With the Gator logo draped on a championship banner between the team, head coach Todd Golden, his players and the crowd began doing their signature Gator Chomp celebration as they hoisted the trophy.

From that point on, a message was sent to the entire nation.

Florida basketball is back.

Down by as many as 12 points in the second half, Florida rallied to defeat the Houston Cougars 65-63, winning the program’s third NCAA Championship and first since 2007.

Will Richard led the Gators with 18 points and eight rebounds. Alex Condon followed suit with 12 points and Walter Clayton Jr. capped off his legendary tournament run with 11 points and seven assists.

L.J. Cryer led Houston with 19 points and four triples. No other Cougar finished with double-digit scoring numbers. Mylik Wilson added nine points off the bench and J’Wan Roberts finished his collegiate career with eight points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

Both teams battled in the opening frame, causing three lead changes and five ties.

The Cougars threatened to pull away late in the first half after Wilson made a triple to give Houston a 29-21 lead with five minutes to play in the opening half.

However, Florida responded by closing out the final minutes on a 7-2 run led by a Condon steal and layup and two triples from Richard.

Florida’s run cut their deficit to three, leaving Houston up 31-28 lead into the half. Clayton struggled in the first half, closing out the opening frame with zero points after missing four attempts from beyond the arc.

In the second half, Houston’s came out of the half hot. Cryer hit a triple on the opening possession of the half, starting off an 11-2 Houston run that gave the Cougars a 42-30 lead. Houston’s defense suffocated Florida over this run, forcing three Gator turnovers that resulted in eight Cougar points.

However, Florida began to chip away. Clayton stole the ball from Milos Uzan and drew a foul, scoring his first points of the game from the free throw line. The Gators played tough defense, drawing fouls and contesting jumpers, even when Roberts snagged offensive rebounds to extend possessions.

On the offensive end, Florida scored eight consecutive points from a Denzel Aberdeen layup, Alijah Martin triple and a Thomas Haugh and-one. After their 8-0 run, the Gators cut the double-digit deficit to three points.

Houston maintained their slim lead over the next five minutes. The Gators continued to score, but could not break through to capture the lead. Finally, they forced a tie with just over three minutes to play.

Clayton, who had an off-shooting night while being guarded by Emanuel Sharp, showed up when his team needed him the most. With crunch-time approaching, Clayton curled around a screen and pulled up from the right wing, burying a triple to tie the game at 60 apiece.

Cryer quickly responded with a follow-up tip after a missed layup, but Richard drew a foul and calmly sank two free throws to keep Florida equal. After Joseph Tugler split a pair of free throws, Florida’s defense stepped up.

Up one, Cryer drove in hard to the paint, but had his shot rejected from Haugh. Condon pushed the ball down the court, where Alijah Martin eventually drew a foul on Tugler on a fast-break layup attempt.

Martin sank both of his free throws to give the Gators a 64-63 lead.

On Houston’s ensuing possession, Sharp held the ball at the top of the wing. He used a Roberts screen to drive hard right, but was stripped by Richard as he approached the paint. The ball ricocheted off Sharp’s hands, forcing another Houston turnover.

After the Cougars intentionally fouled Aberdeen, he split his free throws, leaving Houston a chance to tie with a two, or a chance to win with a triple.

On their final possession, Houston began to bleed the clock. As seconds clicked off the clock, Sharp darted out to the top of the key and received the pass from Cryer. He pulled up from deep, but Clayton contested hard, forcing Sharp to spike the ball at the ground. Sharp, unable to touch the ball due to a travel, tried to box out players for a teammate to receive the ball. Condon hustled and dove for the ball, securing possession and effectively bleeding out the final seconds on the clock.

Houston was unable to put a shot on the rim for their final three possessions of the game.

As Kelvin Sampson blankly looked onward, the Gator bench cleared to begin the celebration, with Clayton jumping into the arms of Micah Handlogten. Clayton would be named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, and rightfully so.

Both teams were inefficient on the offensive end—a product of their elite defenses. Florida shot 39.6% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc, slight increases from Houston’s 34.8% from the field and 24% from beyond the arc.

Florida’s ability to get to the free throw line proved to be one of the difference-makers in the game, as the 19 Cougar fouls turned into 17 Gator points off free throws.

With the win, Florida earned their third NCAA Championship in program history, with Golden becoming the youngest coach to win a title since Jim Valvano in 1983.

In a full circle moment, the team Valvano beat to win that iconic 1983 title—the Houston Cougars.

But for now, Florida will enjoy their one shining moment and look to try to go back-to-back next year, just like they did in 2006 and 2007.

The post Florida Rallies to Win Third National Title appeared first on SLAM.

Whether it be drills of fighting for offensive rebounds or players diving for loose balls, Kelvin Sampson’s squad has mastered the fundamentals and little details.

So when the Cougars were down nine with just over two minutes to play, they seemed unfazed and continued chipping away at the seemingly insurmountable 64-55 Duke lead.

It started with Emanuel Sharp gathering a full head of steam and blowing past SLAM cover star Cooper Flagg for an easy layup, cutting the deficit to seven. Then after a Joseph Tugler steal, Sharp drew a foul in the paint from Maliq Brown before calmly sinking both shots from the line.

After Flagg and Sharp responded with two free throws each, Tugler reached in at the ball on the ensuing inbound, resulting in a technical free throw for Duke. Kon Knueppel stepped up to the line and calmly sank the technical free throw with over a minute to play. Knueppel’s free throw would be the last points Duke would score for the remainder of the game.

As Duke ran clock, Knueppel drove in the paint for a layup, but was met by Tugler, who launched the ball off the backboard.

Houston hurried down the floor and found Sharp, who pulled up from deep to cut the lead to three.

The Cougars then switched to a full-court man-to-man press on the inbound. Sion James tried to find Flagg, but his errant pass was tipped and stolen by Mylik Wilson. Wilson retreated to the three-point line but missed long, leading to a Tugler putback dunk that sent the Cougar bench into a frenzy. Tugler’s dunk cut the deficit to a single point.

When Houston intentionally fouled Tyrese Proctor for a one-and-one, Proctor’s first free-throw hit back iron, leading to a controversial over-the-back call on Flagg, who fought with J’Wan Roberts for the rebound.

With Houston in the bonus, Roberts calmly sank both of his free throws to give the Cougars a 68-67 lead.

Roberts then got it done on the defensive end, putting a tough contest on Flagg’s go-ahead turnaround jumper with seconds remaining on the clock.

After two free throws made the contest a three-point game, Duke’s last gasp effort sailed over the basketball to seal their fate.

With Houston’s last effort comeback, the Cougars made their first National Championship game since 1984.

L.J. Cryer led the Cougars with 26 points, while Sharp finished with 16 points. Roberts posted a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 12 boards.

Flagg led the Blue Devils with 27 points and seven rebounds, while Knueppel finished with 16 points. No other Duke player finished the game in double-digit scoring.

Duke controlled the majority of the game, capturing the lead at the 14-minute mark in the first half after Flagg made a triple to give Duke an 8-6 lead. The Blue Devils built on that lead throughout the half and entered halftime with a six-point advantage.

Duke continued to pile on points but was unable to pull away from the Cougars. After a Proctor free throw gave Duke a 14-point lead with eight minutes to play, Cryer responded with a triple, free throw and a jumper to cut the lead to single digits.

Houston added two more layups from Roberts and Tugler to bring the deficit to four points. However, Proctor responded with two free throws and Flagg drilled a triple from the right wing to give Duke a 64-55 lead with three minutes to play.

Houston then embarked on their 15-3 run to close out the game and complete the comeback victory.

Duke’s inexperience in close games and dealing with the Cougars’ full-court pressure proved costly, as missed opportunities and turnovers led to the Blue Devils scoring only three points in the final three minutes of the game.

Houston shot efficiently from beyond the arc, draining 10 triples at a 45.5% clip, while Duke only made seven. However, the Blue Devils were more efficient from the field, shooting 39.6% compared to Houston’s 37.7%.

With the win, Houston will play the Florida Gators for a chance to win the program’s first National Championship in history, having previously lost back-to-back title games in 1983 and 1984.

The post Houston Completes Last-Second Comeback to Clinch Championship Game Berth appeared first on SLAM.

“He’s on a Kemba Walker type run. I mean, that’s it,” Greenberg said on Get Up!

Walker immortalized his collegiate career with an elite postseason run in 2011. After UConn finished ninth in the Big East, the Huskies rattled off five wins in five days to win the Big East Tournament, including when Walker hit his iconic ankle-breaking buzzer beater against Pittsburgh in the quarterfinal game.

In the NCAA Tournament, Walker continued his scoring tear, opening the tournament with a 18-point, 12-assist double-double in a rout against Bucknell. He then followed it up with back-to-back 30-point performances against Cincinnati and San Diego State before dropping 20 against Arizona to advance to the Final Four.

Then against a Kentucky team boasting six NBA players, Walker scored 18 points before grinding past Butler in the National Championship game.

But after Saturday afternoon, Walter Clayton Jr.’s run may be in a league of his own.

Having previously carried Florida to victories against UConn and Texas Tech, Clayton saved his best for the Final Four.

Clayton dropped 34 points to defeat the Auburn Tigers 79-73, bringing the Gators to their first National Championship game since 2007.

Alijah Martin finished with 17 points while Thomas Haugh added 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Chad Baker-Mazara led the Tigers with 18 points and four steals. Johni Broome added 15 points and seven rebounds, while Denver Jones finished with 10 points.

After a tightly-contested first-half that saw nine lead changes, the Tigers pulled away in the final minutes of the opening frame.

After Clayton made a layup with under four minutes to play in the half, Auburn closed out the half on a 13-9 run to take an eight-point advantage into the half.

