March 16, 2000
Perish Louisville. And that's it.
With 16 games in the books, only Louisville, the seventh seed in the West, spoiled what would have been the first upset-free opening day since the NCAA started seeding teams in 1979.
And the Cardinals' setback was anything but a bracket breaker. They were shown the door by upset-veteran Gonzaga, making it one of the least upsetting upsets in recent memory.
Still, it was a rare day.
In the 21 previous years of seeding, on average, four higher seeds get bounced on the first day of the event, including six in last year's draw. And never had there been only one.
Instead, the story of the day was the upsets that weren't. After four higher seeds were pushed to the brink in the early session, three were pressed in the evening games -- with the favorite wiggling off the hook with some last-minute drama in six of the seven games.
Stars of the day
- Tayshaun Prince, Kentucky: Moving from power forward to the small forward spot because teammate Desmond Allison was suspended, the 6-9 sophomore scored a career-high 28 points in the Cats' wild victory. With seven seconds to play in regulation, his 3-pointer tied the game and forced overtime. He also grabbed seven rebounds, blocked three shots and had three steals.
- Richie Frahm, Gonzaga: The player who helped shoot Gonzaga into the spotlight last season did it again, scoring 31 points by making 9 of 14 shots, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range, to lead 10th-seeded Gonzaga to the day's only upset, 77-66 over seventh-seed Louisville.
- Terence Morris, Maryland: The junior power forward scored 22 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the Terrapins' runaway win over Iona.
- Marcus Fizer, Iowa State: Playing in his first NCAA Tournament, the Big 12's Player of the Year scored 27 points on 12-for-18 shooting and had 11 rebounds against Central Connecticut State.
- Lavor Postell, St. John's: His final shot was somewhat controversial (was he fouled on the floor?), but he muscled it in, drew the foul and hit the ensuing free throw to boost the Red Storm past scrappy Northern Arizona. He only scored 12 points, but without him, St. John's would be going home.
Stat of the day: Bombs away Badgers
Hardly known as a 3-point shooting team, Wisconsin let loose against Fresno State. Previously, the most 3-point shots the Badgers had attempted in a game was 16. In the first half, the Badgers took 17 and ended up taking 29 from long range during their 66-56 victory over the Bulldogs.
Jon Bryant was the primary gunner for coach Dick Bennett, knocking down 7 of 11, including four during the 26-6 Badger run that sent Jerry Tarkanian out of the bracket before he could get comfortable.
Turning it over, turning 'em out
Entering the tournament, Gonzaga had committed no more than 19 turnovers in a game. Against Louisville, Mark Few's Bulldogs committed their 19th miscue with 13 minutes to play. They finished with 24, yet managed to pull an upset from the 10th seed for the second consecutive year.
Louisville, by the way, also was a seventh seed last year and also lost in the first round, 62-50 to Creighton.
Tough day at the office
- Saul Smith, Kentucky: He's an easy target, but the coach's son had a rough go against St. Bonaventure. He did have eight assists and seven points, but gave rabid Kentucky fans more ammo by missing all four of his 3-point attempts, fouling out, committing five turnovers and struggling to advance the ball up the floor.
- Courtney Alexander, Fresno State: The nation's leading scorer connected on only 5 of 19 shots against Wisconsin's vicious defense, kept jacking 'em up even though he was wearing defenders like a wetsuit. He finished with 11 points, leaving the Bulldogs just finished.
- Denny Crum, Louisville: Somebody buy the man a new tie. The one he was wearing must have been distracting players in the huddle, leading to the day's only upset.
A Messiah in the clutch
Yes, there were lots of clutch shots on the day, but nobody had more pressure on him than St. Bonaventure guard David Messiah Capers, who had three free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining in overtime against Kentucky.
After Tayshaun Prince hit a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime, it was up to Messiah Capers to send it into the second extra period … but this is a guy who is a 56-percent free-throw shooter.
He makes one … and Kentucky calls time out.
He makes another … and Kentucky calls time out.
And then the 6-3 senior guard calmly dropped in the third to make it a double-overtime game. Even though Kentucky went on to win, that was clutch.
No free throws? No problem
West sixth-seed Purdue couldn't hit free throws down the stretch in its 62-61 victory over No. 11 Dayton, but neither could the Flyers.
First, Purdue's Greg McQuay missed one of two free throws with 23 seconds remaining, making the score 62-60, and keeping Dayton within striking distance.
Dayton could have tied the game with seven seconds left, only to have Brooks Hall miss the back end of a one-and-one, leaving the Flyers a point short.
Then, with 4 seconds left, Purdue's Brian Cardinal had a chance to make it a three-point game, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one … but the Boilers held on when Tony Stanley's 41-footer missed.
Being a nice guy … almost causes loss
That Cliff Ellis sure is a nice fellow, but the Auburn coach nearly allowed Creighton to pull off one of the most improbable comebacks in tourney history. Leading 72-63 with 12.7 seconds left, Ellis inserted sophomore Jimbo Tolbert, who had been the team's manager until last week when he was added to the roster in light of injuries and the suspension of senior star Chris Porter.
After Creighton's Ryan Sears hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to six, Tolbert touched the ball for the first time ever … and threw away the in-bounds pass. He was pulled from the game with 6.5 seconds left. Terrell Taylor immediately sank a 3-ball to pull Creighton to within a trey with 6.2 seconds remaining.
Again, Auburn couldn't connect on an in-bounds pass, giving Creighton a shot to win the game. N'diaye, however, blocked Matt West's shot from the corner, allowing the Tigers to escape a situation that never should have been so sticky.
Sooners' secret? Do it with defense
Oklahoma had lost four first-round games in a row … until they started making sure opponents can't make enough baskets to beat them.
Thursday, the Sooners held Winthrop to 27-percent shooting in their 74-50 first-round victory. That extends a streak of four consecutive NCAA games that OU has held its opponent to 40-percent or worse, which is why the Sooners got to the Sweet 16 last year (Michigan beat them by shooting 40 percent).
They're out
The Missouri Valley Conference had its moment in the spotlight ... and will now go back to relative obscurity, as both Indiana State and Creighton were defeated in the first session.
Shall we count the one-and-dones together?
- The Big Sky (Northern Arizona)
- Northeast (Central Connecticut State)
- Mid-Continent (Valparaiso)
- Trans-American (Samford)
- Mid-American (Ball State)
- Metro-Atlantic (Iona)
- Southwest Athletic (Jackson State)
Big dogs are rolling
Big day for the big conferences.
The SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 took three swings apiece in the first session -- and all resulted in solid singles back up the box. The Pac-10 and Big East are 2-0, while the ACC is 1-0.
That leaves the West Coast (Gonzaga) and Mountain West (Utah) as the only other conferences playing Saturday.
Quote of the day
"Is an unnamed source somebody who I talk to outside who tells me that 65 percent of the men in this room are having extra-marital affairs with sheep?" -- Indiana coach Bob Knight, questioning the validity of unnamed sources at his Thursday news conference.