On a day in which lower-seeded teams played even with higher-seeded teams, the biggest story in college basketball was 15th-seeded Lehigh’s stunning win over No. 2 seed Duke.
This was the second 15-versus-2 win of the day. It marked the first season in which a pair of 15 seeds won an NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship game.
Lower Seeds Winning on Friday
The Blue Devils lost for only the fourth time in the round of 64 under Mike Krzyzewski. They entered the day 28-0 all-time against teams seeded 12th through 16th, but could not handle C.J. McCollum and his Mountain Hawks teammates.
McCollum scored 30 points and drew 13 fouls, the second-most by a player in a game in the last three tournaments (Jimmer Fredette">Jimmer Fredette drew 14 last season against Wofford).
Lehigh outscored Duke 19-4 in transition Friday during the Mountain Hawk's second-round win. Lehigh entered the championship tournament with the 16th-best transition defense in the nation. The Blue Devils, on the other hand, had been outscored by 1.9 transition points per game this season, the second-worst differential in the ACC.
Lehigh also attempted 37 free throws, the most by a Duke opponent in a tournament game since 1955, when Villanova attempted 42.
This was the first loss for current ACC members against a 15 or 16 seed in the Round of 64. It wasn’t the only big upset of the evening.
Here’s a snapshot look of the rest of the games from Friday night.
Midwest Region
(2) Kansas 65, (15) Detroit 50
Thomas Robinson had his nation-leading 24th double- double this season. It is the first time that a Horizon League team hasn't won a Men's Basketball Championship game since 2004.
(10) Purdue 72, (7) Saint Mary's 69
Purdue has won 14 straight Round of 64 games, including one in each of the last six seasons.
(12) South Florida 58, (5) Temple 44
South Florida gets the win in its first Round of 64 appearance since 1992. Temple has lost in the Round of 64 in four of its last five Men's Basketball Championship appearances. The Owls scored at least 64 points in every other game this season.
(13)Ohio 65, (4) Michigan 60
The Bobcats became the sixth team to win a tournament game as both a 13 and 14 seed (they beat Georgetown as a 14 seed two seasons ago).
Ohio scored 63 of its 65 points in the half court, shooting nearly 16 percentage points higher than Michigan in half-court sets. In their last tournament victory over Georgetown in the 2010 Men's Basketball Championship, the Bobcats shot 57 percent and outscored the Hoyas by 18 points in the half court.
Since 2004, Ohio is 2-2 in tournament play. All other MAC teams are a combined 0-6.
Michigan is now 10-1 all-time versus teams seeded No. 12 or worse.
West Region
(1) Michigan State 89, (16) LIU Brooklyn 67
Draymond Green had 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists to lead the Spartans, his second consecutive triple-double in the Men's Basketball Championship (he had a triple double in Round of 64 loss to UCLA last season).
Green joins Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson as the only players with multiple triple-doubles in Men's Basketball Championship history (Robertson had four, Johnson two).
(9) St Louis 61, (8) Memphis 54
Saint Louis wins a Men's Basketball Championship game for the first time since 1998. Head coach Rick Majerus is now 11-1 in round of 64 games. It is only Saint Louis' fourth tournament victory in program history.
South Region
(10) Xavier 67, (7) Notre Dame 63
Xavier wins in the Round of 64 for the fifth time in six seasons. Tu Holloway moved past Jamie Gladden for 7th on Xavier's all-time scoring list (1,790) and led all scorers with 25 points.
Notre Dame assisted on 76 percent of its field goals Friday against Xavier. It was the first time this season that Notre Dame has lost when assisting on at least 60 percent of its field goals (previously 19-0).