March Madness 2024 Highlights: Live Tracking Top Plays from Friday's Round 1 Results
The second day of the 2024 NCAA men's basketball tournament is upon us, and after an exciting first round full of upsets on Thursday, Friday's action could bring much more chaos.
Thursday saw two No. 11 seeds advance—Duquesne knocked out No. 6-seeded BYU, and NC State took down No. 6-seeded Texas Tech—but the biggest upset of the tournament's opening day came in the form of No. 14-seeded Oakland taking down No. 3-seeded Kentucky.
With five upsets on Thursday, less than one percent of brackets remain perfect. Atlanta Falcons star running back Bijan Robinson is actually among those who still have a perfect bracket.
With the first round of the tournament set to continue on Friday, here's a look at the top plays from each game.
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No. 12 Grand Canyon 75, No. 5 St Mary's 66
1 of 16
First Half
Grand Canyon and Saint Mary's traded blows throughout the first half, starting with this three-pointer from the Antelopes' Collin Moore:
GCU got it going on the defensive end, too, with blocks from Tyon Grant-Foster block and Gabe McGlothan, who later threw down one of his own:
But the Gaels fought back, and Aidan Mahaney hit a big three to put his team up 24-20:
Second Half
A 17-1 run early in the second half gave Grand Canyon a 52-35 lead, and the Antelopes never looked back.
Saint Mary's stopped the bleeding eventually, but Grand Canyon kept the Gaels from authoring a comeback with some timely plays on both ends:
Luke Barrett did make things a little interesting after this three made it a six-point game:
But that's as close as the Gaels would get down the stretch thanks in part to Ray Harrison's clutch layup for a 69-60 lead:
And with that, Grand Canyon won its first-ever NCAA tournament game:
No. 8 Utah State 88, No. 9 TCU 72
2 of 16
First Half
TCU jumped out to an early lead, but Utah State chipped away thanks in part to Great Osobor, whose layup here kickstarted a 10-2 run to tie the game at 20:
Utah State did its best work in the paint:
Second Half
TCU tried to keep pace with Utah State and was able to do so early on after this Emanuel Miller dunk:
However, Utah State's hot shooting proved to be too much. This Issac Johnson three put Utah State up 10:
Darius Brown II later put Utah State up 65-53:
Utah State ended up shooting 55.0 percent from the field. On the other end, the Aggies went to work, amassing 10 steals and nine blocks:
It all ended with the largest NCAA tournament margin of victory in school history:
No. 12 James Madison 72, No. 5 Wisconsin 61
3 of 16
First Half
No. 12 seed James Madison jumped out to an early 18-5 lead after a Julien Wooden layup and three-pointer:
A Michael Green III three-pointer made it 30-16 en route to a 33-20 halftime lead:
Second Half
JMU kept the pressure up in the second half, beginning with this Bickerstaff layup from a Friedel pass:
Wisconsin wouldn't go away quietly, though, as Max Klesmit hit a big three to later cut the Dukes' lead to five:
The Dukes bounced back up again by double digits, but Klesmit fired back again:
However, the Dukes' Michael Green III hit a back-breaking three for a 66-54 lead with just over four minutes remaining, and Wisconsin couldn't recover:
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No. 1 Houston 86, No. 16 Longwood 46
4 of 16
First Half
Houston dominated the entire first half, which began with a 10-0 Cougar run:
Near the end, Ja'Vier Francis finished a Jamal Shead lob with an alley-oop dunk for a 41-16 advantage:
Second Half
Houston led 43-16 at halftime and didn't break much of a sweat in the second half. The defense was still sensational, though:
No. 4 Alabama 109, No. 13 Charleston 96
5 of 16
First Half
Charleston excelled early, with Bryce Butler giving his team a 17-11 lead with this runner:
However, that lead didn't last long, in part because of Mouhamed Dioubate's steal-and-score:
Alabama had a 10-0 run and also a 12-0 run in the first half alone. The second one included a Craig Nelson alley-oop slam courtesy of Aaron Estrada:
Second Half
Charleston and Alabama combined for 120 second-half points (62-58 in favor of the former team). But the Crimson Tide's halftime edge proved to be too much to overcome. Their pace and sensational offensive effort was exceptional:
No. 1 Purdue 78, No. 16 Grambling St. 50
6 of 16
First Half
Purdue center Zach Edey's size and skill proved to be a big problem for Grambling State en route to a 16-point, 12-rebound performance by halftime:
However, Grambling was able to stand tall against the big man on multiple occasions:
Second Half
Purdue entered the second half up 36-27, but the Boilermakers put this one away soon after the intermission with great play on both ends:
Edey was sensational in particular, finishing with 30 points, 21 rebounds and two blocks:
No. 4 Duke 64, No. 13 Vermont 47
7 of 16
First Half
Duke controlled the pace early, with Tyrese Proctor knocking down this transition three for a 16-12 edge:
Jaylen Blakes extended the Duke lead to 28-18 after a steal-and-score:
But Vermont refused to go away. This miracle lefty hook from TJ Long as the shot clock wound down certainly helped:
Shamir Bogues then hit another great shot for the Catamounts despite losing his goggles in the process. This one cut the Duke lead to 29-27.
Vermont would have beaten any team in the nation at HORSE on Friday, as Aaron Deloney's scoop shot sent the Catamounts into the locker room down by only five:
Second Half
Vermont kept this close early in the second half after Bogues' three-point play:
However, Duke outscored Vermont 28-13 from that moment forward. Proctor hit a couple threes to stretch the lead:
Duke's defense also turned it up a notch, with Kyle Filipowski blocking a Bogues shot off the backboard:
Vermont didn't score in the final 4:44 of the game.
