NCAA March Madness Day 1: Recap, Reactions, and Takeaways

One of the best days of the year is in the books. There's always a little sadness to it after that final buzzer sounds on the nightcap, but then you remember that you're going to wake up and run it back all over again and elation once again washes over you. No? Okay, maybe that's just me.

Day 1 wasn't the craziest in history but it did feature some absolute stunners throughout the slate, which reminded us of why this is the greatest tournament on earth. Less than 2,000 perfect brackets remain on ESPN's Tournament Challenge.

If you missed some of the action, don't worry. We are here to fill you in on what transpired during March Madness Day 1 with some quick reactions and takeaways from a great day of college hoops.

Duquesne From the Top Rope!

No. 11 Duquesne - 71 | No. 6 BYU - 67

Dukes head coach Keith Dambrot announced he was retiring at the conclusion of this season a day after Selection Sunday, but that didn’t stop his team from playing its tail off and upsetting No. 6 seed BYU in a first-round stunner. The Cougars were -9.5 favorites, by far the highest point spread of the 6 vs. 11 matchups. The next closest was NC State (+4.5) vs. Texas Tech. 

Duquesne played some of its toughest defense of the season, holding BYU and their No. 11 ranked offense to 67 points -- 15 below their season average. BYU shot 38.6% from the floor and 33.3% from downtown.

Without Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year Jaxon Robinson dropping 25 points off the bench, BYU would’ve gotten absolutely smoked in this one, which is crazy to think about.

Duquesne did a great job of penetrating on the slower BYU defenders and finishing its drives at the rim. They will take on No. 3 seed Illinois on Saturday, who looks incredibly dangerous after stomping Morehead State in the second half. Do the Dukes have it in them to pull off another shocker and take down Terrence Shannon Jr. and Co?

Bron and childhood friend Dru Joyce III, played under current Duquesne HC, Keith Dambrot, at St. Vincent–St. Mary

Now, Dambrot and Joyce are leading No. 11 seed Duquesne to its first NCAA Tournament run since 1977

Full circle moment 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Wa2hhmwkgs

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 21, 2024

All Hail, Lisan Al-Gohlke

No. 14 Oakland - 80 | No. 3 Kentucky - 76

If you didn't watch any of the first round action, the most important thing is that you leave knowing HIS name. Jack Gohlke. A true man of March. This kid was playing D-II hoops at Hillsdale College last season and just helped Oakland take down No. 3 seed and trendy Final Four pick Kentucky by nailing 10 three-pointers, including seven in the first half.

The Wildcats actually responded well a majority of the time and had chances in the waning minutes but were doomed by turnovers and missed open looks. This led to Gohlke being solidified as a NCAA Tournament hero no matter what happens to this team the rest of the way.

Oakland should legitimately retire his number for this performance. I think we know who the darlings of March Madness 2024 are now.

March madness always has that one future accountant that absolutely torches NBA lottery picks pic.twitter.com/OrWfrXoJJ9

— Ballsack Sports (@BallsackSports) March 22, 2024

Flyers Complete Epic Comeback

No. 7 Dayton - 63 |  No. 10 Nevada - 60

Dayton was dead in the water. Down 17 with only seven minutes left, the Flyers' hopes for advancing were hanging by a thread (0.4% win probability to be exact) after Wolfpack guard Jarod Lucas scored 10 points in a three-minute span.

From that point forward, Dayton went on a miraculous 24-4 run behind its second-team All-American DaRon Holmes II's eight points and Koby Brea’s trio of three-pointers to secure a spot in the second round. Nevada had a complete and utter collapse, committing five turnovers, six fouls, and shooting 1-of-9 from the field in that time span. 2-seed Arizona is up next for Dayton in Round 2. 

Dayton was down by 17 pts with 7:14 left.

The 17-pt comeback matches the 5th-largest in NCAA Tournament history.

The 4 larger comebacks all had a single-digit margin in the final 8 minutes of the game.

The Flyers pulled off the impossible. pic.twitter.com/4lNHdHa5Iv

— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) March 21, 2024

Jayhawks Narrowly Escape After Committing 18 Turnovers

No. 4 Kansas - 93 | No. 13 Samford - 89

The Jayhawks had this one in the bag. Up by as many as 21 in the second, it seemed as though KU was going to cruise to a blowout victory without their superstar guard Kevin McCullar Jr.

The biggest question heading into this one was how KU would handle the Samford full-court pressure without one of its top ball handlers, and while Kansas was committing its fair share of turnovers, it didn't matter because of how easily it was scoring inside.

