Men's March Madness 2024: First-round tournament takeaways - ESPN

After the way Thursday ended — 14-seed Oakland upset 3-seed Kentucky, 11-seed NC State upset 6-seed Texas Tech, Washington State came back to win, and Samford and Kansas finished late on a controversial call — can Friday's early window continue the March momentum?

Last year's tournament darling, Florida Atlantic, starts the day against Northwestern (12:15 p.m. ET), but potential double-digit sleepers 12-seed UAB (vs. 5-seed San Diego State) and 11-seed New Mexico (vs. 6-seed Clemson) aren't far behind.

Bookmark this page for updates on games throughout Day 2 of the round of 64.

Can Northwestern give UConn a game in the second round? Northwestern didn't bring its A-game to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and it still beat a tough Florida Atlantic team. Yes, the same FAU that made the Final Four last season. Now, the overall No. 1 seeded Huskies are almost certainly on deck. The Wildcats are not going to be a walk-over for the Huskies. Northwestern has a veteran backcourt led by Boo Buie and Ryan Langborg, who showed capable of taking over on the big stage with Northwestern's first seven points of overtime, and has already proven it can handle size and top competition.

The Wildcats took No. 1 seed Purdue to overtime in both their Big Ten matchups during the regular season season, which included a win over the Boilermakers in Evanston. That should make for an intriguing second-round matchup between Northwestern and UConn. The Huskies should be in for a tough game.

What it means for Northwestern: The Wildcats have been in the NCAA tournament three times in school history. They've won their opening game each time (2017, 2023 and 2024). That's quite a fine reflection on coach Chris Collins, who orchestrated all three