NCAA men’s tournament 2024: Highlights from first round of March Madness،
The 2024 men's bracket is reduced to 48 teams, and Kentucky is not one of them. This glaring absence is just one headline among many for a tournament that already lives up to the name March Madness: four double-digit seeds advanced in a series of upsets. We still have 16 games left in the first round. Let's take a quick look at how Thursday's games influence the path forward for each region.
Eastern Region: No. 11 seed Duquesne's dream run continued with an upset of No. 6 seed BYU, and Washington State won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2008 — but l 'Illinois and Iowa State remain the favorites to face off in a Sweet 16 matchup between No. 2. offense in the country (the Illini) and the No. 2 defense in the country (the Cyclones). Terrence Shannon Jr. may be playing better than any guard in college basketball right now, but Iowa State has held nine straight opponents to less than a point per possession. –Jeff Borzello
South region: We're going to have a double-digit seed in the Sweet 16. No. 11 seed NC State continued its momentum from the ACC tournament to beat 6 seed Texas Tech and 14 seed Oakland , stunned the sport by knocking out 3.-seed Kentucky. Don't count out Greg Kampe and the Golden Grizzlies either. I don't think Jack Gohlke will hit 10 3s again, but this is a battle-tested group. The bottom half of the stand also opens up a bit. Is Marquette's – or Florida's – road to the Elite Eight getting easier? –Jeff Borzello
Midwest Region: You can call the Midwest the quiet region. Barely. Kansas engaged in some nervy moments against 13th-seeded Samford, but the Jayhawks, Tennessee, Creighton and every other unnamed South Carolina favorite advanced. No. 11 Oregon took the Gamecocks' spot, and now Thursday's winners look forward to Purdue's expected arrival. Things didn't go so well the last time the Boilermakers were a No. 1 seed in the round of 16. Assuming Matt Painter's group fares better this year, the focus will shift to Purdue's Round of 16 opponent. Will it be Utah? State or TCU? -John Gasaway
West Region: With his team's victory against Mississippi State, Tom Izzo reached the second round of the NCAA tournament for the 20th time in his career. Michigan State excelled offensively (44% from the 3-point line) and defensively and now more clearly poses a threat to top-seeded North Carolina (+3.5 favorite). The Spartans were 2-5 in their last seven games heading into the NCAA Tournament. On Thursday, however, they looked like the team many expected them to be when they began the season as a preseason top 10 team. –Myron Medcalf
Relive the day's action across the country below and come back Friday for day two of the first round.
