UNC men’s basketball silences the critics with First Four win | The GIST

The GIST: And they’re off! March Madness officially tipped off with two men’s First Four games last night, and the women start their party with their own First Four games tonight (keep an eye out for a Special Edition later today featuring everything you need to fill out your bracket).

• If the rest of the tournament is as good as the first two matchups, we just might be in for the maddest March yet.

The context: The men’s and women’s First Four feature eight squads each (the four lowest-ranked automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams) duking it out for spots in the official 64-team men’s and women’s tourneys.

• Fun fact: First Four squads historically do surprisingly alright in March Madness. Two First Four men’s squads — the 2011 VCU Rams and 2021 UCLA Bruins — even advanced to the Final Four. Sing it, Justin.

No. 16 seed Alabama State opens tourney with stunning buzzer-beater: The Hornets wasted no time bringing the chaos, breaking a late tie with a fumbled full-court pass turned buzzer-beater to beat Saint Francis 70–68 last night. This. Is. March.

No. 11 seed UNC silences the critics with convincing dub: Fans of snubbed teams were not happy that the Tar Heels, whose athletic director is also the chair of the selection committee, made the bracket despite their mediocre season. But the blue blood proved why they’re a March Madness mainstay with their jaw-dropping 95–68 smackdown of San Diego State. Haters, begone.

Up next: The men’s bracket will be complete when Mount St. Mary’s takes on American for the other No. 16 seed tonight at 6:40 p.m. ET, before Texas and Xavier (another controversial inclusion) battle for the last remaining No. 11 seed at 9:10 p.m. ET. And then the real fun starts — by the time we’re back in your inbox on Friday, we’ll be halfway through the men’s first round.