Trendy first-round upset picks dont always wilt on the NCAA tournament stage.
Sometimes they deliver performances that suggest they’re capable of toppling more than one highly seeded power-conference team.
That’s exactly what James Madison did Friday night in Brooklyn with its 72-61 first-round victory over fifth-seeded Wisconsin. The 12th-seeded Dukes stormed to a double-digit lead in the first half’s opening eight minutes and withstood every counterpunch, gaining confidence with every dagger 3-pointer and every key defensive stop.
The closest Wisconsin came to putting real second-half game pressure on James Madison was a Max Klesmit wide-open driving layup attempt that hung tantalizingly on the rim but did not fall. Noah Freidel then banged a transition 3-pointer, a five-point swing in a matter of seconds that extended the Dukes’ lead to nine with less than eight minutes to play.
While No. 12 seeds have toppled No. 5 seeds more than 50 times since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, James Madison is the first to do it this year. Gonzaga blew away popular upset pick McNeese State on Thursday and San Diego State held off UAB on Friday afternoon.