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2023 March Madness scores, takeaways: Fairleigh Dickinson shines in the moment as fantastic first round ends

The Knights' upset of No. 1 seed Purdue showed us why March Madness is so special

Friday's first-round NCAA Tournament action delivered everything a college basketball fan could ask for from the first weekend of the Big Dance. While No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson's stunning upset of No. 1 seed Purdue stood out from a jam-packed day of action, it was hardly the only drama.

No. 3 seed Xavier needed a late rally to avoid a shocking loss to No. 14 seed Kennesaw State, and No. 5 seed Miami also had to mash the gas pedal in the closing minutes to overcome No. 12 seed Drake. In the late-night window, No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic escaped with a dramatic win over No. 8 seed Memphis and No. 6 seed TCU got a late bucket to escape a late charge from Arizona State. A few big-name programs also began their tournament journeys with solid results.

No. 2 seed Marquette and No. 3 seed Baylor each cruised to double-digit victories, and blue-blood programs Kentucky and Michigan State also emerged with wins. The No. 6 seed Wildcats dominated No. 11 seed Providence on the glass in a 61-53 win while No. 7 seed Michigan State got 17 points from Joey Hauser in a 72-62 victory over USC.

CBS Sports is with you all tournament long with news, highlights and analysis from the NCAA Tournament. 

Here are a few more takeaways from Friday's first-round action.

No No. 12s win

At least one No. 12 seed had defeated a No. 5 seed in 31 of the past 36 NCAA Tournaments entering this week. But this season marked the rare year in which every No. 5 seed escaped upset. On Thursday, No. 5 seed Duke crushed Oral Roberts, and San Diego State handled Charleston.

Then, on Friday, Saint Mary's stifled VCU and Miami rallied from a late deficit to defeat Drake. The Bulldogs led 55-47 with under six minutes to play but couldn't close the deal against the Hurricanes, who outscored Drake 16-1 to close the game with a 63-56 win.

There were plenty of other major upsets in the first round this season, but none of them came from the fabled No. 12-seed line.

Pitt finally advances again

After a decade of frustration, Pittsburgh is dancing past the first round of the NCAA Tournament again. The Panthers crushed No. 6 seed Iowa State 59-41 after taking out Mississippi State in a First Four game on Wednesday. Fifth-year coach Jeff Capel entered this season squarely on the hot seat but is up to 24 victories on the season now.

The Panthers will play a Xavier team in the second round that is coming off a narrow victory over Kennesaw State on Friday. There is a precedent of teams coming from the First Four and making a run. UCLA (2021) and VCU (2011) each made the Final Four after playing in the First Four, and Syracuse (2018), Tennessee (2018) and La Salle (2013) reached the Sweet 16 after playing in the First Four. The Panthers will have a shot to build on that legacy of success. 

Saint Mary's validates seeding

Saint Mary's resided near the top of most college basketball rankings throughout the season. The Gaels and their slow, defensive-oriented style made them the darling of computer models and advanced analytics gurus. But their lofty standing in various metrics stood juxtaposed with non conference losses against Washington, New Mexico and Colorado State, none of whom reached the NCAA Tournament.

While Saint Mary's shared the WCC regular-season crown with Gonzaga, it ended up losing its season series against the Zags by falling to them in the WCC Tournament title game. Long story short, Saint Mary's needed to provide some validation for its No. 5 seed, and that's exactly what it did Friday in a defensively dominant 63-51 win over No. 12 seed VCU.

The next step for the Gaels will be reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010. Friday's performance was a start, but beating UConn is what will truly open some eyes around the country as to how strong a program Randy Bennett has built at Saint Mary's

2023 March Madness live updates

All times Eastern | NCAA Tournament schedule | LIVE bracket

CBS Sports will be with you the entire way updating this story with the latest from every first-round game on Friday. Keep it locked here for scores, analysis and highlights throughout the evening.

