Who is ready for another full day of action from the 2024 NCAA men's tournament?

Friday's action tipped off with a thriller between Florida Atlantic and Northwestern, and last year's surprise Final Four team was sent packing behind a terrific team defensive effort from the Wildcats and a lopsided 19-7 advantage in overtime.

That was just the start.

With No. 14 seed Oakland's 80-76 victory over No. 3 seed Kentucky on Thursday serving as a reminder that no team is safe and anything can happen during March Madness, buckle up for another memorable day of action from across the college basketball landscape.

While it's certainly true that the winners are the winners and the losers are the losers, let's take a deeper dive into some of the notable storylines from Friday's action to highlight our biggest winners and losers of the day.

Winner: Boo Buie's Supporting Cast

Northwestern star Boo Buie is one of the best guards in the country.

The fifth-year senior averaged 19.2 points and 5.1 assists while shooting 44.3 percent from beyond the arc heading into the NCAA tournament, and with a 31-point explosion against Purdue on his resume, he looked like a prime candidate to emerge as a March Madness star.

The All-Big Ten performer did his part with 22 points, four assists, five steals and three rebounds against Florida Atlantic on Friday, but he was far from a one-man wrecking crew.

Ryan Langborg poured in a career-high 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting, while Brooks Barnhizer had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, including the game-tying layup with nine seconds to play.

That trio ended up accounting for 62 points in a 77-65 victory, and the Wildcats suddenly look capable of a serious NCAA tournament run if the team's supporting cast can continue to perform at a high level.

The Wildcats closed out Friday's game with a lopsided 19-7 advantage in overtime, connecting on 5-of-5 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, but it was their team defense that helped keep them in the game to begin with against a high-powered Florida Atlantic offense.

The Owls averaged 82.5 points (16th in NCAA) and shot 48.1 percent (25th in NCAA) heading into the NCAA tournament, but they were held to 58 points in regulation and 65 points in total while committing a season-high 21 turnovers.

The UConn Huskies await on Sunday in what will undoubtedly be a tough test for Northwestern, but the Wildcats looked capable of hanging with anyone in the second half and into overtime on Friday.

Loser: Colgate's Perimeter Defense

The Colgate Raiders looked like an intriguing first-round opponent for the Baylor Bears thanks to their stout perimeter defense.

The Raiders allowed opponents to shoot just 29.8 percent from beyond the arc during the regular season, the 11th-best mark in the nation, and that defense translated against Arizona and Illinois during the nonconference slate as they held those two teams to a combined 15-of-46 from distance.

The Bears were simply a different animal.

The No. 3 seed out of the Big 12 ranked eighth in the nation with a 38.8 percent clip from three-point range, and they were unfazed by Colgate's defensive efforts, knocking down 16-of-30 attempts from three to bury the Raiders early.

A lopsided 54-34 advantage at halftime ended in a 92-67 blowout, and Jalen Bridges (five), Jayden Nunn (four), Ja'Kobe Walter (three) and RayJ Dennis (two) all hit multiple threes along the way.

Head coach Matt Langel has built Colgate into the class of the Patriot League, making the NCAA tournament five times in the last six years, but the Raiders were simply overmatched on Friday.

Winner: Mr. Consistency Jaedon LeDee

The San Diego State Aztecs reached the national championship game last season on the strength of one of the best defenses in the country, and while they had plenty of quality pieces offensively, no player averaged more than 12.6 points per game.

Jaedon LeDee was the sixth man on that team, playing 18.1 minutes per game and averaging 7.9 points and 5.3 rebounds.

A year later, he's a bona fide superstar.

The 6'9" forward averaged 21.1 points and 8.4 rebounds during the season, tallying at least 20 points in 10 of his last 11 games, and he matched a season high with 34 points against UNLV in the Mountain West opener.

It was more of the same in the Aztecs' tournament opener against UAB, as he scored a game-high 32 points on 11-of-18 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line, helping San Diego State escape with a 69-65 victory.

He may not be a household name just yet, but he's one of the best players in the country and will get the recognition he deserves if the Aztecs continue to advance.

Loser: America's Favorite Upset Pick

In the 2024 Men's Bracket Challenge Game from NCAA.com, the New Mexico Lobos were the most popular pick of any team slotted as a No. 11 seed or lower.