No. 9 Texas A&M 98, No. 8 Nebraska 83
8 of 16
First Half
Nebraska guard Keisei Tominaga got hot early with a trio of three-pointers:
However, the Aggies' offense proved near-unstoppable en route to 58 points by halftime. Manny Obaseki's 19 points led Texas A&M prior to intermission:
Second Half
The Aggies kept pouring it on in the second half, with Wade Taylor hitting this one from deep:
Tominaga did his best to keep Nebraska alive, hitting his fifth three of the game en route to 21 points:
But the Aggies were too strong on both ends:
No. 13 Yale 78, No. 4 Auburn 76
9 of 16
First Half
Auburn gets out to a hot start courtesy of Johni Broome:
Yale's John Poulakidas pulls up from three and draws the foul for the chance at a four-point play:
Broome gets the steal and flush:
Second Half
Poulakidas helps lead the Bulldogs on an 8-0 run:
Yale's Bez Mbeng gets the bucket and draws the foul:
Auburn's Denver Jones hits the step-back:
Poulakidas cooking for Yale:
Yale secures the victory with tremendous defense in the final seconds:
No. 10 Colorado 102, No. 7 Florida 100
10 of 16
First Half
Colorado turns the steal into an alley-oop:
Florida's Riley Kugel gets Indianapolis Colts QB Anthony Richardson fired up with the dunk:
Florida's ball movement leads to Zyon Pullin three:
Colorado's Eddie Lampkin hits the spin for the bucket:
Colorado's KJ Simpson hits a huge bucket before halftime:
Second Half
Colorado goes on a 6-0 run to take the lead:
Lampkin bulldozes through the defense for the score:
Florida's Will Richard hits a big-time shot from deep:
Colorado just can't miss:
Florida's Walter Clayton hits a deep three and then ties the game with another:
Colorado's KJ Simpson wins it for the Buffs:
No. 6 Clemson 77, No. 11 New Mexico 56
11 of 16
First Half
Clemson rolling from three:
New Mexico's Donovan Dent grabs the offensive rebound for the score:
New Mexico's Jaelen House, the son of former NBA player Eddie House, drains a three to give the Lobos momentum:
Second Half
New Mexico starts cooking with an 8-0 run:
Clemson's Chase Hunter forces a turnover:
No. 1 UConn 91, No. 16 Stetson 52
12 of 16
First Half
UConn dominating Stetson early with solid team play:
Stetson lobs it up and throws it down:
UConn turns defense into offense with the alley-oop:
Second Half
Stetson's Jalen Blackmon lobs it up for Aubin Gateretse:
UConn's Donovan Clingan throws it down:
No. 2 Marquette 87, No. 15 Western Kentucky 69
13 of 16
First Half
Marquette's Kameron Jones cashes in from deep:
Western Kentucky's Tyrone Marshall Jr. drains the deep ball:
WKU puts the pressure on Marquette:
WKU's Dontaie Allen with the steal and dish to Marshall for three:
WKU putting in work from inside the arc:
Second Half
Marquette's Oso Ighodaro with the dunk:
David Joplin leads the Golden Eagles on a 10-2 run:
Jones continues the hot streak for Marquette:
WKU keeping pace with Marquette:
Marshall fakes before going up and under:
Marquette shoes off the hustle:
Jones hits the triple:
Marquette's Stevie Mitchell drains the tough shot:
No. 5 San Diego State 69, No. 12 UAB 65
14 of 16
First Half
San Diego State's Reese Waters gets the Aztecs rolling from deep:
Second Half
SDSU's Darrion Trammell hits the deep ball:
SDSU's Lamont Butler with the steal and slam:
UAB's Efrem Johnson drains a deep three to keep the Blazers within striking distance and follows it up with another three ball to tie the game:
Johnson continues his hot streak to give UAB the lead:
SDSU's Jaedon Ledee goes coast-to-coast:
Lee continues to dominate for the Aztecs:
Butler hits the fadeaway:
SDSU survives to advance:
No. 9 Northwestern 77, No. 8 Florida Atlantic 65 (OT)
15 of 16
First Half
FAU's Johnell Davis makes an early statement with the steal and bucket:
FAU strips the ball and Alijah Martin elevates for the slam:
Northwestern's Brooks Barnhizer takes a tumble while trying to save a ball from going out of bounds:
Davis hits the buzzer beater to give FAU the lead:
Second Half
Northwestern's Boo Buie drains it from deep:
FAU's Vladislav Goldin with the one-handed slam:
Barnhizer finishes at the rim and secures the and-one:
Buie and Northwestern gain momentum:
FAU saves the ball from going out of bounds and gets the bucket:
Goldin hits a huge dunk for the Owls:
Davis drives to the hoop to give FAU the late lead:
Northwestern forces overtime with a bucket and block:
Northwestern dominates in overtime:
No. 3 Baylor 92, No. 14 Colgate 67
16 of 16
First Half
Baylor gets off to a scorching start:
Baylor's Josh Ojianwuna takes it in for the jam:
Ojianwuna gets up to complete the alley-oop:
Baylor caps off first half with buzzer beater:
Second Half
There weren't many highlights from the second half as Baylor dominated from start to finish, but RayJ Dennis provided us with this steal and slam:
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