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Fairleigh Dickinson makes history

Final: Fairleigh Dickinson 63, Purdue 58

Fairleigh Dickinson just became the second No. 16 seed to ever beat a No. 1 seed. The Knights outmuscled the Boilermakers in the most stunning result yet from the 2023 NCAA Tournament. FDU is the smallest team in the nation but somehow overtook Purdue and 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey. FDU forced 16 turnovers and got 19 points from Sean Moore. Unbelievable.
 

Marquette's turnaround

As Marquette prepares to begin its NCAA Tournament journey, here's a great read on the Golden Eagles from Matt Norlander. "In a year packed with great candidates to win National Coach of the Year, Smart is as viable as any of them — if not atop the list. In just two years, he's gone 47-19 and brought verve and optimism back to an underrated college basketball hotbed: Milwaukee."
 

Sparty hangs on

Final: Michigan State 72, USC 62

USC gave Michigan State a run for its money down the stretch but the Izzo-led 7-seed Spartans are moving on into Round 2 after taking down the 10-seed Trojans in a 72-62 win. Michigan State got 17 points and 8 boards from Joey Hauser, potentially setting him up to face his former team, 2-seed Marquette, in the next round. Jaden Akins,  Tyson Walker and AJ Hoggard also finished in double figures.
 

Baylor struggling

Half: UCSB 36, Baylor 35

The Bears had one of the worst defenses in college basketball among high seeds in 2023, and the issues have come back to bite in the first round. UC Santa Barbara shot 61.5% from the field, with three different players who have hit every shot. Baylor built an eight-point lead early in the period, but the Bears have struggled to get stops as the Gauchos have missed just 10 shots all day. 

Baylor's shooting 54% from the field on its own, but star freshman Keyonte George has missed all three shot attempts in his March Madness debut. Scott Drew has gone deep in his bench early looking for energy as 10 players have played for the Bears so far. If Baylor goes down, three of the top four seeds in the South Region would be out of the NCAA Tournament, leaving only 1-seed Alabama. The Bears have not lost in the first round since 2016. 

 

Xavier in trouble

Halftime: Kennesaw State 43, Xavier 36

Kennesaw State is positioned to pull the first upset of Friday's action after taking a seven-point lead into halftime behind a 53.1% shooting percentage. The Musketeers started out with an 20-11 edge but hit just 1 of 7 attempts from beyond the arc in the half. Xavier did not grab a single offensive rebound and only got one point from its bench while operating without Zach Freemantle. Jerome Hunter leads the Musketeers with 13 points. We've already had a No. 13 seed (Furman) and a No. 15 seed (Princeton) win in the first round. Kennesaw State is one half away from getting the No. 14 seeds in on the party.
 

Michigan State, USC all square at halftime 

Half: Michigan State 34, USC 34 

Great game of runs underway in Columbus as Michigan State jumped all over USC early then let the Trojans climb back into the game. Both teams are shooting near 50% from the field and the Trojans, in particular, have done a great job of working the ball around to get good looks with 10 assists on 13 made field goals. USC has put out some lineups that have caused Michigan State some issues, which gives Tom Izzo something to consider when it comes to halftime adjustments. It's a high-level game so far in the early slate, which is not always the case, and we should be in store for a great final 20 minutes in this 7-10 showdown from the East Region. 

 

Good news for Miami ahead of NCAA Tournament opener 

According to Jeff Goodman, Miami is expected to have Norchad Omier back in the lineup for Friday night's showdown with Drake in Albany. Omier is the Hurricanes' best post defender and a versatile part of the team's high-powered offense averaging 13.6 points per game. With Omier's injury and Drake's status as a trendy 12-seed, the betting line has moved closer to a pick 'em heading into Friday. Miami and Drake are schedule for a 7:25 p.m. ET tip-off on TNT. 
 

Picking all 63 games

You can look at all of the resumes. You examine the NET rankings. You can weigh the great wins with the bad losses to see if one means more than the other. You can try to figure out whether playing well recently means teams are peaking at the right time or if it doesn't really matter because the NCAA Tournament is a chaotic series of one-game seasons, and nothing else prior to it matters as long as you're in the field.
 