Until Samford started to speed up the game even more, which helped them get a number a clean looks from downtown. This got the crowd back into it, and Kansas started to play a bit tense, which caused them to shy away from its bread and butter. The Jayhawks became a jump-shooting team, which played right into the hands of Samford. 

If not for an egregious foul call on a block that had shades of the Trey Burke rejection on Peyton Siva in the 2013 title game, Samford may have pulled this one out. They just couldn't quite execute on the offensive end enough in the last few minutes to pull ahead, and Kansas did a good job identifying the open man in the cracks of the press.

Hunter Dickinson (19 points, 20 rebounds) and K.J. Adams Jr. (18 points, six assists) absolutely destroyed this team in the paint. Their matchup with Gonzaga’s Anton Watson and Graham Ike is going to be one to watch out for. 

Clean. Block. pic.twitter.com/ZUxUeuOba4

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) March 22, 2024

The Jermaine Couisnard Revenge Game

No. 11 Oregon - 87 | No. 6 South Carolina - 73

The Ducks senior shooting guard was unstoppable on Thursday, dropping a 40-burger on his former team. Couisnard spent three years in Columbia from from 2019-22 and seemed compelled to torch his old teammates, going 14-of-22 from the field, 5-of-9 from three, and a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.

It was the highest individual scoring performance of the day, and sent Oregon to what should be a phenomenal second-round game against No. 3 Creighton. Trey Alexander vs. Couisnard. Ryan Kalkbrenner vs. N'Faly Dante. This matchup could sneakily be one of the best round of 32 games on Saturday. 

Jermaine Couisnard (@The__Future11) dropped 40 Points on his former team to pull off the 87-73 #11 Oregon upset of #6 South Carolina in the first round pic.twitter.com/2nzJuUjWIH

— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) March 21, 2024

Don't Doubt Izzo in March

No. 9 Michigan State - 69 | Mississippi State - 51

This one wasn’t much of a contest. While many thought the selection committee did the Spartans a major favor by gifting them a No. 9 seed after a 19-14 record and 3-9 in Quad 1 games, they silenced those complainers with a convincing win over a tough Mississippi State squad.

Second-team All-Big Ten guard Tyson Walker led all scorers with 19, and looked like the player many had tabbed as a potential All-American coming into the year. This team was a few possessions away from an Elite Eight last season as a No. 7 seed. Would anyone be surprised if they knocked off No. 1 seed UNC on Saturday?

Vegas is already giving the Spartans (+3.5) a great chance of pulling it off. I for one am stoked to see the Walker vs. Davis point guard matchup. That will be must-see TV. 

Zona Dishes Out 19 Assists, Cruises to Victory

No. 2 Arizona - 85 | No. 15 Long Beach State - 65

A six-point halftime lead definitely gave Wildcats fans a little PTSD from last season’s loss to 15-seed Princeton, but the second period was a completely different game. Zona carved up the Beach defense as all five starters scored in double figures -- led by Kylan Boswell’s career high 20 points.

One interesting tidbit in this game was that the Wildcats were outrebounded by Long Beach State despite a major size advantage. They will have their hands full with DaRon Holmes II in the next round. 

Tar Heels Pull Away in Second Half

No. 1 North Carolina - 90 | No. 16 Wagner - 62

Not too much to read into here. The Tar Heels let Wagner hang around for 30 minutes but then blew the doors off of them on the back of their seniors Armando Bacot (20 points, 15 rebounds) and RJ Davis (22 points).

They’ll face Sparty on Saturday in what should be one of the best second-round matchups given the talent level both of these teams possess and pedigree of programs. 

Illinois’ Offense Carrying Over

No. 3 Illinois - 85 | No. 14 Morehead State - 69

Morehead gave the Illini all they could handle, leading most of the first half and keeping the game within one point heading into the locker room. Terrence Shannon Jr. was the entire Illinois offense in the first period, scoring 19 points, but once this team got others involved -- including Dain Dainja (5.8 points per game), who exploded for 20 and 8 on 9-of-9 from the field -- it was over in an instant.

Marcus Domask had the quietest triple-double you’ll ever see with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. Coleman Hawkins had his fair share of bonehead plays but also flashed his handle and versatile playmaking/shooting ability. This is a dangerous team, one that just has No. 80 ranked Duquesne in the way of its first Sweet 16 since the title game appearance in 2005. 

