The first massive upset of the NCAA Tournament arrived on Thursday as the 15-seed Princeton Tigers knocked out the two-seed Arizona Wildcats 59-55.
Incredibly, the undersized Tigers won despite shooting only four-of-25 (16 per cent) from three-point range, getting it done on the defensive end as they held Arizona to 24 points in the second half.
Despite the loss, it was still a strong showing from the game's top NBA prospect as Arizona's six-foot-11 Lithuanian junior Azuolas Tubelis posted 22 points (nine-of-20 shooting), five rebounds, four steals and a block.
In a full-circle moment, Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson was drenched during post-game celebrations. The victory came 27 years after he played in the Tigers' last great March Madness upset, knocking off four-seed UCLA in the 1996 tournament.
But Arizona were not the only big favourite to fall, as the four-seed Virginia Cavaliers were stunned late in a 68-67 defeat at the hands of the 13-seed Furman Paladins.
Virginia led by four with just 12 seconds remaining, but after two Furman free throws, fifth-year senior Kihei Clark inexplicably tried to launch a full-court pass while being trapped in the backcourt. The pass was intercepted, allowing Garrett Hein to set up J.P. Pegues for the game-winning three with two seconds on the clock.
Things were less dramatic for the one seeds in action, as freshman star and likely NBA lottery pick Gradey Dick led the Kansas Jayhawks to a 96-68 drubbing of the Howard Bison.
Dick, 19, had 19 points (seven-of-13 shooting) with 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals as Kansas kept their foot on the pedal right to the end, using the blowout as an opportunity for some live practice against competitive opposition.
It was a different strategy for the Alabama Crimson Tide, with none of their starters playing more than 21 minutes, including top-three NBA draft hopeful Brandon Miller as he finished scoreless on five shots.
The Houston Cougars completed the one seed clean sweep as they were made to work for a 63-52 win against the Northern Kentucky Norse, with top prospect Jarace Walker putting together 16 points (six-of-eight shooting), six rebounds and two blocks.
Nuggets coach Malone concerned despite Jokic's best efforts
Michael Malone conceded he is worried by the Denver Nuggets' form after Thursday's 126-114 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Nikola Jokic recorded a triple-double, but could not propel Denver to victory, with the Nuggets now 11-9 for the season, having lost five of their last six games in the league.
Jokic's haul of 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists saw him move onto 139 career triple-doubles; he is now third on the all-time list, behind Oscar Robertson (181) and teammate Russell Westbrook (200), having surpassed Magic Johnson.
While Malone credited Jokic, he is concerned by his team's performances.
"We just got our butts kicked," Malone said.
"Obviously, I love Nikola, and I feel very fortunate to coach a player with his talent and he'll go down as one of the best to ever do it.
"I'm happy to hear that [he is third for triple-doubles], I really am. But I'm so much more concerned about our team right now and where we're at.
"It's not so much that we lost tonight. I knew coming in here would be a tall order. I just don't like how we lost and there is a big difference."
Malone is also wary of putting too much pressure on Jokic.
"We've all got to make sure we don't run him into the ground," he added.
Jokic said the achievement was not something he is too focused on right now.
He said: "It's something that you're probably going to look at after you finish your career.
"Right now, you don't even think about it. But it's a great thing. It's really nice."
Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 28 points, as Cleveland improved to 13-1 at home for the season.
"That's a hard team to slow down," said Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson, who was particularly impressed with how his team dealt with Jokic despite the Serbian's high-scoring game.
"We made [Jokic] work, get his efficiency down.
"When Jokic kills you is when he has those 15, 17 assist games. Not that we wanted him to score whatever he scored, but you have to pick your poison.
"A lot of those points [Jokic scored] were in transition, and that's one of their elite attributes. We didn't do a great job there but we were better in the second half."
NBA: Cavaliers overcome Jokic's latest triple-double to beat Nuggets
Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points, Darius Garland added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 13-1 at home on Thursday night with a 126-114 victory over the Denver Nuggets, who wasted a triple-double by Nikola Jokić.
