One of the first upsets of March took place on Friday night, as the University of Northwestern (Minnesota) defeated University of St. Thomas (Minnesota), 71-70, in the opening round of the Division III NCAA Tournament with a buzzer-beating three.
St. Thomas was ranked No. 3 in the nation by D3Hoops.com.
In the final 13 seconds, eight points were scored with two lead changes and one tie.
Cody Sprenger hit a pull-up 3-pointer to tie the score at 68-68 with 13 seconds left in regulation. St. Thomas took the lead back on the ensuing possession with a coast-to-coast layup. Sprenger raced the ball up the floor once again, this time finding teammate Porter Morrell, who sunk the game-winner from well beyond the 3-point line.
Northwestern advances to the Round of 32 to play Elmhurst College (Illinois), which prevailed in triple overtime in its first tournament game.