NCAA TOURNAMENT ROUND 1 GLANCE

THUMBS-UP:

No. 11 seed Duquesne recorded its first win in the NCAA Tournament since 1969, holding on for a 71-67 victory over No. 6 seed BYU in an East Region game on Thursday in Omaha, Nebraska. Dukes coach Keith Dambrot, below, will retire at the end of the tournament.

RARE FEAT:

Senior transfer Marcus Domask posted the NCAA Tournament’s first tripledouble since Ja Morant for Murray State in 2019 and Terrence Shannon scored 26 points, helping No. 3 seed Illinois pull away from No. 14 Morehead State for an 85-69 win. Domask had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in his first career triple-double. Dain Dainja scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as the Illini pulled away. They play Duquesne next.

ANOTHER MILESTONE:

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo won his 20th first-round game in the NCAA Tournament. Tyson Walker scored 19 points and the ninth-seeded Spartans improved to 20-6 in March Madness openers under the 69-year-old Izzo with a 69-51 win over No. 8 seed Mississippi State. It was Izzo’s 26th straight NCAA Tournament appearance — an NCAA Division I record for a coach at one school. The win was his 56th overall in the tournament, trailing only three coaches for victories at one school.

NO HOLDING BACK:

Jermaine Couisnard scored a career-high 40 points to haunt No. 6 seed South Carolina — his former school — while leading No. 11 seed Oregon to an 87-73 victory in the Midwest Region. Couisnard spent three years at South Carolina before transferring following the 2022 season. He made five 3s and went 14 of 22 from the field. Oregon next faces No. 3 seed Creighton. The Ducks’ Dana Altman spent 16 years as coach of the Bluejays.

How’s your bracket?

Look, you aren’t going to have a perfect bracket. But halfway through Day 1, you’re likely still in pretty good shape. BYU’s loss to Duquesne knocked nearly 9.4 million brackets out of the perfect ranks on ESPN. com, and Mississippi State’s loss to Michigan State was the first defeat for 9.3 million others. But so far, you’re probably still good.

Freeman ties the Admiral:

Akron center Enrique Freeman’s remarkable career now includes an impressive bit of history. The 6-foot-7 Freeman recorded the 31st double-double of the season during the Zips’ opening-round game against Creighton. That ties Hall of Famer David Robinson’s NCAA record for double-doubles in a season. Robinson reached double figures in points and rebounds 31 times while playing at the Naval Academy in 1985-86.