UAB, Georgia State most mentioned March Madness teams on Twitter

Alabama Birmingham and Georgia State dominated March Madness Twitter mentions during the NCAA tournament's first weekend

A pair of 14-seed teams, UAB and Georgia State, were among those that dominated mentions of the Twitter hashtag #MarchMadness during the NCAA tournament's first weekend.

The Blazers' shocking upset of No. 3-seed Iowa State in South Region was the most-tweeted game of the tournament so far, while Georgia State's improbable victory over Baylor on a last-second three-pointer by R.J. Hunter was the tournament's second most-tweeted about game. Hunter was also the weekend's most mentioned player, and his shot provided the second-most mentioned tournament moment to this point. 

Another upset, North Carolina State's takedown of Villanova, was the weekend's third-most hashtagged game, and the Kentucky-Cincinnati tilt earned the fourth-most mentions. 

Twitter

Iowa State was the weekend's most mentioned team despite exiting the tournament early on Thursday, while the still-perfect Kentucky Wildcats were second. 

The Blazers, who made it to the round of 32 before falling Saturday to UCLA, were the weekend's third most mentioned team. Georgia State and stool-bound coach Ron Hunter were the fourth-most-mentioned. 

Twitter

The end of the UAB-Iowa State game, highlighted by go-ahead jumpers from UAB's Michael Brown and William Lee, provided the tournament's most mentioned moment. The ending of Georgia State and Baylor's game checked in at No. 2.

The final minutes of North Carolina State-Villanova, punctuated by a crying piccolo player, was third, and the specific moment of Hunter's game-winning three-pointer was fourth. 

Twitter

While Hunter topped the list of the first weekend's most-mentioned players, Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell—who went for 28 points in the Buckeyes' first game but struggled against Arizona in their second one—was second. 

Michigan State's Travis Trice and Kentucky's Willie Caulie-Stein, who led their respective teams to the Sweet 16, earned the third and fourth-most mentions, respectively. 

- Will Green