SLAM cover star Tahaad Pettiford—who recently declared for the NBA Draft—made three free throws, while Broome added two post shots to pad the Auburn lead. A Miles Kelly triple gave Auburn a nine-point lead, its biggest advantage of the half.

Into the second half, Florida came out the gates hot. The Gators took the lead after going on a 13-3 run behind an and-one from Will Richard and two triples from Clayton and Martin.

After both teams traded blows and underwent seven lead changes,. Clayton took over in the final four minutes.

Up one, Clayton took a handoff from Haugh and buried a triple from the left wing to give Florida a four-point lead. He then split two defenders for an easy layup before spinning past Jones en route to a tough and-one.

With time running out, Clayton threw an inbound pass to Haugh, who threw up a hook shot after being fouled from behind by Broome. The ball caromed around on the rim before falling for a dagger and-one.

After Haugh missed the free throw, Baker-Mazara responded with a triple to cut the deficit to five with 32 seconds remaining. Florida converted on enough free throws to keep a two-possession lead and eventually closed the game out.

Fittingly, Clayton sunk the final two free throws to ice the game.

Timely shooting from beyond the arc was the difference-maker for the Gators, who shot 38.1% from beyond the arc and an efficient 47.2% from the floor. Auburn made seven triples, but at a lower 28% clip.

Clayton is almost a shoo-in for the Most Outstanding Player award. Clayton is averaging 24.6 points per game and is shooting 48.7% from beyond the arc for the tournament. He has put up back-to-back 30-point games and has scored in double-figures in all five rounds.

All he needs now is a ring to place his NCAA Tournament run in the same realm as Kemba Walker’s 2011 masterclass.

Clayton and Florida will now have the chance to do so after advancing to their first National Championship game since 2007 against the Houston Cougars.

The post Walter Clayton Jr.’s 34 points propels Florida into the title game appeared first on SLAM.

Here’s how every top-seed secured their spot in San Antonio for a chance to play in the National Championship.

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No. 1 Florida defeated No. 3 Texas Tech

Just a week ago, Walter Clayton Jr. shot Florida into the Sweet 16 after helping the Gators defeat the two-time defending National Champion UConn Huskies.

Clayton drilled a three-pointer over Alex Karaban with under three minutes to play in the second half to give Florida a 62-61 lead. The Iona transfer then faked a drive and shot a fadeaway triple over Hassan Diarra to bury a dagger that extended Florida’ lead to six. The Gators won 77-75.

On Saturday, Clayton found March Magic again.

With the Gators down 10 with just over five minutes remaining in the second half, Clayton drilled a three from the corner after a shooter’s bounce cut the lead to seven. He then drove hard right past Christian Anderson to muscle in a layup and dished out back-to-back assists to Thomas Haugh for two threes.

On the ensuing possession, Clayton wrapped around a screen and matched up with Darrion Williams. He put the moves on the forward, snatching back and creating space en route to burying a game-tying triple from the left wing.

He saved his best for last. Clayton caught a pass inside the paint and immediately dribbled out to the three-point line. Texas Tech was slow to pick up on the most dangerous shooter on the floor. As two defenders rotated over, it was too late. Clayton pulled up and cashed in a shot over two defenders that gave Florida a 78-77 lead they never looked back on.

Clayton finished the game with 30 points to help lead the Gators to an 84-79 victory over Texas Tech to secure their first Final Four bid since 2014. Haugh added 20 points off the bench with four threes and Alijah Martin scored 10 points.

Williams led the Red Raiders with 23 points while JT Toppin posted a double-double, finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Chance McMillian, who hadn’t played in a game since the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal, posted 14 points in his return to action.

Both teams battled early, with Florida taking a 40-37 advantage into the half after a back-and-forth frame that saw four lead changes.

In the second half, Texas Tech hung close with the Gators before building their 10-point lead with just over five minutes to play. Behind Clayton and Haugh, the Gators rattled off a 17-6 run to take the lead on Clayton’s triple. Once Texas Tech began intentionally fouling, Clayton, Martin and Will Richard calmly sank their free throws to keep the game out of reach.

The Red Raiders went cold over this period, failing to convert on two one-and-one opportunities and missing three shots from beyond the arc.

Fouls burned Texas Tech, as 18 personal fouls turned into 27 free throw attempts for the Gators, in which they converted 25. The Red Raiders struggled from the line, shooting 53.8% on 13 attempts.

They will now play a familiar foe—SEC rival Auburn in the Final Four with a trip to the National Championship game on the line.

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No. 1 Duke defeated No. 2 Alabama

Duke defeated Alabama 85-65 to advance to their 18th Final Four in program history.

Kon Knueppel led the Blue Devils with 21 points while Tyrese Proctor continued his dominant tournament, finishing with 17 points on an efficient 7-10 shooting night. SLAM cover star Cooper Flagg scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds while his frontcourt partner Khaman Maluach finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Freshman star Labaron Philon led the Crimson Tide with 16 points. Chris Youngblood and Grant Nelson both finished with 10 points. Despite boasting the top scoring offense in the country, Alabama only had three players crack double-digit scoring numbers. Mark Sears, the Tide’s leading scorer, could not replicate his 34-point clinic against BYU, as he finished with six points on an inefficient 2-12 shooting night.

Duke dominated the entire game, never giving up the lead. They held the nation’s top offense to 65 points, 25 points less than Alabama’s average of 90.7 points per game. The Crimson Tide struggled to find efficiency, as the team shot 35.4% from the field and only made eight triples, a stark contrast from the 25 they sank in the Sweet 16.

Duke took a 46-37 lead into halftime and rattled off a 20-7 run in the final eight minutes of the game to punch their ticket to San Antonio.

The Blue Devils will now play the Houston Cougars on Saturday in what will shape out to be a defensive slugfest between two of the top-ranked scoring defenses in the nation.

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No. 1 Houston defeated No. 2 Tennessee

Houston routed Tennessee 69-50 to advance to their second Final Four under head coach Kelvin Sampson.

L.J. Cryer led the Cougars with 17 points and seven boards while Emanuel Sharp added 16 points and four triples. Projected first-round draft pick Joseph Tugler finished with six points and nine rebounds.

Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey both led the Vols with 17 points each. Lanier struggled with efficiency, shooting 4-18 from the field and 2-12 from beyond the arc. Coming off the bench, Gainey shot 6-12 from the field and made 40% of his attempts from beyond the arc. No other Tennessee player scored more than five points in the game.

Houston dominated the first half, holding the Tennessee offense to 15 points. The Cougars quickly built a double-digit lead only nine minutes into the first half after a balanced attack led by Cryer, Milos Uzan and Sharp.

The Vols didn’t break 10 points on offense until there were just over three minutes left in the opening frame. Houston rode their defensive momentum into taking a 34-15 lead into the half.

The Vols regained their offensive identity in the second half, as they scored 35 points from triples and drawing fouls to get to the free-throw line. But after cutting the Cougars’ lead to 10 points with just over five minutes to play, Houston rained threes to pull away late.

Sharp, Mylik Wilson and Cryer each buried five triples on consecutive possessions to build an 18-point lead and close out the game.

Houston’s defense held the Vols to 28.8% shooting from the floor and 17.2% from beyond the arc, a stark contrast to their 50.9% shooting night against Kentucky in the Sweet 16.

The Cougars will now look to lock down Duke in the Final Four for a chance at advancing to the program’s first National Championship appearance since 1984.

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No. 1 Auburn defeated No. 2 Michigan State

An injury wasn’t going to stop the SEC Player of the Year from showing out in the biggest game of his career.

After attempting to block a reverse layup by Frankie Fidler, Broome landed awkwardly, clutching his left knee and right elbow.

Shaking his head, Broome was greeted on his walk to the locker room by a standing ovation from the Auburn faithful. Minutes later, Broome got an even bigger ovation.

Broome came out of the locker room and immediately checked into the game. He set a screen for Miles Kelly and immediately buried a three to give Auburn a 12-point lead with under five to play, sending a roar from the Auburn crowd throughout the arena.

Broome’s double-double helped lift Auburn to a 70-64 victory over Michigan State, sending the Tigers to their second Final Four in program history.

Broome led the Tigers with 25 points and 14 rebounds, while fellow SLAM cover co-star Tahaad Pettiford added 10 points off the bench.

Jaxon Kohler led Michigan State with a double-double, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jaden Akins added 15 points and Jase Richardson scored 11 points on an inefficient 4-13 shooting night.

Auburn threatened to pull away early, opening the game on a 23-8 run. The Spartans responded with triples from Kohler and Fidler, cutting the deficit to single digits before the Tigers took a nine-point lead into the half.

Michigan State battled in the second half, cutting the lead to five three minutes into the final frame. However, that would be the closest they would get. A Chad Baker-Mazara triple and Dylan Cardwell layup pushed the deficit back to double-digits, and the Spartans failed to catch up for the remainder of the game.

Despite outscoring Auburn 40-37 in the second half, the first-half woes proved too large to overcome for Michigan State.

The Spartans shot an inefficient 34.4% from the field and 30.4% from beyond the arc. Auburn shot 42.6% from the floor and 28% from beyond the arc. Despite winning by six, the Tigers struggled from the free-throw line, converting 11 shots in 20 attempts.

The Tigers will now face Florida in the Final Four for a chance to advance to the program’s first-ever National Championship game.

The post Top Seeds Dominate in the Elite 8 to reach the Final Four appeared first on SLAM.

Here’s everything you need to know before tickets to San Antonio get punched later today.

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No. 2 Michigan State defeated No. 6 Ole Miss

With five minutes to go in a one-point game, Coen Carr raised the State Farm Arena roof.

