Looking back at the First Round
Upsets, Near-Upsets, and strong performances from the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament highlighted Friday's action across the country
Well, just that like that, the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament is in the books! And it unfolded with plenty of highlight reel worthy moments, a few surprising upsets, and quite a few back-and-forth games that really lived up to the hype. That’s what we expect from the national tournament, and it delivered time and time again throughout yesterday afternoon and evening as games played out. So in this morning’s newsletter, I thought I’d take a look at a few of the upsets that surprised me, some of the near-upsets that caught my attention, and a handful of notable dominant performances by teams that will certainly carry significant momentum into tonight’s second-round action.
Quick Note: The numbers listed next to each team are their respective seeds per NPI, just to give some context on these matchups as they relate to each team’s placement within the bracket
The Upsets
No. 12 UW-La Crosse, 79, No. 7 Colorado College, 52: UWL came into the neutral court matchup at Whitewater as an 12-seed with a 16-11 record, but were certainly capable of knocking off the 23-3 Tigers, who were making their first tournament appearance in 35 years. And that’s exactly what UWL did, making the WIAC proud in a contest that saw them close on a 26-9 run, leaving no doubt as to whether or not they belonged in the tournament. The stat that stood out to me? UWL turned the ball over just eight times—their second-fewest this season—and forced 19 CC turnovers, which led to 27 points. The Eagles also found an early rhythm from beyond the arc, and hit 12-of-30 attempts from 3-point range as they gained separation in their first NCAA Tournament win since 1988.
No. 12 Montclair State, 67, No. 5 Christopher Newport, 64: This was one I didn’t see coming, though CNU wasn’t without some recent struggles, including a very narrow win at Salisbury on Feb. 21, and the C2C championship game against Mary Washington, which was tied through three quarters. CNU struggled to score early, shooting just 4-of-19 from the field in the opening quarter, including seven straight missed 3s. In a game defined by its up-and-down pace and high tempo, Montclair put up 19 fast-break points, but still turned it over 27 times. The key? CNU turned those turnovers into only 16 points, a lower offensive output off turnovers than the Captains are accustomed to.
No. 13 SUNY Geneseo, 74, No. 4 Catholic, 63: The Empire 8 champs became the first team to knock off a host school in this tournament, as the Knights stunned Catholic behind a massive double-double from Kristin Suydam. Suydam almost single-handedly gave Geneseo its +8 rebounding advantage, with 20 boards, the most by a Geneseo player in a single game since Lynn Hamilton’s 20 in 1989. That said, Catholic still ended up with 27 offensive rebounds, yet scored only 13 second-chance points in the most glaring stat of the evening. The Cardinals were just 6-of-37 from 3, though part of them stemmed from their attempt to play catch-up in the game’s final minutes.
No. 10 Washington & Jefferson, 76, No. 7 Messiah, 72: In one of three OT games on the day, W&J overcame Messiah’s 20-8 run in the second quarter to win their first NCAA Tournament game in program history. While less of an upset than the other three, Messiah was a true 7-seed, though W&J had no trouble keeping pace. The Presidents scored 46 points in the paint in a historic moment for W&J WBB and head coach Jina DeRubbo.
The Near-Upsets
No. 5 Wartburg, 57, No. 11 UW-Stevens Point, 56: You’re not going to find a closer game than this one. It was back-and-forth the entire way, and with 1:55, UWSP led, 66-63. With the upset bid very much in play, Wartburg forced a turnover and a missed layup before cutting the deficit to 56-55, on Lauren Golinghorst’s layup with 24 seconds to go. A pair of missed free throws from UWSP’s Courtney Krueger opened the door for one final, potentially game-winning shot from Wartburg. That shot never came. Instead, Sara Faber was fouled on an apparent reach-in foul against UWSP’s Kelly McIntyre with 1.3 seconds left. Faber, calm and collected, made the first to tie it. Her second one put the Knights in front. Wartburg forced an off-balance final shot from UWSP at the buzzer, holding on in a dramatic finish that puts the Knights into today’s second round game against Gustavus Adolphus. Of the 5 WIAC teams that reached the tournament, UWSP was the only one to lose in the first round. Considering they pushed a 5-seed to the wire and came up one point short, I’d say the WIAC did pretty well for itself in the first round.
