Written by Bill Bender at Sporting News.com
Middle Tennessee didn’t pull off your typical 5-12 upset. It has to be an upset first for that to happen.
The Blue Raiders entered the game as a 1.5-point favorite on Odds Shark and took care of business. No. 12 MTSU beat No. 5 Minnesota 81-72 in the first round of the South Region in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Thursday. The Blue Raiders will face No. 4 seed Butler on Saturday.
You knew which way the game was going by the time Tyrik Dixon hit a 3-pointer with 15:37 remaining that opened up a 14-point lead for MTSU. The Blue Raiders entered the tournament with a 30-4 record and a 17-1 mark in Conference USA. Reggie Upshaw led four double-figure scorers with 19 points and could be the next Cinderella darling player.
This is also the same team that knocked out Michigan State in a 2-15 matchup in last year’s tournament. Why are they a No. 12 seed this year? SN’s Mike DeCourcy answered that question on March 1 with this:
“They defeated Ole Miss and Vanderbilt, both teams with winning records in the SEC, and Ohio Valley leader Belmont. It’s not that simple, though, because the NCAA selection committee never has truly trusted the simplicity of a won-lost record.”
Sometimes it really is that simple. The Blue Raiders shouldn’t be a No. 12 seed, but now that they are they could be the most dangerous No. 12 seed this tournament has seen in a long time. It’s the upset-special seed everybody loves anyway, and those teams stick out with those big win totals.
That’s a trend with No. 12 seeds that have won in the first round this decade. Cornell entered the tournament with a 27-4 record in 2010. Richmond (27-7) in 2011, VCU (28-6) in 2012, Stephen F. Austin (31-2) in 2014 and Arkansas-Little Rock (29-3) and Yale (22-6) in 2016 can tell similar stories. Cornell and Richmond advanced to the Sweet 16 along with fellow No. 12 seed Oregon, a power conference school, in 2013.
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