Top Performances of the Second Day of the First Round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament

March 23rd, 2024

Here are some of the best performances of the second day of the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

John Poulakidas scored 28 points as he made 6 threes to lead his team to a stunning upset win over Auburn yesterday. (Photo: Young Kwak/Associated Press, via Daily Herald)

Yale’s 6-6 junior swingman, John Poulakidas shot the ball very well, and he put forth a tremendous performance as he scored 28 points on 10 of 15 shooting, and made 6 threes to lead his team to a surprising, upset win over Auburn in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

He is a sharpshooting wing that thrived at making three-pointers, and he also showed that he can ably score off the dribble and out of the post. He is an underrated prospect that is a terrific shooter that can score the basketball, may be a better athlete than advertised, and he could project into a shooting specialist role in the NBA.

The Purdue-Grambling game was surprisingly close in the first half, but unsurprisingly, later on Purdue pulled away to get a blowout win due to the dominant play of 7-4 senior center, Zach Edey. Zach Edey scored 30 points and had 21 rebounds, and he also had 3 blocks and 2 assists in this game.

He’s been a very divisive prospect amongst the draft community this year, but there’s no doubt that he’s been incredibly productive in college basketball. People have been divided about him as a draft prospect however, because of the conflict between his vast production in college basketball, and perceived immobility, as there are still some lingering questions about if he will be able to guard shooters and quicker ball handlers in the pick-and-roll game in the NBA, and how much of an impact that could have on him and the team he will go to at that level.

This year, his improved mobility and passing skills have helped him immensely, and he’s been dominant in college basketball. In a weak draft year like this one, Edey’s consistently strong production helps, especially since other top prospects have faltered in this tournament. If he keeps putting up monster games like this, then the NBA may have no choice but to consider him as a possible lottery pick for the 2024 draft.

Alabama’s guard, Mark Sears scored 30 points, and he also had 5 assists and 4 rebounds in his team’s 109-96 win over Charleston. Alabama’s 6-3 senior guard, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. scored 17 points and made 5 threes to help his team get the win. Charleston had six players that scored in double figures in their team’s loss, and Ben Burnham led Charleston’s players with 19 points in this game.

Marquette had sterling backcourt play in their team’s win over Western Kentucky. Kam Jones scored 28 points and made 5 threes, Tyler Kolek had 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists to help his team get the win.

San Diego State’s Jaedon LeDee scored 32 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in his team’s win over UAB. UAB’s 6-4 sophomore guard, Efren Johnson scored 19 points and made 5 threes in his team’s loss to San Diego State.

Western Kentucky’s 6-7 senior forward, Tyrone Marshall Jr. had a very good showing in his team’s loss to Marquette, as he scored 21 points, and had 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

All five of UConn’s starters scored in double figures, and UConn’s 7-2 sophomore center, Donovan Clingan scored 19 points on 9 of 11 shooting, and he had 8 rebounds and 4 assists to lead his team to a blowout win over Stetson. Stephon Castle also played well, as he had 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists in this game.

Stetson’s 6-2 senior point guard, Stephan Swenson scored 20 points and had 6 rebounds in his team’s blowout loss to UConn.

Jalen Bridges scored 23 points, and Ja’Kobe Walter added 19 points to get Baylor a blowout win over Colgate, and Walter made sure that he wasn’t one of the top prospects that faltered in the first round of this tournament, as Walter’s solid play all season long could make him a potential top 5 pick in this year’s draft, especially with Kentucky bowing out so early.

Houston had sterling backcourt play in their blowout win over Longwood, and LJ Cryer, Jamal Shead, Emanuel Sharp, and Damian Dunn led the way by turning in strong performances to lead their team to a blowout win over Longwood.

Also, in the Yale-Auburn game, Auburn’s big man, Johni Broome had 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists in his team’s loss to Yale.

Grand Canyon’s Tyon Grant-Foster scored 22 points and had 7 rebounds to lead his team to a win over Saint Mary’s.

Clemson’s 6-4 senior point guard, Chase Hunter had 21 points and 6 assists in his team’s win over New Mexico. Ian Schieffelin scored 16 points and had 12 rebounds in this game.

Florida’s 6-2 junior guard, Walter Clayton Jr. scored 33 points and made 4 threes in his team’s 102-100 loss to Colorado. K.J. Simpson had 23 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds, and Eddie Lampkin had 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists to lead Colorado to a narrow win over Florida.

Ryan Langborg and Boo Buie combined for 49 points to help lead Northwestern to a win over Florida Altantic, and they made 7 combined threes. Langborg scored 27 points, and Buie scored 22 points, and had 5 steals and 4 assists in this game.

Texas A&M’s trio of Wade Taylor IV, Tyrece Radford, and Manny Obaseki combined for 67 of their team’s 98 points to lead them to a double-digit win over Nebraska. Brice Williams and Keisei Tominaga scored a combined 45 points for Nebraska in their team’s losing effort.

Ian Martinez scored 21 points to lift Utah State to a double-digit win over TCU, and Darius Brown had 10 points and 10 assists to get his team the victory. Great Osobor had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists to lead Utah State to get the win, and Isaac Johnson scored 19 points. JaKobe Coles scored 19 points off the bench for TCU.

There were many strong candidates for the three stars of the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, with Zach Edey, Mark Sears, and Walter Clayton Jr. coming very close, but without further ado, here are my picks for the very best performances of the first round.

Jack Gohlke’s 32 point, 10-made threes performance to lift 14th seeded Oakland to a stunning, upset win over Kentucky was the best performance of the first round. (Photo: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images, via Yahoo Sports)

The 3 Stars of the 1st Round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament:

Jack Gohlke, Oakland (32 points, 10 made 3s in his team’s win over Kentucky)
John Poulakidas, Yale (28 points on 10 of 15 shooting, 6 made 3s in his team’s win over Auburn)
Jermaine Couisnard, Oregon (40 points, 6 assists in his team’s win over South Carolina)

Those are my thoughts on the players that had the best performances on the second day of the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Thanks for reading.