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The first win for a double-digit seed in the 2017 NCAA Tournament was no upset.

Middle Tennessee, a team I tried to warn you about all week, handled No. 5 Minnesota, 81-72. The favored Blue Raiders got the job done in fine style on Thursday out in Milwaukee, and so for the 47th time in the 32 years modern/expanded tournament era, a 12 has toppled a 5. 

Few 12s in years past have been as good was what Middle is now, though. What a team. This could be the feel-good double-digit-seed story of the first weekend. 

If you watched the game, you saw Middle Tennessee, for the second straight season, have little issues with a Big Ten opponent. This wasn’t the shock of last year’s 15-over-2 ending with MTSU beating Michigan State 90-81, but it was just as clear-cut. Middle was brutally under-seeded (I’d have put this team on the 9 line), and Minnesota was clearly overseeded (a 7 would’ve been the right call). 

With this win, Kermit Davis’ team is 5-0 the past two seasons against the Big Ten and SEC. Its win margin in those five games is an impressive 12.6 points. This team is not a Cinderella. It is legitimate, and has been all season long. The Blue Raiders are now 31-4. They have the third-most wins in college basketball at the moment. Thursday’s victory was so definitive, we can look at this team not just in terms of this win, or what it will do against Butler on Saturday — but how far can Middle go?

If you’ve got the Blue Raiders in your Sweet 16, you’re feeling really good right about now. Giddy Potts, Jacorey Williams and Reggie Upshaw — how fun are these guys to watch? Upshaw had a 9-0 run all by himself, an array that included a Dirk-like one-footed fallaway that pushed Middle beyond Minnesota’s meager margins. 

The appeal here isn’t just a team from a smaller conference doing work against the Big Ten. That’s fine and all, but Middle’s bellicose attack methods remind you of the way a 2 seed plays. Yet this program is now the fourth team ever to have double digit seeds in back-to-back years and win first-round games in those seasons. 

Butler’s going to have its hands full. Yes, the Blue Raiders can win that game. Butler’s good, but it’s lost to bad teams this season. If Davis’ team wins on Saturday, then, if the bracket breaks as expected, we could have UNC-Middle in the Sweet 16. And I can’t even write “few would give the Blue Raiders a real chance” because that’s just not true. If we get to that point, Middle will be 32-4 with only one loss in 2017. 

Every year we get at least one double-digit team into the second weekend. MTSU should’ve never been a double-digit seed to begin with, but since it is, it’s got a chance to prove itself as one of the best ever. See you Saturday, Blue Raiders.