After Ole Miss grabbed a defensive rebound and tried to hustle down the court, Jeremy Fears Jr. stole Sean Pedulla’s outlet pass, likely saving a transition bucket on the other end of the court.

Fears leapt in the air, intercepted the pass, and quickly threw it to Carr. Carr took two dribbles and a step inside the free-throw line before taking flight, cocking back a vicious left-handed tomahawk slam that sent the arena into a frenzy.

The Spartans rode the momentum from Carr’s dunk to close out a tightly contested 73-70 game over the Rebels, punching their ticket to the Elite 8.

Freshman phenom Jase Richardson led the Spartans with 20 points on an efficient 6-8 shooting night. In Carr’s first start of the season, he finished with 15 points. Jaden Akins, the team’s leading scorer, finished with 13 points.

Pedulla led the Rebels with 24 points. Matthew Murrell added 13 points and Malik Dia finished with 11 points.

The Rebels, despite being two-possession underdogs, hung close with the Spartans for the majority of the game. They built a 10-point lead with four minutes remaining in the first half, but squandered the opportunity to ride the momentum into the half after the Spartans rattled off a 12-4 run to enter halftime down two.

In the second half, both teams battled, forcing eight ties throughout the final frame. After Carr’s electric dunk, the Spartans took the lead after Akins drained tough running jumper.

Michigan State later sealed the game after converting six consecutive free throws after the Rebels started intentionally fouling, maintaining a slim two-possession lead.

With the win, Tom Izzo added an 11th Elite 8 trip to his legendary resume, and will look to reach his ninth Final Four when the Spartans face the top-seeded Auburn Tigers.

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No. 2 Tennessee defeated No. 3 Kentucky

Tennessee routed Kentucky 78-65 to reach their second-consecutive Elite 8.

SLAM cover star Zakai Zeigler led the Vols with a double-double, finishing with 18 points and 10 assists. Fellow cover star Chaz Lanier followed suit with 17 points and Jordan Gainey added 16 points off the bench.

Lamont Butler led the Wildcats with 18 points on an efficient 7-10 shooting night. Amari Williams added 14 points and Otega Oweh finished with 13 points.

The Vols dominated early, outscoring Kentucky 43-28 in the first half and holding the lead for nearly the entire game. Felix Okpara’s layup at the 17:22 mark in the first half gave Tennessee a 4-3 lead that they never looked back on. Kentucky was only out in front for 32 seconds in the game.

Tennessee posted an efficient scoring night, shooting 50.9% from the floor, but struggling from deep. They only cashed in five of their 19 attempts from beyond the arc. However, physical play in the paint drew fouls, creating 20 free throw attempts—which they converted 15 of.

Kentucky shot 49% from the field and 40% from deep but were unable to dig themselves out of the first-half hole.

The Vols will now face the top-seeded Houston Cougars to try and reach their first Final Four in program history.

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No. 1 Auburn defeated No. 5 Michigan

With Michigan holding a nine-point lead in the second half, Auburn went to their spark plug off the bench for instant offense.

SLAM cover star Tahaad Pettiford delivered.

Pettiford immediately cashed a deep triple to cut the deficit to six. He then drove hard into the paint and threw a bullet pass to Denver Jones as he was falling out of bounds. Jones buried the corner three to cut the lead to three.

After Johni Broome made a tough post shot off glass, Auburn had a chance to take the lead. Broome went up for a layup and missed, fighting for the offensive board amidst a sea of players.

The ball found its way into Pettiford’s hands, where he blew past Rubin Jones and swished a go-ahead stepback jumper.

The freshman continued his second-half tear, blowing past Vladislav Goldin for an easy layup and hitting an and-one fadeaway to cap off a 28-6 Auburn run.

Pettiford’s 20 points off the bench helped spark a comeback 78-65 Auburn victory over Michigan, earning the Tigers their third-ever trip to the Elite 8.

Broome posted a double-double, leading the Tigers with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Jones added 20 points and four triples. The Tigers dominated despite Miles Kelly and Chad Baker-Mazara combining for only 11 points.

Danny Wolf led Michigan with 20 points, while Goldin finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Nimari Burnett scored 10 points and grabbed seven boards. Tre Donaldson struggled against his former team, finishing with five points and four turnovers.

Both teams were inefficient from the field, shooting under 40% and under 30% from beyond the arc.

Both teams kept the game close in the first half, with Auburn gaining a one-point advantage at the half after Broome tipped-in his own miss.

After Michigan opened the second half on a 19-9 run, Auburn quickly responded with their own scoring run to pull away late.

Auburn will now face Michigan State with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

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No. 1 Houston defeated No. 4 Purdue

With three seconds remaining in a tied game, Kelvin Sampson drew up the perfect play.

For the entire game, Purdue had left a free defender to help guard the open man on inbound plays, leaving the inbounder open.

So when Braden Smith left Milos Uzan to help defend L.J. Cryer, Uzan quickly inbounded the ball to Joseph Tugler just inside the free-throw line.

Tugler threw a pass right back to a cutting Uzan, where he finished a layup at the rim to give Houston a 62-60 in the final second.

Ballgame.

Uzan’s game-winner helped lead the Cougars to a 62-60 victory, reaching their third Elite 8 under Sampson.

Uzan led the Cougars with 22 points and drained a season-high six triples. Emanuel Sharp followed suit with 17 points. Cryer, Houston’s leading scorer, finished with five points on an inefficient 2-13 shooting night.

Fletcher Loyer led Purdue with 16 points. Trey Kaufman-Renn added 14 points and Smith dished out 15 assists.

Both teams battled in the first half, with Purdue entering halftime with a two-point advantage after Smith made two free throws with zeroes on the clock.

Houston quickly opened the final frame with an 11-1 run, opening up an eight-point lead early. However, Purdue battled, keeping the lead within single digits for the remainder of the half.

Down three with under a minute remaining, Smith missed a triple with the shot. Kaufman-Renn secured the offensive board to extend the possession, which later turned into a game-tying triple from Camden Heide in the corner.

On the ensuing possession, Uzan missed a turnaround jumper. However, with a sea of players fighting for the rebound, the ball fell out of bounds off of Purdue, later setting up the game-winning play.

Houston will now play Tennessee for a chance to advance to their second Final Four under Sampson.

The post Men’s Sweet 16 Closes Out With Four-Game Friday Slate appeared first on SLAM.

The 2025 NCAA Tournament has been electric so far, and as we gear up for the final stages of March Madness, we’ll be tuning in to every men’s and women’s matchup and giving you the rundown while you simultaneously check your bracket.

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

From recaps to player spotlights, here’s all things women’s college hoops.

LSU

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Led by Flau’jae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow and Mikaylah Williams, the LSU women’s basketball are focused and fired up.

READ STORY

ISU

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As one of the most dominant centers in college basketball, Iowa State’s Audi Crooks is commanding the world’s attention.

READ STORY

SC

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MiLaysia Fulwiley, Chloe Kitts and Joyce Edwards tell us exactly how they plan on running it back in the tournament this season.

READ STORY

UCONN

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Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd’s bond led them to UConn and now they’ll look to bring a title back to Storrs during their final run together.

READ STORY

ND

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Notre Dame’s superstar guards Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles are finally playing a season together. The Irish are electrifying this season.

READ STORY

USC

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Prayers for Juju. As her squad rallies during the tournament and supports her amidst a devastating injury, here’s a look back at her cover.

READ STORY

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

The stage is set. Here’s all things men’s college hoops.

UA

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Led by Caleb Love, Jaden Bradley, Trey Townsend, Motiejus Krivas, Carter Bryant and KJ Lewis, the ‘Cats are locked in.

READ STORY

ISU

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The Cyclones have arrived and are on the radar thanks to Curtis Jones and Keshon Gilbert, the best backcourt in the country.

READ STORY

AU

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The road to March has been running through The Plains all season. Auburn is ready to answer the call…

READ STORY

SJU

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Rick Pitino and St. John’s talk getting the program back to prominence and creating a new culture in Queens.

READ STORY

DUKE

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Throwback to when Cooper Flagg announced on our cover that he was headed to the Blue Devils. All season long, Coop has been living up the hype this year…

READ STORY

The post SURVIVE AND ADVANCE: Everything you need to know during the 2025 NCAA Tournament appeared first on SLAM.

Here’s everything you need to know to be caught up on the madness before the final eight teams are all set.

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No. 2 Alabama defeats No. 6 BYU

Nate Oats’ Crimson Tide had boasted the top-ranked scoring offense all season long, averaging around 91.4 points per game.

In the first two rounds, they weren’t able to surpass that mark.

They survived a first-round scare against No. 15 seed Robert Morris, failing to pull away despite shooting 58.3% from the field. They then grinded out a tough win against No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s, the fifth-best scoring defense in the nation. Alabama scored 90 points and 80 points in those games.

But against BYU in the Sweet 16, Nate Oats’ fast-paced, high-scoring shooting offense finally came to life.

Alabama trounced BYU 113-88, setting an NCAA Tournament single-game record with 25 three-pointers and punching their second straight ticket to the Elite 8.

Mark Sears led the Crimson Tide with 34 points and eight assists. The senior guard was unconscious from the floor, draining 10 triples on an efficient 11-18 shooting night. Aden Holloway added 23 points and six threes off the bench while Chris Youngblood drained five shots from beyond the arc to finish with 19 points.

Richie Saunders led the Cougars with 25 points, six boards and four steals. Egor Demin followed suit with 15 points, but struggled from beyond the arc, only cashing in one of his eight attempts.

BYU could not keep up with Alabama’s high-powered offense. The Crimson Tide shot 53% from the field, 49% from beyond the arc and made 18 free throws.

