March Madness 2024: 11 most shocking upsets, best moments and more from first weekend

The first weekend of the 2024 NCAA Tournament is in the books and it has been one of the most-watched editions of March Madness ever. Fans got a lot of drama over the first 36 hours of the dance with plenty of upsets and shocking moments, but things got chalk-heavy over the weekend with plenty of blowouts in the Round of 32.

All of the chalk should lead to some exciting matchups for the rest of the NCAA Tournament, but we have a few days before the ball is tipped off again. While we wait for the madness to resume, let's look back at some of the most memorable moments from the first weekend of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

11 most memorable moments from the first weekend of the 2024 NCAA Tournament

Duquesne Returns to March Madness with a win

The original Star Wars hadn't even hit theaters the last time Duquesne went to the NCAA Tournament. An absence of 47 years came to an end with the Dukes' stunning run to steal the A-10's automatic bid to March Madness and Duquesne extended its stay with the tournament's first major upset over BYU.

The 71-67 win was a nice send-off for Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot, who announced at the start of the season that this was going to be his final year on the job. The Dukes got blown out by Illinois in the Round of 32 but the spirit of March Madness was embodied by Duquesne's performance.

Nevada's epic collapse

There have been big comebacks in March Madness history but what Dayton pulled off on Thursday was ridiculous. The Flyers' first-round matchup against Nevada was all but over, with the Wolf Pack leading 56-39 with 7:36 to go, but no one told Dayton that.

Anthony Grant's team scored 17 unanswered points after that as part of a game-ending 24-4 run to stun Nevada with a 63-60 comeback win. That defeat was the start of a bad first round for the Mountain West, which saw just two of its six tournament teams advance to the Round of 32.

Oakland takes down Kentucky

In terms of seeding, the biggest upset in the first round came on Thursday night when 14-seed Oakland took out its slingshot and took out 3-seed Kentucky in a result that shattered brackets around the country. The Wildcats entered the game as 13.5-point favorites but were dominated by the Golden Grizzlies, a small commuter school outside of Detroit that got an outstanding performance from new March Madness cult hero Jack Gohlke.

The Division II transfer was an elite marksman against Kentucky, knocking down 10 three-point attempts to finish one triple shy of the all-time NCAA Tournament record for most made three-pointers in a single game. Oakland put up a tremendous fight in the Round of 32, falling in overtime to NC State, but you can bet that Gohlke's performance (including an MJ shrug after a made three in the first half) will be prominently featured in this year's edition of One Shining Moment.

Samford's surge ends in controversial fashion

We nearly saw another dramatic comeback late Thursday night in Salt Lake City as Samford used its press to throttle a short-handed Kansas. The Bulldogs had trimmed a 22-point second-half deficit to one in the final minute when Nicolas Timberlake broke free on an inbounds play for a dunk attempt and got fouled, giving the Jayhawks two critical free throws they needed to help put the game away.

Replays showed that Samford defender A.J. Staton-McCray blocked the ball without making any contact, a critical blown call that effectively handed the game to the Jayhawks. There was karma for the Bulldogs on Saturday, however, as Kansas was blown out in the second half by Gonzaga to get bounced from the dance.

Johnell Davis costs FAU a shot at a win

Friday's action kicked off with a dramatic 8-9 contest between Florida Atlantic, last year's surprise Final Four entrant, and Northwestern in Brooklyn. After Northwestern tied the game with nine seconds to go on a driving layup from Brooks Barnhizer, the Owls put the ball in the hands of Davis, one of the stars from last season's Final Four run.

Davis showed little urgency bringing the ball up the court, eventually throwing up a contested three that fell short, forcing an overtime that Northwestern dominated to advance. Replays appeared to show another FAU player pointing at the clock during the final possession of regulation, which suggested Davis didn't realize how much time was left when he got the ball, and that lack of urgency cost the Owls dearly.

