John Walters

Friday delivered. For denizens of March Madness, Friday was the wake-up call that even Ronnie's phone would have received (even if he is a dillweed).
Whereas Thursday was all about holding serve in the opening round — only two upsets among the 16 games, neither of which were a surprise — Friday yielded six upsets in the same number of first-round contests.

Tampa was exclusively anti-establishment, as all four higher-seeded teams were evicted from the tournament. That had never happened before. Not once. Try flipping a coin four times in a row and see how long it takes for it to land tails each time. Then factor in "heads" being the favorite.

In the afternoon session of West region teams, 5th-seeded Drake and 4th-seeded Connecticut both fell in overtime and on buzzer-beaters while nursing a one-point lead. After dinner, Vanderbilt and Clemson, the 4th- and 5th-seeded teams in the Midwest region, respectively, both lost in regulation.

So, if you have tickets for Sunday's doubleheader in Tampa, you're looking at a pair of 12-13 matchups. Representing the West, it will be Western Kentucky against San Diego. And for the Midwest, Siena battles Villanova.

This is what we love about March Madness. The true favorites, the teams whose expulsion from the tourney would have detracted from its quality going forward (e.g., UCLA, North Carolina and Kansas) all passed their first-round tests. But if we have to sacrifice a surly Jim Calhoun or a curly Matt Bouldin (Gonzaga) or even a burly James Mays (Clemson) on the pyre of a Ty Rogers-inspired Western Kentucky love-in, so be it.

In an increasingly Orwellian environment where no one we love (or loathe) is ever farther away than our Blackberry, where your car's GPS system ensures you'll never get lost (ha!), where every show you'll ever want to see can be DVR'ed, Freaky Friday was a joyful reminder: the best things in life are often the least expected.

On to the evening action…

One Shining Moment: Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
With Rollie Massimino looking on, Reynolds led the 12th-seeded Wildcats to a second-half comeback victory over 5th-seed Clemson in Tampa. Reynolds scored 21, including an off-balance bank-shot three (and he was fouled) to put 'Nova ahead for the first time all night, 50-49. The Wildcats had trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half.

Most Impressive Player: Charles Rhodes, Mississippi State
The Bulldog power forward garners only a fraction of the attention that his frontcourt mate Jarvis Varnado does. And with good reason: Varnado is the nation's most prolific shot-blocker. On Friday night, though, the 6-foot-8 senior from Jackson, Miss., scored a career-high 34 points in the Dawgs' come-from-behind win against Oregon. While most of Rhodes' field goals were high-percentage dunks — he plays like a young Cliff Robinson — he did connect on 14 of 18 free throws.

Most Impressive Team: Louisville
The Cardinals lost their previous two games heading into the tourney (at Georgetown and in the Big East tourney to Pitt), but Rick Pitino's squad came at Boise State like a flying spotted ray from the opening tip-off. The No. 3 seed had 12 steals and stifled the Broncos into 4-17 shooting from beyond the arc. And that was with their top player, David Padgett, contributing zero first half stats of any kind due to two quick fouls.

Louisville is not the most talented team in the tournament, but on Friday they were the most tenacious.

It's in upstate New York and, yes, they've heard the Crayola jokes before
Perhaps it was because by the time it happened we were all upsetted-out. Perhaps it was because CBS' Seth Davis guaranteed it from the moment he came on air this afternoon. Still, 13th-seeded Siena, a mid-major, handled Vanderbilt, a mild major, with such ease that barely an eyebrow was raised … nor a bracket sheet crumpled. Siena never trailed in ousting Vandy 83-62.

By the way, here's a stat with which to impress your friends. Combined home records of Brigham Young and Vanderbilt this season: 35-0. Combined records of the two schools, both higher seeds, in their first-round games: 0-2.

Fraternity Rush: The Hansbroughs
If only Tyler and Ben Hansbrough could be more like the Lopez twins of Stanford. Then their parents would never have a scheduling conflict. Tyler, as you know, is an All-American at North Carolina and Ben, as you may not know, is a starter at Mississippi State. Tyler's game began at 7:10 in Raleigh, N.C., while Ben's tipped off at 7:25 in Little Rock.

The good news is that both Hansbrough bros' teams won, albeit in different regions. They're each just three wins away from a family reunion in San Antonio.

Most likely to be in favor of plaid flannel jerseys: Steven Hill
Arkansas' seven-foot center is a throwback. He looks like the love child of UCLA-era Bill Walton and Scooby Doo's best bud, Shaggy. But the former SEC defensive player of the year did have three blocks in the Razorbacks' mild upset win over Indiana.

Still, Steven Hill. Dave Bliss of Georgia. Aron Baynes of Washington State. Kevin Love of UCLA. Is there some rule that if you are a slow, white center you must grow a beard? And if there is, does that mean that Tyler Hansbrough is fast or that he just has peach fuzz?

Stay West, young man
A dozen teams each traveled at least one thousand miles for their first round games. Ten of the 12 teams lost. Granted, seven of those 10 schools were the lower-seeded opponents, but three were higher seeds. The ill-fated eastbound globetrotters, with their seed and site in parentheses:

Portland State………….(16, Omaha)
Cal-State Fullerton…… (14, Omaha)
Boise State……………..(14, Little Rock)
Baylor…………………...(11, Washington, D.C.)
Arizona …………………(10, Washington, D.C.)
St. Mary's……………….(10, Little Rock)
Oregon………………….(9, Little Rock)
Gonzaga………………...(7, Raleigh)
Southern California……………(6, Omaha)
Drake…………………….(5, Tampa)

The two western winners? No. 8 UNLV destroyed Kent State in Omaha and No. 13 San Diego shocked Connecticut in Tampa.

Brick House
In the South regional 8-9 contest in Little Rock, Mississippi State and Oregon took turns putting a lid on the basket on shots from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs missed their first 13 threes while falling behind by 13 early in the second half. The Ducks missed 17 of their final 18 threes and eventually lost 76-69. Overall, the Dawgs and Ducks combined to shoot 13 of 54, or 24.1%.

Korver Korner
A lot of Midwestern families head to Florida for spring break each March, but few ever had a day like the Korvers of Pella, Iowa. They spent the afternoon in Tampa, watching their middle son, Klayton, score 21 points in Drake's overtime loss to Western Kentucky. Then it was on to the NIT tournament that evening in Gainesville, where youngest son Kaleb scored 3 points for Creighton in an 84-52 loss to Florida.

Rounding out the fraternal reportage, Gator freshman Nick Calathes had a triple-double (11 points, 11 assists, 13 rebounds) in the victory. His older brother, Pat, had an off-night (2 of 11 from the field) for St. Joe's in the Hawks' first-round loss to Oklahoma.

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