BYU kept the first half deficit within single digits for the first 15 minutes before Alabama pulled away. The Crimson Tide outscored the Cougars 51-40 in the first half and 62-48 in the final frame to close out the game.

Alabama will now face off against Cooper Flagg and Duke for a trip to San Antonio.

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No. 1 Florida defeated No. 4 Maryland

Florida defeated Maryland 87-71 to advance punch their ticket to the Elite 8.

Will Richard led the Gators with 15 points. Alijah Martin and Walter Clayton added 14 and 13 points, and Thomas Haugh and Denzel Aberdeen both logged double-digit scoring numbers off the bench.

Fresh off his buzzer-beater, Maryland freshman phenom Derik Queen finished with 27 points and five boards. Queen also shot a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line. Ja’Kobi Gillespie finished with 17 points and Julian Reese and Rodney Rice each finished with 12 points.

Both teams kept things close in the first half, as Florida entered halftime clinging onto a two-point lead. But in the second half, the Gators started to run away with the game. Five minutes into the final frame, Florida went on a 15-6 run to grab an 11-point lead and never looked back.

Despite Queen’s scoring efforts, including showing off his range for a triple, the Terrapins could not recover. Back-to-back dagger triples from Richard and Aberdeen extended the Gator lead before a barrage of fast-break layups from Haugh and Alex Condon sealed it.

The Gators now play Texas Tech in the Elite 8 with a Final Four berth on the line.

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No. 1 Duke defeated No. 4 Arizona

Cooper Flagg had his March Moment.

The consensus number-one overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft silenced any critics who argued against that label.

Flagg put the team on his back, dropping 30 points, dishing out seven assists and grabbing six rebounds in Duke’s 100-93 victory over Arizona.

Flagg showed it all on the floor. He showcased his elite playmaking ability when he found Khaman Maluach for two alley oops and his ability to shoot on and off the dribble. But Flagg’s range was on full display, especially when he pulled up from 30-feet out to drain a triple at the first-half buzzer.

Fellow freshman Kon Knueppel finished with 20 points while Sion James added 16 points. Maluach finished with 13.

Caleb Love gave another signature March performance, finishing with a team-leading 35 points on an 11-21 shooting night. Jaden Bradley scored 15 points and Henri Veesaar contributed 13 off the bench.

The Blue Devils were proficient on offense, shooting 60% from the field and 57.9% from beyond the arc while making 11 triples. They also converted 23 of their attempts from the free-throw line.

Arizona kept things close, entering halftime facing a six-point deficit. However, the Blue Devils opened up a double-digit lead early into the second half and never looked back.

Duke will now play Alabama in the Elite 8.

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No. 3 Texas Tech defeats No. 10 Arkansas

With seconds left in a tied game, Darrion Williams got the matchup he wanted.

When Arkansas’ Karter Knox switched onto the junior forward, he went to work. Williams backed down the freshman before hitting a drop-step to create separation. His shot banked off the glass and slowly caromed on the rim before falling in.

The Red Raiders then clamped up D.J. Wagner’s game-tying attempt to advance to the Elite 8, securing an 85-83 overtime victory.

Williams finished with 20 points, while Christian Anderson led Texas Tech with 22 points. JT Toppin, the team’s leading scorer, added 20 points and nine rebounds.

Johnell Davis led the Razorbacks with 30 points, including going a perfect 11-11 from the free-throw line. Knox added 20 points and Wagner finished with 13 points.

Arkansas came out the gates hot. They immediately built and 11-point lead 10 minutes into the half and held Texas Tech’s 28th-ranked scoring offense to under double-digits during that time frame.

The Red Raiders gained some momentum back after Williams nailed a triple at the end of the first-half to cut their halftime deficit to seven. However, the single-digit deficit was short-lived.

Arkansas built a 16-point lead with 12 minutes to play after Davis made a three. The Red Raiders quickly bounced back, posting a 20-10 run over eight minutes to cut the lead to six points with just over two minutes to play.

After Anderson made back-to-back triples to cut the lead to three, Tech had a chance to tie. Anderson passed up the shot and found Williams, who drained a three from the right wing to send the game to overtime.

Both teams battled in overtime, posting three lead changes and five ties before Williams hit the game winner.

Tech’s 16-point comeback victory marked the second largest comeback ever in the Sweet 16, and the program’s first Elite 8 appearance since the 2018-19 season, when they lost in the National Championship.

The Red Raiders play Florida with a trip to San Antonio on the line.

The post Everything You Missed From the First Half of the Men’s Sweet 16 appeared first on SLAM.

Down one with just under four seconds left, the Terrapins went to their freshman phenom center and projected NBA Draft pick. Queen caught the inbounds pass near the top of the key, turned the jets on and drove left on Colorado State guard Ethan Morton.

Morton stood his ground, pushing Queen out of the paint. Queen took two steps and faded away, hovering as he let go a shot from the left block just over Morton’s outstretched arm.

His shot banked off the top of the backboard and fell through.

Game.

The Maryland bench and his teammates mobbed him as Colorado State players put their hands over their heads, stunned at what had just transpired.

Queen’s buzzer-beater had prevented Colorado State’s upset bid, elevating the Terrapins to a 72-71 victory and punching their ticket to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

The “Crab Five” showed out, each posting double-digit scoring efforts. Queen led the team with 17 points. Julian Reese posted a double-double, finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Rodney Rice scored 16 points, and Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Selton Miguel contributed 11 points each.

Maryland’s bench only had two points the entire game.

“That was my first game-winner. When Coach drew up the play, my teammates trusted me, he trusted me. I was a little nervous, but I knew I was due for one,” Queen said.

Nique Clifford led the Rams with 21 points. Jalen Lake followed suit with 13 points and Kyan Evans, fresh off a six-triple performance against Memphis, finished with 10 points.

The Rams picked up right where they left off, quickly building a 12-point lead halfway through the first half. After Lake hit a three-pointer to give the Rams a 12-8 lead, they rattled off a 12-4 run to take a 24-12 lead. However, the Terps continued to battle.

Maryland scored 10 consecutive points off two triples by Rice and Miguel and jumpers by Queen and Reese to cut the lead back to single-digits.

Both teams continued to trade buckets till the very end of the half, with Clifford splitting a pair of defenders for a tough lefty layup before the buzzer sounded. Clifford’s layup gave the Rams a seven-point lead heading into halftime.

Maryland quickly built momentum, erasing the halftime deficit after Rice hit an and-one jumper to give the Terps a 49-47 lead.

Both teams continued to battle throughout, logging nine lead changes throughout the second half, with three coming in the last thirty seconds of the game.

With 23 seconds left in a tied game, Miguel fired a three-pointer that was off. Reese skied for a clutch offensive rebound and was fouled by Rashaan Mbemba. He calmly sank two pressure free throws to give Maryland a two-point lead.

On the ensuing possession, Clifford began posting up Miguel before rifling a bullet pass to the wing to Lake. Lake fired a deep three and buried it, sending the Rams bench into a frenzy.

But on the final possession, Queen called game.

The win finally marked a buzzer-beater going the right away from Maryland, who were plagued by devastating losses all season.

On Jan. 16, Nick Martinelli hit a fadeway dagger from the right block to give the Northwestern Wildcats a buzzer-beating 76-74 overtime victory. On Feb. 6, they choked a 17-point lead to the Ohio State Buckeyes after Bruce Thornton banked in a contested three with the shot clock winding down. Later that month, they lost on a half-court heave from Michigan State’s Tre Holloman.

Then, most recently, they let Michigan’s Tre Donaldson go coast-to-coast for a tough layup at the buzzer in the Big Ten semifinal game.

Finally, one shot did go their way when it mattered most.

“Give Colorado State a lot of credit, they’re an excellent basketball team,” head coach Kevin Willard said. “I feel bad that they had to go that way, but I really felt like maybe we were due eventually for one of those to go for us.

That buzzer-beater now sends Maryland to the Sweet 16 to face off against the top-seeded Florida Gators on Thursday.

The post Maryland Survives Upset-Bid From Colorado State on Derik Queen Buzzer-Beater appeared first on SLAM.

They lost in a heartbreaker to conference opponent NC State, who went on a Cinderella run to the Final Four. Proctor struggled in the 76-64 defeat, shooting 0-9 from the field and finished with a zero in the box score.

But in this year’s tournament, Proctor put it all behind him.

He posted a 19-point, five assist night against Mount St. Mary’s in the opening round, but saved his best for the next round.

Against a talented team of draft prospects and veteran players, including Cooper Flagg’s former high school point guard Rob Wright and former Duke guard Jeremy Roach, the Australian junior was unconscious on Sunday afternoon.

Proctor scored a team-high 25 points on 9-10 shooting from the field and drained seven triples to lead the top-seeded Blue Devils to an 89-66 rout over the Baylor Bears, earning a trip to the Sweet 16.

Freshman phenom Cooper Flagg—who graced the cover of SLAM—finished with a near triple-double, posting 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Experts and fans alike can finally agree that it’s safe to say the ankle injury isn’t bothering him anymore.

Kon Knueppel rounded out Duke’s double-digit scorers, dropping 12 points on an efficient 4-5 from the field.

Projected lottery pick VJ Edgecombe led the Bears with 16 points, while Norchad Omier’s consecutive double-double streak of 10 games finally came to a close. The Miami transfer finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. Langston Love and Wright each finished with 11 points and Roach contributed seven points off the bench against his former team.

The game was tightly contested for the majority of the first half. Neither team could pull away from one another, keeping any lead to within single digits. However, the wheels fell off for Baylor towards the end of the opening frame.

