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Purdue Boilermakers guard P.J. Thompson (3) and Arkansas Little Rock Trojans forward Roger Woods (0) battle for a loose ball during Purdue vs. Arkansas-Little Rock in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Pepsi Center in Denver, March 18, 2016. Reuters/USA Today Sports/Isaiah J. Downing

March Madness, true to form, delivered some big surprises Thursday in the first day of Round of 64 play in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Upsets were the flavor of the day, as No. 12 seed Yale, No. 11 seed Wichita State and No. 12 seed Arkansas-Little Rock pulled off stunning victories.

Yale, making its first tournament appearance since 1962, topped No. 5 seed Baylor 79-75 in a back-and-forth game. The next round won't get any easier for the Ivy League school as they'll take on another academic powerhouse, Duke University, that has a bit more of a basketball tradition and are the defending champions.

Arkansas-Little Rock, meanwhile, topped No. 5 seed Purdue in a stunning double-overtime game. It was a tight matchup the entire way, but the underdogs held on to escape with an 85-83 victory, with Purdue missing a wild shot in the final seconds.

Wichita State had a more comfortable margin over No. 6 seed Arizona, winning 65-55. The Shockers, who have gone on two notable and recent NCAA tournament runs, beat the Wildcats mostly through tough defense. No. 11 seed Gonzaga got in on the upset fun as well, topping No. 6 seed Seton Hall 68-52.

Fans and pundits seemed to have had a good handle on the games that were likely to end in an upset Thursday. Yale was the most popular choice among bracket entrants for a 12 seed upset, according to ESPN tracking data. More than 70 percent of fans had No. 9 seed Connecticut pulling off a very slight upset, and the Huskies delivered with a 74-67 victory over Colorado. Meanwhile, four of five CBS experts picked Wichita State, and the Shockers did not disappoint.

But while Thursday featured some great upsets, a number of top seeds cruised to victory. No. 1 seeds Carolina and Virginia easily dispatched Florida Gulf Coast University and Hampton, respectively. It was a bit closer for No. 3 seed Miami, who squeaked past a persistent Buffalo squad, 79-72. No. 4 Kentucky hardly struggled at all to a win over Stony Brook.

For an updated bracket following Thursday's results, you can check in with the NCAA here. Bleacher Report has a handy list of results, complete with a brief description of the action of every Thursday game here.

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