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1. Mississippi Valley State coach Sean Woods is one of a handful of coaches vying for the Southern Miss job, beginning with an in-person interview Monday. The others reportedly in the mix are Larry Eustachy’s Southern Miss assistant Steve Barnes, Middle Tennessee’s Kermit Davis, former Nebraska coach Doc Sadler, Wichita State assistant Greg Heiar, and UTEP coach Tim Floyd. If USM, which is also hiring an athletic director doesn’t bump up Barnes to replace Eustachy (who left for Colorado State) then Woods should be given a serious look as the choice. Woods did a remarkable job at one of the toughest places to win. He steadily increased his win total from seven to nine to 13 to 21 this past season, going 17-1 in the SWAC. Woods and Sadler are both interviewing Monday.

2. Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich was recruiting with a host of other coaches in Minnesota over the weekend. He still hadn’t been told if he’s the coach-in-waiting at SMU. It has reached a point where something better happen soon or Jankovich is going to stay put and continue to coach a Redbirds team that has a chance to win the Missouri Valley next season.

3. The Atlantic 10 still may add VCU and George Mason, along with Butler, to get to 16 schools now that Temple is off to the Big East in 2013. But no one from any of the schools or conferences are indicating an imminent departure. VCU athletic director Norwood Teague, fresh off a trip to Europe, said Sunday that there is movement going on and that everyone is simply in evaluation mode. A-10 commissioner Bernadette McGlade and CAA commissioner Tom Yeager both said Friday there was no truth about a done deal for VCU and Mason to leave. Yeager better hope that’s true. The CAA can’t afford to lose these two Final Four programs. The A-10 would have a chance to elevate itself to being considered a power basketball conference if it pulled off this move.

You’ve kept up with his projections for the past few months, but Joe Lunardi doesn’t go into hibernation once the real bracket comes out. Our resident Bracketologist is a hardcore basketball fan who knows his stuff. Here are his picks for the Big Dance:

SOUTH

Second round
1 Kentucky over 16 Western Kentucky
9 Connecticut over 8 Iowa State
5 Wichita State over 12 VCU
13 New Mexico State over 4 Indiana
6 UNLV over 11 Colorado
3 Baylor over 14 South Dakota State
7 Notre Dame over 10 Xavier
2 Duke over 15 Lehigh

Third round
1 Kentucky over 9 Connecticut
5 Wichita State over 13 New Mexico State
3 Baylor over 6 UNLV
2 Duke over 7 Notre Dame

Sweet 16
1 Kentucky over 5 Wichita State
3 Baylor over 2 Duke

Elite Eight
1 Kentucky over 3 Baylor

WEST

Second round
1 Michigan State over 16 LIU Brooklyn
9 Saint Louis over 8 Memphis
5 New Mexico over 12 Long Beach State
4 Louisville over 13 Davidson
6 Murray State over 11 Colorado State
3 Marquette over 14 BYU
7 Florida over 10 Virginia
2 Missouri over 15 Norfolk State

Third round
1 Michigan State over 9 Saint Louis
5 New Mexico over 4 Louisville
3 Marquette over 6 Murray State
2 Missouri over 7 Florida

Sweet 16
1 Michigan State over 5 New Mexico
2 Missouri over 3 Marquette

Elite Eight
2 Missouri over 1 Michigan State

EAST

Second round
1 Syracuse over 16 UNC Asheville
8 Kansas State over 9 Southern Miss
5 Vanderbilt over 12 Harvard
4 Wisconsin over 13 Montana
6 Cincinnati over 11 Texas
3 Florida State over 14 St. Bonaventure
10 West Virginia over 7 Gonzaga
2 Ohio State over 15 Loyola (Md.)