The Cavs made a season-high 22 3-pointers and extended their streak of making at least 10 3s to a club record 28 games dating to last season.
Cleveland outscored Denver 66-18 from behind the arc.
Jokic had 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists, giving him his 139th career triple-double - one more than Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. Jokic only trails Oscar Robertson (181) and teammate Russell Westbrook (200) on the career list.
Caris LeVert added 21 points off the bench, Evan Mobley scored 20 and Jarrett Allen had 15 rebounds for Cleveland, which improved to 5-0 against Western Conference teams.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 24 points and Jamal Murray had 19 for the Nuggets.
Surging Mavs down hapless Wizards
Luka Dončić had 21 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds and Kyrie Irving added 25 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to their sixth straight win, 137-101 over the Washington Wizards, who have lost 16 straight.
Washington tied a franchise record for consecutive defeats and fell to 2-18. It's the second straight season the Wizards have had a 16-game skid.
Dallas made 11 of its first 16 shots from 3-point range and finished 20 of 38 from beyond the arc.
Malcolm Brogdon scored 16 for the Wizards, who were without Kyle Kuzma (left rib sprain) and Corey Kispert (left ankle sprain).
It was the 78th triple-double for Doncic, moving him into a tie for seventh on the career list with Wilt Chamberlain and James Harden. Next on the list is Dallas coach Jason Kidd at 107.
It was only a six-point game near the end of the first quarter, but the Mavericks went on an 11-2 run that included a 3-pointer by Spencer Dinwiddie and two by Klay Thompson.
Anunoby, Towns lead Knicks
OG Anunoby scored 15 of his 25 points during a third quarter in which he also blocked consecutive 3-point shots on opposite sides of the floor, helping the New York Knicks pull away to beat the Charlotte Hornets 125-101.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 16 rebounds in the Knicks' fourth straight victory. Jalen Brunson scored 19 of his 24 points in the first quarter.
Anunoby's scoring broke open what was a one-point game early in the second half, and his back-to-back blocks late in the third had fans chanting “OG! OG!” after a 28-6 spurt gave New York a 93-70 advantage.
Brandon Miller scored 26 points in the Hornets' seventh straight loss.
New York’s Precious Achiuwa made his season debut after missing the first 21 games with a strained left hamstring.
'Dead-legged' Bucks hopeful on Middleton return as winning streak snapped
Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers is keen to see Khris Middleton return from injury soon after describing his players as "dead-legged" in Wednesday's defeat to the Atlanta Hawks.
The Bucks had responded to a dire start to the season by stringing together a run of seven straight victories, but that streak came crashing to a halt as they lost 119-104 at Fiserv Forum.
In a fine all-round showing from Atlanta, Jalen Johnson had 23 points and 13 rebounds while De’Andre Hunter scored 20 points, Trae Young had 17 and Bogdan Bogdanovic 15.
The exertions of Milwaukee's recent run showed as Atlanta's bench outscored that of their hosts by 50 points to 31, leaving Rivers to blame the result on tiredness.
"I thought we were dead-legged most of the game. We didn't think well, which is a direct sign of fatigue," Rivers told The Athletic.
"We didn't execute very well. Our passes were really late."
The Bucks have been without veteran forward Middleton for their last 21 games, with the 33-year-old recovering from offseason surgery on both ankles.
Middleton took part in practice drills ahead of Wednesday's game but was again held back, and Rivers says he is now desperate to get out on the court.
"Anybody who wants to play, and Khris is one of those guys, they're frustrated," Rivers said. "That's mentally challenging.
"You see your team playing and although we're playing well right now, I imagine when we were really struggling and he wasn't playing that had to be really hard for him.
"You want to help your team, and he knows he can.
"If it felt right, he'd be playing, obviously. There's no answer. He's working his butt off and doing all the stuff he's supposed to do.
"He's just yet to get on the floor. We feel like that's coming soon, and you've heard that before. We're just hopeful it's really soon."
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