Bracket-busting first round reshapes the NCAA tournament

Opening-round chaos featured buzzer-beaters and double-digit upsets as No. 1 seeds Duke, Michigan and UConn survived scares; No. 12 High Point stunned Wisconsin and No. 11 VCU beat North Carolina in OT. Nebraska and Saint Louis posted marquee wins, while nine-seeds TCU, Utah State and Iowa advanced; Kentucky narrowly escaped in OT. The results spotlight ACC and West Coast struggles, with UNC’s exit and Saint Mary’s and BYU among the disappointments, even as overall top seeds showed strength.