Third round
1 Syracuse over 8 Kansas State
4 Wisconsin over 5 Vanderbilt
3 Florida State over 6 Cincinnati
2 Ohio State over 10 West Virginia

Sweet 16
4 Wisconsin over 1 Syracuse
2 Ohio State over 3 Florida State

Elite Eight
4 Wisconsin over 2 Ohio State

MIDWEST

Second round
1 North Carolina over 16 Lamar
9 Alabama over 8 Creighton
5 Temple over 12 California
4 Michigan over 13 Ohio
11 NC State over 6 San Diego State
3 Georgetown over 14 Belmont
7 Saint Mary's over 10 Purdue
2 Kansas over 15 Detroit

Third round
1 North Carolina over 9 Alabama
4 Michigan over 5 Temple
11 NC State over 3 Georgetown
2 Kansas over 7 Saint Mary's

Sweet 16
1 North Carolina over 4 Michigan
2 Kansas over 11 NC State

Elite Eight
1 North Carolina over 2 Kansas

NATIONAL SEMIFINALS
Kentucky over Missouri
North Carolina over Wisconsin

NATIONAL TITLE GAME
Kentucky over North Carolina

DAYTON, Ohio -- We were all thrilled and confused Tuesday night.

What had we just witnessed?

The evening’s matchups offered surprises that caused grown men to speak in fragments at the University of Dayton Arena.

“I just don’t … I mean … I’ve never …”

At that point, there was nothing to say.

The gym’s floor had been transformed from the site of the postseason’s afterthought to a canvas for college basketball history.

In this season’s First Four -- still fighting for legitimacy among college basketball fans -- the NCAA tournament commenced with the greatest comeback in the final five minutes of a game. Western Kentucky recovered from a 16-point deficit to secure a 59-58 victory over Mississippi Valley State.

And just a few hours later, BYU launched the greatest comeback in NCAA tournament history when it recovered from 25-point hole against Iona and sealed a 78-72 win.

“What an exciting game,” said BYU head coach Dave Rose.

That would qualify as an understatement. After BYU’s victory, fans, scribes, coaches and players spent a few minutes meandering around the building in a stupor, intoxicated by the liquor called March Madness.

President Obama and British prime minister David Cameron sat courtside for the Hilltoppers’ victory over the Delta Devils. And by the end of night, the president’s appearance had become a sidebar to the explosive start of America’s favorite tournament.

As Western Kentucky stormed back, the commander in chief formed a “T” with his hands and mouthed the word “timeout.” He’d gotten caught up in the craze, too.

Obama, however, missed the best game. He left immediately after the conclusion of Western Kentucky’s win over MVSU, in which it rallied from 16 down in the final five minutes.

In the nightcap, Iona scored 55 points in the first 15 minutes and 26 seconds of its meeting with BYU. And then the Cougars tortured the Gaels for the remaining 24-plus minutes, nibbling at that lead until the final minutes.

Iona scored 55 points and shot 69 percent from the field and 71 percent on 3-pointers in the first 15:26 of the game. But in the final 24:34, the Gaels scored 17 points, shot 20 percent from the field and made just 1 of 18 3-pointers. They also turned it over 15 times during that stretch.

At one point, BYU went on a 17-0 run and held Iona scoreless for more than nine minutes. By the time Noah Hartsock (23 points) nailed a 3-pointer with 2:28 on the game clock,the Cougars had a 71-70 lead. By the end of the night, the Cougars had authored a 31-point swing and surpassed Duke’s 22-point comeback against Maryland in the 2001 Final Four.

“I started looking around and didn’t see [Obama]. But I’m sure he had some important things to take care of,” Hartsock said. “But it was just great just being here at the game and just grateful we could man together and get a win.”

This is why America falls for this event every year. This is why President Obama brought Cameron to Dayton.

For the possibilities presented by the NCAA tournament.

There aren’t any ridiculous brackets. Amazing things happen in March.

Iona had locked up a victory. The Gaels looked like UNLV from the early ’90s. Then they ran into a crafty zone, and turned into a team that didn’t know how to score.

“We started getting our hands on loose balls and tipping it,” Hartsock said. “We were just trying to be active.”

