Taking down a higher seed is why we love March Madness. We saw three double-digit seeds earn victories through the first three blocks of games to open the first round on Thursday, but none bigger than a matchup between two teams that consider home more than 2,000 miles away each.
The High Point Panthers, champions of the Big South Conference, took a 14-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament, longest in the nation. Their opponents were the 4th-seeded Wisconsin Badgers, who lost in the semifinals of the Big 10 Conference tournament to Michigan.
The Panthers led 43-41 just 1:09 into the second half, after Wisconsin took a 41-39 lead into the half. With just 14 seconds remaining in the game, ESPN had Wisconsin calculated to be a 70.2-percent favorite to win.
High Point will play SEC Tournament Champion Arkansas on Saturday in the second round.