A pair of mid-major match-ups (Davidson-Gonzaga, Western Kentucky-Drake) in the opening hours of Friday's afternoon session gave us "One Shining Moment," yet the afternoon provided the day's biggest surprise when San Diego KO'd perennial powerhouse Connecticut.

On to the action…

Two Tampa
If you had tickets to Friday's afternoon session in Tampa, you're the biggest winner of the NCAA tournament's first round. Two overtime games, two lower-seeds winning, two game-winning buckets attempted with less than 2 seconds remaining on the clock.

Meanwhile, the Connecticut Huskies, winners of two NCAA championships the past 10 years, have now been bounced from the tourney the last two times by double-digit seeds (No. 11 George Mason doing the deed in 2006). Lucky number 13 from Friday was San Diego, who won 70-69 thanks to an 18-foot jumper by De'Jon Jackson with 1.2 seconds left in overtime. Before that shot, Jackson had been 1-9 from the field for the Toreros.

But it was that type of game for Jim Calhoun's Huskies, who lost A.J. Price to a knee injury late in the first half. Hasheem Thabeet, U Conn's 7-3 center, was outplayed by 6-8 Gyno (pronounced "Geno") Pomare. Thabeet did not score a field goal until 10:46 remained in the game, while Pomare finished with a game-high 22 points on 10-12 shooting.

After Pomare's last basket, a sweet jumper from the elbow, gave San Diego a 66-63 lead in overtime, CBS announcer Tim Brando twisted the dagger in Calhoun's side by inquiring, "Who knew Connecticut could be knocked out by Gyno?"

It was a reference, of course, to Connecticut women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma, who has maintained a frosty relationship with his campus counterpart for more than two decades.

(An even crueler notion: The women's Final Four will be held in Tampa next month. UConn's women could end their season with a national championship on the same court where UConn's men ended theirs with a first-round loss.)

The Toreros also got a huge contribution from freshman forward Rob Jones. You may know him as the grandson of Jim Jones (yes, the poisoned Kool-Aid guy who massacred 900 or so of his followers in Guyana), but Jones is deservedly making a name for himself. Jones scored consecutive buckets in the final two minutes of regulation, including a nifty ad-libbed reverse lay-up to avoid the wingspan of Thabeet, the nation's second-leading shot-blocker.

Western Kentucky, San Diego. Ty Rogers, De'Jon Jackson. Names that played no part in March Madness lore when Friday began, but that are now forever etched in any hoop fan's hard-drive.

And suddenly we have a 12-13 second-round contest with Western Kentucky and San Diego. Who's favored? Who cares?

Taking over: Jack McClinton, Miami
The Hurricanes' 6-1 guard scored 36 of Miami's final 55 points as they outlasted St. Mary's, 78-64. McClinton scored a career-high 38 and was perfect from the line (11-11) as the Hurricanes, predicted to finish last in the ACC this season, advanced. St. Mary's led by five at halftime, 32-27, but in the second half McClinton alone equaled their output with 32 points of his own.

At Least His Passport File Won't Be Breached
Brad Stevens, the first-year coach at Butler, is four years away from being able to run for president. Stevens is just 31--and looks 10 years younger. The rookie head coach's Bulldogs, a 7-seed, had little problem with South Alabama on Friday afternoon.

The 81-61 victory was Butler's 30th of the season. If the Bulldogs can defeat Tennessee on Sunday (as they did early in the 2006-07 season) their coach would be the only one in the tourney whose victories this season matched his age.

One Shining Moment: Ty Rogers, Western Kentucky
Yes, I am aware of Davidson's Stephen Curry (more to follow), but we'll be hearing about him for many years to come, I suspect. Kudos to Rogers, who drained a 28-footer with no time remaining to lift the 12th-seeded Hilltoppers over No. 5 Drake in overtime, 101-99. Rogers, who was 1-4 from beyond the arc before that attempt, might have seemed an unlikely choice — he had just eight points, whereas the player who fed him the ball, Tyrone Hazelton, had 33.

Then again, you wonder if Drake's coaches read the Western Kentucky media guide. Rogers is the all-time leader in 3-point field goals among high school players in the state of Kentucky with 407. This was Jimmy Chitwood all over again.

