Glen Davis scored 16 second-half points for LSU in Thursday's win. Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- "Just run on their ass!" were the words that boomed out of the Iona huddle during a first-half timeout on Thursday, as the Gaels were afire with the spirit of a heavy underdog that had a No. 4 seed on the ropes. They were leading LSU -- a team that had Iona severely outsized -- 20-17 with 7:08 to go, and the climate was right for an upset: The crowd at Veterans Memorial Arena was flush with Florida fans who had willingly hopped on the No. 13 seed's bandwagon, creating thousands of honorary Gaels fans for the evening.

Iona (23-8), meanwhile, was running the SEC-champion Tigers (24-8) toward a first-round exit from the NCAA tournament; lightning-quick senior guards Steve Burtt Jr. and Ricky Soliver were en route to scoring 24 of Iona's 37 first-half points; as a team they created 12 turnovers, scored on double-pumping, fast-break layups, and contained the Tigers' Big Baby, 6-foot-8, 315-pound Glen Davis, to just five points at the break of a helter-skelter game.

Trailing 37-32 heading into the locker room, LSU could see its hopes of a darkhorse Final Four run about to evaporate in a one-and-done cloud, and even Davis admitted that, "Man, I got a little worried."

The final 20 minutes were when Davis took over, bringing his opponents' speed game to a crawl. Gaels head coach Jeff Ruland, during another first-half timeout, had issued one warning to his squad: "Watch out for the fat-ass coming down the lane." He was referring to Davis, obviously, in less endearing terms than Big Baby, and what Iona ended up watching, coming out of the locker room, was the same play, called by Tigers coach John Brady approximately 15 straight times to start the second half: "Power." And power, said guard Darrel Mitchell, "is exactly what it says -- get the ball inside and work off the big fella."

LSU forced two early turnovers and then began sending the ball almost exclusively through Davis in the post, and his point total ballooned to 21 by the final gun, when the score was LSU 80, Iona 64. The Big Baby scored on a series of power moves, turnaround jumpers and even handled the ball to break the press twice in the second half ("I think I can play the point," he said, semi-seriously, in the post-game).

Davis said the thought of the end of the season -- and the springtime barbecues that come with it in Baton Rouge -- had crept into his mind early on. "After you finish, and you ain't got nothing to do, you just barbecue all day," Davis said. "And I don't want that barbecue right now."

Florida's Joakim Noah was a one-man show against South Alabama. Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A few scenes for you, while we step out for some much-needed dinner:

- A good 15 minutes after Florida's 76-50 rout of South Alabama: A handful of reporters are eschewing their press-conference duties and instead gathering around a 12-inch television at center court, watching the end of Winthrop-Tennessee unfold. There are whoops as Chris Lofton's improbable, off-balance two falls to sink Winthrop's upset bid.

- In the hallway a few minutes after the Tennessee win: Florida's Joakim Noah is holding court with reporters after his sick, 16-point, eight-rebound, seven assist, five-block showing -- and stops when he sees LSU's Glen Davis strolling in to the locker room for the Tigers' 7:15 p.m. tipoff against Iona. "Boo-Boo!" Noah says to the Big Baby. "What's poppin?" And then Noah quickly returns to answering questions. "Being able to play at Rucker Park this summer," he tells the pack, "really helped me get my swagger."

- Davis stops to ask me what's going on -- "Who you writing about today?" -- and we talk about Wisconsin-Milwaukee's upset, and what just (nearly) happened to the Vols in Greensboro. "Tennessee almost lost to Winthrop?" said Davis. "Whoaaa. That's March Madness, baby."

UPDATE ... three more, following a rough meal of ballpark franks:

- There's no market for tickets outside here in Jacksonville. The Florida fans that filled the arena earlier this afternoon are trying to unload their night-session seats, and the going rate is well under face. I was offered $54 seats for $40 apiece on the way back inside.

- LSU forward Tyrus Thomas, who has been sidelined since the Kentucky game with a serious ankle injury, didn't start here tonight but looked fine in warmups, sporting two big ankle braces.

- Iona guard Ricky Soliver has the best fro-hawk in college hoops.

Luke Winn/SI

Luke Winn/SI

The sign, just for the record, is not for a strip club. Just a restaurant next door to the arena.

Once inside, camped in press row, we see the UW-Milwaukee Panthers begin to trickle out. Will they be our first Cinderellas?

Luke Winn/SI

FDU's Brahn Jenkins and Andrea Crosariol played one great half against Illinois in 2005. Elsa/Getty Images

The odds are heavily against these little guys:

- No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Southern.
Blue Devils favored by 25.
- No. 1 Memphis vs. No. 16 Oral Roberts.
Tigers favored by 13.
- No. 1 UConn vs. No. 16 Albany.
Huskies favored by 22.
- No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 16 Monmouth.
Wildcats favored by 19.5.

A No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1 in the NCAA tournament, and the cycle of Goliaths-over-Davids is highly likely to continue in the next two days. But if the Ultimate Upset is to happen, how will it go down? For some insight and advice, we turned to Tom Green, the head coach (for the past 23 seasons) of Fairleigh Dickinson. His Knights came the closest of any 16 seed to toppling a 1 in 2005: They led top-ranked Illinois 20-19 in the first half at the RCA Dome, and trailed by just a single point at halftime before eventually losing, 67-55.

SI.com: What's the pre-game speech you used, in case a coach of a 16-seed needs a template?

Tom Green: It goes back to a long time ago -- I stole it from Gene Keady. We played Purdue in the 1988 NCAA tournament and Keady told his team before the game, "If we play Fairleigh Dickinson 100 times, we should win 95 out of 100." I turned it around -- I said to my kids, "If we played Illinois 100 times, they'd win 99. Let's make this the one time Fairleigh Dickinson goes out and beats Illinois."

SI.com: What do you remember from the moment you pulled ahead of the Illini?

TG: First, when we hit a shot to pull within three, there was a hush -- the RCA Dome was full of fans in orange, but you could hear a pin drop. We went ahead for about 15 seconds of the game, and during that stretch, I told my assistants to go find the power switch and cut the lights, because maybe the game would end. Later, I told my kids, if we hit the first shot of the second half (to take another lead), then definitely go find the power switch.

SI.com: Is it going to take a certain kind of matchup to finally end the No. 1 seeds' streak?

TG: The odds against it happened seem to grow greater every year -- but I do think it's going to happen one of these times. It'll be a No. 1 with a ton of confidence built up, that's looking ahead in the bracket and doesn't bring its A-game. The [16] will have to be very quick and athletic, and come out and have an extremely good shooting night.

SI.com: What's your advice for the 16s this year?

TG: You have to have unbelievably great shot selection, really take care of the basketball ... and block out until the cows come home.

My teams have always been loose, too. I've tried to downplay how good of an opponent we're facing. I want us to be the loosest and least nervous team in the NCAA tournament; I'll say, "Let's go out and play hard and play well, and let's make our opponent get nervous."

I usually buy a pack of Di-Gel tablets (antacids), and go through about four or five of them during a game. But I'll pull them out in the pre-game [during the tourney] and say, "I'm not going to need these," and throw them away. Then, after the team leaves the locker room, I'll take them back out of the wastebasket.