From The Sports Desk: How’s your bracket holding up?

The opening salvo of the 2025 NCAA men’s tournament answered its annual invitation to chaos with a flourish, toppling brackets before most office pools had finished printing. By sundown Thursday, No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth, No. 12 High Point, No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 11 Texas had all ousted higher seeds, while No. 1 Duke spent the afternoon flirting with historical disaster before escaping No. 16 Siena, 72-67.

For 20 electric minutes, Gerry McNamara’s five-man rotation—his starters logged all but 43 seconds—turned the Saints into the protagonists of a real-time underdog script. Siena led by 11 at the break and still clung to a 63-58 edge with six minutes left. Legs eventually betrayed the gamble; Duke ripped off a 15-4 closing kick, keyed by Cayden Boozer’s late-board hustle and a pair of decisive free throws. “We were talking about, ‘We’re not going home,’” Boozer said on the broadcast as Blue Devil fans exhaled in collective relief.

The Rams and Panthers, meanwhile, turned NBC’s pre-tournament sleeper list into a prophet’s ledger. High Point’s Chase Johnston, who had not attempted a two-point field goal all season, drove the baseline and scooped home the go-ahead layup with 11.2 seconds left to stun No. 5 Wisconsin, 83-82. VCU followed with an even louder statement, erasing a 14-point second-half deficit against No. 6 North Carolina and prevailing 82-78 in overtime on the back of Terrence Hill Jr.’s tournament-best 34 points.

Texas A&M validated data guru Steve Kornacki’s “Cinderella” forecast, bullying No. 7 Saint Mary’s 63-50 behind a relentless paint attack. The Aggies’ frontline outscored the Gaels 38-14 in the lane and held Randy Bennett’s club to 31 percent shooting. On a night of high-profile freshmen, BYU’s projected lottery pick AJ Dybansta still stole the individual spotlight with 35 points, yet the Cougars fell 79-71 to an experienced Texas backcourt that forced 17 turnovers.

Illinois big man David Mirkovic submitted the day’s most efficient masterpiece: 29 points, 17 rebounds—11 offensive, one more than the entire Penn roster—in just 28 minutes of a 92-57 rout. The third-seeded Illini led by 40 before emptying the bench.

Elsewhere, history alternated with heartbreak. Nebraska cashed the program’s first-ever tournament victory on its ninth try, dismantling Troy 76-47 as former star Tyronn Lue, in New Orleans with the Los Angeles Clippers, fired congratulatory texts to coach Fred Hoiberg. “A beautiful day,” Lue wrote. Gonzaga, meanwhile, survived a late scare from Kennesaw State—briefly trimmed to five inside two minutes—before clinching a 17th consecutive opening-round win, the longest active streak in the event.

The bracket carnage leaves Friday with more landmines. Top-seeded Tennessee tips off against unbeaten Mid-American champion Miami (Ohio); St. John’s, eager to atone for last year’s one-and-done, faces gritty Liberty; and Kansas must ward off Cal Baptist and NBC’s next projected lottery pick, Darryn Peterson. The women’s tournament also begins, doubling the hardwood dosage.

Follow every buzzer-beater and bracket-buster with NBC News’ live coverage as the madness marches on.