March madness ensues with thrilling action on the first day of the NCAA Tournament

The opening day of the 2019 NCAA Tournament gave us everything.

From injury reports and big time matchups, to close games and a handful of upsets, the first 16 games of the tournament were fun, to say the least.

The day started when Kentucky head coach John Calipari announced PJ Washington would not be playing in their game against Abilene Christian.

“The specialists confirmed our original diagnosis that @PJWashington has a sprained foot and there is no fracture. Once we determined that PJ was not going to play today, they put him in a hard cast for precautionary reasons. He is out for today’s game,” tweeted Kentucky head coach John Calipari on Thursday morning.

Foot sprains can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a few months to heal, according to Harvard Medical School.

Washington wasn’t with the Wildcats on Wednesday during their media session and shootaround. Calipari also said on Wednesday that he expected his best player to play today, which is why Thursday morning’s news was so surprising.

The sophomore injured his foot during Kentucky’s SEC Tournament loss to Tennessee, and has been in a boot since Sunday. Washington led the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding this season, averaging 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

After Kentucky defeated Abilene Christian 79-44, Calipari announced that Washington would not play in the Wildcats’ game on Saturday against Wofford.

Minnesota stuns Louisville in opening game of NCAA tournament

A year after Louisville fired Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino amid the FBI’s investigation into corruption in college basketball, the NCAA tournament committee decided it pit Pitino’s old school against Minnesota, the team his son (Richard Pitino) coaches in the very first game of this year’s tournament.

Louisville never had a chance.

The No. 10 seed Golden Gophers upset the No. 7 seed Cardinals 86-76 on Thursday afternoon in the East Regional Round of 64 game in Des Moines, Iowa.

“There is nothing entertaining about this Minnesota-Louisville thing,” ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas said. “It’s just wrong.”

Rick Pitino was not in attendance as he’s currently coaching overseas in Greece, but he does have an ongoing lawsuit against Louisville.

“It’s just hanging over there,” Bilas added. “And it’s not like we don’t have enough problems in college sports that the tournament gets us away from for a little while. … We’ve got all these issues and all everybody wants to talk about is integrity when nobody is showing any.”

Gabe Kalscheur led the way for Minnesota with 24 points and 8 rebounds, as five Gophers scored in double figures. Louisville was led by Christen Cunningham who scored 13 of the Cardinals’ 22 points from the free throw line.

It was the first season for head coach Chris Mack after the Cardinals missed the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Louisville finished the season 20-14.

Minnesota will face Michigan State on Saturday.

Ja Morant leads Murray State to upset victory over Marquette

Murray State kept the obligatory No. 12 versus No. 5 seed upset alive in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday as Ja Morant led the Racers with 17 points, 16 assists, and 11 rebounds in an 83-64 victory over Marquette.

All season long the sophomore point guard had been listed as a probable top-3 pick in this summer’s upcoming NBA Draft, but Thursday was the first time that the nation got a chance to see him on the big stage.

Morant exceeded the hype, as he notched his third triple-double of the season and the 17th in NCAA Tournament history. It was the first time a player had accomplished the feat since Michigan State’s Draymond Green did it in 2012.

Whether it was a step-back 3-pointer to the end the first half, or a nasty two-handed dunk over a Marquette defender twice his size, Morant gave fans and scouts everything they needed to see as he scored or assisted through 53 of the Racers 83 points.

After leading 42-35 at halftime, Murray State cruised in the second half as they started bleeding the clock with a 20-point lead with five minutes left.

It was the second consecutive season that the Racers found themselves in a 5-12 game in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Murray State lost 85-68 to West Virginia in the first round, as Morant was held to just 14 points.

“I would say last year was our first time so guys are happy to be there,” said Murray State’s Shaq Buchanan before the game. “But this year with me and Ja and Brion (Sanchious), we have the focus that we can go far in this tournament. We have the team to do it.”

This year marked the 17th NCAA Tournament appearance for Murray State, as the Racers have now won four first-round games, beating North Carolina State in 1988, Vanderbilt in 2010, Colorado State in 2012, and now Marquette.

Tevin Brown led Murray State in scoring with 19 points, while KJ Williams had 16, with Buchanan adding 14.

Marquette was led by their star guard Markus Howard who put up 26 points in the loss. Sam Hauser added 16 points of his own, as the tandem were the only ones to score in double figures for the Golden Eagles.

Florida upsets Nevada in the Round of 64

As the saying goes, “you’re either a Gator or Gator bait.”

That was the case on Thursday night for the No. 7 seed Nevada Wolf Pack, when they were upset by the No. 10 seed Florida Gators.

In the third upset of the day, the Gators used an 11-point halftime lead as a cushion to hold off the Wolf Pack down the stretch in their 70-61 first-round victory in Des Moines, Iowa.

Kevarrius Hayes led the Gators with 16 points, as Jalen Hudson chipped 15 of his own. The Martin twins combined for 42 points, 13 rebounds, and seven steals for Nevada.

The Wolf Pack were 2.5-point favorites before the game. Last year, Nevada made it all the way to the Sweet 16 as the No. 7 seed in the South before being upset by Loyola and Sister Jean. The Wolf Pack had been ranked in the Top 25 all season. Nevada arrived at the NCAA tourney this year after being upset by San Diego State in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

Meanwhile the Gators entered the tourney after an SEC Tournament semifinal run that included wins over Arkansas and LSU. Florida was No. 8 in the SEC during the regular season and finished with a 9-9 record in conference play. Thursday marked the Gators’ 20th NCAA Tournament appearance, as Florida’s record improved to 5-2 under Mike White in the tournament.

Thursday, however, was the first time the two teams have ever met.

Florida will play the winner of the No. 2 Michigan and No. 15 Montana game on Saturday.

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