March Madness 2016: Top Social Media Highlights for Friday's Round 1

A hectic first day of the 2016 NCAA tournament gave way to a positively bonkers conclusion to first-round action Friday, as brackets were busted and upsets reigned supreme throughout a thrilling day of basketball. 

From an historic performance by Middle Tennessee State University to a Pac-12 power falling, social media had plenty to react to as the sound of paper shredders were fired up across the country. 

Without further ado, here's a look at the day's scores and the reactions they produced across social media: 

Matchup	Result/Start Time (ET)
No. 10 Syracuse vs. No. 7 Dayton	Syracuse 70, Dayton 51
No. 15 UNC Asheville vs. No. 2 Villanova	Villanova 86, UNC Asheville 56
No. 10 VCU vs. No. 7 Oregon State	VCU 75, Oregon St. 67
No. 13 Hawaii vs. No. 4 California	Hawaii 77, Cal 66
No. 15 Middle Tennessee St. vs. No. 2 Michigan State	MTSU 90, MSU, 81
No. 10 Temple vs. No. 7 Iowa	Iowa 72, Temple 70 (OT)
No. 15 CSU Bakersfield vs. No. 2 Oklahoma	Oklahoma 82, CSU Bakersfield 68
No. 12 South Dakota State vs. No. 5 Maryland	Maryland 79, South Dakota St. 74
No. 10 Pittsburgh vs. No. 7 Wisconsin	Wisconsin 47, Pittsburgh 43
No. 14 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 3 West Virginia	Stephen F. Austin 70, West Virginia 56
No. 14 Green Bay vs. No. 3 Texas A&M	Texas A&M 92, Green Bay 65
No. 16 Holy Cross vs. No. 1 Oregon	Oregon 91, Holy Cross 52
No. 15 Weber State vs. No. 2 Xavier	Xavier 71, Weber State 53
No. 11 Michigan vs. No. 6 Notre Dame	Notre Dame 70, Michigan 63
No. 11 Northern Iowa vs. No. 6 Texas	Northern Iowa 75, Texas 72
No. 9 Cincinnati vs. No. 8 Saint Joseph's	St. Joseph's 78, Cincinnati 76

Middle Tennessee State 90, Michigan State 81

The Middle Tennessee State Lightning pulled off the unthinkable as it led wire-to-wire and became just the eighth No. 15 seed in NCAA tournament history to upset a No. 2 seed, according to the school's official Twitter account. 

With brackets busted everywhere by virtue of the result, Steve Harvey had to take time out of his busy schedule to apologize to college hoops fans everywhere: 

And in true Twitter fashion, the Crying Jordan avalanche began, as The Ringer's Jason Concepcion predicted: 

Fox Sports' Dan Carson and a dedicated Crying Jordan Twitter account—yes, that's a real thing—did the honors once the upset was complete:

"

pic.twitter.com/vbVin1CCjg

— Crying Jordan (@crying_jordan) March 18, 2016"

Martin Rickman of Uproxx.com noted it was a big day for rapper Drake, who almost assuredly now owns a piece or two of MTSU gear: 

By virtue of its win, Middle Tennessee will now meet the Syracuse Orange in the second round following their upset of the Dayton Flyers.

Syracuse 70, Dayton 51

When it became clear the Flyers were on their way to a first-round exit, one young superfan was reduced to tears:

With a matchup against the Lightning secured, CBSSports.com's Gary Parrish noted the second-round showdown will pack plenty of intrigue:

Meanwhile, College GameDay producer Chris Fallica made the keen observation that there will now automatically be an unlikely representative in the Midwest Region: 

Hawaii 77, California 66

The No. 4-seeded California Golden Bears were without leading scorer Tyrone Wallace (broken hand), but that didn't make the No. 13-seeded Hawaii Rainbow Warriors' upset win any less impressive. 

Not only did Hawaii shoot 51.9 percent from the field in the win, but as ESPN Stats & Info explained, it did so despite playing at an unconventional hour: 

With a victory sewed up late in the second half, members of the Rainbow Warriors bench broke out a solid choreographed celebration:  

VCU 75, Oregon State 67

Gary Payton II impressed with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists, but he couldn't help avenge some tournament demons that plagued his famous father: 

Buoyed by the support of a show-stopping marching-band leader, it's no wonder VCU was able to outlast its Pac-12 foes, as CBS Sports on Twitter documented:  

VCU's win was also its first tourney win under head coach Will Wade, who was hired as Shaka Smart's replacement after the Rams' former boss bolted for the University of Texas. And as Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde noted, Wade now owns an esteemed spot in college basketball lore: 

Villanova 86, UNC Asheville 56 

The No. 2-seeded Villanova Wildcats cruised to a win over the No. 15-seeded UNC Asheville Bulldogs, which meant redemption for the most famous member of the school's pep band, according to Sports on Earth: 

However, the Wildcats' work is just getting started. As CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein noted, Villanova simply needed to step up with a shot at the Sweet 16 on the line: 

After entering the 2014 NCAA tournament a No. 2 seed and falling to the University of Connecticut in the second round, Villanova floundered in the second round of last year's Big Dance, as an eighth-seeded North Carolina State team defeated it. 

With a disciplined Iowa Hawkeyes team lurking, the Wildcats can't afford to slip up again. 

