Two No. 1 seeds fall in Men's March Madness opening weekend

The GIST: Heart still pounding from the men’s March Madness action? Same. After a wild weekend, the fellas’ Sweet 16 is set — here’s who’s through, who’s out and who’s making the highlight reels along the way.

The upsets: There have been a whopping 12 since the tourney tipped off, including the ousting of two No. 1 seeds: Purdue fell in Friday’s first round, and Kansas became the sixth straight defending national champ to fall in the tourney’s first weekend after being upset 72–71 on Saturday.

• The glass slipper goes to No. 15 Princeton for downing No. 2 Arizona and No. 7 Missouri to make the Sweet 16, but legendary HC Tom Izzo’s No. 7 Michigan State is another sleeping beauty to watch.

• While these upsets may feel like miracles, they’re really a sign of increasing parity in the men’s game. But underdogs beware — there’s still plenty of chalk dust in the air.

As expected: Four of the top eight squads are still swinging. No. 1 seeds Houston and Alabama overcame shaky moments to sail to the Sweet 16 with relatively comfortable wins. No. 2 Texas is looking resilient as well, but No. 2 UCLA put the “survive” in “survive and advance” with Saturday’s narrow 68–63 win over No. 7 Northwestern.

• Although they’ve won out so far, these powerhouses’ struggles are yet another sign of parity. They’ll have a few days to rest and regroup before the Sweet 16 tips off on Thursday when they’ll try to turn any surging Cinderellas back into pumpkins.