Big names bite dust
March Madness opened with chaos — No. 1 overall seed Duke survived a scare, while traditional powers North Carolina and Wisconsin were eliminated on Thursday, and top prospect AJ Dybantsa exited early. Those upsets have already blown up many bracket paths and bracket pools. (sports.yahoo.com) (ncaa.com)
Duke trailed 13 points in the second half before rallying to a 71-65 win over 16th-seeded Siena; Cameron Boozer finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds as Duke pulled ahead for good in the final five minutes. (usnews.com)) North Carolina blew a 19-point lead and fell 82-78 in overtime to No. 11 VCU, with VCU’s Terrence Hill Jr. scoring a career-high 34 points and hitting a late 3 that pivoted the comeback. (foxsports.com)) No. 12 High Point upset No. 5 Wisconsin 83-82 on Chase Johnston’s fast-break layup with 11.7 seconds left — Johnston had four 3s in the game and finished with 14 points as the Panthers rallied from a double-digit deficit. (espn.com)) BYU’s star freshman AJ Dybantsa scored 35 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 79-71 loss to Texas, ending BYU’s tournament run while Dybantsa wrapped a season that left him high on NBA draft boards. (ncaa.com)) Bracket fallout: Duke now draws No. 9 TCU in the second round after TCU edged No. 8 Ohio State 66-64 on Xavier Edmonds’ late layup, while double-digit seeds VCU, High Point and Texas all advanced and will reshuffle many popular bracket paths. (cbssports.com)) The Tar Heels’ first-round exit intensified scrutiny of coach Hubert Davis, with commentators calling the loss a major blow to his job security, and Wisconsin’s early exit continued a pattern of first-week tournament disappointments under coach Greg Gard. (si.com))