With Duke clinging to a 35-30 lead with three minutes left in the first half, the Blue Devils went on a 12-0 run to enter halftime up 17.

Flagg scored a layup, dunk and drained a three, Sion James and Patrick Ngongba made free throws and Caleb Foster hit a jumper to crush any momentum Baylor had.

“When we stick to our defense, stick to our habits, we’re a really hard team to score on. Once we started getting loose balls and rebounds, we could push in transition and play our offense,” Proctor said.

Baylor could never recover from the momentum shift. Duke outscored the Bears 42-36 in the second half, and maintained a double-digit lead for the entire 20 minutes of play.

The Blue Devils dominated on the offensive end, shooting 64.4% from the field and 54.5% from deep. They also converted 19 free throws at an 82.6% clip. On the defensive end, they held the Bears to 36.8% shooting from the field and 32% from deep. They played physical on-ball defense, contesting without fouling, only allowing 10 free throw attempts for Baylor. Only two Baylor players—Omier and Edgecombe—shot above 50% from the field for the game.

“To win by this margin, I think speaks to the level of killer instinct that our guys have, the competitiveness and the connectivity,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said. “Sweet 16 sounds great, we know it’s a quick turnaround, but we’re going to enjoy this one tonight and then get back to it.”

Duke will now face off against a familiar foe donning a different jersey. The Blue Devils will take on Caleb Love and the Arizona Wildcats in the Sweet 16 on Thursday.

The post Duke trounces Baylor 89-66 to advance to the Sweet 16 appeared first on SLAM.

The two legendary coaches both were compared to each other all throughout their career paths, ranging from rebuilding programs into championship contenders in the Northeast, to playing under the bright lights of Rupp Arena with the Kentucky Wildcats.

They’ve met each other nearly 30 times in their illustrious careers, with Calipari holding a 17-12 advantage, including a Final Four victory in 2012 over Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals.

But given the circumstances, this one has to be up there.

Nobody gave the Razorbacks a chance against the red-hot Red Storm. The team had lost leading scorer Adou Thiero with a knee injury and started out their regular season poorly, opening SEC play with an 0-5 record. They suffered devastating close losses to their ranked counterparts, and even gave last-place South Carolina their second SEC win of the year in a 19-point romp.

St. John’s, on the other hand, entered this game with the complete opposite trajectory. Pitino’s squad rattled off 30 wins in the regular season, tied for the most ever in a regular season. They had scoring threats all across their lineup, with RJ Luis Jr. being named Big East Player of the Year.

Billed in as 7.5 point underdogs, Calipari’s Razorbacks pulled off the shock of the tournament, knocking off the St. John’s 75-66, ending the Red Storm’s dream season.

Freshman Billy Richmond led the Razorbacks with a career-high 16 points and nine rebounds while coming off the bench. Freshman Karter Knox finished with 15 points and four blocks, and Johnell Davis added 13 points.

Zuby Ejiofor led the Red Storm with a double-double, posting 23 points and 12 rebounds. Deivon Smith added 13 points off the bench.

Luis, the team’s leading scorer, was held to only nine points on a poor 3-17 shooting night, leading to him being benched for the last minutes of the game.

St. John’s shooting woes were on full display. With the main criticism being a lack of an efficient three-point shooter entering the tournament, the Johnnies silenced all critics by draining 14 triples at a 37.8% clip en route to a 30-point blowout of the Omaha Mavericks in the first round.

Saturday afternoon could not have been more different.

The Red Storm shot a dismal 9.1% from beyond the arc, only hitting two of their 22 attempts from beyond the arc. They didn’t fare better from the floor, making 28% of their shots from the field.

The Razorbacks defense held Kadary Richmond and Luis to a combined 14 points on 5-24 shooting. Their relentless burst and drives to the paint racked up Richmond’s foul count, with the graduate student eventually fouling out after only 16 minutes of game time.

“They were the better team. They outplayed us and they deserve to move on, and we don’t,” Pitino said.

Arkansas didn’t fare much better. The Razorbacks shot 10.5% from beyond the arc, nailing only two triples. However, they found better efficiency in the field, primarily the paint, shooting 42.9%.

The Razorbacks got off an efficient start, building a lead early and attacking St. John’s in the paint to draw fouls or finish layups at the rim.

St. John’s struggled to score with efficiency despite extending possessions with 28 offensive rebounds. The paint presence of Knox and Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo forced difficult putback looks and created numerous possessions of Red Storm players firing multiple layups at the rim that never fell.

“There are some games we played this year where the other team said ‘that was a physical team,'” Calipari said. “I told them it reminded me of that. I know St. John’s is physical, but we’re physical too.”

Arkansas took a three-point lead into the half after freshman Boogie Fland made a layup with seconds remaining in the opening frame. In his return from a thumb injury, Fland finished with six points and four rebounds.

The Razorbacks took that momentum in the second half, building a double-digit lead after rattling off a 14-6 run capped off by an Aidoo and-one.

St. John’s played catchup for the remainder of the half, eventually cutting the lead to four with just over four minutes to play.

After Billy Richmond sank a mid-range jumper to bring Arkansas’ lead back to four off a flare, Fland stole the ball, leading to a D.J. Wagner layup to extend the lead to six.

St. John’s entered panic mode, firing contested threes that caromed off the rim. Despite grabbing two offensive rebounds in a single possession, the Red Storm failed to gain ground on the lead, as Aaron Scott missed two free throws that would have cut the lead to four.

Scott, Smith and Luis, St. John’s three-leading sharpshooters, combined to go 1-11 from beyond the arc. Scott struggled mightly from the field, shooting 1-10 and mustering seven points off one triple and free throws.

As the team continued to rain missed threes, Knox and Davis made their free throws once St. John’s began intentionally fouling to close out the game.

When Billy Richmond was fouled with four seconds left, both teams could feel the result. The Arkansas bench and players ran to their side of the court, leaping as they raised their hands.

Pitino had already made his way to half court to shake hands with his nemesis before the final buzzer sounded.

With the win, Calipari advanced to his 16th Sweet 16 and became the second coach in Division I history to take four different schools to the Sweet 16. Calipari took a UMass team with Marcus Camby to the Final Four, a Derrick Rose-led Memphis squad to the National Championship and countless Kentucky teams to deep runs in the tournament.

He can now add the Razorbacks’ team-effort in his debut season.

“We had a long up-and-down season, so we just all came together, put our egos to the side and just became one heartbeat like (Coach Calipari) said and just play a fearless 40 (minutes),” Billy Richmond said.

Arkansas will now play Texas Tech and JT Toppin in the Sweet 16.

The post Arkansas Shocks St. John’s to Advance to the Sweet 16 appeared first on SLAM.

Here’s everything you need to know to be caught up on the madness so far heading into the round of 32.

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No. 9 Baylor defeated No. Mississippi State

Baylor defeated Mississippi State in a 75-72 game that came down to the wire.

Freshman facilitator Rob Wright led the Bears with 19 points, while Langston Love added 15. Miami transfer Norchad Omier posted a double-double, dropping 12 points and grabbing 10 boards.

However, off all the Bears, the nation was introduced to VJ Edgecombe, a projected lottery pick in the NBA Draft. On the NBA’s mock draft, experts project Edgecombe to be drafted third overall.

On the biggest stage of his career, Edgecombe showed the flashes of his potential, dropping 14 points and grabbing five boards. The freshman guard showcased his explosiveness, slicing into the paint to draw fouls—good for six free throws—and his sharpshooting ability with a team-leading two triples.

Josh Hubbard led Mississippi State with a game-high 26 points. Claudell Harris Jr. added 13 points and Riley Kugel contributed 11 points off the bench.

The game was evenly matched, coming down to the wire. After Edgecombe calmly sank two free throws to give Baylor a three-point lead, Harris had the chance to tie the game with seconds remaining, but came up short.

The Bulldogs outshot the Bears, making 50% of their shots from the field, but were doomed by turnovers. Baylor played handsy defense, logging 10 steals in the game. Mississippi State’s 14 turnovers turned into 15 points for Baylor, the difference in the game.

Baylor will now play Duke in the round of 32, a revenge game for Bears point guard Jeremy Roach and a reunion of between high school teammates Wright and phenom Cooper Flagg.

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No. 2 Alabama defeated No. 15 Robert Morris

Grant Nelson was the X-Factor in Alabama’s win over the No. 1 seeded North Carolina Tar Heels in last year’s NCAA Tournament.

He made fought for a tough and-one layup that gave Alabama the lead with 39 seconds to play. He then sank two free throws to ice the game for the Crimson Tide.

This year, Nelson came to the rescue again.

Nursing a leg injury, Nelson came off the bench and immediately provided a spark. He threw down a ferocious alley-oop to put Alabama out in front with under 10 minutes left in the second half, and played stellar defense. In Nelson’s seven minutes of game time, the NDSU transfer finished with five points, three rebounds and a steal.

That spark propelled Alabama to avoiding a first-round upset against Robert Morris, defeating the Colonials 90-81.

Mark Sears finished with a double-double to lead the Crimson Tide, dropping 22 points and dishing out 10 assists. Clifford Omoruyi scored a season-high 17 points and Mouhamed Dioubate an 18 point, 10 rebound double-double off the bench.

Alabama’s star freshman guard Labaron Philon finished with his lowest scoring output of the season, sinking only one free throw while dishing out eight assists.

Amarion Dickerson led the Colonials with 25 points and Alvaro Folgueiras posted a 15 point, 10 rebound double-double.

Alabama’s top-ranked scoring offense lived up to the hype, shooting 58.6% from the field. However, the Crimson Tide struggled from beyond the arc, shooting only 28.6% from beyond the arc.

