The talk all season has been about the mediocrity that has been bestowed to college basketball.
No great teams, not enough elite players.
However, the Big Dance hasn't been affected one bit.
There was no shortage of drama, especially early on, as there was seemingly one nail-biter after another.
There was last year's Cinderella, Butler, pulling one out. Then came a game-winner from Morehead State to give the tourney its first upset victim: Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals.
Temple won on a buzzer-beater and then John Calipari's newest talented frosh rescued the Kentucky Wildcats from an early exit at the hands of Princeton.
The talent may be down, but the dance is as healthy as ever.
Game of the Day: Kentucky's near-loss to the Ivy Leaguers. The Wildcats needed a last-second driving layup from freshman Brandon Knight to avoid the upset bid by No. 13 Princeton. The Tigers led midway through the second half and tied the game with 40 seconds left before Knight bailed the Wildcats out.
Big Shot: Demonte Harper, Morehead State. With Eagles star big man Kenneth Faried struggling to score (he was 4 of 17 from the field), it was Harper who stepped up and hit the biggest shot in the history of the program. Harper's only make of the second half was huge — a three-pointer from the top of the key with 4.2 seconds left that sent Louisville packing.
The Savior: It's difficult to call someone a savior when they go scoreless for nearly the entire game and miss their first seven shots, but that's exactly what Knight was for the Wildcats. He hit a layup with two seconds left for his first points of the game to rescue Kentucky from a potential loss against No. 13 Princeton. Knight had scored in double digits in 28 consecutive contests.
More studs
1. Kevin Anderson, Richmond. The Spiders' senior guard and leader had 16 of his 25 points after the break, none more important than the floater he made with 18.7 seconds left to help give the Spiders the 69-66 win over No. 5 Vanderbilt.
2. Juan Fernandez, Temple. The Owls point guard scored 23 points, but it was his final field goal that was the game-winner — with 0.4 seconds left — that broke a 64-64 tie and put the Owls into the next round.
3. Matt Howard, Butler. The Bulldogs senior plays as hard as anyone in the country and his put-back at the buzzer kept Butler's hopes alive with a win over Old Dominion.
4. Jimmer Fredette, BYU. We can't omit The Jimmer, can we? The near-cult hero went for 32 points and dished out seven assists in a 74-66 win against No. 14 Wofford.
5. Marquise Carter, Gonzaga. The 'Zags junior college point guard has been up and down this season. He came into the game averaging just 5.9 points, but went for a career-high 24 points, grabbed six boards and dished out six assists in the win against St. John's.
Story of the day: The early drama. It all began with Howard's buzzer-beater to give Butler the win over Old Dominion. Morehead State's Harper followed it up with a dagger that knocked off Louisville, Knight saved Kentucky from going home and Fernandez also provided last-second game-winning heroics in a victory over Penn State.
Biggest upset: No. 13 Morehead State taking care of Rick Pitino's fourth-seeded Louisville Cardinals. The offensive hero was Harper, but Faried blocked Mike Marra's last-second shot at the buzzer. It was the first time Morehead State had beaten Louisville since the 1956-57 season.
Most impressive: Gonzaga. The 'Zags were counted out a while back, but Mark Few's team has been rolling of late, and got a convincing win over No. 6 St. John's to move on to a matchup with The Jimmer.
Most unimpressive: Missouri. The Tigers have been in a free-fall the last part of the season and were thoroughly dominated by Cincinnati. Phil Pressey was about the only one who showed up for Mike Anderson's team, which hasn't played as a unit of late.
Best third-round matchup: No. 2 Florida vs. No. 7 UCLA. Ben Howland gets another crack at Billy Donovan in the tourney. The Gators, en route to back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007, knocked off the Bruins both years in the Final Four.
Biggest disappointment: Vanderbilt. The fifth-seeded Commodores lost for the third consecutive time in the NCAA tournament. They bowed out to Murray State last season and fell to Siena in 2008. Jeffery Taylor finished with just four points on 1 of 10 shooting in the loss.
Finally: Temple coach Fran Dunphy had lost his last 11 NCAA tournament contests, dating back to his days at Penn. Well, thanks to Fernandez, Dunphy's streak is history.
Mercifully over: Michigan State's train wreck of a season. The Spartans actually fought back from a huge deficit, but UCLA held on for the win. Tom Izzo's team, ranked No. 2 in the preseason, finished the year 19-15 overall.
We'll miss you: Talor Battle, Penn State. The Nittany Lions point guard never truly got his due. He finishes as the school's all-time scoring leader after a 23-point performance and connecting on the tying three-pointer in an eventual loss to Temple.
Never would have thought: That Butler would outrebound an Old Dominion team that led the nation in rebounding margin. The Bulldogs won the battle on the glass, 32-29, and it was done via a team effort.
Quiet return: Temple junior swingman Scootie Randall, who had missed the past seven games with a hairline fracture in his right foot, returned and played six minutes in the Owls' win against Penn State. Randall was averaging 11.6 points and had scored in double figures in eight consecutive games before suffering the injury.
Stat of the day: Kentucky will meet West Virginia on Saturday. The Wildcats were knocked out in the Elite Eight by the Mountaineers a year ago and Bob Huggins has an 8-1 career mark against John Calipari.
Quote of the day: "This was as tough a loss as I've had in coaching and I've been coaching a long time. And after tonight, maybe too long." — Louisville coach Rick Pitino
Can't wait till tomorrow
1) Kyrie Irving. The Duke freshman will return after being out with a toe injury since Dec. 4. The Blue Devils take on No. 16 Hampton at 3:10 p.m. ET.
2) No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 9 Tennessee, 12:40 p.m. ET. Could this be Bruce Pearl's swan song with the Vols? Quite possibly.
3) No. 5 Arizona vs. No. 12 Memphis, 2:45 p.m. ET. Memphis second-year coach Josh Pastner goes up against his alma mater. The Tigers were also Arizona star Derrick Williams' second choice.
4) No. 8 George Mason vs. No. 9 Villanova, 2:10 p.m. ET. The Patriots were America's darlings long before Butler and now they get a shot at a 'Nova team that's lost its last five.
5) No. 7 Washington vs. No. 10 Georgia, 9:45 p.m. ET. The Huskies have momentum after winning the Pac-10 tourney, while UGA coach Mark Fox has some U-Dub connections. He met his wife there.
