(USA TODAY Sports Images)

In a day that started with three of four lower seeds toppling higher seeds, there’s still plenty of drama to come.

No. 10 seed Iowa started the upset trend with a 79-72 win over No. 7 seed Cincinnati. Cincinnati opened as 3.5-point favorites and closed as high as 4.5-point favorites after heavy money came in on the AAC Conference Tournament champions.

Oklahoma and UC Irvine made sure to follow Iowa with outright upsets of their own.

First, the Oklahoma Sooners (+1), a No. 9 seed took down No. 8 seed Ole Miss in a 95-72 blowout thanks to a hot start in the first half.

It wasn’t long after when No. 13 seed UC Irvine knocked out No. 4 seed Kansas State. Oddsmakers opened K-State as 5.5-point favorites, but the line fell throughout the week once news dropped that star forward Dean Wade would likely miss the tournament with an ankle injury.

In between those upsets, No. 14 seed Northern Kentucky tried their hardest to take down No. 3 seed Texas Tech in the East Region. The game was tied near the 10-minute mark of the first half and Northern Kentucky trailed the 13-point favorites by only 4 points at halftime.

Much of that had to do with Texas Tech’s free-throw shooting. The Red Raiders missed 7 free-throws in the first half, a season high, but made up for it by outscoring Northern Kentucky 42-31 in the final 20 minutes. The big second half helped Texas Tech backers of all numbers (-12.5, -13, -14)  cover the spread, but it didn’t come without drama in the final seconds of the game.

Colgate and Gardener-Webb each gave Virginia (-21.5) and Tennessee (-17.5) all they could handle in the first halves, but both favorites came out strong in the second half, fending off ambitious bracket busters. Unfortunately for their backers, they still failed to cover their full-game spreads.

Oregon is currently playing Wisconsin (-2) close at the end of the first half, and we still have North Dakota State and Duke (-26) tonight. Even if it’s a blowout, who doesn’t want to watch Zion fly?

If you thought the first two days have been great, just wait until tomorrow.

More to come

Marquette bettors aside, college hoops fans can’t wait to see Ja Morant follow up a historic first-round performance.

Morant put up 17 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds Thursday, making the 8th player to record a triple-double in the NCAA Tournament in the last 35 years. Can Florida State (-5) do anything to stop him Saturday?

Tomorrow features a post-season SEC vs. Big Ten challenge when Florida faces Michigan (-6.5) and Maryland takes on LSU (-2.5). Maryland hopes to playe better than they did Thursday after escaping with a close win over Belmont.

Other intriguing matchups include Villanova versus Purdue (-4) and Wofford, this year’s mid-major favorite, versus blue blood Kentucky (-5.5).

Speaking of blue bloods, Auburn take on one of their own. Only this time, the blue blood is the underdog. The Kansas Jayhawks are 2-point underdogs and will have to play better than they have most of the year if they want to match Auburn’s three-point attack.

We’re in for a wild ride, friends. Stay tuned.