NCAA Scores 2015: Biggest Takeaways from Day 2 of 1st Round

Amid big wins from No. 11 Dayton and No. 16 Robert Morris in Dayton, Ohio, Wednesday night, the field of 64 for the 2015 NCAA tournament is finally set, with a number of teams making statements in the first round of play.

The Big Dance won't begin in full force until Thursday, but the action in Dayton has certainly left viewers salivating at the prospect of what's to come. After Tuesday graced us with back-and-forth thrillers and comeback affairs, Wednesday's duo of games followed suit.

Outsiders will write off the winners from Dayton, but history tells us that wouldn't be so wise, as teams from the first round have made it to the Sweet 16 in each of the last two years. Here is a complete look at Wednesday night's scores from Dayton and what to take away from the games.

Seed	Result	Score	Leading Scorers
No. 16	Robert Morris def. North Florida	81-77	Beau Beech (UNF): 28 points
No. 11	Dayton def. Boise State	56-55	Derrick Marks (BSU): 23 points

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1st Round Day 2 Takeaways

Robert Morris Isn't Easily Shaken

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The end result of Robert Morris' 81-77 win over North Florida may be somewhat of a foregone conclusion with top-seeded Duke looming in the second round, but that didn't make Wednesday's comeback victory any less special.

Aiming for the program's first NCAA tournament win since 1983, the Colonials fell victim early on to a shooting slump alongside North Florida's insane deep shooting. The Ospreys made six of their first nine three-point attempts to help them lead 35-29 at halftime, but they couldn't keep Robert Morris down for long.

North Florida led by as many as 13 early in the second half, which was immediately followed by a 11-0 Colonials run. Robert Morris took the lead with 3:49 to go and didn't look back, as Lucky Jones and Kavon Stewart secured the win at the charity stripe with clutch free throws.

The euphoria of winning in the Big Dance didn't last long, with head coach Andrew Toole being peppered with questions about Friday's opponent, Duke, but he wanted to bask in this win for a moment, per Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv:

As for the Robert Morris fans, they wasted no time looking ahead in the wake of the victory, per CBS Sports' Seth Davis:

While a number of close calls in recent history suggest it could happen sooner rather than later, the No. 16 seed does face the uphill task of trying to become the first to ever knock off a No. 1 seed. That spurred a comical hashtag on social media, as 96.1 Pittsburgh's Michael Dougherty began a Twitter trend:

It's hard to take anything from Robert Morris' win that would suggest it will hang around with Duke, but there's one promising tidbit for the Colonials. They overcame North Florida's 9-of-22 shooting performance from long range and forced misses on 10 of its last 13 looks from deep. The Blue Devils let it fly with the best in the nation but could hit an offensive wall if the Colonials can limit their looks in the second half as they did Wednesday.

Of course, that all discounts the impact of freshman and ACC Player of the Year Jahlil Okafor in the post. Robert Morris' frontcourt starters are 6'5" and 6'8", which means that Okafor and Amile Jefferson will be more than a handful.

The Colonials don't have enough to match up with the likes of Duke for 40 minutes, but they stand a fighting chance if they can mimic the second-half performance posted against North Florida.

Don't Let Dayton—or Jordan Sibert—Hang Around

Boise State may have a bone to pick with the selection committee after being placed in the first round against Dayton on the Flyers' home court, but the Broncos had their chances Wednesday night.

They led by 12 points during a point in the first half and held a seven-point lead with just 3:30 to go, but they allowed the Flyers to claw back in it in the final minutes. After having leading scorer Jordan Sibert ride the bench for much of the game in foul trouble, he emerged as the game-changer to help extend Dayton's home winning streak to 22 games in against-the-odds fashion.

Although few players from last year's Elite Eight team are still in the fold for head coach Archie Miller, Sibert is one, and he showed his poise in clutch situations once again. With the Flyers trailing by two with 37 seconds left, Sibert nailed a three-pointer that proved to be the final points of the contest and put him on even further of a pedestal, as ESPN 680's Mike Rutherford noted:

Boise State controlled the game from the onset, with Derrick Marks' 23 points leading the way, but the Broncos' go-to guy was denied in the final seconds. He seemed to draw contact on a last-second three-point attempt, but the referee opted not to blow his whistle, and Dayton's celebration ensued.

Along with support for the late no-call, Davis also lauded the Flyers' poise amid a late comeback:

With their feet now wet, the Flyers head just down the road to Columbus for a second-round meeting with No. 6 seed Providence. And if the Friars were paying attention Wednesday night, they should have plenty to learn from Boise State's lapses.

First things first—don't lose Sibert. The Broncos did a masterful job of getting him into foul trouble but lost track of him defensively on a number of possessions, including the fateful game-winner.

Skip Peterson/Associated Press

The Friars also can't expect Kris Dunn—their do-it-all guard—to keep doing it all, if you will. Dayton allowed Boise State's Marks to have a strong day while still pulling out the win, and Dunn had at least 22 points in each of Providence's last two defeats.

With Dayton mounting a comeback in a game that the Flyers looked far from their best in, Providence should come in brimming with confidence. But all it takes is a look into the details of Dayton's first-round win to see that a complete 40 minutes of execution will be needed to advance into the round of 32.