What happened in the NCAA Men's Tournament second round

Keshad Johnson's windmill slam is the early highlight for Arizona, which has opened up a 20-11 lead on Dayton with 10:28 to play in the first half.

SALT LAKE CITY — It's going to be awfully difficult for Dayton to defend Arizona with DaRon Holmes II playing with an early foul and attempting not to pick up a second, which could spell total doom for Dayton. Oumar Ballo ranked second in the Pac-12 in fouls drawn per game, while 7-foot-2 Motiejus Krivas isn't much easier to check. Holmes has been trying to front both to prevent entries, but once the ball is the interior, he's pretty limited in how aggressive he can be.

PITTSBURGH — It's big on big, good on good, senior on senior.

It's not like one singular matchup is going to decide the Saturday nightcap between Creighton and Oregon, but the matchup in the post between Creighton 7-footer Ryan Kalkbrenner and 6-11 Oregon star N'Faly Dante is about as good as it gets.

A knee injury limited Dante to one game during the season's first two months. He hasn't just found form lately; he's been consistently dominant and efficient. In seven March games, Dante is shooting an eye-popping 84 percent from the field. He was 12-of-12 vs. Colorado in the Pac-12 tournament title game, and he didn't miss until the second half while going 7-of-9 during Oregon's win over South Carolina here Thursday.

He has made at least seven field goals in all but one of those games, and he's averaging 9.1 rebounds per game during that stretch. Dante's season averages are 16.5 points and 8.7 rebounds.

"(Dante) is terrific, and you look at their team with him versus without him, this is a team that's grossly under-seeded (at No. 11)," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. "And they're playing great basketball right now. Dante impacts the game on both ends of the floor. He's very physical at the rim offensively, and then he's a tremendous rim protector on the other end. And his physicality is obviously going to be a problem for us."

Kalkbrenner's primary defensive assignment in Creighton's first-round win over Akron was 6-7 post/wing hybrid Enrique Freeman, and Akron tried to follow the lead of some of Creighton's prior opponents in attempting to run an offense designed to pull Kalkenbrenner away from the basket. That won't happen tonight. Dante and Kalkbrenner are going to clash on the block at both ends. May the best traditional big man win.

"Watching the game (Thursday), Dante shot a lot of free throws," Kalkbrenner said. "They're probably going to try to do that again, get me in foul trouble and whatnot. I feel like, especially in the Big East, we played a lot of bigs who were super physical like that, a lot of bigs that were not necessarily trying to draw fouls, but there's going to be a lot of confrontations at the rim.

"He's a really talented big man, super physical. So I'll have my hands full, for sure, but I'll try my best."

Kalkbrenner is averaging 17.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game this season. He had 23 points and 8 rebounds as Creighton pulled away from Akron, and he has scored at least 19 points in four of Creighton's last five games.

Arizona leads Dayton 11-8 after about five minutes, and both teams have started strong from the field. The Wildcats have made five of their first eight shots, while the Flyers are 3-of-5. Caleb Love has a quick five points for Arizona.

Our staff picks for the first game of the day, No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 7 Dayton:

• John Hollinger: Arizona
• Brendan Marks: Arizona
• Austin Mock: Arizona
• Joe Rexrode: Arizona

SALT LAKE CITY — The natural assumption would be Arizona having a quasi-home court advantage in Utah for today's Mountain Time morning tilt with Dayton, but it's worth remembering that Dayton travels as well as any program in the country. The Flyers are here in force. Many faithful made it out for Thursday's first-round game, but following the win over Nevada, seats on available flights from Cincinnati to SLC have been at a premium and more Flyers have made their way here, along with the legendary Dayton band.

Team in 16 words: With an uncontainable big man in DaRon Holmes and a soaring offense, Dayton possesses disruptive characteristics.

Record: 25-7 (14-4 A-10)

Coach: Anthony Grant (2-3 in NCAA Tournament)

Player to watch: DaRon Holmes II (Atlantic 10 co-Player of the Year)

Strengths: Dayton can score the basketball. Over its final 10 regular-season games, the Flyers ranked in the top five in effective field-goal percentage offense. DaRon Holmes II is a mauler in the post. His Gumby-like length, pivot moves and athleticism explain why he’s racked up dozens of dunks this year. He also nets 38.5 percent from distance. With Holmes flanked by Koby Brea (49.2 percent on 3-pointers), Kobe Elvis (37.5 percent) and Nate Santos (42.7 percent), Dayton is undoubtedly a dynamite offensive team. The Flyers limit opponents’ second-chance opportunities.

Weaknesses: It’s too bad Obi Toppin is no longer wearing the Flyers red. Defensively, Anthony Grant’s group is a liability. Coming unraveled in the category down the regular-season homestretch, the Flyers ranked poorly nationally in effective field-goal percentage defense. Challenging shots along the perimeter wasn’t especially problematic, but competitors gashed them on near-proximity opportunities. The Flyers turned the ball over on 15.8 percent of their possessions this season.

