NCAA Bracket 2024: Updated Men’s Schedule and Predictions After Thursday’s 1st Round
NCAA Bracket 2024: Updated Men’s Schedule and Predictions After Thursday’s 1st Round0 of 3
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The first day of the NCAA tournament is in the books after an exciting slate of games that featured a handful of early upsets.
No. 11 Duquesne upset No. 6 BYU in the first round to pick up its first NCAA tournament win since 1969. The Dukes set the tone for a fun day of games that included a few more upsets. The biggest upset of the day was No. 14 Oakland’s win over No. 3 Kentucky, which gave the Wildcats their second upset loss in the last three seasons.
No. 11 Oregon, which earned a big through a Pac-12 championship, took down No. 6 South Carolina in dominant fashion, 87-73. Another No. 11 seed that found its way to the tournament through a conference tournament title, NC State, beat Texas Tech to continue its dance.
No. 11 seeds ended up going 3-0 through the first day of action, and No. 11 New Mexico will look to make it 4-0 against No. 6 Clemson on Friday.
After Thursday, plenty of brackets are already busted, and Friday will likely only bring more chaos.
Oakland’s win over Kentucky acted as the biggest bracket-buster, as 74.21 percent of brackets had the Wildcats in the Sweet 16 and 24.84 percent had them going all the way to the Final Four, according to NCAA.com.
A full slate of games awaits on Friday and the Round of 32 will begin on Saturday. Heading into the weekend, here’s a look at Friday’s slate and the Round of 32 schedule for the teams that have already advanced.
Thursday’s First Round Results1 of 3
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Thursday, March 21 (First Round)
No. 9 Michigan State 69, No. 8 Mississippi State 51
No. 11 Duquesne 71, No. 6 BYU 67
No. 3 Illinois 85, No. 14 Morehead State 69
No. 7 Texas 56, No. 10 Colorado State 44
No. 7 Dayton 63, No. 10 Nevada 60
No. 11 Oregon 87, No. 6 South Carolina 73
No. 5 Gonzaga 86, No. 12 McNeese 65
No. 14 Oakland 80, No. 3 Kentucky 76
No. 3 Creighton 77, No. 14 Akron 60
No. 2 Iowa State 82, No. 15 South Dakota State 65
No. 2 Arizona 85, No. 15 Longbeach State 65
No. 1 North Carolina 90, No. 16 Wagner 62
No. 2 Tennessee 83, No. 15 St. Peter’s 49
No. 4 Kansas 93, No. 13 Samford 89
No. 7 Washington State 66, No. 10 Drake 61
No. 11 NC State 80, No. 6 Texas Tech 67
Friday’s First Round Schedule2 of 3
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Friday, March 22 (First Round)
No. 8 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 9 Northwestern: 12:15 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 4 Colgate: 12:40 p.m. ET, truTV
No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 12 UAB: 1:45 p.m. ET, TNT
No. 2 Marquette vs. No. 15 Western Kentucky: 2 p.m. ET, TBS
No. 1 UConn vs. No. 16 Stetson: 2:45 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 6 Clemson vs. No. 11 New Mexico: 3:10 p.m. ET, truTV
No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 13 Yale: 4:15 p.m. ET, TNT
No. 7 Florida vs. No. 10 Colorado: 4:30 p.m. ET, TBS
No. 8 Nebraska vs. No. 9 Texas A&M: 6:50 p.m. ET, TNT
No. 4 Duke vs. No. 13 Vermont: 7:10 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 16 Grambling: 7:25 p.m. ET, TBS
No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 College of Charleston: 7:35 pm. ET, truTV
No. 1 Houston vs. No. 16 Longwood: 9:20 p.m. ET, TNT
No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 12 James Madison: 9:40 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 8 Utah State vs. No. 9 TCU: 9:55 p.m. ET, TBS.
No. 5 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 12 Grand Canyon: 10:05 p.m. ET, truTV
After a handful of upsets on Thursday, Friday’s slate could have even more. No. 13 College of Charleston has an electric offense that makes it a prime candidate for an upset over No. 4 Alabama, which has the No. 115 adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom.
Teams like No. 15 Western Kentucky and No. 11 New Mexico are riding the confidence of wins in their respective conference tournaments into the Big Dance and are ready to compete with their opponents.
No. 1 Purdue is looking to avoid another catastrophic upset, but with the way the Boilermakers have performed in recent years, nothing is off the table as they take on No. 16 Grambling, which is competing in its first NCAA tournament in program history.
Remaining Schedule3 of 3
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Saturday, March 23 (Round of 32)
No. 7 Dayton vs. No. 2 Arizona: 12:45 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 5 Gonzaga vs. No. 4 Kansas: 3:15 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 9 Michigan State vs. No. 1 North Carolina: 5:30 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 7 Washington State vs. No. 2 Iowa State: 6:10 p.m. ET, TNT
No. 14 Oakland vs. No. 11 NC State: 7:10 p.m. ET, TBS/truTV
No. 7 Texas vs. No. 2 Tennessee: 8 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 11 Duquesne vs. No. 3 Illinois: 8:40 p.m. ET, TNT
No. 11 Oregon vs. No. 3 Creighton: 9:40 p.m. ET, TBS/truTV
The round of 32 will continue on Sunday, while Sweet 16 games will be played on Thursday, March 28 and Friday, March 29. The Elite Eight will tip off Saturday, March 30 and continue on Sunday, March 31. The Final Four takes place Saturday, April 6, before the national championship game on April 8. Times for those upcoming games are to be determined.
North Carolina, the only No. 1 seed in action on Thursday, survived its first-round matchup, but the Tar Heels now have a tough matchup against No. 8 Michigan State, which could be an upset to keep an eye on.
No. 2 Tennessee was dominant in its win over No. 15 St. Peter’s, leading many to believe the Vols could make a deep run to reach their first Final Four in program history, but they’ll have to get through No. 7 Texas first.
Some other No. 2 seeds looking for big runs, Arizona and Iowa State, also had dominant wins in the first round and are looking to find their way into the Final Four. The Wildcats faced an early exit last season, so this year’s tournament could serve as a revenge tour. Iowa State proved itself with a win over Houston in the Big 12 championship, and the Cyclones seem to have what it takes to make it out of their side of the bracket.
No. 5 Gonzaga certainly wasn’t a favorite heading into the tournament, but the Bulldogs handled business against No. 12 McNeese when many called for an upset. That win could spark a big run from the Zags.
With plenty of games to be played before the national championship on April 8, anything could happen as the madness continues this weekend.
