Best Moments From the Fourth day of the 2024 NCAA Tournament

The first weekend of the 2024 NCAA Tournament is in the books. Second Round action concluded on Sunday, putting a wrap on an incredible weekend of college basketball. We saw major upsets on Thursday and Friday and some incredible battles on Saturday.

Sunday was a bit reminiscent of Saturday's action. We had a lot of largely uncompetitive games with the higher seed usually prevailing. But that doesn't mean there weren't any fireworks.

Here were the best moments from the Second Round on Sunday...

Marquette and Colorado put on an offensive show

The first game played on Sunday was one of the best, as 2-seed Marquette took down 10-seed Colorado 81-77. The Golden Eagles had a remarkable offensive day, shooting 62% from the floor and 43% from three. Tyler Kolek made 10-14 field goals for 21 points to lead Marquette.

It looked like Marquette would run away with this one early, leading 45-34 at the half. But the Buffaloes stormed back in the second half with a 18-7 run to tie the game at 52 before eventually grabbing the lead. Marquette would quickly move back ahead, and the teams traded blows until the finish.

After a CU layup made the score 77-76 in favor of Marquette with 2:42 remaining, the Buffs' went cold. They finished the game missing their final four field goal attempts, and Marquette closed out the win to make their first Sweet 16 since 2013.

Alabama survives rock fight out west

For a moment on Sunday, it looked like we could have true Cinderella story in 2024. 12-seed Grand Canyon gave 4-seed Alabama all they could handle for most of their game Sunday evening in an incredibly physical affair.

The usually high-flying Tide had a rough shooting day at just 37% overall and 26% from three. And though the Lopes weren't good shooting either, they got the free throw line 37 times to stay in the game.

After trailing by as much as 10 in the second half, Grand Canyon fought back against Alabama to go ahead 58-55 with 6:03 left in the second-half. Tyon Grant-Foster carried the Lopes with 29 points and eight boards to give them a chance at the upset.

Unfortunately for the Lopes, whatever magic they'd used against Saint Mary's in the First Round and to comeback against Bama immediately ran out after grabbing the lead. Bama closed the game on a 17-4 run, getting to the free throw line themselves late in the game to take control and close out the win. Mark Sears led the Tide with 26, and backup big Mouhamed Dioubate made clutch plays down the stretch to finish things off.

Alabama is back in the Sweet 16 for the third time in the last four years under Nate Oats.

Mayhem in Memphis

Sunday saved its best for last. Well, technically the last was San Diego State destroying Yale, but we'll ignore that. 1-seed Houston prevailed 100-95 in overtime against the 9-seed Texas A&M Aggies in an incredible game.

The story of the game was foul trouble for the Cougars. Four of five Houston starters ended up fouling-out in this game, and fouls are a big reason why A&M had a chance. They went to the free throw line 45 times.

Still, despite finding it's lineup in a precarious situation, Houston appeared as though they'd easily win. They led 83-73 with 1:26 remaining. But then the Aggies put together an improbable run, and suddenly, they found themselves down three with the ball 16 seconds left.

Wade Taylor IV got up two three-point attempts in that possession, missing both. When it seemed A&M's fate was sealed, a jump-ball gave the Aggies the ball with less than two seconds remaining. On the ensuing inbounds, Tyrece Radford found unsuspecting forward Andersson Garcia, who calmly picked up a low pass and then drained the straight-away three to tie the game on the first buzzer-beater of the tournament.

But the upset was not to be. Emanuel Sharp made a three for Houston to open overtime to hit 30 points before become the third Coog to foul out. Jamal Shead put together a gutty performance, playing the first 45 minutes of game time, fouling out with 18 seconds remaining. And with the game on the line, Houston's reserves did just enough at the free throw line to seal a 100-95 win and keep their national championship hopes alive.

This will be the fifth-straight Sweet 16 appearance for Kelvin Sampson's Cougars.