March Madness shockers
The opening rounds delivered bracket chaos — No. 12 High Point toppled No. 5 Wisconsin, No. 11 Texas knocked off No. 6 BYU, and No. 11 VCU stunned No. 6 North Carolina in overtime, while No. 1 Duke barely escaped 16‑seed Siena after not leading in the second half until 4:25 remaining (nbcnews.com) (nytimes.com).
High Point edged Wisconsin 83-82 after Chase Johnston’s fast‑break layup with 11.7 seconds left gave the Panthers the lead in Portland. (espn.com) Johnston finished with 14 points and four 3‑pointers for High Point, and the 12‑seed now draws No. 4 Arkansas in the Round of 32 on March 21. (msn.com) VCU beat North Carolina 82-78 in overtime as Terrence Hill Jr. poured in 34 points, shooting 7‑for‑10 from long range and drilling a step‑back 3 with 15 seconds left in OT. (espn.com) The Rams erased a 19‑point second‑half deficit — the largest comeback in a first‑round NCAA Tournament game — and will face No. 3 Illinois in the second round. (desmoinesregister.com) Texas defeated BYU 79-71 behind Matas Vokietaitis (23 points, 16 rebounds) despite AJ Dybantsa’s 35 points for the Cougars. (espn.com) Texas reached the first round by winning a First Four game over NC State and is scheduled to meet No. 3 Gonzaga in the West Regional Round of 32 on March 21. (espn.com) Duke survived Siena 71-65 after trailing at halftime 43-32, with late defensive plays and Isaiah Evans’ late slams helping the Blue Devils close the gap. (espn.co.uk) The victory keeps Duke’s record at 33-2 and sends them to a second‑round matchup against TCU on March 21 in the East Region. (sports-reference.com)