The Lobos were selected on 47.5 percent of brackets, edging out Oregon (47.3 percent), James Madison (45.5 percent) and NC State (44.0 percent) for the title of most popular upset pick for the 2024 NCAA tournament.

Instead, they were the only No. 11 seed sent packing in the first round.

It's not hard to see why people were high on the Lobos, as they ran through Boise State, Colorado State and San Diego State as part of four wins in four days to win the Mountain West tournament.

With an uptempo style and momentum on their side, they seemed like prime candidates to upset a No. 6-seeded Clemson team that suffered road losses to Wake Forest and Notre Dame down the stretch before getting blown out by 21 points by Boston College in their opening game of the ACC tournament.

The Tigers came ready to play on Friday, building a 42-28 halftime lead and never looking back, and the Lobos finished the day 29.7 percent from the floor and an ugly 3-for-23 from beyond the arc.

R.I.P. to all those brackets that had New Mexico going on a Cinderella run.

Winner: Marquette's Outlook With a Healthy Tyler Kolek

One of the biggest question marks going into the 2024 NCAA tournament was the health of Marquette point guard Tyler Kolek, who missed the final three games of the regular season and the Big East tournament with an oblique injury.

So how did his return go?

Pretty good.

After averaging 15.0 points, 7.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds during the regular season, he finished with 18 points, 11 assists and six rebounds, helping lead the Golden Eagles to an 87-69 blowout of Western Kentucky.

Kam Jones (28 points, 5-of-10 3PT), Stevie Mitchell (16 points) and David Joplin (13 points, 11 rebounds) also had solid games, and after some uncertainty over the past few weeks, the Golden Eagles once again look like legitimate title contenders.

Loser: The SEC

The SEC was on the wrong end of the biggest upset of Thursday when No. 14 seed Oakland knocked off No. 3 seed Kentucky, and No. 6 seed South Carolina and No. 8 seed Mississippi State also lost their openers.

The pain continued on Friday, with No. 4 Auburn and No. 7 Florida both falling in their early games.

Auburn closed out the regular season on a roll, winning its final three regular-season games before running through South Carolina, Mississippi State and Florida to take home the SEC tournament title.

The Tigers were 14-point favorites heading into their matchup with No. 13 Yale on Friday afternoon, and they led 41-34 at halftime. However, the Bulldogs hung around throughout the second half, putting together a 6-0 run to knot things up at 70-70 with 2:38 to play when Danny Wolf connected on a pair of free throws.

That set up one of the best finishes of the tournament so far, as the two teams combined for 14 points over the final two-plus minutes, but Yale escaped with a 78-76 victory to send another high-seeded SEC squad packing.

At the same time that the Auburn game was wrapping up, the Gators were also locked in a nail-biter with the Colorado Buffaloes.

It looked like things were headed to overtime when Walker Clayton Jr. (33 points) buried a deep three with nine seconds remaining to tie the score at 100-100, but KJ Simpson got a baseline jumper to roll in on the Buffaloes' ensuing possession that proved to be the game-winner.

Can Texas A&M (vs. No. 8 Nebraska) and Alabama (vs. No. 13 Charleston) salvage a rough day for the conference in the night games?

Winner: Sharing Is Caring for Colorado

When KJ Simpson hit the game-winning jumper for the Colorado Buffaloes with three seconds to play in their 102-100 victory over the Florida Gators, it came off an assist from freshman Cody Williams.

That was the 27th assist of the game for Colorado on 34 made shots.

Sharing the ball was a strength for the Buffaloes all season, and they entered the NCAA tournament ranked 37th in the nation with 15.8 assists per game, but they took things to another level on Friday.

When the dust settled on a thrilling finish, they had shot 63 percent from the floor and 6-of-10 from beyond the arc, good for their best team shooting percentage of the year in a season where they have set a school record with 26 wins.

All five starters had at least four assists, and it was a masterclass on unselfish play across the board for a Buffaloes team that had to earn its spot in the field with a win over Boise State in the First Four games.

A date with Marquette and one of the nation's best assist men in point guard Tyler Kolek awaits on Sunday.

Loser: Nebraska's Quest for an NCAA Tournament Victory

With an 0-7 record all-time heading into this year's Big Dance, Nebraska was the only major conference team that had never won a game in the NCAA tournament.

Make that 0-8.

The Cornhuskers have come a long way in five years under head coach Fred Hoiberg, from 7-25 during this first year with the team to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014 this season.