Iowa 72, Temple 70 (OT)

Speaking of Iowa, the Hawkeyes atoned for a ghastly foul in the waning seconds of regulation to escape with a win over the Temple Owls, thanks to the heroics of Adam Woodbury: 

Following the dramatic ending, the New York Daily News' Peter Botte provided the perfect line from Field of Dreams to sum up the feelings of Hawkeyes fans: 

According to ESPN.com's Myron Medcalf, it wouldn't have been a Hawkeyes victory if it weren't accompanied by some serious highs and head-scratching lows: 

Oklahoma 82, CSU Bakersfield 68

Buddy Hield dropped 27 points to lead the No. 2-seeded Oklahoma Sooners to a win over the No. 15-seeded CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners, and his pro-ready step-back triple with two minutes, 30 seconds remaining in regulation was a sight to behold, as NCAA March Madness documented:

Hield also gained a fan in perhaps the sporting world's most famous golden retriever:

After using a 10-run to stave off the pesky Roadrunners, Oklahoma will meet VCU on Sunday in what promises to be a showdown filled with defensive intensity. According to KenPom.com, Oklahoma and VCU rank 11th and 21st, respectively, in adjusted defensive efficiency.  

Maryland 79, South Dakota State 74

The University of Maryland Terrapins survived a late run from the South Dakota State Jackrabbits thanks to a late steal and slam from Rasheed Sulaimon that set up a second-round date with Hawaii: 

Maryland's official Twitter account also provided confirmation that the tortoise vs. hare fable is rooted in fact, after all: 

Bleacher Report Radio's Jason Horowitz also explained that Friday's win represented the continuation of a trend for the Terps:

Wisconsin 47, Pittsburgh 44

No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 7 Pittsburgh set offense back a few decade with a display full of bricks Friday evening, but the Badgers ultimately churned out one more stop than the Panthers to move on to the second round. 

However, former Ohio State Buckeye guard Mark Titus believed neither side was worthy of advancing: 

Elsewhere, Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer poked fun at the regularity with which Pittsburgh has blown tournament games: 

Finally, ESPN Stats & Info noted that Wisconsin became the first team since Butler in 2003 to win an NCAA tournament game despite scoring fewer than 50 points. 

Texas A&M 92, Green Bay 65

Texas A&M positively torched Green Bay, which left the Dallas Morning News to ask a question with the help of Los Angeles Lakers enigma Nick Young: 

ThePostGame.com provided its take on the game in GIF form with the help of motivational speaker Matt Foley:  

According to ESPN College Basketball on Twitter, the 27-point win was Texas A&M's largest ever in the NCAA tournament.

Stephen F. Austin 70, West Virginia 56

Following Stephen F. Austin's dominant showing against the West Virginia Mountaineers, the Cauldron relayed a GIF that adequately summed up the status of fans' brackets: 

Bleacher Report's Bryan Fischer offered a spot-on assessment of the crazy trend that enveloped Friday's action:  

And, of course, the proceedings wouldn't have been complete without a Stone Cold Steve Austin tribute from Newsday's Nick Klopsis:  

Oregon 91, Holy Cross 52

Oregon may have flexed on Holy Cross all night long, but Crusaders alum Bill Simmons of The Ringer was able to provide a silver lining for the Patriot League champions: 

The Ducks defeated Holy Cross by shooting 55.7 percent from the field and establishing a 47-27 rebounding advantage, which led ThePostGame to celebrate on their behalf with a certain Wedding Crashers character.   

Northern Iowa 75, Texas 72

Welcome to March Madness, Northern Iowa. Thanks to a half-court buzzer-beating heave from Paul Jesperson, the No. 11 seed in the West Region is headed to the second round. 

Here's how the miraculous heave looked from the stands, as captured by Sam Duren on Vine: 

Following the most incredible finish of the day—and that's saying something—Bleacher Report's C.J. Moore noted Jesperson now owns a special place in Northern Iowa history: 

Ali, your thoughts?  

Texas alum Kevin Durant, on the other hand, likely wasn't as thrilled: 

Saint Joseph's 78, Cincinnati 76

After Saint Joseph's nailed a three-pointer to take a two-point lead with time winding down, Cincinnati appeared to slam home a buzzer-beating dunk to send the game to overtime.

But as it turns out, time was not on the Bearcats' side, as NCAA March Madness documented on Twitter:

Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde reiterated that Cincinnati has fallen victim to some heartbreaking defeats of late:  

Perhaps the biggest shock, though, was that the man inside the St. Joe's mascot was revealed on live television, per 790 The Ticket's Chris Wittyngham: 

Notre Dame 70, Michigan 63

Notre Dame overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to avoid an upset and set up a second-round date with Stephen F. Austin, which meant it was time for some Rudy love from ThePostGame: 

The come-from-behind effort led to Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey joining in on some celebratory festivities with his players in the post-game locker room, per the program's official Twitter account: 

Xavier 71, Weber State 53

Second-seeded Xavier cruised to an 18-point win over 15th-seeded Weber State as four players finished in double-figures.

According to CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein, the performance reinforced just how scary Xavier's depth is:  

 The Musketeers were feeling it to such a degree Friday that some of their younger fans decided to get buckets from the stands: 

Xavier will now have a day off before facing the defensive demons from Wisconsin for the right to play against Stephen F. Austin or Notre Dame. 

Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.