Most Impressive Player: Stephen Curry, Davidson
Daddy Dell's stellar soph turned in the performance of the tourney so far, scoring a career-high 40 points and looking smooth doing so. Curry (the first name rhymes with "steppin'") was not only accurate, hitting 8-10 from beyond the arc, but also clutch. The 6-3 sophomore swished the go-ahead three with 1:04 remaining, then turned to his parents and pointed.

Lest it be lost in the accolades, that play never happens unless Curry's teammate, Andrew Lovedale, makes a superhuman effort to chase down a long rebound before it rolls out of bounds and then dishes it out to Curry. Lovedale, a 6-8 forward from Nigeria, finished with 12 points and 13 boards. The 10th-seed Wildcats do not pull off the upset without him.

Most Inscrutable Line: Adam Emmenecker, Drake
The Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year shot 0-10 from the filed but still finished with a double-double. Emmenecker, a 6-1 point guard, had 14 assists and was 11-12 from the free-throw line in the Bulldogs' losing cause. It was Emmenecker who drove to the hoop on Drake's final possession, but his lay-up was short. Drake was making its first appearance in the tourney since 1971.

Ugly. American. But not ugly American
No. 2 seed Tennessee's performance against tourney first-timers American bordered on grisly. First, Vols starter JaJuan Smith Sharpie'd "No. 1 Seed" on his sneakers to call attention to Tennessee's perceived slight by the selection committee. And starter Ramar Smith sat out the entire first half for unexplained reasons.

The Eagles, meanwhile, stuck close for the first 35 minutes. Not bad for a team making its tourney debut against a school that was ranked No. 1 in the nation earlier this season.

Record Setters: Drake and Western Kentucky
The Bulldogs and Hilltoppers combined for tournament records with 70 three-point attempts and 30 makes. Drake converted 16 of 42 (one shy of St. Joe's record for a single team), including six by Klayton Korver (yes, Kyle's little bro). WKU made 14 of 28, none more important than the last.

Lose, Loos & Lost
No. 2 seed Texas impeached the Governors of Austin Peay with a 74-54 victory that was not as close as even that score would suggest. At one point late in the first half Longhorn guard A.J. Abrams (who did not create the television hit "Lost", by the way) was personally outscoring Austin Peay, 15-14. Texas led 34-14 at the time.

"I feel bad for these guys because I told them for so long ... that this is something that they'd remember the rest of their lives," said Governors coach Dave Loos. "I know right now they're thinking, 'Gosh, I didn't know that's what he was talking about."

Quote of the afternoon
"It kind of worked out good."
— Hilltopper guard Ty Rogers, describing his post-timeout suggestion to teammate Ty Brazelton that he should not be afraid "to kick it out to me." The plan had been for Brazelton to drive to the hoop.

American Idol
Garrison Carr, American. The 5-11 junior from Bellevue, Wash., had a game-high 26 points in the Eagles' loss to Tennessee.

Memo To Billy Packer
Please do not tell us that a star player's "off-court problems have been well-documented" and then fail to elaborate. First, you have to assume that a significant amount of your audience is seeing the team for the first time this season. Second, if you have no qualms with dissecting a player's on-court problems, then what's the difference? No one is asking you to make a judgment on the player, but if the "problem" has a bearing on how he or the team has performed this season, then you owe us an explanation.

And finally…
After Drake's Klayton Korver fouled out in overtime, CBS announcer Tim Brando described his dad, Kevin, as "one of the outstanding clergymen in the Midwest." How long has Brando been ranking clergymen? And regionally?

MORE FROM COLLEGE BASKETBALL

College basketball Section Front

UCLA will make noise eventually   Vote: Who will be player of the year? Beyond the Arc: ’Nova facing issues with frosh Seton Hall basketball player charged with DWI   Beyond the Arc: Celebrating college hoops’ last Rebels   5 Razorbacks suspended for opener Beyond the Arc: Carolina will be scary good by March Men’s Top 25 preview, analysis, stats, more Davis: Kansas tops 2009-10 hoops storylines Elite scorers, sleeper teams, top conferences, more College basketball Section Front   Add College basketball headlines to your news reader: