By Zion Williams, Staff Writer
The 2023 edition of March Madness is here, and it has certainly lived up to its name so far, delivering on its annual promise of excitement. In the first round, we have seen upsets, comebacks, and games that have gone down to the wire. Rankings have seemed irrelevant, and no clear favorites have emerged.
Maryland opened the tournament with a 67-65 win over West Virginia. Maryland struggled early in the game, only scoring four points through roughly a quarter of the game. They did not score for eight minutes, going down by 12 before Jahmir Young continued the scoring for Maryland from the free throw line. Maryland worked themselves back into the game to lead by two at the end of the first half.
Tied at 59 with three minutes and 40 seconds left in the second half, West Virginia thought that they had forced a turnover, but the ball bobbled between four Mountaineers before landing in the hands of Maryland’s forward, Julian Reese. Reese found guard Hakim Hart for a wide-open dunk, and the Terrapins never lost that lead. Guard Kedrian Johnson missed the potential game-winner for West Virginia at the buzzer.
No. 13 Furman beat No. 4 Virginia in the first upset of this year’s tournament. Virginia started the game going on an 8-0 run before Furman converted from the three-point line to stop the Cavaliers’ momentum. The three-point line would be key to Furman’s success, whereas it was an area where Virginia struggled. Furman finished the half down 32-27. Much of the excitement was still to come.
Furman had possession of the ball down 66-63 with 27.0 seconds left in the game, as guard Marcus Foster missed from three, and Virginia’s Kihei Clark was quickly fouled after grabbing the rebound. Clark converted a free throw, putting Virginia up by four, but forward Garrett Hien responded, converting two free throws at the other end. Two Furman players trapped Clark after his offensive rebound, who carelessly heaved the ball up the court to be intercepted by Hien. Hien found guard JP Pegues, who hit the triple that won the game 68-67 for the underdogs.
No. 15 seed Princeton upset No. 2 seed Arizona 59-55, a result that busted many brackets. Arizona controlled the tempo, leading for most of the game. However, Princeton was never far behind. They took advantage of their size, scoring many of their points in the paint, as well as converting many of their second-chance opportunities.
Arizona went into the second half leading 31-30, but with two minutes and three seconds left on the clock, Princeton guard Ryan Langborg gave his team their first lead of the game after a strong drive to the basket and a contested finish. Down 58-55 with 21.7 seconds left on the clock, Arizona missed two opportunities from beyond the arc, threes that could have tied the game or given them the lead. Princeton forward Tosan Evbuomwan converted the free throw that sealed Virginia’s 59-55 defeat.
In a moment of March Madness history, Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) became the second no. 16 seed to win a game in the Men’s NCAA tournament after defeating no. 1 Purdue 63-58. Despite the discrepancy in seeding, FDU never looked uncomfortable, leading for much of the first half. They went on an 8-4 run to finish the first half up 32-31. FDU then went on a 9-2 run, with points from forwards Sean Moore and Cameron Tweedy, early in the second half to increase their lead to 41-36.
Purdue responded with an 11-0 run ignited by a three-point play from center Zach Edey, scoring while he was fouled and converting the free throw. Down the stretch, FDU held Purdue scoreless for more than five minutes and took a 58-53 lead. Purdue battled back, but FDU refused to relinquish their lead. In the final 11.6 seconds, FDU played strong defense, blocking two scoring attempts and forcing an airball during Purdue’s last possessions to seal the win.
In addition to the drama, upsets, and close games, there were some convincing performances in the first round as well. Alabama defeated Texas A&M-CC 96-75 and will face a much tougher challenge in Maryland in the second round. Baylor beat UCSB 74-56, matching up against no. 6 Creighton in the second round. UCLA downed UNC Asheville 86-53 and look to continue their success against Northwestern in the second round.
Kansas defeated Howard 96-68 and will face no. 8 Arkansas in the next round. No. 10 Penn State convincingly beat no. 7 Texas A&M 76-59, but they will face a tough challenge in no. 2 Texas, who beat Colgate 81-61, in the second round. Houston, many people’s tournament favorites, defeated N Kentucky 63-52, matching up against Auburn in the second round. All in all, it was an exciting first round that indicates the title is still very much up for grabs.
