Day one of the 2015 NCAA Tournament was one of the more memorable ones as for the first time in tournament history two 14 seeds upset a three seed on the same day, and also for the first time in tournament history five games were decided by one point in the same day.
Notre Dame 69 Northeastern 65: Zach Auguste scored 25 points as three seeded Notre Dame survived a scare against 14 seed Northeastern. Northeastern had possession with under 30 seconds left to play down bt two, but Jerian Grant came up with a clutch steal for the Irish to close out the game.
UAB 60 Iowa State 59: The first upset of the day was 14 seed UAB edging three seed Iowa State. Cyclones star Georges Niang struggled, going 4-15 from the field as UAB was applying pressure and double teams on him every time he touched the ball. Iowa State had their chances including a Naz Long open three-point try with .4 seconds left, which didn’t fall.
Georgia State 57 Baylor 56: RJ Hunter, son of Georgia State coach Ron Hunter, stole the show for day one of the NCAA Tournament, bringing GSU all the way back down 13 late in the second half, including 12 straight, to lead the 14 seed Panthers over the third seeded Bears. Baylor lead by 13 with just under four minutes to play when Hunter took over. Then with 2.7 seconds left to play, Hunter pulled up from NBA range to knock down his 16th point giving GSU the lead and eventually upset victory.
Arizona 93 Texas Southern 72: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led the second seeded Wildcats with a double-double, finishing with 23 points and 10 rebounds as Arizona handled the 15 seeded Texas Southern Tigers. Hollis-Jefferson scored 16 in the first half as Arizona ran away with this one early, as the Tigers could never make it a close game.
Butler 56 Texas 48: It was a tough day for the BIG 12, as conference teams were 0-3 on the day including 11 seed Texas falling to Big East foe, and six seeded Butler. Kellen Dunham led Butler and all scorers with 20 points, including a clutch three-pointer with 1:18 to play to seal the win for the Bulldogs. This will set up an all Indiana matchup on Saturday when Butler faces Notre Dame in the Round of 32.
UCLA 60 SMU 59: A questionable goaltending call on SMU’s Yanick Moreira with 13 seconds left send 11 seed UCLA to the Round of 32 defeated Larry Brown’s SMU Mustangs. UCLA was down two with 13 seconds left when Bryce Alford, who finished with 27 points launched the three-point attempt that officials ruled Moreira touched too early. SMU had two different chances after the controversial call but couldn’t convert.
Xavier 76 Ole Miss 57: Matt Stainbrook and Dee Davis combined for 37 points as six seed Xavier downed 11 seed Ole Miss. Stainbrook was a monster in the post shooting 8 of 10 in the paint helping the Musketeers advance to the Round of 32 where they will face Georgia State. Xavier took a 12 point lead into the half as Ole Miss couldn’t capitalize and make this into a close game.
Ohio State 75 VCU 72 (OT): Ohio State started off slow, trailing by as many as 12 until their star D’Angelo Russell finally woke up. The star freshmen finished with 28 points as the 10 seeded Buckeyes defeated the seventh seeded Rams. Russell’s 28 points were the third-most by a Big Ten freshman in any NCAA tournament game. Next up for the Buckeyes in second seed Arizona on Saturday.
Villanova 93 Lafayette 52: Villanova had six guys score in double figures in the battle of two Pennsylvania schools where the number one-seeded Wildcats easily handled the 16th seeded Leopards. Villanova shot 50% from beyond the arc and took a 23 point lead into halftime in a game that was never close.
Cincinnati 66 Purdue 65 (OT): The second game to go into overtime of day one resulted in the eighth seeded Bearcats downing the ninth seeded Boilermakers 66-65 in overtime. Cincinnati trailed by seven with 48.5 seconds left in regulation and forced overtime with a 10-3 run. The loss ends Purdue’s 14 game winning streak in opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament, which was the fifth longest in tournament history.
North Carolina 67 Harvard 65: The Tar Heels survived a scare against the Ivy League champs. Justin Jackson hit a tying jumper in the final minute and then had a fast-break dunk to sent North Carolina into the Round of 32. The Tar Heels led by as many as 16 in the second half, but Harvard would storm back. The Crimson took the lead with under two minutes to play on a Siyani Chambers four point play, but Jackson’s heroics got the job done to eliminate Havard.
Utah 57 Stephen F. Austin 50: SFA couldn’t repeat last years magic, as they lost to fifth seeded Utah. Jakob Poeltl led Utah with 18 points and eight rebounds, giving the Utes their first NCAA Tournament win since 2005.
NC State 66 LSU 65: BeeJay Anya’s tip in with 0.1 seconds left in regulation gave ninth seeded NC State a dramatic win over eight seed LSU. It was a tale of two different halves as LSU went into the break out scoring NC State 40-26, but were outscored in the second half 40-25.
Arkansas 56 Wofford 53: Michael Qualls scored 20 points as Southeastern Conference player of the year Bobby Portis added 15 points and 13 rebounds leading the fifth seeded Razorbacks over 12th seeded Wofford. Arkansas, who likes to play fast, escaped a slow-paced, back-and-forth game that featured 18 lead changes, 10 ties, with neither team owning a lead larger than five points.
Kentucky 79 Hampton 56: Jesus couldn’t save Hampton, as the number one team in the country easily defeated the Pirates. Kentucky had four guys in double figures, led by Karl-Anthony Towns who finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Georgetown 84 Eastern Washington 74: EWU coach Jim Hayford guaranteed his team would pull off the upset, but his team came up just short falling by 10 to Georgetown. The Hoyas shot 52% from the field led by D’vauntes Smith-Rivera’s 25. National scoring leader Tyler Harvey led all scorers with 27 points for the Eagles but it wasn’t enough as the Hoyas paint presence was too much, out rebounding EWU 36-28.
