March Madness Highlights: Biggest Storylines After Day 1

Before getting to the biggest March Madness Day 1 highlights and storylines, be sure to check out BetOnline. BetOnline is a market leader in sports betting, offering various options from the NCAAB regular season to the NBA playoffs and everything in between.

After a ton of anticipation, March Madness officially kicked off the Round of 64 on Thursday. It was a day filled with tightly contested matchups, upsets, and blowouts that left college basketball fans craving more while the winning teams took one step closer to reaching national glory.

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Having said that, the first few rounds of the NCAA Tournament can be tough to follow due to there being so many schools in action. Fortunately, this article is here to help fill you in on all of the important March Madness Day 1 highlights and storylines.

Biggest March Madness Day 1 Highlights and Storylines

1. Multiple Upsets to Open NCAA Tournament

One of the best parts of watching March Madness every year is the upsets. There’s nothing like watching a low-ranked school rolling through some of the country’s top contenders as it goes on an improbable Cinderella run.

For those hoping to see some early upsets, Day 1 didn’t disappoint.

The biggest upset that most people are talking about is No. 14 Oakland upsetting No. 3 Kentucky to the tune of an 80-76 final score. The Wildcats couldn’t do anything to stop the Golden Grizzlies’ perimeter attack, allowing them to shoot 15-for-31 (48.4%) from the three-point line. Jack Gohlke led the charge for the underdogs as he went 10-for-20 from deep while scoring a game-high 32 points off the bench.

Jack Gohlke was instrumental in Oakland’s upset win over Kentucky. 

On top of that upset victory, we also saw a trio of No. 11 seeds advance to the next round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Duquesne advanced to the second round following a 71-67 victory over BYU. The Cougars just couldn’t find a way to take control, never leading by more than one point while the Dukes led by as many as 14 and even held a 38-30 lead at halftime.

South Carolina was also sent packing thanks to an 87-73 blowout loss to Oregon. The Gamecocks just couldn’t stop the Ducks’ Jermaine Cousinard, who scored a game-high 40 points on 63.6% shooting while adding six assists and four rebounds.

Texas Tech also suffered an upset loss, falling 80-67 to NC State in a game where the Red Raiders were outscored 43-34 in the final frame. Although they didn’t see much perimeter success, the Wolfpack thrived down low, scoring 42 of their 80 points in the paint.

Will we see even more upsets on Day 2?

2. Kansas Survives Samford

Heading into Day 1 of March Madness, nobody expected Samford to give Kansas much of a challenge. After all, the Jayhawks had the fourth-best odds to win the Midwest Region while the Bulldogs owned the fourth-worst.

As yesterday’s game went on, it sure seemed like those predictions were right. Kansas was up by as many as 22 points at one point and victory seemed all but guaranteed until Samford went on an impressive run, cutting the lead down to one in the last minute.

As the game wound down, Kansas’ Nicolas Timberlake attempted a dunk that was seemingly blocked by Samford’s A.J. Staton-McCray. The referees called a foul on the play and awarded Timberlake two free throws (that he made), however, replays revealed that Staton-McCray only made contact with the ball.

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The Wildcats held on for the 93-89 win to advance, but it’s clear that the Bulldogs won’t forget about the controversial ending any time soon.

The fact that Kansas City nearly blew such a huge lead will also be on a lot of people’s minds as the NCAA Tournament continues. Was it just a one-off fluke due to the Wildcats getting complacent? Or is it a sign of worse things to come?

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March Madness Day 1 Highlights & Storylines

3. St. Peter’s Doesn’t Get Another Cinderella Story

After missing last year’s NCAA Tournament, St. Peter’s returned to the annual spectacle this year. NCAAB fans were excited to see the Peacocks back in March Madness after they went on a Cinderella run as the No. 15 seed in 2022, upsetting No. 2 Kentucky, No. 7 Murray State, and No. 3 Purdue before losing to No. 8 UNC in the Elite Eight.

St. Peter’s went up against No. 2 Tennessee this year, but history didn’t repeat itself. The Volunteers led by 26 points at halftime and never looked back as they advanced past the Peacocks with a massive 83-49 victory. Dalton Knecht tallied a team-high 23 points while Zakai Zeigler recorded an 11-point, 10-assist double-double.

St. Peter’s couldn’t stop Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht on Day 1. 

As Tennessee advances to face No. 7 Texas in the Round of 32, it’s back to the drawing board for St. Peter’s. Considering how the Peacocks have only qualified for March Madness five times since 1991, it remains to be seen if they’ll learn from their elimination to come back stronger next year.

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