Robert Morris kept up with Alabama’s high offensive pace, taking a four-point deficit into halftime, and eventually gaining the lead with seven minutes to play.

However, Nelson’s contributions kicked off a 24-16 run, which allowed Alabama to close out the game.

Alabama will play Saint Mary’s in the round of 32.

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No. 3 Iowa State defeated No. 14 Lipscomb

Iowa State routed Lipscomb 82-55.

Despite losing star guard Keshon Gilbert for the tournament, the Cyclone offense dominated.

Milan Momcilovic led Iowa State with 20 points while Curtis Jones, the team’s leading-scorer, finished with 17 points off the bench. Joshua Jefferson nearly posted a triple-double, finishing with 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Jacob Ognacevic, the ASUN Player of the Year, finished with a team-leading 18 points. Gyasi Powell followed suit with 11 points. Ognacevic and Powell were the only two double-digit scorers for the Bison.

Iowa State ran away with the game from the start. After Lipscomb took a 16-15 lead halfway into the first half, Iowa State recaptured the lead and never looked back.

The Cyclones outscored the Bison 40-24 in the first half, and later 42-31 in the second half.

The Cyclones will now play Ole Miss in the round of 32.

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No. 12 Colorado State upsets No. 5 Memphis

Despite the lower seeding, the Colorado State Rams were favored over the Memphis Tigers in their first round matchup.

Riding the momentum from their Mountain West Tournament run, the Rams played up to that expectation.

Colorado State put on a three-point shooting clinic to pull off the upset against Memphis, 78-70.

Kyan Evans led the Rams with 23 points. He was deadly from beyond the arc, cashing six triples. Nique Clifford, the team’s leading scorer, finished with a near-triple double, logging 14 points, eight boards and six assists.

Dain Dainja led the Tigers with a double-double, scoring 22 points and grabbing 12 boards. Wooden Award candidate PJ Haggerty and Colby Rogers each followed suit with 18 points.

The game was a back-and-forth affair, with numerous lead changes in the first half. Memphis entered halftime with a five-point lead, but quickly saw the Rams tie the game up five minutes into the second half, going on a 17-12 run.

After Clifford drilled a jumper to give the Rams a 50-48 lead, Colorado State never looked back.

Memphis was doomed by their inefficient shooting from beyond the arc. The Tigers shot 26.1% from deep and only converted on 70% of their free-throw attempts. The Tigers also struggled with foul trouble, logging 20 personal fouls that turned into 19 Ram free-throws.

Colorado State continued their three-point barrage, nailing 11 triples total. This was the third consecutive game in which the Rams have made 10 or more three-pointers.

The Rams will now play Maryland in the round of 32.

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No. 1 Duke defeated No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s

The overall storyline for the Duke Blue Devils heading into the first round was the health of freshman phenom Cooper Flagg.

Flagg’s performance all but erased that narrative.

The potential top overall pick in the NBA Draft immediately took off, converting an and-one and scoring in the paint. To cap it off, Flagg caught an alley-oop from Patrick Ngongba and threw down a thunderous slam to send the crowd into a frenzy.

No problem with the ankle there.

Flagg finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks to help lead the Blue Devils to a 93-49 rout over Mount St. Mary’s.

Tyrese Proctor led the Blue Devils with 19 points and freshman center Khaman Maluach went a perfect 5-5 from the field, finishing with 11 points.

Arlandus Keyes led the Mountaineers with 15 points off the bench. Keyes was the only Mountaineer to post double-digit scoring numbers.

Duke ran away with this game from the beginning, building a 26-point halftime lead before closing out the game in the second half. The Blue Devils shot 50% from the field and splashed 14 triples in the game.

Duke will now play Baylor and fellow projected lottery pick VJ Edgecombe in the round of 32.

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No. 7 Saint Mary’s defeated No. 10 Vanderbilt

Randy Bennett wasn’t going to led his Gaels be a first-round exit again.

After falling in a shock upset to Grand Canyon last year, the Gaels appeared to be on upset watch again. Playing a tough Vanderbilt team appearing in their first NCAA Tournament since 2017, the Commodores started out hot, jumping out to a 12-point lead.

However, the Gaels dug deep, relying on their elite defense to get the job done.

In a gritty comeback win, Saint Mary’s erased a 12-point deficit to secure a comeback 59-56 victory over Vanderbilt.

Jordan Ross led the Gaels with 15 points, while Augustas Marciulionis added 14 points and eight rebounds. Mitchell Saxen and Luke Barrett both recorded double-doubles, with Saxen posting 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Barrett posting 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Jason Edwards led the Commodores with 18 points. He was the only Vanderbilt player to finish the game in double-digit scoring.

Vanderbilt jumped out to an early lead, and carried a seven-point 29-22 lead into the half. They immediately opened the second frame with a 10-5 run, building up a 12-point lead.

However, the Gaels heated up. They responded with a 16-4 run off of a pair of Ross triples and Saxen layups. At the seven minute mark in the second half, Marciulionis hit a three to give the Gaels a lead they wouldn’t look back on.

With 30 seconds left, Saxen had a chance to the ice the game with two free throws, but split the pair, giving Vanderbilt a chance to tie the game with a three.

With the clock running down, Devin McGlockton pulled up from the corner, but saw his game-tying attempt clank off the rim.

Despite an inefficient shooting night, the Gaels knocked down seven triples, which helped them erase the deficit and pull off the comeback victory.

Saint Mary’s will now play Alabama in the round of 32.

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No. 6 Ole Miss defeated No. 11 North Carolina

With momentum favoring North Carolina with a minute to play, the Rebels turned to their go-to man.

Sean Pedulla, who had recently hit a dagger three to send Arkansas packing in the SEC Tournament, took a handoff from Jaemyn Brakefield. He faked dribbling to the corner and spotted up a three.

He cashed it, just like he had done a week prior. As Pedulla emphatically threw down the three logo to the Ole Miss bench, his dagger three elevated the Rebels’ lead to five with under a minute to play.

With the team closing out the game, the Rebels secured their first tournament win since 2015 by defeating North Carolina 71-64.

Pedulla’s 20 points led the Rebels, while Dre Davis added 15 points and eight rebounds. Brakefield also contributed 12 points off the bench.

RJ Davis scored 15 points to lead the Tar Heels in his final collegiate game. Ven-Allen Lubin added 14 points, but later fouled out in the game.

The Tar Heels were dominated for most of the game, failing to ever capture the lead. Ole Miss opened the game up hot, posting a double-digit lead and carrying an 18-point lead into the half.

However, the Tar Heels battled back. Down 13 points with eight minutes to play, the Tar Heels went on a 14-3 run to cut the lead to two points, capped off by a Davis and-one that sent Kevin Harlan and the crowd into a frenzy.

Pedulla’s three silenced the crowd, and helped the Rebels close out the game.

The Rebels were the more efficient team, shooting 44.4% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc. North Carolina struggled to find efficiency, as they only made five triples in 24 attempts.

Ole Miss will now play Iowa State in the round of 32.

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No. 4 Maryland defeated No. 13 Grand Canyon

Maryland routed Grand Canyon 81-49 to advance the “Crab Five” to the round of 32.

Julian Reese led the Terps with 18 points, while freshman phenom Derik Queen posted a dominant 12 point, 15 rebound double-double. Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 16 points and Selton Miguel scored 13.

Tyon Grant-Foster led the Lopes with 23 points. He was the only Grand Canyon player to score more than six points in the game.

Maryland dominated for the entire game. The Terps shot 50.8% from the field and rained down seven triples at a 43.8% clip on the Grand Canyon defense.

The defense held Grand Canyon to 28.6% shooting from the field and 21.7% from beyond the arc.

Grand Canyon grabbed an early five-point lead in the first half. However, a Gillespie jumper eight minutes into the opening frame gave Maryland a lead they would never look back on.

The Terps took a 14-point lead into the half and then outscored the Lopes 39-21 in the final frame to close out the game.

Maryland will take on Colorado State in the round of 32.

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No. 1 Florida defeated No. 16 Norfolk State

Florida routed Norfolk State 95-69 to earn their first tournament win since the 2021.

Walter Clayton Jr. led the Gators with 23 points on an efficient 6-11 shooting night and Alijah Martin added 17 points. Alex Condon dropped 12 points and added two steals and two blocks, and Thomas Haugh contributed 13 points off the bench.

Christian Ings led the Spartans with 16 points and Jaylani Darden added 15 points and six boards. Chris Fields Jr. contributed 14 points off the bench on an efficient 7-12 night.

Florida dominated the entire game. Their defense held the Spartans to 14.3% shooting from beyond the arc and forced 12 turnovers.

On offense, the Gators shot 48.3% from the field and knocked down 10 triples. They drove hard into the paint, drawing 24 Spartan fouls. Those fouls turned into 33 free-throw attempts, of which the Gators converted 27.

Norfolk State trailed the entire game.

The Gators will now play the two-time defending National Champion UConn Huskies in the round of 32.

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No. 3 Kentucky defeated No. 14 Troy

Kentucky routed Troy 76-57 to kick off the Mark Pope era in the NCAA Tournament

Otega Oweh nearly put up a triple-double, scoring a team-high 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Elite sharpshooter Koby Brea, Andrew Carr and Brandon Garrison each contributed 13 points.

Myles Rigsby scored 17 points to lead the Trojans and Tayton Conerway added 12 points. Rigsby and Conerway were the only two Trojans to finish with double-digit scoring numbers. Sophomore forward Thomas Dowd, the team’s third-leading scorer, was held scoreless. However, Dowd did contribute on the glass, grabbing 11 rebounds.

Kentucky dominated throughout, taking an eight-point lead into the half before outscoring the Trojans 41-30 in the final frame to close out the game.

