Big day for the little guys should quiet the naysayers

	Chris Lofton's miraculous fadeaway jumper sealed the deal for Tennessee. Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

We caught up with SI.com's Seth Davis -- who is serving as a studio analyst for CBS during the NCAA tournament -- to talk about the highlights from Day 1.

SI.com: A No. 11 seed over a No. 6, a No. 12 over a No. 5 and two top four seeds facing big-time scares early in Day 1 -- that didn't take long, did it?

Seth Davis: Headline -- "The World Is Flat." That's what it is; that's what kept coming into my head. Just like Tom Friedman's book, that's the reality in college basketball right now. The thing that I kept saying to my colleagues as we watched the Tennessee-Winthrop game is, We've seen close games before between a 15 and a 2 and we've seen games where the 15 seed has won. But even in those situations, the 15 looks overmatched -- they're slower, they're shorter, they're not as good, but they're gritty, they're smart and they're lucky they're hanging on. But, in this one today, Tennessee played well. And if you did not know anything about those two teams and you just turned on that game, there's no way you would think that one team is any better than the other. One team just ended up scoring more points. So, even though the upset didn't happen, to me it was just a perfect illustration of how the game is going -- the world is flat.

SI.com: What did you think of Chris Lofton's game-winning shot for Tennessee?

Davis: Unbelievable. First of all, Torrell Martin could not have played any better defense without fouling the kid. If you're Winthrop, you're very happy with Chris Lofton taking a fallaway from the corner like that, and that's just ... that's the tournament right there. If that shot goes out, we go into overtime and maybe Winthrop wins. That's the beauty of the tournament.

SI.com: Was Wichita State the most impressive team you saw today?

Davis: Definitely. They played as a unit better than any team today. They really maximized what they had and took smart shots. They completely controlled the game -- right from the tip. That was the most lopsided game of the day. That was a great statement by the Missouri Valley. There are a lot of naysayers out there about the quality of this league. If there are any after that game, I'd like to give them my phone number.

SI.com: Staying with the mid-major theme, what'd you think about Wisconsin-Milwaukee's upset of Oklahoma?

Davis: Oklahoma never had the lead. That was a close game, and Oklahoma could have won, but the Sooners never had the lead. Oklahoma kind of stumbled down the stretch. Wisconsin-Milwaukee did a great job of getting Oklahoma to player its way. That's how these games are usually decided with all of these contrasting styles. Whoever's style prevails is the one who usually wins.

SI.com: What individual player impressed you most today?

Davis: Joakim Noah was terrific for Florida. He's a really dynamic player -- he probably had the best overall game today. He led the Gators with seven assists, and added points [16], rebounding [eight], blocks [five] and steals [three].

SI.com: With the fact that Seton Hall has yet to come out with a firm decision on the future of Louis Orr, does today's lackluster performance put his job back in jeopardy at all?

Davis: No. He stays. He did a great job with this team. I've written before that he's going to be in a difficult situation next year because he's losing his two seniors (Donald Copeland and Kelly Whitney) and he's got no recruits coming in and he's got an administration that's just waiting for a chance to let him go.