Their 23 wins were their most since the 1990-91 season when future NBA players Eric Piatkowski, Rich King and Tony Farmer led the team to a 26-7 record and a No. 3 seed, only to get upset by No. 14 Xavier in the first round.

A great season for the Cornhuskers this year ended with a similar thud, as they trailed almost the entire way against No. 9 seed Texas A&M, falling behind 58-44 at halftime en route to a 98-83 loss.

It's only a matter of time before their goose egg is erased and they finally get their first March Madness victory, especially with Hoiberg at the helm building up the program.

For now, the wait continues.

Tip of the cap to guard Keisei Tominaga on a great season as he wraps up his college career, and it's a shame we don't get to see more of him this March. He finished his final game with 21 points on 7-of-17 from the field and 5-of-11 from behind the arc.

Winner: Purdue Actually Playing Like a No. 1 Seed

If you had some reservations when it came to picking Purdue for a deep run while filling out your bracket, you were not alone.

After all, the Boilermakers have suffered three straight disappointing exits from the NCAA tournament, blowing up their fair share of brackets in the process.

They became just the second No. 1 seed ever to lose to a No. 16 seed last year. Before that, they were one of the victims of No. 15 seed Saint Peter's during its Cinderella run in 2022, and they got ousted by No. 13 seed North Texas in the first round in 2021.

Despite those struggles, a 29-4 record and a 17-3 showing in Big Ten play made them a no-brainer for a No. 1 seed, and just like last year, they opened their tournament run against a team coming off a First Four win in Grambling State.

This time around, they looked the part of a title contender.

The Tigers hung around during the first half, and it was a 36-27 game at halftime, but Purdue went on a 22-9 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half to put things out of reach before coasting to a 78-50 victory.

All-American center Zach Edey finished with 30 points and 21 rebounds, and the Boilermakers picked apart the Tigers defense with 23 assists on their 28 made baskets.

Is this the start of a long-awaited tournament run for the Boilermakers?

Loser: The Big Ten vs. James Madison

There always seems to be at least one shocking upset in the early days of each college basketball season, usually in the form of a mid-major afterthought going into a national contender's home court and handing it an early loss.

This season, that upset belonged to the James Madison Dukes, who strolled into the Breslin Center and beat then-No. 4 Michigan State by a 79-76 margin in the season opener for both squads.

The key to success in that victory was staunch perimeter defense, as they held the Spartans to a miserable 1-of-20 shooting from beyond the arc, while Terrence Edwards Jr. (24 points) and T.J. Bickerstaff (21 points) led the way offensively.

Fast forward to Friday, and it was once again a Big Ten contender on the receiving end of an upset loss at the hands of James Madison.

The Dukes grabbed a No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament by going 31-3 and riding a 13-game winning streak into March Madness, and they were a popular upset pick over a Wisconsin Badgers team that scuffled down the stretch before seemingly righting the ship with a run to the title game in the Big Ten tournament.

It was a pesky defense once again that led the charge for the Dukes, as they forced 19 turnovers and scored 27 points of those giveaways by the Badgers. They built a 33-20 halftime lead and coasted to a 72-61 victory.

Fun fact: The Dukes (2-0) now have one fewer win against Big Ten opponents than the Michigan Wolverines (3-17 in regular season; 0-1 in conference tourney), who had 19 more opportunities.

Winner: Utah State...Finally!

Few would have guessed this would be the year the Utah State Aggies finally snapped their 10-game NCAA tournament losing streak.

With zero players who scored a point during the 2022-23 season returning to the roster and head coach Ryan Odom moving on to VCU, the Aggies were picked to finish ninth in the Mountain West preseason poll.

However, new head coach Danny Sprinkle did a great job restocking the roster after coming over from Montana State, and he led the Aggies to a 27-6 record and a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament.

"Eleven months ago when I got hired, we didn't know who was on the roster," Sprinkle told reporters last week. "We had three players, and two of them redshirted last year. So for this group to come together in a short amount of time and to do it in a Mountain West conference, as good as it was this year, is an incredible accomplishment for our players."

However, making the field was just the start, and the Aggies picked up their first NCAA tournament win since 2001 on Friday with an 88-72 victory over No. 9 seed TCU.

Their reward for finally advancing out of the first round?

A date with Zach Edey and No. 1 Purdue on Sunday.