Iona’s collapse jacked up part of my bracket. I predicted two Gaels victories.

But I wasn’t concerned.

I’d just watched two of the greatest comebacks in college basketball history. In Dayton. With the President of the United States in the crowd for one of them.

Welcome to March.

That was the message that Western Kentucky and BYU sent during the first two games of the First Four.

And if that was the appetizer, I can’t wait for the main course later in the week.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Reaction from Western Kentucky's 59-58 win over Mississippi Valley State:

Overview: Western Kentucky and Mississippi Valley State kicked off the NCAA tournament Tuesday night at the University of Dayton Arena. The stakes were both clear and daunting. The winner would face No. 1 Kentucky in the second round the Big Dance.

But that seemed just as important as the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play in front of a president. President Obama took British prime minister David Cameron to the First Four matchup.

Obama was the center of attention, but he didn’t witness anything spectacular, especially in the first half when the two teams combined for a 2-for-14 clip from beyond the arc. Western Kentucky recorded six field goals and 13 turnovers before halftime. Mississippi Valley wasn’t much better. The Delta Devils were outrebounded 25-18 before halftime.

But the game changed in the second half. An 11-0 run gave the Delta Devils a 47-36 edge with 8:19 to go in the second half. In the final minutes, however, the Hilltoppers recovered with a 15-0 run to cut a 16-point deficit to one point with 2:27 to play.

With 1:06 to go, the Hilltoppers and Delta Devils were tied. It finally felt like March.

T.J. Price scored on a layup and drew the foul with 33.8 seconds to play to put the Hilltoppers up by three. It was a crucial sequence. The Delta Devils had a shot to tie the game at the buzzer, but Kevin Burwell's 3-point attempt missed.

And now, the Hilltoppers will face the favorites to win the whole show. But they gave spectators a thrilling finish in the first official game of the NCAA tournament.

Turning point: After trailing by 16 points, the Hilltoppers stayed alive with that late run in the second half.

Key player: Western Kentucky's Price and Derrick Gordon both had 11 points. Price’s three-point play in the final minute was crucial.

Key stats: The Hilltoppers ended the game on a 22-5 run and won the rebounding battle, 60-32.

Miscellaneous: Wow. This was a bad game early. But the finish was wild. True March Madness. … Burwell scored 20 points. During the game he gestured toward the president after big plays, and at one point Obama winked and pointed at the guard.

Saddle Up is our semi-daily preview of the night's best basketball action. Today’s edition focuses on the first two NCAA tournament games in the First Four. And how’s this for a storyline? President Obama will be in the building.

BYU (14) vs. Iona (14), 9:10 p.m. ET on TruTV, University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio: This is an intriguing matchup that should spur recollections of VCU’s Final Four run last year. Last year, the Rams endured critics who didn’t buy their case for inclusion in the field of 68. They proved them all wrong with a Final Four run.

Iona was arguably the lone surprise in this year’s field. And many have questioned its invitation. But the Gaels are dangerous. They possess one of the most talented trios in the country. Mid-major, high major, doesn’t matter. Scott Machado, Michael Glover and Lamont “Momo” Jones can play with the best. The Gaels own the No. 1 scoring offense in the country (83.3 points per game). Not only could they advance Tuesday night, but the Gaels have an offensive potency that could lead to an upset of 3-seed Marquette in the second round, too.

If only it were that simple. The Gaels’ defense has been shaky all year. This team can run with anyone and can lose to anyone, too, because its defense is so suspect.

BYU challenged Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s during its first year in the West Coast Conference. The Cougars had the league’s No. 1 scoring offense (78.2 ppg). They also held WCC foes to a 41 percent clip from the field, the No. 1 mark in the WCC.

But BYU has not been the same team since Noah Hartsock (16.7 ppg) injured his knee in mid-February. He’s played through pain but his health has impacted his team and it could affect Tuesday night’s game, too. Iona is the kind of team that can separate itself quickly with its up-tempo offense. BYU will have to slow the Gaels enough to keep the game close. That challenge becomes more difficult with Hartsock’s mobility issues caused by the knee injury.

