The first full day of the 2025 NCAA men’s tournament is in the books. Overall, it was a tepid first day of action, with a pair of notable upsets thanks to the McNeese State Cowboys and Drake Bulldogs, but no truly memorable March moment to fall back on. We did, however, see a pair of No. 1 seeds in action, get a glimpse of Rick Pitino patrolling the sideline in Providence and saw a disappointing season for the Kansas Jayhawks come to a fitting end. Here’s what we learned from the first day of round of 64 action.
Mixed Bag for Trendy Upset Picks
Several of the most popular Cinderella picks this year played on the first day of the tournament, and results were mixed. The most popular upset this year, per NCAA.com data, was Drake over the Missouri Tigers, and the Bulldogs did in fact pull off the win as Ben McCollum’s team’s dream season continued. Missouri made a late push after Drake led by as many as 15, but Drake pulled away again in the closing minutes thanks to star point guard Bennett Stirtz’s heroics. There was also plenty of attention paid to McNeese State, partially for its renegade head coach in Will Wade and partially for their now-famous manager Amir Khan, who seems to be collecting NIL deals at a faster rate than just about anyone this March. Some were skeptical of McNeese’s upset potential after falling flat last year against the Gonzaga Bulldogs, but this time around, the Cowboys led for the final 34 minutes to nab the program’s first-ever NCAA tournament win.
On the other side, more than 30% of brackets picked the UC San Diego Tritons to beat the Michigan Wolverines, the Yale Bulldogs to knock off the Texas A&M Aggies or the High Point Panthers to take down the Purdue Boilermakers, according to the NCAA. All three games were fairly competitive, but none could break through late to add another upset to Thursday’s ledger.
BYU Looks Primed to Make Noise
The BYU Cougars entered the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the field, a top-10 squad in the last two months of the season per T-Rank. But the VCU Rams loomed as a tricky first-round foe on paper thanks to their guard play, athleticism and elite defense, standing in the way of a potential Cinderella run from the Cougars. Thursday’s game was a big test of this BYU team’s tournament mettle, and Kevin Young’s squad passed with flying colors.
The final score was relatively misleading: BYU controlled this one for most of the game, leading by as many as 20 in the second half and by 15 with two minutes to play before the Rams made a few garbage-time baskets. Young’s team put on a hyper-efficient offensive performance, scoring over 1.2 points per possession despite making only seven threes. Potential NBA draft lottery pick Egor Demin largely handled the pressure well, and big man Fousseyni Traore came off the bench to provide a spark with 13 points and nine rebounds. It’s hard to find many holes here: BYU has the shooting, guard play and physicality up front to make some real noise in this tournament. The Wisconsin Badgers won’t be an easy foe in their next game, but don’t be shocked if this BYU team makes a real run in this event.
Gonzaga Makes Underseeded Case
One of the major eyebrow-raisers on Selection Sunday was the selection committee slotting in Gonzaga as a No. 8 seed. And while the Bulldogs’ résumé left something to be desired, there was a feeling that whichever teams drew Gonzaga in its pod would look up wondering what they did to deserve that. That came true quickly Thursday when Mark Few’s team got off to a blistering 27–3 start and never looked back, rolling to a 21-point victory that sets up an epic Saturday showdown with the Houston Cougars. Gonzaga is up to No. 7 nationally on KenPom, making this second-round clash the type of game you might expect to see in an Elite Eight or Final Four rather than in the first weekend. That’s great for fans of the sport, but it’s hard to imagine Kelvin Sampson or the Cougars are thrilled with the draw.
High Seeds Hold Serve
The narrative entering this tournament was that the top of the bracket was particularly strong, which could lead to fewer downright shockers like we’ve seen the last few years. Through one day, that held strong, as every top-four seed in action won and few were even seriously tested. On the No. 1 line, Houston completely destroyed the SIU Edwardsville Cougars, while the Auburn Tigers pulled away early in the second half after the Alabama State Hornets hung around in the first 20 minutes. The St. John’s Red Storm started a bit sluggish, but neither the Red Storm nor fellow No. 2 seed Tennessee Volunteers was ever in real danger. Wisconsin beat the Montana Grizzlies by 19, and the Texas Tech Red Raiders eventually found separation against the UNCW Seahawks to keep the No. 3 seeds unbeaten in what was the closest call of the night. Finally, Purdue and Texas A&M dispatched aforementioned popular upset contenders High Point and Yale.
Will these chalky results hold all tournament? That remains to be seen. But the positive side effect of no early stunners is the potential for some absolutely electric matchups in the second round and beyond.
