FRIDAY SPORTS: Upsets mark day one of Tournament

As usual, lots of people’s brackets were demolished on the first full day of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Thursday, with three big upsets by Harvard, North Dakota and Dayton. Number 12 Harvard defeated fifth-seeded Cincinnati 61-57, the second year in a row the Ivy League school had a big upset. North Dakota State, which is also a Number 12, beat fifth-seeded Oklahoma 80-75. And 11th-seeded Dayton downed sixth-seeded OhioState 60-59. In a much more minor upset, Number 9 Pittsburgh beat eighth-seeded Colorado 77-48.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The second round of the NIT gets underway for Clemson on Sunday, March 23 at 11 a.m. as Illinois visits Littlejohn Coliseum. The Tigers and Fighting Illini are set to square off for the fifth time in history, with the most recent meeting in 2009-10. Seating is general admission and gates open at 9:30. The game time was set by the NIT and ESPN, who is broadcasting Sunday’s contest.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

In high school sports Thursday, Oconee Christian Academy won on the diamond in a 6-0- victory over Fountain Inn. Lauren Fleming with the win on the mound.

Elsewhere, Seneca falls to Emerald 15-5.

The Walhalla softball team fell to Palmetto 4-0, while Wren downed West-Oak 4-2.  

Seneca’s boy’s soccer team scored a 4-0- win over Emerald. The girls teams got past Emerald 5-1.

_________________________________________________________________________________________ South Carolina (18-1, 2-1 SEC) returns to SEC action this weekend with a three-game series at Kentucky (15-6, 1-2 SEC). First pitch for the opener on Friday is 6:30 p.m. Game two is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be televised on FOX Sports South. Sunday’s series finale is set for 1 p.m. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________

First place in the ACC Atlantic Division is up for grabs as top-ranked Florida State comes to Tigertown for a three-game series this weekend. First pitch at Doug Kingsmore Stadium is 6:00 PM Friday.

 _________________________________________________________________________________________

The Furman baseball team opens the Southern Conference portion of its 2014 schedule on Friday when it travels to Greensboro, N.C., to take on UNCG in a 6:00 p.m. game at UNCG Stadium. The Paladins and Spartans will play on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and conclude the three-game set with a Sunday 1:00 p.m. contest.