Day 2 of the NCAA Tournament is in the books, and it was a dandy.

A day that started with an overtime game between Florida Atlantic and Northwestern set the stage for a day of madness.

The Round of 32 is set. Cheers to that.

Before we move on to Round 2, here are my 10 takeaways from Friday’s slate of the NCAA Tournament.

1. Yale showed us why Auburn wasn’t a national title contender after all

For all the talk about Auburn getting a raw deal as the 4-seed in UConn’s Region, it turned out that simply beating an Ivy League champ was too much for the March Tigers. To be fair, Arizona had a similar fate last year in its opening-round dud against Ivy League champ Princeton. This time, it was Yale who sent a title contender packing.

Auburn’s SEC Tournament title made many, myself included, wonder if this was about to be a run reminiscent of 2019 when the Tigers went to the Final Four. But that wasn’t in the cards. Perhaps we should’ve known that would be the case when Jaylin Williams tweaked his ankle and Chad Baker-Mazara threw an elbow and got ejected for a flagrant-2 all in the first 4 minutes. It also helped that John Poulakidas couldn’t miss a shot in the second half. His go-ahead 3-pointer with 2 minutes left put Yale ahead for good.

Between Auburn and Kentucky both falling as double-digit favorites, it was a disastrous opening round for the SEC. Five of the conference’s 8 bids lost to lower-seeded teams. While Texas A&M and Alabama salvaged a horrendous day for the SEC, Auburn’s stench still lingered for the conference’s opening round showing.

2. Purdue didn’t do that thing again

By “that thing,” I meant lose to a 16-seed. You know, like last year against Fairleigh Dickinson. Zach Edey made sure of it against Grambling State. OK, it wasn’t just Edey, who casually went off for 30 points and a season-high 21 rebounds. Last year’s collapse happened because of the pieces surrounding Edey. This year, they were much better at moving the ball. The Boilermakers had 22 assists on 27 made baskets. Everyone in the backcourt hit multiple threes, including last year’s scapegoat, Braden Smith.

Purdue has a long way to go to follow the 2019 Virginia path. But step 1 was exorcising those Saint Peter’s/Fairleigh Dickinson demons of the last 2 seasons. That happened emphatically.

3. There really wasn’t any 1-seed drama at all

Purdue leading by just 4 with 2 minutes left in the first half was the only moment in which a 1-seed falling was even a thought. And admittedly, part of that was because it was Purdue, AKA the second 1-seed in NCAA Tournament history to fall to a 16-seed. The 18:44 mark of the second half marked the latest that a 1-seed led by single digits this year. UConn and Houston led 52-19 and 43-16, respectively, at the break. UNC kept Wagner at an arm’s length.

Does that mean we’re in for a chalky NCAA Tournament? Let’s not go there just yet.

4. It wasn’t one of those epic Duke collapses in the first round

Credit Jon Scheyer’s team. That group defended Vermont extremely well and made sure that the Catamounts didn’t become the second coming of Lehigh or Mercer. Duke got hands in the passing lanes, it rotated well and it contested shots. That’s a winning defensive formula in March. Never mind the fact that the Blue Devils really had one of those extended runs. Didn’t matter. Duke contained a Vermont team that won 19 of its last 20 games.

On a night in which Kyle Filipowski was held to just 3 points — he made his presence felt more on the defensive end and on the glass — Duke did what you’d hope an experienced team would do. It absorbed Vermont’s punch in the second half and played clean down the stretch. Scheyer will have a chance to clinch his first Sweet 16 trip on Sunday.

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5. Another year, another First Four team advances

For the 4th consecutive year, a First Four team advanced to the Round of 32. This time, it was a Colorado team that did everything in its power to blow a late lead against Florida. KJ Simpson made the game-winning bucket in the final seconds to avoid overtime in a wild 102-100 Colorado win. It was a wildly different feel than the 60-53 First Four game it won against Boise State. It felt like the last team with the ball was going to find a way to prevail, though Florida leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr. finally missed on a last-second heave.

Could Florida have been better defensively with Micah Handlogten? Absolutely. Not having the center after his SEC Championship injury hurt Todd Golden’s squad, but Colorado was playing in its 5th game in 9 days. The Buffs would’ve had every excuse imaginable. Instead, they’ll march on to a matchup against 2-seed Marquette.

6. That skepticism about FAU was warranted

Everything about FAU’s 2023-24 season was weird. Last year’s March darling started as a top-10 team with a bunch of key contributors back from a Final Four squad. Fitting, it turned out, that FAU had a win against Arizona sandwiched between the losses to Bryant and Florida Gulf Coast. It was a herky-jerky year, down to a scrutinized NCAA berth wherein FAU was matched up against Northwestern in that 8-9 matchup.

Dusty May’s squad battled back late to force overtime, but FAU’s path to another Final Four ended after some poor late shot selection in the final seconds of regulation and it ran out of gas in the extra period. Now the attention will shift to May’s future in Boca Raton.

7. Jaedon LeDee is a problem

The San Diego State senior is a man amongst boys. Period. His 32 points and 8 rebounds paced Brian Dutcher’s squad against a pesky UAB team. The well-traveled LeDee went from being a career role-player who provided some muscle on the block to being one of the premier scorers in the sport. Nothing UAB threw at him worked. Nobody could match his size, and when things got tight, the Aztecs fed their star.

Last year’s runner-up got everything it could handle from Andy Kennedy’s squad. But as is often the case in March, having the best player on the floor can be the difference in keeping a season alive. LeDee probably caught a break not having to do his damage against the size and length of Auburn. Good luck, Yale.

8. That scrutinized Alabama defense was … good enough

It’s great that Alabama has more 100-point games (10) than any team SEC team since 1989-90 LSU. There’s no doubt that Nate Oats would like to bottle up this offense and preserve it for all future teams. Defensively? That’s been a different story. He’s had a blunt assessment about his team’s issues and how that’ll determine his team’s run in March. But against 13-seed Charleston, his team defended well enough by allowing 34 points in the first half to build up a sizable lead.

It is, however, a bit telling that Oats had All-American Mark Sears still in the game up 24 points in the final 4 minutes. If Sears, who had a game-high 30 points, and Alabama shoot 62% from the floor, it won’t need to play lights-out defense to reach the Sweet 16.

Beyond that? That’s anyone’s guess.

9. Nebraska is still searching for that first NCAA Tournament win, and Buzz Williams is on the board at Texas A&M

By now, Husker fans know the stat all too well. Eight NCAA Tournament appearances, zero victories. There was hope that Keisei Tominaga would fuel a Cinderella run for Fred Hoiberg’s program. Then Texas A&M showed up, shot 56% from 3-point range and the Huskers never had a shot. Nebraska was in the same spot that A&M was in during last year’s Round of 64 matchup against a Penn State team that couldn’t miss. A 58-point first half set the stage for Buzz Williams’ first NCAA Tournament win since arriving in College Station.

Now all A&M has to do is repeat that in the Round of 32 against Houston, who just so happens to be the best defensive team in the country. Easy enough?

10. We haven’t gotten any buzzer-beaters yet

That just means we’re due for one in the Round of 32.