The Wildcats’ offense clicked, shooting 47.5% from the field and 38.5% from beyond the arc. Kentucky knocked down 10 threes, with Brea knocking down a team-high three triples.

Kentucky’s defense held Troy to 8-32 shooting from beyond the arc and 34.9% from the field.

The Wildcats will now play Illinois in the round of 32.

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No. 10 New Mexico defeated No. 7 Marquette

New Mexico defeated Marquette 75-66.

The Lobos’ two-headed monster of Donovan Dent and Nelly Junior Joseph excelled on the big stage, combining for 40 points. Tru Washington added 12 points and CJ Noland contributed 11 points off the bench.

David Joplin led the Golden Eagles with 28 points, while Kam Jones added 15 points in what was likely his final collegiate game.

The game was a back-and-forth affair, with New Mexico holding a slim three-point lead at the half. However, the Lobos pulled away in the second half. After being deadlocked at 53, the Lobos rattled off a 17-8 run, building a nine-point advantage with a little over a minute to play.

Marquette was unable to catch up and surrendered another devastating loss.

Poor shooting doomed the Golden Eagles, who converted on 40.7% of their shots from the field and 36.7% of their threes. However, despite winning the turnover margin 13-12, Marquette failed to capitalize on the opportunities. New Mexico scored 21 points off of the Marquette turnovers, which became the difference-maker in the game.

The Lobos will now play Michigan State in the round of 32.

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No. 4 Arizona defeated No. 13 Akron

Arizona routed Akron 93-65.

Jaden Bradley scored 19 points to lead the Wildcats while Oakland transfer Trey Townsend added 16 points and eight rebounds. Caleb Love scored 10 points, while Carter Bryant and KJ Lewis contributed a combined 22 points off the bench.

Tavari Johnson and Nate Johnson both scored 13 points to lead the Zips. Shammah Scott contributed 11 points off the bench.

Arizona dominated the entire game, as the Zips failed to take the lead at any point in the game.

The Wildcats put on a clinic, draining 12 three-pointers at a 48% clip and shooting 56.5% from the field. They held the Zips in check, holding them to 33.3% shooting from the field and only allowing seven three-pointers.

Arizona took a 10-point lead into the half and later outscored Akron 52-34 in the final frame to close out the game.

Arizona will now play their former Pac-12 rival Oregon in the round of 32.

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No. 8 UConn defeated No. 9 Oklahoma

Projected lottery pick Jeremiah Fears went out with a bang. In likely his last collegiate game, the freshman guard showcased his whole bag.

He started early with an explosive drive to the basket that immediately drew free throws and followed it up with another tough lefty layup.

He then continued his scoring tear, draining a triple and hitting a highlight reel 360 layup that left Jaylin Stewart in the dust.

Fears finished the game with a game-high 20 points, adding five boards, four assists and two steals as well. A true one man show.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Dan Hurley’s veteran UConn squad took down the Sooners 67-59 in a back-and-forth affair.

Solo Ball led the Huskies with 14 points and Alex Karaban added 13 points. Tarris Reed Jr. lived up to his Big East Sixth Man of the Year Award by contributing 12 points off the bench.

Jalon Moore finished with 13 points and seven rebounds for Oklahoma. No other Sooner posted double-digit scoring numbers.

The Sooners fell behind early and struggled to gain any momentum. UConn outscored the Sooners 32-26 in the first half, and matched every bucket the Sooners made.

In the second half, Oklahoma battled back, taking the lead off of a Mohamed Wague tip-shot. However, it lasted 17 seconds. UConn quickly took the lead back on a Ball pull-up jumper and never looked back.

Oklahoma brought the lead down to four points with two minutes to play, but the Huskies defense only allowed a single Sooner point in that final frame.

The Sooners struggled with efficient shooting from beyond the arc, knocking down only 17.6% of their threes. UConn didn’t fare much better, shooting 24% from deep, but were far more efficient from the rest of the field.

UConn will now play Florida in the round of 32.

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No. 6 Illinois defeated No. 11 Xavier

Illinois defeated Xavier 86-73.

Will Riley led the Fighting Illini with 22 points on an efficient 8-12 night. He also knocked down three triples. Tomislav Ivisic recorded a double-double, posting 20 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman phenom Kasparas Jakucionis finished with a 16 point, 10 assist double-double.

Dailyn Swain led the Musketeers with 27 points, while Dayvion McKnight and Ryan Conwell both added 12 points. Zach Freemantle, Xavier’s leading scorer, struggled. Freemantle was held to five points on 2-9 shooting.

The game was tight for the majority of the first half, with Illinois taking a five-point lead into halftime.

However, after building up a double-digit lead in the second half, Xavier began to regain momentum, slicing the deficit to eight points.

The Musketeers looked to continue their momentum after Jakucionis missed a three. However, Kylan Boswell soared for the offensive board who quickly swung a pass out to Riley, who promptly drilled a dagger three.

Illinois later closed out the game to advance to the round of 32 to face Kentucky.

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No. 2 Michigan State defeated No. 15 Bryant

Michigan State survived an early scare against upset-minded Bryant, defeating the Bulldogs 87-62.

Coen Carr led the Spartans with 18 points. However, his nine rebound performance put on a show. Carr grabbed four offensive rebounds and threw down thunderous dunks, showcasing his incredible vertical. Carr continuously attacked the paint, finishing tough layups and drawing fouls on an efficient 7-10 night.

Alongside Carr, Tre Holloman contributed 14 points off the bench, and Jase Richardson finished with 15.

Rafael Pinzon led the Bulldogs with 21 points and Earl Timberlake added 14 points. Barry Evans, the team’s third-leading scorer, only managed seven points on a tough 3-7 shooting night.

The Bulldogs kept the game close early, entering halftime in a five-point hole. However, the Spartans quickly built a double-digit lead behind a pair of Richardson triples and never looked back. They used an 18-9 run to build a 19-point lead, and closed out the game comfortably.

The Spartans, who had struggled with three-point shooting in the regular season, proved the doubters wrong. They drained 10 triples at a 38.5% clip and shot 44.3% from the field. Their defense tightened up, only allowing Bryant to sink five three-pointers, well below their average of around eight per game.

With the win, Michigan State now plays New Mexico in the round of 32.

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No. 5 Oregon defeated No. 12 Liberty

In the last game of the first round, Oregon routed Liberty 81-52.

Jackson Shelstad led the Ducks with 17 points, while Keeshawn Barthelemy added 10 more. Center Nate Bittle finished with a double-double, logging 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Zach Cleveland led Liberty with 10 points. He was the only Flame to post double-digit scoring numbers in the game.

Oregon dominated in every category, shooting 54.4% from the field and 47.6% from beyond the arc. Their defense held a fast-paced Liberty offense to 32.8% shooting from the field and 21.6% from beyond the arc. Oregon also forced 12 turnovers, which turned into 17 Oregon points.

Oregon led the entire game, opening up the first half on an 18-2 run. Liberty was unable to cut the lead down to single-digits at any point afterwards.

The Ducks carried a 44-20 halftime lead, and later outscored the Flames 37-32 in the second half to secure the win.

Oregon will now play former Pac-12 rival Arizona in the round of 32.

The post Everything You Missed From Friday’s March Madness Slate appeared first on SLAM.

Here’s everything you need to know to be caught up on the madness so far heading into Friday’s slate of games.

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No. 9 Creighton defeated No. 8 Louisville 89-75

As a light drizzle passed over Lexington, a downpour of threes pelted Rupp Arena.

Everything the Creighton Bluejays put up in their opening round clash with the Louisville Cardinals seemed to fall through.

After the game was deadlocked at 15, the Bluejays began firing from deep. With snipers at nearly every offensive position, Creighton immediately built a double-digit lead solely on three-pointers from Steven Ashworth, Jamiya Neal and Jackson McAndrew.

When halftime rolled around, the Cardinals found themselves in a 15-point hole. Creighton had drained nine first-half triples.

The energy carried over into the second half. On Creighton’s first possession, Kalkbrenner faked a screen for Neal. Neal pitched it back to the reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

Kalkbrenner stepped into a three and drilled it, summing up how the game went for the Bluejays—they simply couldn’t miss.

Neal led Creighton with a double-double, recording 29 points on 11-16 shooting and grabbing 12 rebounds. Neal finished four assists shy of a triple-double. Ashworth added 22 points, and Kalkbrenner, one of the premier shot-blockers in college hoops, tallied four blocks and 14 points.

Chucky Hepburn led the Cardinals with 22 points, while Terrence Edwards Jr. added 21. Creighton’s defense held Reyne Smith, one of the premier sharpshooters in the nation, to five points on one-made three.

Despite the disappointing end, Louisville looks to have a bright future under head coach Pat Kelsey, who orchestrated a 19-win turnaround in his first season with the program.

Creighton will move on to face off against No. 1 Auburn, the top overall seed in the tournament.

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No. 4 Purdue defeated No. 13 High Point

On Selection Sunday, High Point was a popular pick to pull off a shock upset against last year’s runners-up. For most of the game, that seemed like a possibility.

Both teams battled for the first 18 minutes of the half, until the Boilermakers shifted the momentum.

Up 31-25, Camden Heide missed a three-pointer. The ball caromed off the rim, and Myles Colvin crashed the glass hard, throwing down a ferocious jam that sent the bench into a frenzy.

Colvin then stole the ball from High Point’s Terry Anderson and sprinted towards the basket. His layup barely missed.

But Heide, with shades of his electric slam in last year’s National Championship, threw down a two-handed putback jam.

Back-to-back slams.

Purdue rode the energy to a 10-point halftime lead.

