March Madness: Heroes of the opening weekend

After an uneventful start to March Madness the action really kicked off with UNC-Asheville vs. Syracuse and continued with a wild second day of games. Every March certain guys thrive and provide us with performances we will never forget, even if they come in losing efforts, a la Ben Woodside circa 2009. If you love sports then the opening weekend of March Madness is most likely your favorite time of the year. I myself am a much bigger NBA fan than I am of NCAA hoops but I still can't help but get overwhelmed with joy when the ides of March nears. In addition to being a big time basketball fan, I am a sucker for watching athletes put their heart and soul on the floor, and there is no better stage to watch raw emotions emanate than during the madness. No matter how many times I watch a senior put their jersey on for the very last time I will always be heartbroken as I watch them crumble to the floor when the magic runs out, and this is the single greatest thing about it all. Here are some guys that have provided us with some unforgettable performances to kick off the tournament.

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Robbie Hummel -- Purdue 

I thought it would be fitting to kick off the list with a senior who epitomized everything that is great about college basketball. After suffering two different ACL injuries in back-to-back seasons Hummel finally was able to stay healthy and lead the Boilermakers to the big dance. Once he got there he did not disappoint. In Purdue's first game against Saint Mary's his numbers weren't terrific, but he did just enough to get that elusive tournament win. I know nobody cares about anybody else's brackets and I will refrain from mentioning mine again, but there was no way in hell I was picking Robbie Hummel to lose in the first round this year. Hummel shined the brightest against Kansas in the third round, (can't believe I'm calling it the third round) where he scored 26 points on 9-13 shooting while adding 9 rebounds. The first half was all about Robbie Hummel as he dropped 22 points shooting 7-8. Unfortunately it would be his last game as a collegiate athlete, but he went out in style. Here's to you and your fantastic career Robbie Hummel.

C.J. McCollum -- Lehigh 

McCollum, a junior, can fill it up with the best of 'em, and he showed just that going against the likes of Austin Rivers, Seth Curry and the rest of the Duke Blue Devils in the second round of the tournament on Friday. McCollum dropped 30 points in Lehigh's amazing upset against the Dukies including a crucial three pointer with 2:28 left to go in the game to put the Mountain Hawks up 5. In the third round McCollum and Lehigh got off to a hot start against Xavier, but eventually cooled off and saw the end of their tournament run. McCollum didn't have a particularly great shooting tournament, going just 14-46 from the field, but he was enormous when it mattered against Duke and that was enough to earn him a spot on this list. He can also take solace in the fact that he made Dickie V cry--well I assume Dickie V cried when Duke lost.

Tu Holloway -- Xavier

After putting up a miserable performance in Xavier's one and only game in the NCAA tournament last season Holloway decided to forgo the NBA draft and stay for his senior year at Xavier hoping to get a shot at redemption in the tourney. With 7:30 to go down two against Notre Dame in the round of 64 Holloway took over, scoring 10 points including the basket that would end up being the game winner with 21 seconds to go. He followed up his 25 point performance with a 21 point one against Lehigh in the round of 32 which helped guide the Musketeers to the Sweet Sixteen. Holloway was a part of one of my favorite March Madness games ever two years ago, so I will be rooting for him come Friday when Xavier takes on the Baylor Bears.




Brady Heslip -- Baylor

It takes a special weekend for a player on one of the top seeded teams to make this list. Brady Heslip had a special weekend. In the Bear's first game against South Dakota State Heslip went 5-10 from three and scored 17 points. Saturday he outdid himself against Colorado. Heslip buried nine three pointers en route to scoring a career high 27 points (9-12 from three). During the game against Colorado it was announced on TNT that he makes 150 threes before each Baylor practice and 150 threes after each practice. MAKES. It's always nice to see hard work pay off, and it certainly did for Brady Heslip. On a team stacked with high lottery NBA talent nobody thought that it would be a 6-2 sophomore that would provide the spark to get Baylor into the Sweet Sixteen.

Elijah Johnson -- Kansas

Elijah Johnson was not going to let Kansas lose to Purdue. After trailing almost the entire game Johnson hit a ballsy three from well behind the arc to give the Jayhawks a one point lead with three minutes remaining. Then Kansas found themselves down by three with 1:12 left to go in regulation. Johnson grabbed a defensive rebound took off up the court and threw an absolutely beautiful alley-oop pass to Tyshawn Taylor who slammed it home and trimmed the lead to one. Then after dribbling around for a good 30 seconds Elijah Johnson snatched the ball away from Purdue's Lewis Jackson and flew down the floor to finish at the other end and give Kansas a one point lead. That basket would end up winning them the game. In a game where Kansas finished with a team field goal percentage of 33.9% Johnson went 7-14 and had 18 points 4 rebounds 3 assists 2 steals and one trip to the Sweet Sixteen.

Kyle O'Quinn -- Norfolk State

O'Quinn produced the single best performance thus far in the NCAA tournament. The senior with an infectious smile who had only one scholarship offer after high school led 15th seeded Norfolk State to a remarkable 86-84 upset victory over 2nd seeded Missouri. O'Quinn had 26 points on 10-16 shooting and added 14 rebounds 2 assists 2 blocks and a steal. O'Quinn's shining moment came with 35 seconds left and the game tied at 81. Teammate Chris McEachin missed a jumper from the baseline but O'Quinn was there on the offensive glass to cleanup the mess and convert an acrobatic tip in while getting fouled by Missouri's Phil Pressy. He knocked down the free throw and the rest is history. It was the type of gutsy performance that will not be forgotten years from now. We don't need to talk about Norfolk State's next game against Florida...

D.J. Cooper and Walter Offutt -- Ohio

If you had the 13 seeded Ohio Bobcats in your Sweet Sixteen then I am going to assume that you know nothing about basketball and thought you were putting Ohio State into the Sweet Sixteen. On Friday against the Michigan Wolverines it was all about D.J. Cooper who dropped 21 points on 7-11 shooting including 3-6 from deep and 4-5 from the free throw line. In addition to the 21 points Cooper also had 5 dimes and played 37 of a possible 40 minutes. It was Offutt--an Ohio State transfer--who sealed the victory for the Bobcats however, scoring the teams last five points. Then on Sunday against South Florida Offutt led the team with 21 points while shooting 7-9 and 4-4 from three. This time though D.J. Cooper was the man to close out the game. Cooper scored 7 of the teams last 9 points and 5 of its last 6. The two junior guards terrific play has earned Ohio a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels--who might be without point guard Kendall Marshall--on Friday March 23. Cooper and Offutt will need to continue their stellar play if the Cinderella wants to keep on marching.

Dion Dixon -- Cincinnati 

Dixon didn't have a flawless game against Florida State by any means, and he had two ugly looking turnovers as the game neared its conclusion, but the senior wanted the win more than anybody else on the floor, and it wasn't even close. This steal earned Dixon a spot on this list by itself (1:33 mark in the video).




All images courtesy of Getty Images


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