Takeaways from Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament

College basketball fans live for the first few nights of the NCAA tournament. There is no other point in the season that truly feels like March Madness quite like those opening nights. More opportunities for upsets, teams getting to play in the tourney for the first time in decades, and non-stop basketball from sunrise to sunset. Yesterday was that first day, and I sat down in a comfy chair and watched every single game (or as much as I could of every game), and here are my takeaways from each.

pc: Matt Pendleton - USA Today Sports

West Virginia vs. Maryland

Some games are so bad they're good, and this was one of those games. From the get go both of these teams looked really bad, and that only changed a couple of times throughout the game. Both teams jumped out to big leads at points just to give those leads up almost immediately. Maryland was so bad in the first half that I didn't think they stood a chance despite the fact they took a two-point lead into halftime. The second half was better than the first, but not by leaps and bounds. The only thing that stood out to me was the energy Maryland big man Julian Reese played with to finish the game, which I do think is why they won. All in all, if Maryland wins their next game I will be significantly more shocked than if a 16-seed were to beat a 1-seed.

Furman vs. Virginia

Dare I say game of the day? I picked Furman to win this game, and for good reason. They have had a fantastic offense all season, and we saw that first hand in this one. In addition to that, Ben Vander Plas, who may be Virginia's best player, was out for this game. Despite those two facts, Virginia was in control of this game for the large majority of the time. Furman did a great job of staying in the game, and in the end that's all they needed to do. In the closing seconds, Virginia's Kihei Clark, the veteran leader of this team, throws a full court heave to Furman, who then got the ball to a shooter who made the game winning three. One of the craziest moments I've seen on opening weekend, and of course it was against Virginia. I like Furman to beat San Diego St in the next round too, because this team's offense is legitimately one of the best in the entire tournament.

Utah State vs. Missouri

All season long I've loved Missouri. They've had their ups and downs, but when I saw them beat Kentucky I knew they had something that I liked. That's why I picked them to win in this game, and they did that pretty easily. Utah State hung with Missouri for the majority of this game, but in the end it wasn't enough. Missouri has a seriously solid offense, and when they get hot I think they can beat any team in the tournament. I do think their inconsistency will end up killing them, but they stayed solid in this one to coast to a pretty comfortable win.

Kansas vs. Howard

All I gotta say is that Howard was in this game for the majority of the first half. Kansas went on a run right before the half, and it seems like that run never stopped. We all knew Kansas was going to win this game, but I have to give props to the Bison. If they were slightly higher seeded they could have seriously competed with a two or three seed. Kansas moves on to take on Arkansas in a talent filled second round matchup.

Charleston vs. San Diego State

For a game that was decided by only six points and was relatively close the whole time this was a pretty meh game. I think everyone was expecting Charleston to come away with the upset here, and when they didn't we kind of checked out. San Diego State looked pretty good, but I didn't see anything special. Next round they take on Furman, who I guarantee you will push this team to the edge. That's the game where we may see something from San Diego, so even though I wasn't thrilled with this one I am still excited for that game.

Alabama vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

This game was never close, and yet there was still several great story lines. Brandon Miller didn't score a single point in this game, and now reports are saying he may be injured. That could seriously hinder their championship hopes. Then you have TAMUCC's Trey Tennyson, who was single-handedly cooking the entire game. Finally you have Ross Williams, who makes a three at the final buzzer to keep Alabama from covering the spread. All in all, we got a very interesting blowout game. With that being said, Alabama let an unknown team score 75 points on them, which does worry me slightly. They did score 96, but if we are being realistic they should have won this game by forty.

Arizona vs. Princeton

I'll admit it, and if you follow me on Twitter (ThreewindEthan) you already know this, but Arizona was my pick to win the whole tournament. They had the best frontcourt in the country all year long, and I thought that could carry them to a championship. Boy was I wrong. Princeton comes away with the upset of the tournament and takes down Arizona in the final minutes of the game. Azuolas Tubelis was the only guy who showed up for Arizona, the rest of the team was out there getting their cardio in. Princeton didn't even play that good, Arizona just played horribly. I think Princeton gets crushed in the next round. This is not a St. Peters scenario, Arizona was just that bad. We are going to be talking about how bad of a performance this was for years to come, and rightfully so.

