Two More Upsets on a Crazy Opening Day of Mythical March Madness

The late action on day one of Mythical March Madness saw the No. 2 seeds in Oregon and in Pennsylvania advance and No. 7 seeds go down.

USA Today Sports Images - Rob Kinnan

Publisher's Note: This is our go at Mythical March Madness. The tournament and results are determined using all-time odds for each seed in the tournament for each round of advancement. The roll of dice with rolls of six or below representing the higher-seeded team and rolls of seven or greater representing the lower-seeded team determine results. If the game is written up as close then the roll of the dice went to the eighth, ninth, or tenth roll. If it is written up as a blowout then it was decided early.

#2-Duke 92  #15-Boston University 66

What is the first round of March Madness, even Mythical March Madness without some "Coach K"? The Duke Blue Devils took the stage in an empty Palestra, a building that Mike Krzyzewski has lots of respect for. On the other bench were the Patriot League Champions from Boston University. 

This was not a fair fight as Duke, who has been ragged at times in going 25-6, came out firing. The combination of Vernon Carey Jr. inside with freshman wing Cassius Stanley from Los Angeles and point guard Tre Jones was too much. The game was back and forth for the first six-to-seven minutes, but then Duke went on a 12-0 run and took the lead at 24-10. By halftime the Blue Devils were up 44-26. 

Carey Jr. finished with 18 points, just over his scoring average and 12 rebounds. Stanley had 20 points and Jones added 16 points and eight assists. Duke shot 56 percent from the field in winning 92-66. The Terriers were led in scoring by Javonte McCoy with 17 points. 

Boston University bows out with a 21-13 record, while the Blue Devils advance to Saturday with a 26-6 mark. 

#2-Michigan State 69  #15-Siena 41

Meanwhile, in Eugene, Ore. it was Michigan State and Tom Izzo that also advanced to the second round. The Spartans used Cassius Winston's three-point shooting exhibition as he nailed 8-of-11 from behind the arch and scored a game high 28 points. 

The outside-inside game came into play as Xavier Tillman was strong in the paint and posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, not far off the double-double that he averaged all season at 13.7 points and 10.3 rebounds a game. 

Off the bench Malik Hall had 12 points for the Spartans, while Siena was led in scoring by Manny Camper with 14 points. 

Michigan State is now 23-9 for the year, while Siena retires at 20-11. The Spartans will now face Utah State.

#10-Utah State 73  #7-Marquette 60

The Aggies Sam Merrill is one of the best players in Mythical March Madness. In reality, Merrill is one of the best players in the nation and his fantasy version was really good inside McArthur Court on Thursday night. Merrill grabbed the tip and went through the Marquette defense for the opening lay-up in the game. 

From that point on Marquette could not slow Merrill down as he hit six three pointers on 10 attempts and overall scored 31 points. Utah State led by 10 at the break, 38-28. 

The second half was safe for Utah State, although a quick 8-0 run fueled by Marquette guard Markus Howard and a pair of three-pointers in succession, raised a threat. 

Utah State walked away with a 73-60 win and raised their record to 27-8 and prepare to play Michigan State on Saturday. 

#10-Stanford 85  #7-Rutgers 68

Being the No. 7 seed on Thursday was not a good thing as Marquette went down out West and back at The Palestra, a team from out West was taking care of business. There are only three teams out of the Pac-12 in the Mythical March Madness, but Stanford made it two survivors on Thursday when they handled Rutgers fairly easily 85-68. 

This was just a short drive for the Scarlet Knights and a long flight for the Cardinal, but head coach Jerod Haase had his team ready to play. Oscar DeSilva used his size inside to intimidate and punctuate possessions. He alone had seven offensive rebounds and turned those into 12 points out of his scoring total of 20 points. 

Stanford had five players in double figures with Tyrell Terry adding 12 points, Daejon Davis with 11 points, Spencer Jones with 11 points, and Bryce Willis with 10 points. 

The Cardinal is now 21-12 on the season and will get ready to match colors with the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday in a true red, white, and blue affair.