Duquesne University pulled off the first upset of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Tournament, producing one of the NBA’s most iconic players.
Dukes, featuring Lakers star players, defeated BYU 71-67 LeBron James posted on X For celebration.
It was Duquesne’s first NCAA Tournament win since 1969, and the first in nearly 60 years.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! First tournament win in 55 years! @CoachDambrot @DuqMBB. Keep it up,” James wrote, along with five clap emojis.
“I agree @DruOnDemand LFG! ! !Go Dukes @DuqMBB” he added in another post.
There is a connection that Duquesne head coach Keith Dambro coached James at St. Vincent St. Louis. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio.
Dambro coached at Akron from 1998 to 2001 and had a long tenure there before joining the Dukes in 2017.
Before the tournament began, Dambro announced that he would retire after Duquesne’s season to care for his wife, who was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The win over the sixth-seeded Cougars means Dambrot will coach at least one more game.
before the tournamentJames gave each Duquesne player a pair of shoes to acknowledge Dambro’s role in his life and celebrate the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1977.
At one point in Thursday’s game, Duquesne held a 14-point lead, but that lead disappeared late in the game.
However, the Dukes made some late free throws and after the game was tied at 60, made 11 of 12 from the line to pull off the upset over BYU.
Duquesne held the Cougars, the second-highest scoring team in the Big 12 this year, to 67 points.
Duquesne will play Illinois State in the Round of 32 on Saturday.
