NCAA Tournament: Look at what these locals did on an exciting first day of March Madness

Philly might not have a team in the tournament, but contributions from area players are aplenty. Here's who dominated the first day and who to watch ahead of Friday's tip.

by Kerith Gabriel

Published March 17, 2023, 10:20 a.m. ET

March was a complete madhouse in Thursday’s open of the field of 64 of the men’s NCAA Tournament, as lower seeds wasted no time in creating upsets and busting brackets all over the place.

Furman? Furman. Wow.

While Philly teams were devoid of taking part in this year’s festivities, there are a host of Philly-area hoopers sprinkled across rosters all over the tournament. Here’s a sampling of a few from the first day, in addition to who you should keep an eye out for as Day No. 2 tips off Friday with No. 10 USC and No. 7 Michigan State from Columbus (12:15 p.m., CBS3).

But first…

No. 10 Penn State came to play

The last time the Nittany Lions won an NCAA Tournament game, a gallon of gas at the pump was around $1.32 nationwide, there was no social media and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was the No. 1 movie in America.

That’s 2001, in case you’re wondering.

But inside Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Penn State emphatically updated that record behind a 76-59 win over No. 7-seeded Texas A&M. Penn State was fueled by contributions from a pair of Philly kids, none greater than guard Andrew Funk (Archbishop Wood), who dropped a game-high 27 behind 8-of-10 from three.

“We didn’t come here for just one though, it’s time to keep it rolling,” Funk said as he did a happy trot to meet his teammates in the locker room postgame.

Also, senior Seth Lundy (Roman Catholic) dropped 10 points as Penn State moves on to the second round to face No. 2 Texas on Saturday (7:45 p.m., CBS3).

No. 15 Princeton shocks the masses – namely, President Biden

Princeton busted the brackets of so many people Thursday, including President Joe Biden after its upset of No. 2 seed Arizona following a 59-55 win. However, while the President can tear up his men’s bracket, his women’s bracket is alive and well, and you’ll never guess who he’s picked to go all the way.

As for Princeton, they have a history of busting brackets and sending home top-ranked teams. The last time coach Mitch Henderson’s men did it was in 1996 when Henderson led the then No. 13-ranked Tigers to an upset over UCLA — as a player. Pretty cool.

Watch these locals in top games on Friday

No. 14 Cal Santa Barbara’s vs. No. 3 Baylor, (1:30 p.m., TNT)

Josh-Pierre Louis (Temple transfer)

No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 10 USC (12:15 p.m., CBS3)

AJ Hoggard (Coatesville)

No. 11 Providence vs. No. 6 Kentucky (7:10 p.m., CBS)

Jared Bynum (St. Joe’s Prep), Ed Croswell (St. Joe’s Prep/La Salle), Clifton Moore (La Salle)

No. 5 Miami vs. No. 12 Drake (7:25 p.m., TBS)

Isaiah Wong (Bonner), Wooga Poplar (Math, Civics & Sciences Charter)

No. 14 Kennesaw State vs. No. 3 Xavier (12:40 p.m., truTV)

Quincy Ademkoya (Temple transfer)

No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. No. 1 Purdue (6:50 p.m., TNT)

Jalen Gaffney (Westtown School)

Miss a kid on this list that’s in the Big Dance? Tell us on Twitter: @phillysport.

Hart, Scott fuel No. 8 Maryland comeback

Philly guys Hakim Hart (Roman Catholic) and Donta Scott (Imhotep) helped Maryland provide a treat as the first game in the round of 64 following the Terrapins comeback win over No. 9 West Virginia.

Maryland was down by as much as 10 in the early going, getting bodied all over the court. To coin a phrase from Jefferson women’s head coach Tom Shirley in reference to his own D-II NCAA Tournament team that fits perfectly in this case, the Terps “couldn’t put a beach ball in the ocean from three.”

The Terps found their rhythm however, paced by 15 points from Hart and Scott added 11, sending Huggy Bear and the Mountaineers packing while setting up a second-round date with top-seeded Alabama in Birmingham on Saturday (9:40 p.m., TBS).

Did you see Dereck Lively?

In No. 5 Duke’s 71-54 first-round rout of No. 12 Oral Roberts, freshman Dereck Lively II (Westtown School) padded his NBA draft resume or a least a reason for more minutes after grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds in the win. He also had six blocks, the most for a freshman in the tournament in Duke history.

Despite playing behind another 7-footer in Kyle Filipowski, the 7-foot-1 center is high on many boards as a lottery pick and if the big fella keeps snagging boards like this he’s destined to be the next Philly guy to be one-and-done.

“Being able to back up my teammates is something I’ve just accepted,” Lively said postgame. “To have them know that I have their backs at any moment is something I’ve accepted throughout this point.”

Lively II and the Blue Devils will get their next chance to do so against No. 4 Tennessee on Saturday (2:40 p.m., CBS).