The first day lacked the big upset, in fact only two higher-seeded teams fell, #6 USC to #11 Kansas State and #8 BYU to #9 Texas A&M.  Duke survived a scare against #15 Belmont, 71-70. Xavier played strong, at least for a half, and beat the media darlings, Georgia.  Meanwhile, Kentucky came up short against Marquette.  My personal favorite from the day, K-State taking down USC where it was Bill Walker, not Michael Beasley or OJ Mayo, that stole the show.

Here are the headlines from Day One...

Memo to NBA scouts: Hold the Mayo
Chicago Sun-Times - "On an evening that should remind us why freshmen basketball players never should be lavished with too much hype, who would upstage Mayo and Beasley? His name is Bill Walker, a redshirt freshman himself, who always was lost in Mayo's shadow on their high-school teams but suddenly crashed through Thursday with millions watching."

Dogs' magic runs out in first round
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - "The 14th-seeded Georgia Bulldogs were blown to the nation's capital by a championship in a tornado-interrupted SEC tournament in Atlanta. They landed at the Verizon Center with every intention of continuing to carve a path of improbability through the postseason. But their advance was stopped by Xavier, a team that got every break and was good enough to take advantage of it. The third-seeded Musketeers (28-6) outscored the Bulldogs 41-18 in the last 16 minutes to win 73-61 in the first round of the NCAA tournament."

Crawford doesn't go down without a fight
Lexington Herald-Leader - "The Golden Eagles hounded and pounded Crawford all day long, and still the Motor City Madman hit 13 shots, including five three-pointers, tying his career-high of 35 points."