Offensive Woes Doom Colorado State

No. 7 Texas - 56, No. 10 Colorado State - 44

This one was a snoozefest. I thought Virginia’s horrendous offensive performance against the Rams couldn’t be topped, but no, the Rams proved that was in fact possible by turning around and basically replicating it two days later.

The Cavaliers' brick-syndrome must have infected Colorado State because the first half offensive performance by the Rams was legitimately one of the worst I’ve ever seen in a college basketball game.

To put this in perspective, Colorado State was up 8-2 five minutes into the game. They were down 11-27 at the half. This team scored three points in 15 minutes of game time. I’m just thankful that I don’t have to watch any more Colorado State or Virginia during this tournament. Thanks, selection committee!

Wolfpack Ride Paint Presence to a Comfortable Win

No. 11 NC State -  80 | No. 6 Texas Tech - 67

The story of this one was dominance down low. The NC State front line manhandled the Red Raiders near the basket, as DJ Burns Jr., Mohamed Diarra, and Ben Middlebrooks combined for 54 points and 21 rebounds.

The Wolfpack also also did a phenomenal job of shutting down driving lanes and giving Texas Tech very little room to operate with. There was zero offensive flow on the part of Texas Tech for virtually the entire game and that's major credit to NC State's defense.

The path to the Sweet 16 looks much more manageable now that Kentucky is out, but Oakland is still a formidable squad even without Gohlke going nuclear. Trey Townsend is a certified gamer as well.

Efficient Three-Ball Powers Creighton in Victory

No. 3 Creighton - 77 | No. 14 Akron - 60

This one was extremely competitive in the first half, but then one team stopped making its threes and the other decided to keep drilling them. Creighton was that other team. 10-of-17 from deep and a masterful game from center Ryan Kalkbrenner on both ends (23 points, eight rebounds, three blocks) wrapped this one up early in the second half. The Bluejays advance to take on their former coach Dana Altman and his red-hot Oregon Ducks.

Dominant two-way performance for Ryan Kalkbrenner in Creighton's NCAA Tournament win over Akron. 23 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks for the 7-foot-2 center. pic.twitter.com/IpeSZe6BeQ

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) March 21, 2024

Poor Free Throw Shooting Leads to Drake's Demise

No. 7 Washington State - 66 | No. 10 Drake - 61 

You can't win many games shooting 43% from the line. Especially if you are a top-30 team in free-throw percentage and are usually reliant on making over 75%. A frustrating loss for the Bulldogs, who were in control of this game deep into the second half. Superstar Tucker DeVries was much too passive in the final few minutes when Drake needed him the most, as the Bulldogs just kind of fell apart on the offensive end.

Drake led Washington State by 8 with 7:47 left -- made just two field goals the rest of the way. Kyle Smith and the Cougars win their first NCAA tournament game since 2008.

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 22, 2024

Knecht's 23 + 28 Bench Points Help the Vols Cruise

No. 2 Tennessee - 83 | No. 15 St. Peter's - 49

This one was over before it started. The Peacocks were no match for Tennessee's size and athleticism, getting outboarded by 26 and routinely diced up in transition. The Vols shot a scorching 64% from the field in the first half, which helped them to a 26-point lead at the break.

Knecht dropped what felt like a quiet but efficient 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, and the bench poured in an extra 28 from six different contributors. Ho-hum. Up next is a matchup against No. 7 seed Texas, the program that current Vols head coach Rick Barnes rose to prominence through. This is also very likely the worst jersey matchup of the tournament. If you have Chrysophobia, maybe sit this one out.

Defense Once Again Leads Iowa State in Win

No. 2 Iowa State - 82 | No. 15. South Dakota State  - 65

An impressive opening win for the Cyclones, who hit 11 threes and shot almost 60% from the field. Their No. 1 ranked defense was also on full display, totaling 11 steals and absolutely suffocating the perimeter in the second half. What stood out to me most was how well Iowa State responded to pressure situations.

The Jackrabbits threatened to claw back in the game countless times on some scoring spurts, but the Cyclones always had an answer to push the lead back to double digits.

Whether it was a Tamin Lipsey or Milan Momcilovic three, a Keshon Gilbert dribble drive or Hason Ward tough bucket, this team found a way. They really played as a complete unit on Thursday and T.J. Otzelberger has to feel good about his chances against a Washington State team that struggles on the offensive end.

Big Rob Block.
Keshon Tough Bucket.
Big Bench Energy.

This one has it ALL! #Cyclones | #C5C

pic.twitter.com/4PfiCyYz7B

— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) March 22, 2024

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