NCAA Tournament 2017: 10 best moments from opening weekend
Looking back at the 10 best moments from the opening weekend and First and Second Rounds of the 2017 NCAA Tournament
Call it being spoiled as college basketball fans, but we’ve largely grown accustomed to the First Round of the NCAA Tournament being full-on insanity. It’s been the relative norm for many years now. Just one year ago, the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders upended the Michigan State Spartans as a No. 15 seed over the second seed in the region. The 2017 NCAA Tournament, however, didn’t start off in such a manner.
In the Round of 64, only six of the 32 seeds that advanced were the lower seed. With the lack of early upsets, it’s a fair assumption that opening weekend of March Madness was tame and possibly unmemorable.
That was far from the case, though. Throughout the First and Second Rounds from Thursday afternoon to Sunday night, a lasting impression was made on fans. It may not have happened in the more traditional sense that fans have grown accustomed to, but it happened nonetheless.
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When we look back on the opening weekend of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, chances are that few will recall the success of higher seeds early. Instead, what will be remembered is those moments that make March Madness everything good in the world. Having that in mind, let’s look back at the 10 best moments from opening weekend of March Madness.
10. Michigan, John Beilein and His Super Soaker
Coming into the season, the skinny on John Beilein’s Michigan Wolverines was that they were a talented team, but were expected to be streaky and inconsistent. Those expectations were met with startling accuracy throughout the season. But the key for the Wolverines was that they had the firepower to beat any team on a given night if they were on. Thus, their run through the Big Ten Tournament and eventual win had many wondering if they were a dark horse to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.
The answer after the opening weekend is officially yes.
Michigan opened their tournament with the first game on Friday in the First Round, taking on Oklahoma State in an offensive showcase. In a phenomenal game that went down to the wire, the Wolverines were red-hot from deep as they finished 16-for-29 from 3-point range in the 92-91 victory. That then led to a much tougher matchup against Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals.
If there’s one thing that gets overlooked too often, it’s how great of a coach Beilein is—especially in a tournament format. After their 3-point bonanza in the Round of 64, they baited the Cardinals into trying to stop them from replicating that performance. It worked to perfection as they were able to pull out the defense and essentially get a plethora of open looks at the rim all game long against one of the best defenses in the country. That led to the eventual upset and Michigan advancing to the Sweet 16.
As great as that moment was to see a dark horse taking shape, though, Beilein may have outshone them after the Second Round win. The head coach poked his head around the door in the locker room and then proceeded to “attack” his team with a Super Soaker to get the celebration really going. It’s quirky, it’s weird and so is this Michigan team. But damn if it wasn’t fun watching Beilein and this group survive opening weekend.