Iona could turn this matchup into a NASCAR race. Or BYU could force the Gaels to play D and disrupt their rapid tempo and send them home.

Should be a great game.

Mississippi Valley State (16) vs. Western Kentucky (16), 6:40 p.m. ET on TruTV, University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio: The first official game of the NCAA tournament features two of the best storylines. Both Mississippi Valley State and Western Kentucky have overcome adversity to earn NCAA tournament invites. No. 1 Kentucky awaits the winner. But it’s amazing that these two squads have even reached this point.

Western Kentucky fired Ken McDonald in January after a 5-11 start. Assistant Ray Harper took over as interim coach and instilled a new level of intensity within the program. The Hilltoppers won the Sun Belt tournament despite possessing a 15-18 overall record. They’ve won six straight. Freshman George Fant was a stud in the Sun Belt tournament. He scored 17 points in his team’s title game victory over North Texas.

The Hilltoppers are hot entering their First Four meeting against Mississippi Valley State. But the latter has lost once in 2012. The Delta Devils regrouped after a brutal nonconference schedule that featured road games against Notre Dame, North Carolina, Iowa State, Wisconsin and Florida. They started the season at 1-11 and didn’t play their first home game until early January.

The Delta Devils play that hectic nonconference slate to keep their program afloat financially. It’s a tough task for Sean Woods, who had to use a middle school gym for practice last year due to a leaky roof in his team’s home gym. But players and coaches said competing against some of the best Division I teams in the country made them a better squad. Paul Crosby (13.4 ppg, 7.6 rebounds per game) is the SWAC Player of the Year. The Delta Devils led the SWAC in scoring offense and they were also one of the league’s top 3-point shooting teams.

This might not be the sexiest matchup within the bracket. But I can’t think of a better story.

Check back Friday morning for Joe Lunardi's full bracket, but here are his basic projections through Thursday night's action.

SINCE THE LAST UPDATE

• Texas moves above “Last Four In” (No. 47 overall) with its victory over Iowa State.
• Mississippi State drops to “Last Four In” with its loss to Georgia.
• South Florida stays in the field (No. 46 overall) despite its loss to Notre Dame.
• Oregon moves from "First Four Out" to the last spot on "Next Four Out."

LAST FOUR IN

Washington
Mississippi State
Drexel
Seton Hall

FIRST FOUR OUT

Tennessee
Northwestern
NC State
Miami (Fla.)

NEXT FOUR OUT

Iona
Arizona
Saint Joseph's
Oregon

Also considered: Dayton, Marshall, Ole Miss

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN

Big East (10)
Big Ten (6)
Big 12 (6)
SEC (5)
ACC (4)
Mountain West (4)
Atlantic 10 (3)
West Coast (3)
Colonial (2)
Conference USA (2)
Missouri Valley (2)
Pac-12 (2)

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS

Belmont (Atlantic Sun)
Creighton (Missouri Valley)
Davidson (Southern)
Detroit (Horizon)
Harvard (Ivy)
Lehigh (Patriot)
LIU Brooklyn (Northeast)
Loyola-Md. (MAAC)
Montana (Big Sky)
Murray State (OVC)
Saint Mary's (West Coast)
South Dakota State (Summit)
UNC Asheville (Big South)
VCU (Colonial)
Western Kentucky (Sun Belt)

Editor’s note: This update does not include BYU-Gonzaga in the WCC tournament.

NOTABLE

• North Carolina moves up to top line as projected No. 1 seed.
• Belmont (Atlantic Sun) clinches fifth NCAA bid in seven years.
• Texas falls out of field, replaced by Xavier (“Last Team In”).