No. 6 Trine, 81, No. 11 Transylvania, 74: It seemed Transy may have found some of its March magic in Bloomington, Illinois, as the Pioneers pushed Trine into OT, before the Thunder won a high-scoring overtime period, 19-12. 28 points from Transy’s Sierra Kemelgor and 17 points off turnovers as a team really kept Transy in it, and Trine was never able to pull away despite a 27-point, 15-rebound showing from Sidney Wagner. The contest was significantly closer than the final score, as Transy cut the Trine lead to two with 50 seconds left in OT. Ultimately, Trine went 7-of-8 at the free throw line in the final minute, but getting that win took a full 45 minutes of hard effort from Trine. Head coach Hannah Varel did a fantastic job with a young and inexperienced Transy team this season, leading them back to the NCAAs and ultimately putting the Pioneers in good position to pull off the upset. We’ll see how much that close call woke up Trine as the Thunder get Illinois Wesleyan this evening.
No. 5 Bethel, 71, No. 12 DePauw, 65: DePauw showed up ready to go and didn’t give an inch, with a 9-3 run in the third quarter putting the Tigers right in contention down the stretch. They out-rebounded Bethel by 12, had 12 second-chance points to Bethel’s 6, and led, 51-49, by the beginning of the fourth quarter. Credit to Bethel’s Elly Schmitz, who came up with two big steals in the final 23 seconds, helping the Royals seal a difficult first-round win. Going 8-of-9 at the free throw line in the closing minutes certainly helps too, as DePauw just couldn’t close the two-possession gap with less than 30 seconds to go.
No. 3 UW-Oshkosh, 61, No. 14 Calvin, 52: Calvin kept its momentum from the MIAA Tournament rolling into the tournament, and pushed Oshkosh the entire game, cutting the deficit to 49-48 with 4:56 left. Oshkosh closed on a 12-4 run to avoid an early exit, putting up 18 second-chance points in the narrow win. Oshkosh HC Brad Fischer kept his rotation to just eight, with Kayce Vaile, Alex Rondorf, and Kate Huml each playing 30 minutes, and Vaile, Rondorf, and Sammi Beyer scoring in double figures. So much credit should go to Calvin, who peaked at the perfect time this season and really gave Oshkosh all they could handle. Hannah Sall might be an early 2025-26 MIAA Player of the Year candidate, having averaged 20.6 PPG in the Knights’ four postseason games (3 in MIAA Tournament, 1 in NCAA Tournament).
No. 2 Gustavus Adolphus, 61, No. 13 Wisconsin Lutheran, 49: Sure, this turned out as a 12-point game, but through four quarters, it was as tight as any game in this tournament. The Gusties struggled to score until going on a 14-2 run in OT, and the only reason they got to an extra period was thanks to Emma Kniefel’s 3-pointer with 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter. If that shot misses, we might be talking about the biggest upset of the tournament right now. Gustavus finished just +3 on the boards and didn’t shoot it especially well (37.7%), though they turned it on in OT, shooting 4-of-5 in that five-minute stretch.
Dominant showings
No. 6 UW-Stout, 87, No. 11 Ripon, 57: Being inside Johnson Fieldhouse last night was such a fun environment. The crowd was into it from the very beginning, and every time Stout came up with a turnover, an audible roar would slowly start, culminating with full-on pandemonium when Stout hit a shot on the other end. And there was plenty of that in the first quarter, as the Blue Devils opened on a 19-4 run. It seemed there were stretches were Stout couldn’t miss, and others where Ripon just struggled to put together back-to-back defensive stops, creating a more one-sided game than most had anticipated. Ripon certainly found more of a rhythm as the game went on, but for the most part, the damage had been done. Stout outscored Ripon in all four quarters, in part thanks to 25 points off the bench and 18 assists.
No. 8 Amherst, 64, No. 12 Vassar, 49: Amherst’s defense proved its strength against a very capable offensive unit from Vassar, holding Vassar to just 17 points through the first two quarters and a 28.8% shooting percentage in the contest. The Mammoths kept Vassar off the boards as well, holding the Brewers to just three offensive rebounds, compared to 16 offensive rebounds of their own. Amherst finished with 26 points off turnovers in a convincing victory, their first NCAA Tournament win since 2022.
No. 6 Elizabethtown, 98, No. 11 SUNY Brockport, 67: The Blue Jays put on an offensive clinic in a neutral court duel, shooting 60% from the field, 9-of-20 from 3, and 36 points off the bench. Brockport had no answer for ETown’s offensive approach, as the Blue Jays used a balanced effort and got contributions from so many different players. Summer McNulty led the way, with 22 points, and DaniRae Renno had 21 points and 14 rebounds. The Blue Jays match up against Randolph-Macon tonight in what should be an intriguing contest between a high-tier offense (ETown) against a top-level defense (R-MC).
» Check out today’s second round schedule on D3hoops.com
» Take a look at the updated bracket on NCAA.com.
» I’ll be in Menomonie, Wisconsin again tonight, covering UW-Stout vs Whitman in the second round! Follow me on X/Twitter for updates from that one and other games across the country.