One billion dollars vanished from the fantasizing minds of bracket builders across the country as number 11 seed Dayton upset number six seed Ohio State in the first game of tournament play.
Dayton guard Vee Sanford scored the go-ahead layup over OSU’s Aaron Craft with 3.8 seconds left to play. Craft received the inbounds and drove the length of the floor before missing the game winning layup. Craft remained on the floor, face pointed toward the ceiling, wondering along with the rest of the viewers how the Dayton Flyers had just become the best team in Ohio.
Nevertheless, the slipper continued to fit for Dayton as they had aspirations of becoming the 2014 version of George Mason. After squeaking by Syracuse and beating number 10 Stanford to secure a spot in the Elite Eight, similar to GMU’s storyline, the clock struck midnight at the hands of the Florida Gators.
After a shaky first half in the opening game against number 16 Albany, number one overall seeded Florida returned to their dominant form, taking care of Pittsburgh and UCLA before ending Dayton’s season.
Number 12 Stephen F. Austin was in competition with Dayton for biggest upset of the first round as they slipped past number five VCU 77-75, but all magic was lost as they were unable to hang with UCLA and their offensive firepower.
As for the number two seeded team in the South Region of the bracket, the Kansas Jayhawks, led by freshman Andrew Wiggins, powered past Eastern Kentucky University in the first round but met a stingy Stanford team in the round of 32.
In a press conference the night prior to the game, Wiggins and Wayne Selden Jr. giggled with embarrassment after they could not answer a question about Stanford’s leading scorer, Chasson Randle, because they didn’t know who he was. Randle finished with 13 points and a Stanford tournament record six steals as Stanford ended the youthful Jayhawks’ season with a 60-57 upset.
With the Gators’ victory over Dayton, they earned their fifth Final Four appearance in school history and first since 2007. Florida will now face the winner of the East Region, number seven Connecticut, for a chance to play for the National Championship on April 8 in Arlington, Texas.
Nathan Krohn can be reached at nathan.krohn@spartans.ut.edu.