Fansided

March Madness: 10 best moments from the NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend

By Mike Phillips

COLUMBIA, SC - MARCH 24: Aubrey Dawkins #15 of the Central Florida Knights puts up a shot as time expires in their game against the Duke Blue Devils during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. Duke won 77-76. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SC - MARCH 24: Aubrey Dawkins #15 of the Central Florida Knights puts up a shot as time expires in their game against the Duke Blue Devils during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. Duke won 77-76. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 23: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 23, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 23: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 23, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

8. Tom Izzo loses his mind

We’ve seen some legendary meltdowns from coaches in the NCAA Tournament, but what Tom Izzo did on Thursday is certainly different. With Michigan State in the middle of a 10-0 run against 15-seed Bradley, Izzo called a timeout to communicate a point to freshman Aaron Henry.

Henry didn’t communicate his point to Izzo in a way the coach liked, so Izzo absolutely blew a gasket, getting in Henry’s face to scream at him more and more. The rest of the Spartans, headlined by junior point guard Cassius Winston, had to separate Izzo and Henry before things got ugly.

Michigan State ended up winning the game and topping Minnesota to get to the Sweet 16, so there’s a good chance we could be in line for another Izzo meltdown in Washington.

7. The Volunteers nearly make the wrong kind of history

CBS tabbed Iowa-Tennessee as its only game to start the day, and that decision looked questionable with the Volunteers racing out to a 44-19 lead in the first half. Iowa wouldn’t quit, however, and what looked to be a massive blowout turned into a huge nail biter.

The Hawkeyes came all the way back to tie the game and force overtime, but the Volunteers outscored them 12-6 in the extra session to escape Columbus with an 83-77 win. If Tennessee had actually blown this game, they would have matched the 2012 Iona Gaels for the worst collapse in NCAA Tournament history by surrendering a 25-point lead.

Instead of joining that infamous club, Tennessee survived and is on to the Sweet 16, where they will take on Purdue and sweet shooting Carsen Edwards.

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