The first day of the men’s tournament did not disappoint, highlighted by several upsets.
We saw three upsets, as many as we saw in the entire first round last season.
Early Upsets Decimate Perfect Brackets
The biggest dent (by total numbers) happened in the first game when No. 9 TCU took down No. 8 Ohio State, 66-64, leaving 14.5 million perfect brackets.
About 2.5 million more perfect brackets were eliminated when No. 4 Nebraska took down No. 13 Troy, 76-47.
The first upset of the day, No. 12 High Point’s 83-82 win over No. 5 Wisconsin, did major damage to bring the total to around 2.3 million perfect brackets. It was then cut to 1.2 million when No. 6 Louisville hung on to beat. No. 11 USF, 83-79.
No. 1 Duke avoided what could have been arguably the biggest upset in tournament history, holding on to beat No. 16 Siena, 71-65. Wins from No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 4 Arkansas and No. 3 Michigan State left more than 700,000 perfect brackets.
VCU’s Comeback and Other Thrilling Victories
That’s when No. 11 VCU pulled off the largest first round comeback in NCAA tournament history, taking down No. 6 North Carolina 82-78 in overtime. After the Rams’ win, a little over 300,000 perfect brackets remained.
That total was halved once again to about 150,000 when No. 10 Texas A&M took down No. 7 Saint Mary’s, 73-50. Shortly after, No. 11 Texas took down No. 6 BYU, 79-71, leaving a little over 30,000 perfect brackets.
Saint Louis’ Offensive Explosion and Gonzaga’s Win
The last big hit of the night came when No. 9 Saint Louis dominated No. 8 Georgia, 102-77, leaving fewer than 15,000 brackets still perfect. Saint Louis shot 58.3 percent from the field, finishing with 66 points in the paint compared to Georgia’s 28.
The Billikens went on a 21-0 run that ended in the first half and continued in the second half, where they scored the first 18 points unanswered. Saint Louis had five players in double figures in the dominant victory.
After No. 3 Gonzaga’s 73-64 win over No. 14 Kennesaw State, just over 14,000 — or about 0.039% of all brackets — remained unscathed.
The Owls hung around with the Zags most of the game, leading at different points in the first half and cutting the deficit to five points with 1:45 left. Gonzaga held strong in a physical game that saw a combined six 3-pointers. Senior forward Graham Ike led Gonzaga with 19 points and eight rebounds while senior guard Jalen Warley finished with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double.
Looking Ahead
Gonzaga will play No. 11 Texas in the second round.