Illinois vs. Arkansas

This was a boring game apart from maybe five minutes. Arkansas was winning the entire game, and other than the one run that Illinois made they were never in danger. Arkansas looked good, but they weren't electric. Illinois just looked incredibly average, and that's not enough to beat a team as talented as Arkansas. Next round against Kansas will be when we really get to test Arkansas' mettle.

Auburn vs. Iowa

This game was the slightly more entertaining version of the Illinois vs. Arkansas game. Auburn was winning the entire game, but at a point it looked like Iowa was going to come back and win. Auburn goes up by 18 points, and then the next thing you know Iowa is only down by four. Iowa was never able to get over the hump, but for a few minutes there they had the fans on the edge of their seats. Auburn looked really solid, but I do think they're a little too inconsistent to make any real noise. They did luck out when they got put in Houston's region, because I do think that's the most upset ready one seed. That will be a very fun game in the second round.

Oral Roberts vs. Duke

Duke is hot, that's all I have to say. Oral Roberts is a seriously good team, and they got absolutely embarrassed. I don't know what has gotten into this Duke team, but they are the hottest team in the country right now. They could seriously go deep after a season where most people checked out on them. Not only is their offense great, but their defense has also gotten significantly better as of late. I like them to beat Tennessee next round, and I could see this team going on a run to the Final Four.

Texas vs. Colgate

People were picking Colgate to win this game, and that was incredibly dumb. This Texas team is something special, and they showed it in this game. Colgate is a good team, and they got the breaks beaten off of them. Do not sleep on this Texas team, I think they are the best 2-seed in the tournament and I think they come out of their region. They are great on offense, not bad on defense, and they're very deep. Now they do play Penn State in the next round, and that team is very hot. Everyone should circle that game on their calendar and tune in because I guarantee you it will be electric.

Boise State vs. Northwestern

I'm not going to lie to you, this game was my least watched game of the day. I couldn't care less about either of these teams, and for good reason. Neither of these teams stood out to me as potential Cinderellas, and nothing against them but they are both just average tournament teams. The only storyline that interests me is that Northwestern lost Pete Nance to North Carolina, and now they're in the second round of the tourney while UNC sits on their couch. Northwestern is going to lose to UCLA in the second round, so good win for them but that's probably all we'll see from them.

Louisiana vs. Tennessee

I wanted Louisiana to upset Tennessee so bad, and it almost happened. Tennessee remains a defensive powerhouse, but their offense looked terrible. They win this game by three points, and they never really broke away from the Cajuns. They were outperformed in the second half, and were lucky that Louisiana came out of the gates slow. Tennessee barely scrapes by and now they have to play Duke in the second round. The only way Tennessee wins that game is if their defense is the best it's been all year, and I don't see that happening. I foresee an early exit from this Tennessee squad.

Northern Kentucky vs. Houston

This was actually a pretty good game even though it was the 1-seed vs. the 16-seed. NKY was only down three at halftime, and they stayed in the game pretty much all night. Eventually Houston got some wiggle room, but I think you have to give props to NKY. Houston, as always, is a team that prides itself on it's defense, and that showed. Their offense looks stale when Marcus Sasser isn't cooking, and now that he may be hurt I'm not sure Houston has the greatest shot at winning this whole thing.

UCLA vs. UNC Asheville

All I can say is that UCLA went to work. UNC Asheville was considered by many to be the best 15-seed in this tournament and they got destroyed. This UCLA team hasn't been incredibly consistent this year, but when they're on they're on. If they can stay solid throughout this tournament then I expect them to go deep. Their strength is their depth, and we saw that in full effect in this one. All of their top guys played well and the bench chipped in too. I expect them to make quick work of Northwestern in round two.

Penn State vs. Texas A&M

These two teams were on opposite ends of the skill and effort spectrums in this game. Penn State came out of the gates hot and Texas A&M looked sluggish all night. Penn State took a big lead into the half, and despite Texas A&M gaining some momentum in the second, they were able to hold on. A lot of us saw this coming considering Penn State was one of the hottest teams in the nation going into the tournament, but this was still pretty disappointing from Texas A&M. Penn State matches up against Texas in round two, and even though they will likely drop that game, they are hot enough to pull off the upset.