The final game of the first round came down to the last second and a half as Cinderella stepped in to take her place. Abilene Christian, a 14-seed who first became tournament-eligible in the 2017-18 season, defeated No. 3 Texas 53-52.

Wildcats forward Joe Pleasant drew a foul with 1.2 seconds remaining with his team trailing by 1 point. After having a timeout to think over his trip to the charity stripe, the 57% free-throw shooter knocked both shots down to seal the victory.

Abilene Christian, who trailed by nine in the second half, won despite shooting 30% from the field and 17% from 3-point land, according to CBS Sports.

Shaka Smart fell to 0-3 in the NCAA Tournament at Texas. The Longhorns lost to Northern Iowa on a half-court buzzer-beater in 2016, and in 2018 they fell to Nevada in overtime after blowing a 14-point second half lead.

Earlier in the evening, No. 13 Ohio topped No. 4 Virginia 62-58. The Cavaliers went 10 minutes without a field goal in the second half as they saw their seven-point lead evaporate. In 2018, Virginia became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16-seed as it lost to UMBC.

“Man, that game, the atmosphere, even with the limited fans, it’s a dream come true to be out here playing the game I love,” Ohio forward Ben Vander Plas said, according to ESPN. “Man, it was a special moment out there. We’re just going to keep it going.”

The Bobcats have won three straight times in the round of 64. Meanwhile, Virginia arrived in Indianapolis Friday after having a positive Covid test and contract tracing.

The Tournament saw its first impact of Covid-19 as 10^th-seeded VCU was forced to withdraw due to several positive tests. As a result, their first-round game with No. 7 Oregon was ruled a no-contest, and the Ducks advanced.

With that win, the Pac-12 Conference improved to 6-0 in this year’s tournament. No. 11 UCLA topped No. 6 BYU after it won in the First Four over Michigan St.; sixth-seeded USC edged No. 11 Drake; No. 5 Colorado blew out No. 12 Georgetown, and 12^th-seeded Oregon St. defeated No. 5 Tennessee.

Three double-digit seeds nearly pulled off massive upsets. No. 12 UC Santa Barbara fell to No. 5 Creighton 63-62 after Christian Bishop knocked down the game-winning free throws with 16 seconds left. The Gauchos’ Amadou Sow missed a layup in the final seconds that would have given them the win.

Eastern Washington, a 14-seed, lost to No. 3 Kansas 93-84. The Eagles led by 10 on two separate occasions in the second half, but the Jayhawks reeled off a 25-7 run to claim the win. The Groves brothers had career games for EWU. Tanner notched a career-high 35 points, and Jacob recorded career highs with 23 points and nine rebounds.

Iona tried to become the second 15-seed in as many days to knock off a No. 2 seed. The Gaels were neck-and-neck with Alabama, but the Crimson Tide prevailed 68-55. With 10 minutes to go, it was a one-point game, and then the Tide outscored the Maroon & Gold 23-11.

In all, 10 double-digit seeds advanced to the round of 32. It is the first time four teams seed 13 or worse advanced to the second round.