LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The first major upset of the NCAA tournament arrived early.

No. 14 seed UAB shocked No. 3 seed Iowa State 60-59 in the first game of the day at KFC Yum! Center. Robert Brown led all scorers with 21 points, including a huge 3-pointer with 50.6 seconds left to give his team the lead.

Here are five observations of the upset:

Blazin’ intensity: UAB was just 16-15 in the regular season before making its run through the Conference USA tournament for an automatic bid. The Blazers fell 12-2 early but from there simply outplayed and outhustled the heavily favored Cyclones. UAB outrebounded Iowa State 52-37 (including 19 offensive rebounds) and made all the clutch plays down the stretch. William Lee made a 15-foot jumper with 24 seconds left and sank two free throws with 12 seconds remaining to clinch it.

Cyclones not right: Something seemed off most of the game for coach Fred Hoiberg’s crew. After turning the ball over only 6.3 times per game in the Big 12 tournament, Iowa State was sloppy with the ball and had nine turnovers at halftime. Sharpshooter Naz Long missed seven of his first eight shots. The team got pounded on the boards and had several shots rim out. They were 6-of-23 on 3-pointers, and half of those makes came from reserve Matt Thomas. The Cyclones are used to playing from behind -- having trailed by at least 10 points in each of their previous five games, all wins -- but this time they let a late four-point lead slip away.

Not done yet: UAB has busted a lot of brackets already, but it might not be done. This team is playing with no fear and nothing to lose, and it has a red-hot hand in Brown. The junior guard was the Conference USA tournament MVP. UAB also has a pair of big guys in Mehinti and Lee, who combined for 18 rebounds. The winner of the SMU-UCLA game had better be wary.