First week of NCAA tourney is a wild one

The NCAA basketball tournament is off to another fantastic start, which is getting to be old hat these days. I can't remember the last time the opening week of the tournament wasn't great.

You never know which underdog teams are going to shock the world right off the bat, you just know it's going to happen.

Last week Harvard and Florida Gulf Coast took their turn in the spotlight.

No. 14 seed Harvard, which doesn't even award athletic scholarships, won an NCAA tournament game for the first time by upsetting third-seeded New Mexico on Thursday night.

That was nothing compared to what 15th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast did -- twice.

Florida Gulf Coast, in just its sixth year as a Division I program and in its second year of Division I postseason eligibility, stunned second-seeded Georgetown Friday night in the Eagles' first tournament appearance.

The Eagles then proved that was no fluke by beating seventh-seeded San Diego State on Sunday night to become the first No. 15 seed to ever advance to the Sweet 16.

What Florida Gulf Coast and Harvard accomplished -- not even to mention ninth-seeded Wichita State beating top-seeded Gonzaga Saturday night in the round of 32 -- are only two of the many reasons why I absolutely love the tournament.

Monumental upsets, with upstart, unheralded squads beating traditional powers, are part of what makes the event so great, at least during the opening week.

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While I love seeing underdogs win, Florida Gulf Coast's victory over Georgetown was bittersweet for myself and probably a lot of other area people who root for Otto Porter.

The Eagles' victory ended the season -- and perhaps college career -- of the Scott County Central High School graduate.

Porter, Georgetown's sophomore forward who was the Big East Player of the Year, is projected as a high NBA draft pick.

Although Porter hasn't announced his decision, most people believe he's going to declare for this year's NBA draft.

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One more quick note about Florida Gulf Coast:

Southeast lost at Florida Gulf Coast 89-78 in the second game of the 2010-11 season, which marked the Eagles' third Division I campaign. They went 10-20 that year.

Florida Gulf Coast has a mostly new roster from the one that faced Southeast. Only three of the Eagles' players who took the court Friday against Georgetown saw action against the Redhawks. None started and the trio combined for 14 points, although the three are now among the Eagles' key players.

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The Ohio Valley Conference had its four-year string of winning an NCAA tournament game end with a thud.

First-year OVC member Belmont, a No. 11 seed after capturing the conference's regular season and tournament titles, was a trendy pick to knock off No. 6 seed Arizona.

Instead the Bruins were blitzed virtually from the start and never seriously challenged the Wildcats during Thursday's 81-64 loss. Arizona led by double figures the entire second half.

Belmont was making its sixth NCAA tournament appearance -- all in the last eight years. The previous five berths were as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Bruins have yet to win an NCAA tourney game.

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Missouri joined Belmont in having a disappointing opening NCAA tournament performance. The ninth-seeded Tigers were hammered on the boards during an 84-72 loss to eighth-seeded Colorado State.

The Tigers had their moments this season but never could gain much consistency after gaining an early top-10 national ranking.

MU's largely frustrating season came to a head Thursday as Colorado State had control virtually all the way.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.