The first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Tournament (otherwise known as March Madness) began with first round matches on Thursday after two days of play-in tournament games. What we saw in the first full day of action were the impressive upset victories of lesser known universities of McNeese State and Drake, as well as a marginal upset by Arkansas.
McNeese State
The Cowboys won their very first game in the history of March Madness on Thursday as they stunned Clemson 69-67 from Providence, Rhode Island. The most significant story in this contest was the fact that McNeese State dominated the first half as they outscored the Tigers 31-13, and once had a 24 point lead over Clemson before hanging on to a remarkable two point victory.
The most stunning statistic was obviously the fact that Clemson only had 13 first half points. That was the fewest points scored by one team in one half in the history of the March Madness basketball tournament. The Cowboys were led by guard Brandon Murray, who had 21 points. One area of struggle for Murray was the fact that he missed all four free throw shots. McNeese State was a 7.5 point underdog and advanced to the second round in the Midwest Region as the 12th seed.
Drake
Drake, the 11th seed in the West Regional, beat Missouri, the sixth seed, as a 5.5 underdog, by a score of 67-57. Two Bulldogs players reached double digits in scoring. Guard Bennett Stirtz of Liberty, Missouri had 21 points, and guard Talon Banks of Kansas City, Missouri had 10 points. Drake actually reached the final four in 1969.
Arkansas
The Razorbacks, the 10th seed, beat the Kansas Jayhawks 79-72. Arkansas was a 4.5 point underdog in the West Region, and were led by forward Jonas Aidoo of Durham, North Carolina, who had 22 points. Meanwhile, forward Trevon Brazile of Springfield, Missouri had the double double as he had 11 points and 12 rebounds.
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