Teams on Upset Alert in Day 3 of 2024 Men's NCAA Tournament

The first couple days of March Madness delivered some incredible upsets. On Thursday, No. 3 Kentucky fell 80-76 to Oakland, No. 11 Duquesne got past No. 6 BYU 71-67, No. 11 Oregon beat No. 6 South Carolina, and No. 11 NC State beat No. 6 Texas Tech.

Friday also delivered its fair share of upsets, giving us No. 9 Northwestern over No. 8 FAU 77-65, No. 10 Colorado upset No. 7 Florida 102-100, No. 4 Auburn fell to No. 13 Yale 78-76 and No. 5 Saint Mary's fell to No. 12 Grand Canyon to end the night last night.

So, which teams could be in danger of getting upset on Day Three on Saturday? Let's run through which could be the next big team to fall.

Creighton Blue Jays (Midwest Region, No. 3 Seed)

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Trey Alexander #23 of the Creighton Bluejays

Opponent: No. 11 Oregon

Moneyline: Creighton (-230)

Creighton showed no weaknesses against its first-round opponent, handling No. 14 Akron 77-60. But on Saturday, the Blue Jays get a hot Oregon team that's been on a run for most of the month of March.

The Ducks ended the regular season on a 2-3 stretch with losses to Cal, Arizona and Colorado. But Oregon showed up well in the Pac-12 tournament, knocking off No. 5 seed UCLA, then upsetting No. 1 seeded Arizona 67-59. In the championship game vs. Colorado, Oregon won 75-68 to secure an automatic bid.

The Ducks kept their late-season momentum in the first round, upsetting No. 6 South Carolina 87-73. The star of the game? Former Gamecocks guard Jermaine Cousinard, who set a school tournament record with 40 points in the victory. Cousinard is averaging 16.1 points per game, with 4.5 boards and 3.3 assists per game. Ducks center N'Faly Dante leads the team with 16.5 points per game and 8.7 rebounds.

This could be a challenge for this Ducks defense, which ranks 69th in adjusted defensive efficiency per KenPom. Creighton's offense, led by center Baylor Scheierman (18.3 PPG), ranks 12th in adjusted offensive efficiency. But the Ducks have allowed just 66.5 points per game in its last four games.

Let's see if Oregon can keep its late-season push alive against a tough Creighton opponent.

Kansas Jayhawks (No. 4 Seed, Midwest Region)

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SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 21: Elmarko Jackson #13 and Dajuan Harris Jr. #3 of the Kansas Jayhawks celebrate against the Samford Bulldogs during the second half in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Delta Center on March 21, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Opponent: No. 5 Gonzaga

Moneyline: Gonzaga (-185)

Despite entering the tournament as a No. 4 seed, this Kansas team hasn't looked too solid late in the season. The Jayhawks skidded to a 1-3 finish in the regular season, and then got bounced by Cincinnati 72-52 in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.

Against No. 13 seed Samford in the first round, the Jayhawks survived a near-upset from the Bulldogs. Although Kansas led by 22, Samford cut the lead to one with less than a minute left. But a questionable foul called on Samford's A.J. Staton-McCray allowed Kansas to make two free throws to keep the Bulldogs' upset at-bay.

But in Gonzaga, Kansas faces a team that hasn't lost much in recent weeks. Before the Bulldogs entered the WCC Tournament, Gonzaga was riding a nine-game win streak before losing to Saint Mary's in the championship game. The last team to beat the Zags in early February? Saint Mary's, by a score of 64-62. Gonzaga had no problems with No. 12 McNeese State in the first round, winning 86-65.

Gonzaga's offense is led by star forwards Graham Ike and Anton Watson, and the Zags are a top-10 adjusted offensive efficiency team. Kansas has also had some key late-season injuries to star guard Kevin McCullar Jr. and center Hunter Dickinson. Dickinson played Thursday and finished with 19 points and 20 rebounds.

North Carolina (West Region, No. 1 Seed)

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RJ Davis #4 of the North Carolina Tar Heels

Opponent: No. 9 Michigan State

Moneyline: UNC (-170)

Michigan State pulled off a slight upset over No. 8 seeded Mississippi State on Thursday, winning 69-51. Sparty's defense forced the Bulldogs to shoot just 37 percent from the floor, as MSU led by double digits early on, and didn't let up throughout.

North Carolina, which earned the No. 1 overall seed despite losing to NC State in the ACC Tournament final, is a force to be reckoned with. The offense is led by RJ Davis (21.4 PPG), and forwards Armando Bacot (14.3 PPG) and Harrison Ingram (12.1 PPG). UNC also ranks seventh in adjusted defensive efficiency.

But Michigan State's big win on Thursday gives them some momentum for this one. There's also the Tom Izzo factor—the longtime Sparty head coach made his 26th straight NCAA Tournament appearance on Thursday, a DI record for a coach at one school.

"Coach has been in this situation," MSU guard Jaden Akins, who had 15 points with seven boards on Thursday, said of Izzo. "He always talks about experience is the best thing to have, and he has a lot of that in this tournament. So we've got all the faith in him to put us in a position, and we just got to go out and do what we do."

Michigan State's defense, which ranks sixth in KenPom's defensive adjusted efficiency, should be a challenge for this UNC team. Last year, Izzo's team upset No. 2 Marquette in the second round. We'll see if the Hall of Fame coach can pull off a shocker against the Tar Heels this time around.

North Carolina State (South Region, 11 Seed)

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Mohamed Diarra #23 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack

Opponent: No. 14 Oakland

Moneyline: NC State -258

Saturday's matchup between Oakland and NC State features two teams that pulled off upsets of their own in the first round. No. 14 Oakland knocked off No. 3 Kentucky on Thursday, and No. 11 NC State upset No. 6 Texas Tech later that evening.

March has been an incredible month for the Wolfpack. Despite losing their last four games in the regular season, NC State won five games in five days in the ACC Tournament. The run was capped off with a win over UNC to earn an automatic bid. The upset victory over Texas Tech just carries on the magic even further.

Oakland has had a similar late-season run. The Grizzlies won their Horizon League Tournament with an 83-76 victory over Milwaukee to earn a bid. The Bears also impressively suffered just three losses in the months of January and February.

Both teams are led by some talented big men. NC State's DJ Burns—towering at 6-foot-9, 275 pounds—has some impeccably quick hands and great footwork for a guy his size. The way he facilitates the ball around the Wolfpack offense is a thing of beauty to watch, averaging 12.5 PPG with 3.9 boards, and shooting 52.1 percent from the floor.

Grizzly forward Trey Townsend leads Oakland with 16.9 points per game. But the hero for Oakland Thursday night was guard Jack Gohlke. He torched Kentucky's defense, finishing with 32 points, and hitting 10 threes on the night.

It'll be interesting to see these two teams that have had similar late-season stretches face off against each other. Just two No. 14 seeds have advanced further than the second round in NCAA tournament history, in Cleveland State (1986) and Chattanooga (1997).