It didn’t take long for the first March Madness upset.
No. 11-seeded Duquesne defeated No. 6 BYU, 71-67, Thursday afternoon at the CHI Health Center Arena in Omaha, Neb. in what was just the second game of the first round.
BYU entered as 9.5 point favorites.
But the Cougars struggled through brutal shooting woes, shooting a paltry 38.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range.
They were the second-highest scoring team in the Big 12 this year, averaging 76.2 points per game, but that fell by the wayside on Thursday.
Duquesne saw a 14-point lead shrink to a tie game with just under two minutes left in the game, but the Dukes were able to rally and squeak out the upset.
Dae Dae Grant led Duquesne in scoring with 19 points, while Jakub Necas added 10 in what was a very well-balanced scoring effort from the Dukes.
BYU’s Jaxson Robinson led all scorers with 25 points, while Spencer Johnson added 11.
It marked the perfect start for the Dukes and head coach Keith Dambrot who announced that he is retiring after the NCAA Tournament after leading Duquesne for the last seven years and being a head coach for 26 years.
Duquesne is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1977 after winning the Atlantic 10 conference tournament.
Thursday’s victory also marked Duquesne’s first tournament win since 1969.
The Dukes likely would not have received an at-large bid otherwise, and have been considered one of this year’s whopping “bid-stealers.”
Now, they stole BYU’s hope of making a tournament run.