Outlook: Dayton stands at No. 40 in all-time wins; it’s a school with a rich basketball history. However, the Flyers have one Sweet 16 appearance (2014) since the days when parachute pants were fashionable. Due to defensive inadequacies, turnover problems, absent depth and a relatively unchallenging schedule, they’re unlikely to survive the first weekend, no matter how unrestrainable Holmes may be.

—Brad Evans

Team in 16 words: The most balanced team in Tommy Lloyd’s tenure. Can score, has a go-to guy, is improved defensively.

Record: 26-8 (15-5 Pac-12)

Coach: Tommy Lloyd (3-2 in NCAA Tournament)

Player to watch: Caleb Love (Pac-12 Player of the Year)

Strengths: The Wildcats have been a terrific offensive team in all three seasons under Tommy Lloyd. Caleb Love can be erratic, but he transferred in from North Carolina and filled a major need of a guard who can go get a bucket. Arizona has no shortage of experience, and added another transfer in Keshad Johnson who has Final Four experience from a year ago at San Diego State.

Weaknesses: When point guard Kylan Boswell doesn’t play well, it usually results in a loss for the ‘Cats. In their eight losses, Boswell shot 21 percent from the field and averaged 4.8 points per game. And Arizona doesn’t have another true point guard when Boswell is struggling. There’s also the concern of when Love struggles, he can really struggle.

Outlook: Lloyd has a team capable of getting to the Final Four, but it depends on the guard tandem of Love and Boswell. If they play well, Arizona can beat anyone in the country because Pelle Larsson is a terrific role player, Johnson is a terrific defender and Oumar Ballo is one of the better big men in the country. But it’s truly up to the consistency of Love and Boswell.

—Jeff Goodman, Field of 68

SALT LAKE CITY — It flew well under the radar late Thursday night that the four teams playing out this pod were done no favors by the NCAA and broadcast partner CBS. Saturday's first second-round game here between Dayton and Arizona will start at 10:45 a.m. local time, a bizarrely early tip time. The second game, a potential haymaker between Kansas and Gonzaga, is slated for 1:15 p.m., which is a little more reasonable, except if you're Kansas. The Jayhawks played late into the evening on Thursday, running a 40-minute track meet against Samford in an exhausting affair that went down to the wire. They left the floor around 11 p.m. MT, only to be told they would be tipping off again in about 38 hours.

Kansas coach Bill Self was caught a bit off-guard by the timing.

"That seems like it's pretty quick turnaround," Self said. "But it is what it is. Certainly there will not be any reason why we won't come refreshed and rested and ready to go."

It appears CBS scheduled everything around landing Saturday's matchup between Michigan State and North Carolina in its primary TV window of 5:30 p.m. ET. That resulted in Texas-Tennessee, the other game in Charlotte, landing in the 8 p.m. ET window. With that, the CBS games out of Salt Lake City were slotted for the earlier Eastern Time windows, setting them up for brunch basketball in Utah.

As it goes, it's the teams who win and lose, but the TV partners who call the plays.

PITTSBURGH — Greg Kampe’s eyebrows furrowed as the strange question was being posed to him Friday afternoon: Had Oakland’s 68-year-old coach considered that, in guiding the 14th-seeded Golden Grizzlies to a massive upset over No. 3 seed Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament the night before, he’d effectively just added a line to his future obituary?

“Well, that is morbid,” he said with a laugh, “but it’s true. ‘He beat Kentucky.’ Wow, I didn’t think about that, but you’re right. You’re 100 percent right. Wow. And that might be the first thing they say when I’m gone. ‘Here lies Greg Kampe, who beat Kentucky.’ Huh. I wouldn’t mind that at all.”

The day before Oakland’s big victory, Kampe made an impassioned plea for mid-major programs to never be squeezed out of the NCAA Tournament, as some fear might soon happen. Because Cinderella is really the star of this show — and because if his team could somehow knock off Kentucky, he said, it would change their lives forever. He was right.

“Jack Gohlke is a folk hero now,” Kampe said after the 24-year-old Division II transfer buried the Wildcats with a barrage of 10 made 3-pointers. By late afternoon the next day, Kampe said, “I have not been to sleep yet. I’ve not stopped talking. I talk a lot, but it’s getting ridiculous. Every 15 minutes, I’ve got a Zoom or something. This is unbelievable for our university, the amount of publicity. The university website crashed last night.”

Perhaps because an untold number of people in Louisville, home of Kentucky’s rival, bought $8,000 worth of T-shirts overnight.

“Think about that,” Kampe said. “Next year at the Kentucky game, all these Louisville fans will be wearing Oakland shirts.”