Last Four In
Xavier
Northwestern
South Florida
Colorado State

First Four Out
Texas
VCU
Oregon
NC State

Next Four Out
Miami
Tennessee
Saint Joseph’s
Dayton

BRACKET MATH

Take the “solid” at-large candidates (current Tournament Odds at 90% or better) and there are now 34 teams in the field. Add in the remaining automatic qualifiers and that’s another 20 spots. All told there are 54 of the 68 spots accounted for, with 14 still up for grabs among current “Bubble” teams.

S-CURVE PROJECTIONS

1-KENTUCKY 2-SYRACUSE 3-KANSAS 4-NO. CAROLINA
8-Ohio State 7-Missouri 6-Duke 5-Michigan State*
9-Marquette 10-Georgetown 11-Baylor 12-Michigan
16-UNLV 15-Florida 14-Indiana 13-Wisconsin
17-Louisville 18-Wichita State 19-Florida State 20-TEMPLE
24-CREIGHTON 23-Notre Dame 22-Murray State 21-Vanderbilt
25-Gonzaga 26-New Mexico 27- San Diego State* 28-MEMPHIS
32-Purdue 31-Kansas State 30-Iowa State 29-SAINT MARY’S
33-Alabama 34-Cincinnati 35-Virginia 36-Southern Miss
40-Connecticut 39-Washington* 38-California 37-Saint Louis
41-West Virginia 42-Seton Hall 43-Harvard* 44-LONG BEACH STATE
48-Colorado State 47-Mississippi State 46-Brigham Young 45-Arizona
49-South Florida 50-Northwestern 51-Xavier 52-IONA
56-NEVADA 55-ORAL ROBERTS 54-DREXEL 53-MIDDLE TENNNESSEE
57-Belmont 58-DAVIDSON 59-AKRON 60-VALPARAISO
64-UNC Asheville 63-UT ARLINGTON 62-MONTANA 61-BUCKNELL
65-LONG ISLAND 66-STONY BROOK 67-MISSISSIPPI VALLEY 68-SAVANNAH STATE
72-NC State 71-Oregon 70-VCU 69-Texas
73-Miami (Fla.) 74-Saint Joseph’s 75-Dayton 76-Tennessee

Bold - automatic qualifier; * - current conference leader.
ALL CAPS: Regular-season champion (NIT auto-bid if needed)

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN

Big East (10)
Big Ten (7)
Big 12 (5)
SEC (5)
ACC (4)
Mountain West (4)
Atlantic 10 (3)
Pac-12 (3)
West Coast (3)
Conference USA (2)
Missouri Valley (2)

NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS

UNC Asheville (Big South)
Murray State (Ohio Valley Conference)
Belmont (Atlantic Sun)

Join our college basketball experts as they preview this weekend's biggest games.

Contribute your thoughts and questions beginning at 1 p.m. ET. See you there.

Join our ESPN.com college basketball experts as they look ahead to this weekend's games.

Contribute your thoughts and questions beginning at 1 p.m. ET. See you there.

Join our ESPN.com college basketball experts as they preview this weekend's games.

Contribute your thoughts and questions at 1 p.m. ET. See you there.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference is not a place from which viral videos frequently emanate. Frankly, it's not a place from which news of any sort frequently emanates. Until the play-in game (now games) roll(s) around in March, the SWAC -- frequently the worst conference in college hoops, for reasons often outside its own control -- is out of sight and out of mind.

But every so often, lightning strikes, brilliance ensues, and someone has the foresight to record it on video and get it on the Internet. Today, we have that video.

It's been four days since Arkansas Pine-Bluff and Grambling squared off (a 60-55 Grambling win Saturday), but video of Savalace Townsend's absolutely ridiculous dunk over a Grambling State defender has officially made its way to YouTube (via the online repository that is World Star Hip-Hop.) And oh, is it ever so good. [Click here to watch.]

Insane, right? Townsend takes off from just a foot or two inside the free throw line, catches contact from the defender, and still somehow skies the ball high enough -- and stretches that left arm like Michael Jordan in "Space Jam" -- in time to slam the thing home and set the crowd alight. Incredible dunk.