Yale sends Auburn packing

The madness really peaked in the second afternoon window on Friday as a pair of games involving SEC teams went down to the wire. The more shocking result came in Spokane as Auburn, which was rated as the fifth-best team in the nation by KenPom and was fresh off an SEC Tournament title, was bounced in the first round by Ivy League champion Yale.

The Bulldogs were down 68-58 with 7:57 to go before pulling off a massive rally to stun the Tigers at the gun, outscoring them 20-8 the rest of the way.. John Poulakidas stepped up in a big way for Yale, knocking down a ton of big shots down the stretch, including the go-ahead three with 2:10 to go, while Auburn will regret missing five key free throws down the stretch and two shots in the final seconds that could have sent the game to overtime.

The fantastic finish to Florida-Colorado

The wildest game in the first round was the 7-10 matchup between Florida and Auburn, which turned into an absolute track meet as both teams eclipsed 100 points. There was also plenty of clutch shotmaking on both sides as Florida's Walter Clayton Jr. racked up 33 points, including the game-tying three from well beyond NBA range with nine seconds to go.

The Buffaloes also had their own clutch performance from K.J. Simpson, who poured in 23 points, including the game-winning jumper with two seconds to go. Clayton's half-court heave for the win was off, making Colorado the latest team to begin its March Madness run in the First Four and advance to the Round of 32.

James Madison takes over New York City

The Madness took center stage at Barclay's Center on Friday night with Cinderella candidate James Madison shining under the bright lights of New York City. The Dukes quickly won the support of the New York crowd with their physicality and speed early on, dominating 5-seed Wisconsin from the jump on their way to a 72-61 upset.

Barclays was ringing with loud chants of "JMU" as Duke fans who hung around for the second game quickly embraced the Dukes' high-flying style of play. It was also a fitting coda to the year for James Madison, which put itself on the map by opening the season with a road win over then-No. 4 Michigan State and picked up their final victory against a Big Ten foe in the Badgers.

NC State's magic carpet ride continues

Fewer bid thieves were more of a surprise than NC State, which won five games in five days at the ACC Tournament to punch their ticket to March Madness in a run that was reminiscent of the 2011 UCONN Huskies. The reward for the Wolfpack was an 11-seed and a game on Thursday, which set them up for the potential of playing seven games in 12 days if they were to advance.

NC State didn't look tired at all during the first weekend, upsetting Texas Tech on Thursday and surviving an overtime test from fellow double-digit seed Oakland to make a shocking run to the Sweet 16. A date with Marquette awaits in the Sweet 16, which is an incredible turn of events for a team that entered the ACC Tournament at 17-14 on a four-game losing streak and trailed woeful Louisville at the half of its first conference tournament game.

Oregon and Creighton go to Double OT

The most fascinating game of the first weekend was the last one on Saturday night as Pac-12 bid thief Oregon gave Creighton everything they could handle. The Ducks had a chance to seal an upset in regulation before N'Faly Dante missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving the Bluejays a chance to tie it when Baylor Scheierman's driving layup sent the game to an extra session.

The game was essentially a two-man show in the second half as Dante and Jermaine Cousinard scored 30 consecutive points for Oregon, a run that carried into the second overtime period, before the dynamic duo ran out of gas. Creighton's firepower overwhelmed Oregon in the end but these two teams combined to provide 45 minutes of fantastic basketball in the process.

Houston weathers a late storm from Texas A&M

While Sunday was mostly a dud for competitive purposes in the NCAA Tournament, one of the last games of the day delivered a shocking finish. Houston looked to be in cruise control, up 81-69 on Texas A&M with 1:17 to go, before the Aggies put up 17 points to force overtime on a buzzer-beating three from Andersson Garcia.

The odds started to looked stacked against Houston, which saw four starters foul out of the game early into overtime, but the Cougars made enough big plays to survive with a 100-95 victory. The win was the first for a team with four players fouling out of an NCAA Tournament game since 1987 and sets up an electric Houston-Duke matchup in Dallas for the Sweet 16.