WVU vs. Stephen F. Austin: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2016

The onslaught of upsets in the first round of the 2016 NCAA tournament continued with 14th-seeded Stephen F. Austin powering past third-seeded West Virginia, 70-56, in a sloppy contest Friday.  

The Mountaineers turned the ball over 22 times and connected on just 16 of 52 shots (30.8 percent) in what was their third-lowest offensive output of the season. 

Stephen F. Austin wasn’t much better—shooting 17-of-55 (30.9 percent) and losing the rebound battle, 45-32—but the Lumberjacks consistently capitalized on West Virginia’s uncharacteristic turnovers. 

In what was a microcosm of the Mountaineers' performance, Jevon Carter turned the ball over just past midcourt with two minutes, 50 seconds remaining, leading to an acrobatic alley-oop from Demetrious Floyd to Clide Geffrard to give the Lumberjacks a 66-54 lead.

The Mountaineers turned the ball over two more times and mustered only one basket the rest of the way. 

Here is the three-point dagger delivered by Thomas Walkup, who finished with a game-high 33 points:

Rodger Sherman of SB Nation noted the irony of SFA capitalizing on turnovers against a West Virginia team that made its living on takeaways this season:

West Virginia built as much as a nine-point lead in the first half but kept giving the ball away and eventually left for the locker room with a 31-28 deficit. 

120 Sports noted the Mountaineers trailing at the half was a surprise but not a major shock given how topsy-turvy the first round has been:

CBS Sports joked at West Virginia’s expense for its lack of offensive production early in the second half:

The Mountaineers wouldn’t reclaim the lead the rest of the way, and SFA started to pull away in the final minutes, taking a 60-47 lead on a pair of Thomas Walker free throws with 5:15 remaining. At the time, it was the Lumberjacks' largest lead of the night. 

The media had some fun comparing SFA to iconic wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin. Sports on Earth and Xfinity Sports offered their takes: 

"

How West Virginia is feeling after being down to Stephen F. Austin at halftime. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/rXrYH2YD5H

— Sports on Earth (@SportsonEarth) March 19, 2016"

The Lumberjacks will now await the Notre Dame-Michigan winner and look to continue its exciting run. Outside of 15th-seeded Middle Tennessee, which upset Michigan State, SFA remains the highest-seeded team left in the tournament. 

Postgame Reaction

Matt Norlander of CBS Sports shared an interesting stat that puts BYU head coach Brad Underwood in elite company with Brad Stevens, who led mid-major Butler to back-to-back Final Fours in 2010 and 2011:

Williams said the Mountaineers simply weren’t ready for Friday’s game.

“When you don't prepare the right way, not individually, but as a team, if we're not dialed in as a team, that's what happens,” Williams said, per the Associated Press (h/t ABC News).

Walkup credited the lack of preparation to the unknown of playing a team that doesn’t have national acclaim, per the AP:

"

We're a smallish school, a mid-major school. They had never [heard] of us. I’ve watched them play many times just on my own. They haven't had that luxury. They know us now. Probably something that they won't take for granted again. ...

... It felt incredible. To do that for the team, for the city of Nacogdoches, for the school, for everyone that supported us.

"

Lumberjacks guard Jared Johnson said SFA played with ease the entire night.

“It was like a practice out there,” Johnson said, per the AP.