Even more incredible, perhaps, is not only that Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Grambling State had a decent-sized crowd, but that this video -- which seems to have been filmed professionally, but it's hard to tell -- made its way to the Internet at all. But thank goodness it did. (Then again, in 2012, maybe we should always expect as much.) Either way, I'd rather not imagine a world in which I didn't just watch that YouTube link 10 times in a row. I shudder at the thought.

(Hat tip: The dunk aficionados at Ballin' Is A Habit)

Join ESPN.com writers Eamonn Brennan and Myron Medcalf at 1 p.m. ET to discuss all things college basketball as we head into a weekend slate full of games.

A scan of the box scores always reveals statistical oddities and under-the-radar performances. Here are some we found from Saturday's games:

Kansas 69, Texas 66
Texas guard J'Covan Brown shot 7-of-26 (27 percent) from the field after going 8-of-28 (29 percent) in his previous outing. This season, 18 different players have taken at least 26 shots in a game, but Brown is the first to do it twice. He's also had the two worst shooting performances of those players.

West Virginia 77, Cincinnati 74
Darryl "Truck" Bryant missed as many field goals (14) in 44 minutes as the rest of the West Virginia's starters missed in 131 minutes played.

Jackson State 80, Grambling State 67
Jackson State went 23-of-23 from the foul line in the victory. That's the most made free throws without a miss by any team this season.

Florida A&M 68, Maryland-Eastern Shore 63
UMES collected 35 offensive rebounds while making only 23 field goals. That's the most offensive rebounds by a team in a loss this season.

Missouri 89, Baylor 88
Baylor guard Pierre Jackson scored 20 points and handed out 15 assists in his first start of the season. He's the first player to reach those levels in a game since VCU's Joey Rodriguez (22 and 17) on Nov. 12, 2010.

Eastern Michigan 41, Toledo 38
The 41 points are the second-fewest scored by a winning team this season. Arkansas-Little Rock defeated Florida Atlantic 40-38 earlier this month.

Drexel 71, Northeastern 53
Northeastern's Quincy Ford missed all four of his field goal attempts but was 10-10 from the free throw line. He's just the second double-figure scorer this season to go perfect from the line while not making a field goal.

Pacific 64, UC Davis 48
UC Davis shot 50 percent from the 3-point line (9-18), but only 24 percent from 2-point range (7-29) in its 16-point loss.

Nevada 74, Fresno State 61
Trillion of the night: Patrick Nyeko of Nevada played 10 minutes without recording a stat in the Wolf Pack's 74-61 win.

Elsewhere around college basketball ... Jan. 18, 2003. That’s the last time Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun all tasted defeat on the same day.

Saturday, it happened again, as No. 1 Syracuse fell on the road at Notre Dame, No. 4 Duke saw its 45-game home win streak snapped against Florida State and No. 11 Connecticut lost its second straight game and fourth of its last six.

The Orange falls after beginning 20-0, the best start to a season in Syracuse history. The loss leaves Murray State (20-0) as the only remaining undefeated team in Division I.

Join ESPN.com writers Eamonn Brennan and Myron Medcalf at 1 p.m. ET to discuss all things college basketball as we head into a weekend slate full of games.

Before we get to the Blue Ribbon team-by-team previews for the Southwestern Athletic Conference, here is Eamonn Brennan's quick wind sprint through the league:



Blue Ribbon breakdowns of all 10 teams in the SWAC:

Alabama A&M
Alabama State
Alcorn State
Arkansas Pine-Bluff
Grambling
Jackson State
Mississippi Valley State
Prairie View A&M
Southern
Texas Southern

More SWAC content:

• New Faces, New Places: Diamond Leung on new Southern coach Roman Banks, who inherits a mess in Baton Rouge after the firing of a coach and the scandal-induced resignation of an AD.
• John Stovall gives the lowdown on the incoming freshmen in the SWAC.