NCAA Tournament 2018: Winners and Losers of Day 2

The First Four games are in the books, and the 2018 NCAA tournament will kick into full swing on Thursday morning.

The early game on Wednesday saw Texas Southern pick up a 64-46 win over NC Central, so the Tigers will now advance to face No. 1 seed Xavier in the West Region.

That was followed by a matchup of two of the last four in, with Syracuse using a swarming defense to come away with a hard-fought 60-56 victory over Arizona State.

The Orange move on to face No. 6 seed TCU in the Midwest Region.

So before we gear up for a busy day of basketball to come, let's recognize some winners and losers from Wednesday night's action.

Loser: Ice-Cold Shooting from NC Central

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NC Central picked the worst possible time to go ice cold.

The Eagles shot 46.6 percent during the season—including a blistering 53.3 percent in the final two games of the MEAC tournament.

However, that plummeted to 30.4 percent on Wednesday night, including an empty 0-of-14 showing from beyond the arc.

Don't blame Raasean Davis.

The Eagles' leading scorer dropped a team-high 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting, also pulling down 11 rebounds in 35 minutes of action.

Unfortunately, the rest of the team shot a horrendous 12-of-58 (20.7 percent) from the field, and Texas Southern skated to an 18-point rout.

That's now two straight First Four losses for NC Central.

Winner: NCAA Tournament History for Texas Southern

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The eighth time was a charm for Texas Southern.

The Tigers are in the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in five years and eighth time overall, but it wasn't until Wednesday night that they finally notched a March Madness victory.

With a 15-19 record prior to the NCAA tournament, the Tigers earned the automatic bid by winning the SWAC tournament as the No. 3 seed.

Demontrae Jefferson (23.4 PPG) and Donte Clark (18.6 PPG) were a formidable one-two punch during the regular season, and that duo carried the Tigers to victory again in a dominant 64-46 win.

The 5'7" Jefferson led all scorers with 25 points on 8-of-18 shooting and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, while Clark chipped in 18 points.

Next up: A date with No. 1 seed Xavier on Friday in first-round action of the West Region.

Loser: Tra Holder, Arizona State

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A brilliant four-year career at Arizona State ended on a sour note for Tra Holder.

The senior guard finished fourth in the Pac-12 with 18.4 points per game, earning All-Pac-12 First Team honors in the process.

However, he was held in check on Wednesday.

The Syracuse zone limited him to 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting, and his four assists were matched by four turnovers.

Along with Holder, the Sun Devils will also lose Shannon Evans (16.6 PPG) and Kodi Justice (12.6 PPG) to graduation. The window to make some noise on a national level may have slammed shut just as quickly as it opened.

Winner: Oshae Brissett, Syracuse

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Oshae Brissett led Syracuse with 20 points and 10 rebounds against North Carolina in the ACC tournament, and the freshman standout was the headliner for the Orange again on Wednesday night.

A 4-star prospect and the No. 52 recruit in the 2017 class, Brissett tallied 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting and pulled down 12 rebounds in a 60-56 win over Arizona State.

It was his 13th double-double of the year.

If Brissett can once again serve as a second go-to scoring option alongside Tyus Battle next time out, Syracuse could give a high-powered TCU offense a serious run for its money in the Midwest Region's first round.

Loser: Free-Throw Shooting

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Let's hope any small children who hope to one day be good free-throw shooters were already tucked into bed for this one, as both teams limped through a brutal night from the charity stripe.

• Arizona State: 3-of-10 (30.0 percent)
• Syracuse: 13-of-23 (56.5 percent)

Neither team struggled at anywhere near that level during the regular season.

• Arizona State: 73.8 percent (85th in NCAA)
• Syracuse: 74.0 percent (77th in NCAA)

Credit the Orange for buckling down when it mattered.

Paschal Chukwu—a 62.5 percent free-throw shooter on the year—hit three of four in the final 40 seconds, and Frank Howard knocked down a pair to pound the final nail in the coffin.

Still, if Syracuse hopes to make it any further in the tournament, it can't afford to lay another egg at the line.

Winner: Syracuse Defense

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Arizona State entered the First Four game as one of the highest-scoring offenses in the country.

The Sun Devils ranked 14th in the nation with 83.5 points per game and were held under 70 points just twice all season—a 68-64 loss to Washington and a 75-68 loss to Oregon, both on the road.

Talk about a bad time for your worst offensive output of the season.

The swarming Syracuse zone limited the Sun Devils to just 56 points on 40.8 percent shooting, controlling the tempo from the opening tip.

The Orange ranked No. 10 in KenPom's Adjusted Defensive Efficiency rating, and it will continue to lean heavily on the defense going forward.

The TCU Horned Frogs present a similar matchup as a No. 6 seed in Friday's first-round game: They ranked 19th in the nation with 83.0 points per contest.

Can the Orange keep it rolling?

All stats courtesy of Sports Reference, unless otherwise noted.