk to put the Dukes up four.
BYU went on a 4-0 run to tie the game, but Clark then went on his own 5-0 run. Clark, who was dismissed from VCU in 2021 for unclosed reasons, took over the game with his speed down the stretch. He finished with 11 points and four steals.
Anyone not named Jaxson Robinson struggled to make a perimeter shot for the Cougars. Robinson scored 25 points and made 5-of-11 3s, and the rest of the team was 3-of-13 from distance.