Friday's first-round storylines

Brackets have already been busted in the 2023 NCAA Tournament with historic upsets as the March Madness picture has been shaken up after just one day of first-round action. Whether it's the tournament's 11th 15-over-2 upset with Princeton taking down Arizona or 13-seed Furman downing 4-seed Virginia with last-second heroics, all the thrills of this glorious tournament were on display. The good news? We still have another 16 games to go on Friday. 

More at this link

 

Featured NCAA Tournament picks

(3) Gonzaga vs. (14) Grand Canyon

Friday, 7:35 p.m. | truTV, March Madness Live: Gonzaga has a top-10 scoring margin on the season and enters the NCAA Tournament leading the country in that category over its last three games. Grand Canyon is a better opponent than your middle-of-the-pack WCC foe, but the Zags have too much length and athleticism to not win this one with ease. Pick: Gonzaga -15.5 (Kyle Boone)

 

Featured NCAA Tournament picks

(4) UConn vs. (13) Iona

Friday, 4:30 p.m. | TBS, March Madness Live: Think UConn wins this and advances, but I also think Iona, led by Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, will give the Huskies a run for their money and keep it within single digits. This Gaels team is well-coached, works hard on defense and has size to mitigate -- maybe not eliminate, but mitigate -- the advantages UConn has with its athleticism and length. Pick: Iona +9 (Kyle Boone)

 

Featured NCAA Tournament picks

(5) Saint Mary's vs. (12) VCU

Friday, 2 p.m. | TBS, March Madness Live: Everyone loves a good 12-over-5 pick -- as do I -- but I'm not going out on a ledge in this specific matchup. Saint Mary's has been a borderline top-10 team across KenPom and BartTorvik's metrics all season. I lean laying the points with the Gaels here. The real play is probably the under; it's one of the few matchups of the first round between two teams with top-20 defenses in adjusted efficiency ratings. Pick: Saint Mary's -34 (Kyle Boone)

 

Featured NCAA Tournament picks

(3) Baylor vs. (14) UCSB

Friday, 1:30 p.m. | TNT, March Madness Live: UCSB, which won 27 games this season, was likely a trendy 14-over-3 pick for people in their pools, which was ... a mistake. This Baylor team has struggled to be consistent at various points this season, but it can score in bunches led by the second-most efficient offense in the sport and a top-40 3-point shooting team by percentage. Bears roll big. Pick: Baylor -11.5 (Kyle Boone)

 

Gonzaga in action today

Among the familiar faces taking the floor today will be Gonzaga forward Drew Timme. He's an institution for the Bulldogs at this point and one of the sport's best characters, as you'll see from this incredible read by Matt Norlander. "And then there's Drew Timme. A category unto himself. The full-on embodiment and purest definition of what it means to be a Zag. As the senior embarks on his final few weeks in a GU uniform, the time has come for reflection on a one-of-a-kind career."
 

David vs. Goliath

The only No. 1 seed in action today is Purdue, which takes on the smallest team in college basketball, Fairleigh Dickinson. "With an average height of just over 6-foot-1, FDU is this year's shortest team by a wide margin, and there has been just one shorter squad in college hoops since kenpom.com began charting average height in 2006-07. But it's because of the Knights' starting backcourt of 5-8 Demetre Roberts and 5-9 Grant Singleton – not in spite of it – that the country's tiniest team is in the midst of a massive turnaround."
 

Rick Pitino and Iona

The Iona Gaels, coached by Rick Pitino, will be taking on No. 4 seed UConn today. Pitino is in the mix for at least one big-time job at age 70. Here's the in-depth dive into Pitino from Matt Norlander. "Pitino's won 73% of his games at Iona, a stellar number at any level, but especially for a MAAC school. He could easily ride out his career in New Rochelle and probably raise this program's national profile even more — to one of basketball's best mid-majors. But will he?"
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