Advancing at their expense were Cleveland State, Wisconsin, Arizona and Dayton, respectively, in a tumultuous finish to Friday's games.
Wisconsin beat Florida State in overtime, while Siena overcame Ohio State 74-72 in double OT, Ronald Moore nailing a three-pointer in the final moments to settle a cliffhanger.
The top seeds were able to escape danger as Pittsburgh, ranked first in the East Region, was rescued by powerful DeJuan Blair in a 72-62 win against East Tennessee State, and Midwest top seeds Louisville got past Morehead State 74-54.
The biggest upset of the night belonged to Cleveland State who overpowered fourth-seeded Wake Forest 84-69.
The Vikings, seeded 13th in the Midwest Region, advanced to the second round where they will take on 12th-seeded upset-winner Arizona.
Arizona made a strong statement by derailing fifth seed Utah, controlling the pace and thwarting the Utes' late surge.
"We feel talent-wise we are one of the better teams in the tournament," said Arizona guard Nic Wise who poured in 21 points in the second half. "But we like being underdogs."
Wisconsin, another 12th seed, completed its overtime upset of fifth-seeded Florida State when Trevon Hughes hit a three-pointer for the Badgers with two seconds remaining.
"I didn't want this to be the last game," said Hughes. "I told myself 'attack, attack.'"
Eleventh-seeded Dayton caught sixth seed West Virginia by surprise 68-60 and sixth seed Marquette survived a scare against 11th-seeded Utah State, winning 58-57.
The second round of the tournament will be played on Saturday and Sunday, with the winners advancing to the Sweet 16 that begins next Thursday.
