The first day of March Madness 2011 is officially in the books and it was a doozy! Half a dozen games decided in the final seconds, two major upsets and a couple of minor surprises make this a typical day one for the NCAA tournament. Jimmer Fredette (32 points, 7 assists) and Kemba Walker (18 points, 8 rebounds) also both showed why they are players to watch as they led their teams to victory. NCAA scores and summaries below.
2011 NCAA Tournament Day 1 Scores
East Region Bracket
(12) Clemson 76
(5) West Virginia 84 – The Mountaineers made a big comeback to storm past the tiring Tigers late in the game
(13) Princeton 57
(4) Kentucky 59 – Brandon Knight scored the winning basket for the Wildcats with two seconds left despite being held scoreless throughout the game as Kentucky squeaked by Princeton to move on to the round of 32.
West Region Bracket
(10) Penn State 64
(7) Temple 66 – The Owls nip the Nittany Lions in another last second March Madness thriller.
(15) Northern Colorado 50
(2) San Diego State 68 – The Aztecs overwhelm Northern Colorado.
(14) Bucknell 52
(3) Connecticut 81 – Kemba Walker tossed in 18 points and 8 rebounds in a dominant performance as the Huskies rolled against Bucknell.
(11) Missouri 63
(6) Cincinnati 78 – The Bearcats mauled the Tigers in an impressive performance
Southwest Region Bracket
(13) Morehead State 62
(4) Louisville 61 – No. 13 seed Morehead State pulled off the biggest upset of the 2011 NCAA tournament to date by edging Louisville on a last second three pointer after the Cardinals missed the front end of a one and one.
(12) Richmond 69
(5) Vanderbilt 66 – The Spiders notched another big upset on Thursday, when they stunned the Commodores with a late run.
Southeast Region Bracket
(9) Old Dominion 58
(8) Butler 60 – Last year’s Cinderella team Butler moves on to the second round with an exciting buzzer beater as the Bulldogs edge the Monarchs.
(16) N.C.-Asheville 51
(1) Pittsburgh 74 – The Panthers looked back in form in dismantling N.C.-Asheville in the first round.
(15) UCSB 51
(2) Florida 79 – Florida blew out Cal Santa Barbara, who were simply no match for the physical Gators in the paint.
(14) Wofford 66
(3) BYU 74 – Jimmer Fredette.dropped 32 points on the Terriers despite being doubled teamed all game, and chipped in seven assists to lead the Cougars into the second round of March Madness.
(13) Belmont 58
(4) Wisconsin 72 – The Badgers look sharp.
(10) Michigan State 76
(7) UCLA 78 – The Bruins play some very tough D and the Spartans made a late run but couldn’t quite get there.
(11) Gonzaga 86
(6) St. Johns 71 – The Zags beat the Red Storm for another upset of note.
(12) Utah State 61
(5) Kansas State 70 – The Wildcats hang on for a win against a gutty Utah State club.
For more on the 2011 NCAA basketball tournament see:
2011 NCAA Tournament Top 5 Best Players and Best Performances
2011 NCAA Tournament Day 2 Preview, Schedule and Picks
2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket Predictions-No.1 Seeds to Cinderella
2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket Preview and Picks