Less than 24 hours after his team’s historic victory, Gohlke had already appeared on “SportsCenter” with Scott Van Pelt and done the “Pat McAfee Show” and “Rich Eisen Show.” Kampe had done “Good Morning America.” Senior forward Trey Townsend, who had 17 and 12 against Kentucky, was scheduled for an interview with TMZ Sports. And name, image and likeness opportunities began popping up as Gohlke’s Instagram following ballooned from less than 1,000 to almost 20,000 overnight.

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Can you define March Madness? How about two double-digit seeds facing off? Oakland and NC State are matching up in the second round of the men’s NCAA Tournament after upsetting No. 3 and 6 seeds, respectively. The Wolfpack are favored by several points following their sixth-straight win.

The Golden Grizzlies come in hot following a win against heavily-favored Kentucky. Winners of five straight and nine of the last 10 games, Oakland guard Jack Gohlke was the story of the first day of the tournament with a hot-shooting display against the Wildcats.

Gohlke, a Division II transfer from Hillsdale College, is a flamethrower from deep. The senior has 11 games this season with five made 3-pointers, including connecting on 10 treys en route to a season-high 32 points against Kentucky. Gohlke is one of only five players in men’s NCAA Tournament history to record 10 or more made 3-pointers in a game.

Oakland is more than a one-man show though. Forward Trey Townsend, a four-year starter and the son of two former Oakland hoopers, is averaging 16.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. The Michigan native is a double-double threat in the paint, as he has nine such performances on the season, including going for 17 points and 12 rebounds on Thursday.

Meanwhile, NC State has completely flipped its season after losing seven of nine heading into the ACC tournament. The Wolfpack’s leading scorer is guard DJ Horne, who is back in his hometown of Raleigh, N.C. for his senior season. Horne’s importance is of note, but this matchup could be decided by how Oakland handles the size of NC State.

Junior forward Ben Middlebrooks scored a career-high 21 points against Texas Tech. NC State’s two other bigs — forwards Mohamed Diarra (17 points) and DJ Burns Jr. (16 points) — will also factor into this matchup after major contributions to NC State’s 42 points in the paint in the first round. These forwards present an imposing frontline, with all three coming in at 6-foot-9 or taller. Burns, the ACC tournament MVP, is becoming an internet sensation with his skillful game and large stature (6-foot-9, 275 pounds).

No matter who comes out on top, kudos are in order for Oakland coach Greg Kampe and NC State coach Kevin Keatts. Now let the best bracket buster win.

Spread: NC State -6.5

Total: 146.5

(Odds via BetMGM.)

A little this day in history: Enjoy these highlights of Stephen Curry scoring 30 points to send Davidson to the Sweet 16 over Georgetown.

Given how much parity there was in college basketball this season, the first round of the NCAA Tournament figured to provide its share of close games and upsets. And while there were some notable upsets for the little guys (hello Oakland, Yale, James Madison, Grand Canyon and Duquesne), all the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds made it through unscathed, as did 14 of the overall top 16 teams.

As the second round commences, here are the top 16 national title contenders in our latest NCAA Tournament Power Rankings. We will update this ranking after every round and until the Final Four begins. Already, there has been movement with a couple of new teams breaking into the mix. And with the potential for more upsets, this list will continue to change.

The No. 1 seeds of UConn, Houston, Purdue and North Carolina all played like it in dominant wins to show why they’re among the favorites. Those four teams beat their opponents by a combined 135 points, and none won by fewer than 28 points. Will there be more chalk? Here’s a look at where things stand entering the second round on Saturday.

Top 10

1. UConn
2. Houston
3. Purdue
4. North Carolina
5. Tennessee
6. Arizona
7. Marquette
8. Illinois
9. Iowa State
10. Baylor

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The analysis for this game is simple. Throw out most of our model for a minute. Just focus on overall team strength. There is not an eight-seed gap between these teams. Not even close.

Slingshot’s power ratings have UNC eighth in the country. Michigan State is 17th, separated by fewer than four points per 100 possessions. KenPom has the margin even closer: UNC is 9th, and Michigan State is 16th. That’s why UNC is favored by only four points.

So why does our model give the Spartans only a 24 percent chance of winning? The rest of the factors that we typically see in upsets don’t go their way. North Carolina does many of the things our model wants to see from safe overdogs. The Tar Heels are strong rebounders at both ends, play fast, don’t rely too heavily on three-point shooting and rarely turn the ball over.

Michigan State, meanwhile, isn’t especially risk-seeking. It plays slow, which our model likes, and forces turnovers at an above-average rate. But the Spartans are pedestrian rebounders and don’t shoot a ton of threes.

But there’s one catch.

Michigan State has Chameleon potential. Yes, they don’t shoot a lot of threes. But they make 36 percent of them. We’ve written a ton in the past week about how some teams have the ability to increase their variance in certain situations. In Michigan State’s first-round win over Mississippi State, the Spartans took 23 of their 54 shots from three-point range and made 10 of them (44 percent). So, if the Spartans are willing and able to increase their deep-shooting frequency against UNC, our model may be underrating their chances at an upset.

Upset chance: 24.1 percent