Two days. 32 games. Just one upset? The first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament is complete. Let’s quickly rundown the results before giving closer attention to the first round’s most exciting developments.
On Friday, No. 1-seeds South Carolina and Texas won without issue, as did No. 2-seeds Ohio State and Stanford. Defending national champion and No. 3-seed LSU encountered a tougher test than expected from No. 14-seed Rice, while No. 3-seed Oregon State sprinted away from No. 14-seed Eastern Washington in the second quarter. Freshman Clara Strack filled in admirably for Elizabeth Kitley for No. 4-seed Virginia Tech, as the Hokies had no problem with No. 13-seed Marshall. No. 4-seed Kansas State fended off a fight from No. 13-seed Portland. No. 5-seeds Baylor and Colorado avoided upsets from No. 12-seeds Vanderbilt and Drake, respectively.
No. 6-seed Nebraska versus No. 11-seed Texas A&M did prove to be a late-night thriller, with the Huskers holding off a comeback effort from the Aggies. (That wasn’t the case in the other No. 6 seed-No. 11 seed matchup, as will be discussed below.) Against No. 10-seed Richmond, No. 7-seed Duke did the coming back. (The other No. 7 seed had a more exciting comeback.) In the games between the No. 8-seeds and No. 9-seeds, both of…
