Each of the matches listed in this puzzle refers to an opening-round game from a particular year's NCAA March Madness tournament. The people named were among the top players on their team, and the nickname each player is listed as having is their school's team's nickname rendered as a singular noun phrase.

Jamar "The Terrapin" Smith vs. Omar "The Miner" Thomas

This was a match between the Maryland Terrapins (seeded 4th) and the UTEP Miners (seeded 13th). The the Maryland Terrapins (seeded 4th) won.

Brett "The Buffalo" Brady vs. Cameron "The Panther" Wright

This was a match between the Colorado Buffaloes (seeded 8th) and the Pitt Panthers (seeded 9th). The Pitt Panthers (seeded 9th) won.

T. J. "The Longhorn" Ford vs. Joseph "The Bulldog" Barber

This was a match between the Texas Longhorns (seeded 1st) and the North Carolina-Asheville Bulldogs (seeded 16th). The Texas Longhorns (seeded 1st) won.

Jeffrey "The Commodore" Taylor vs. Isaiah "The Racer" Canaan

This was a match between the Vanderbilt Commodores (seeded 4th) and the Murray State Racers (seeded 13th). The Murray State Racers (seeded 13th) won.

Chris "The Wildcat" Mills vs. Steve "The Bronco" Nash

This was a match between the Arizona Wildcats (seeded 2nd) and the Santa Clara Broncos (seeded 15th). The Santa Clara Broncos (seeded 15th) won.

Howard "The Cardinal" Wright vs. Marc Brown

This was a match between the Stanford Cardinals (seeded 3rd) and Siena (seeded 14th). Siena (seeded 14th) won.

Corey "The Gator" Brewer vs. Stephen "The Bobcat" King

This was a 2005 match between the Florida Gators (seeded 4th) and the Ohio Bobcats (seeded 13th). Florida Gators (seeded 4th) won.

Andre "The Tiger" Young vs. Laurence "The Tiger" Bowers

This was a match between the Clemson Tigers (seeded 7th) and the Missouri Tigers (seeded 10th). The Missouri Tigers (seeded 10th) won.

Scott "The Wolf" Wood vs. Jake "The Owl" O'Brien

This was a 2013 match between the North Carolina State Wolfpack (seeded 8th) and the Temple Owls (seeded 9th). The Temple Owls (seeded 9th) won.

Keith "The Rebel" Carter vs. Bryce "The Crusader" Drew

This was a match between the Ole Miss Rebels (seeded 4th) and the Valparaiso Crusaders (seeded 13th). The Valparaiso Crusaders (seeded 13th) won.

Converting the seeding of each winning team from numbers to letters in that number's position within the alphabet spells out DIAMOND JIM, which is the answer.

Notes: Yes, the Tigers did actually play the Tigers in the opening round of the 2010 tournament. Marc Brown is listed without a nickname because Siena did not have a team nickname for the school's teams that year. Among the players listed, both T. J. Ford and Corey Brewer became rotation players at an NBA level, while Steve Nash had an illustrious NBA career before his retirement.