March Madness began a little earlier than usual on Selection Sunday, with one strange incident standing out from the crowd.
It wasn't Yale's buzzer-beating layup over Brown; it was the early celebration that occurred just after halftime in the A-10 championship game.
There were 18 minutes left in the second half of the Duquesne vs. VCU contest when the game was halted mid-play because multi-colored streamers began falling from the ceiling.
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Play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan was up to the task of calling the awkward mistake on the CBS broadcast.
"We can't see our notes, the players can't work on this court — confetti is everywhere!" Harlan exclaimed. "Somebody hit the wrong button."
The confetti has fallen a little early 😅 pic.twitter.com/kUVRNnq3Lm
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 17, 2024
Harlan's crew joked with him that the streamers were released in his honor, to which the 63-year-old responded, "You're damn right." He then asked the question that many viewers at home were asking.
"That was an early ejection there," Harlan said. "Are they gonna have to reload it now for the winner? I mean, my goodness."
While the broadcast was having fun, VCU couldn't have been amused by the gaffe. The streamers that rained from the ceiling and delayed the game were red, white, and blue, the same color scheme as their opponent, Duquesne.
VCU was trailing 38-23 when the game was briefly stopped to clean up the mistake. They closed the gap with a 9-0 run after the confetti delay.
The Rams continued to chip away at the Dukes' lead, cutting it to one late in the game. That gave the A-10 tournament staff hope it wouldn't have to reload the streamers.
But in the end, Duquesne proved too much for VCU to handle. The Dukes beat the Rams 57-51 to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 47 years.