Purdue took that momentum into the second half. They tightened up on offense, matching High Point’s high-powered offense by outscoring the Panthers 38-36 in the second half to secure the dub.

Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with a team-leading 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith finished with 20 points, and Heide recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards.

D’Maurian Williams led the Panthers with 12 points and Trae Benham added 11 points. Williams and Benham were the only two High Point players to score double-digit points.

The Boilermakers dominated the glass, grabbing 19 offensive rebounds and 45 total, outrebounding High Point by 21.

The Panthers outshot the Boilermakers from deep 10-5, but recorded 20 personal fouls. Those fouls turned into 22 free throws for Purdue, of which they converted 14, the difference in the game.

Purdue will now play the upset-minded McNeese State Cowboys and their manager Amir Khan in the round of 32.

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No. 3 Wisconsin defeated No. 14 Montana

The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Montana Grizzlies 85-66.

John Blackwell led the Badgers will 19 points. Steven Crowl added 18 and John Tonje, the team’s leading scorer, finished with 15 points.

The Badgers had five players crack double-digit scoring, with Nolan Winter adding 10 points and six boards, while Xavier Amos dropped 11 off the bench.

Te’Jon Sawyer and Kai Johnson finished with 15 points each to lead the Grizzlies.

The Badgers were efficient on the offensive end, shooting 55.4% from the field and 80% from the free throw line on 20 attempts.

While Montana kept the game close, cutting the lead to four in the second half, the Badgers pulled away, outscoring the Grizzlies 45-34 in the final frame.

Wisconsin will now play BYU in the round of 32.

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No. 1 Houston defeated No. 16 SIU Edwardsville

Houston defeated SIU Edwardsville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in a 78-40 rout.

Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan led Houston with 16 points, while L.J. Cryer added 15 points on four three-pointers.

The Cougars had four double-digit scorers, with Ja’Vier Francis and Terrance Arceneaux adding 13 and 10 points respectively off the bench.

Brian Taylor II and Ray’Sean Taylor led SIU Edwardsville with 10 points each.

Houston dominated, grabbing an early lead three minutes into the game and never looking back. The Cougars led by 40 points in the second half at one point, their largest of the game.

Houston’s defense held the Cougars to 30.6% shooting from the field, and 2-24 from beyond the arc. The Cougars’ offensive output of 40 points was their fewest points scored in a game all season.

Taylor II and Taylor were the only SIU Edwardsville players to crack double-digit scoring.

Houston will look to lock up Gonzaga’s second-ranked scoring offense on Saturday in the round of 32.

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No. 1 Auburn defeated No. 16 Alabama State

The Auburn Tigers defeated the Alabama State Hornets 83-63.

Miles Kelly led the Tigers with 23 points, his second-highest scoring night of the season. National Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome finished with a double-double, dropping 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Freshman phenom Tahaad Pettiford added 16 points and five assists and boards.

Amarr Knox, who scored the game-winning layup in the Hornets’ First Four game, led the team with 18 points. TJ Madlock followed suit with 11 points. Knox and Madlock were the only two Hornets players who finished with double-digit points.

The Tigers struggled to pull away early, with the Hornets erasing a double-digit deficit into a one-possession game with a little over a minute to play in the first half.

However, Auburn outscored the Hornets 42-32 in the second half to close out the game.

Auburn’s defense stepped up, holding the Hornets to 37.1% shooting from the field and 24% from deep.

They will try to carry that defensive over to a red-hot Creighton team who shot the Louisville Cardinals out of Rupp Arena,

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No. 12 McNeese upset No. 5 Clemson

Amir Khan’s aura could be felt throughout the Amica Mutual Pavilion walls.

The McNeese State basketball manager was everywhere, from signs in the crowd to socks on the cheerleaders.

When Khan led the walkout, equipped with his customized speaker draped around his neck and surrounded by his teammates singing, the makings of an upset were set.

The Cowboys took the energy to the court, jumping out to a massive lead early, and holding on to secure a 69-67 upset victory over the Clemson Tigers.

Brandon Murray led the Cowboys with 21 points off the bench, and Quadir Copeland added 16 more. Christian Shumate recorded a double-double, finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Jaeden Zackery led the Tigers with 24 points, and Chase Hunter finished with 21 in the final game of his collegiate career. Ian Schieffelin and Viktor Lakhin, Clemson’s second and fourth leading scorers, finished with a combined seven points.

The Cowboys clamped up early, holding the Tigers to 13 points in the first half alone, while scoring 31. The Tigers only made five field goals in the first half.

In the second half, McNeese appeared to have control of the game. The Cowboys maintained a double-digit for most of the half, logging a 17-point advantage with just over four minutes to play.

However, the veteran Tigers weren’t going to go down without a fight. The Tigers drained five triples in the final two minutes of the game, miraculously cutting the previous 24-point McNeese lead into a one possession game with under a minute to go.

However, Garcia made one of his two free throws to ice the game with a four point lead.

Despite the dominant beginning, the Cowboys shot inefficiently from deep and from the free-throw line. They went 4-19 from beyond the arc and 11-22 from the free-throw line.

Clemson didn’t fare better, shooting 36.8% from the field and 30% from beyond the arc on 30 attempted triples. However, they were efficient from the free-throw line, knocking down 16 of their 19 attempted shots.

Despite the dramatic comeback, the hole they dug themselves in the first half doomed them.

With the win, Wade earned his first NCAA Tournament win since the 2020-21 season, when he coached the LSU Tigers. The victory marked the first tournament win in McNeese’s program history.

The Cowboys move on to play last year’s runners-up, the Purdue Boilermakers in the round of 32.

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No. 6 BYU defeated No. 11 VCU

For the third straight time, the BYU Cougars earned a No. 6 seed in the Big Dance. For the past two years, they fell to a No. 11 seed.

In the 2020-21 season, a scrappy UCLA team led by Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez rolled past them. Then last year, the A-10 Champion Duquesne Dukes pulled off a shocking upset.

However, the third time was the charm.

With program legend Jimmer Fredette in attendance, BYU silenced any critics who labeled them on “upset alert” by defeating the VCU Rams 80-71.

Richie Saunders led the Cougars with 16 points and Egor Demin added 15 points. Fousseyni Traore added 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench.

Zeb Jackson led the Rams with 23 points off the bench. Jack Clark, Max Shulga and Joe Bamisile each added 12 points of their own.

The Rams outshot the Cougars in the game, draining 15 triples to BYU’s seven. However, VCU doomed themselves by getting into foul trouble. The Rams committed 23 personal fouls, which turned into 19 points for the Cougars at the charity stripe, the difference in the game.

BYU took an 11 point lead into the half. The Rams were unable to recover, having only led for the first two minutes of the game.

The victory marked first-year head coach Kevin Young’s first ever tournament win in his career.

The Cougars will now take on Wisconsin in the round of 32.

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No. 8 Gonzaga defeated No. 9 Georgia

On Selection Sunday, experts and analytics believed Gonzaga was better than their seeding showed. On Thursday, they played like it.

The Zags rolled through Georgia’s defense, routing the Bulldogs 89-68.

Khalif Battle led Gonzaga with 24 points on 9-13 shooting, while Nolan Hickman and Braden Huff each added 18 points. Gonzaga’s leading scorer Graham Ike finished with 13 points.

Georgia freshman Asa Newell led the Bulldogs with 20 points. Silas Demary Jr. also added 15 points and a team-leading four assists. In what could be Newell’s final collegiate game, the potential NBA lottery pick went out with a bang.

Newell showed finesse and his bag against veteran Gonzaga defenders Ike and Huff, shooting 60% from the field and 8-10 from the free-throw line. Newell added eight boards to his statline. The NBA’s mock draft has him currently going 12th overall, but his stock can still rise.

The Zags dominated early, jumping out to a double-digit lead off of a 13-0 run. Georgia entered halftime in a 21-point hole and never recovered.

Gonzaga’s second-ranked scoring offense showed out. The team shot 60% from beyond the arc and 55% from the field. The team made 12 triples, with four of those coming from Battle, who earned approval from the boss.

With the victory, Zags coach Mark Few earned his 44th tournament win and 16th-consecutive opening round victory.

Gonzaga will now square off against No. 1 Houston, in what is shaping up to be a battle of two premier college basketball programs and coaches.

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No. 2 Tennessee defeated No. 15 Wofford

The Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Wofford Terriers 77-62.

Chaz Lanier led the Volunteers with 29 points and Zakai Zeigler recorded a double-double, dropping 12 points and dishing out 12 dimes.

Lanier’s scoring ability was on full display, draining six three-pointers and making tough fadeaway jumpers off the dribble. Lanier’s 29 points were the most the North Florida transfer scored since Tennessee’s Feb. 22 win against Texas A&M.

Jackson Sivills led the Terriers with 15 points and Corey Tripp added 14 points. The Terriers finished the game with four double-digit scorers.

Wofford outshot the Vols from deep, draining 11 triples to Tennessee’s 10. However, turnovers and 20 fouls held them back. Tennessee earned 22 free throw attempts from those fouls, which turned in 15 points.

The Vols now move on to play UCLA in the round of 32.

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No. 10 Arkansas defeated No. 7 Kansas

In the battle of premier coaches, John Calipari emerged on top.

In what was billed as a battle between Bill Self and Calipari, Calipari’s Razorbacks defeated Self’s Kansas Jayhawks 79-72.

Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo led the Razorbacks with 22 points. Trevon Brazile posted a double-double, dropping 11 points and recording 12 rebounds. FAU transfer Johnell Davis added 18 points and Kentucky transfer D.J. Wagner finished with 14 points.

Zeke Mayo led the Jayhawks with 18 points, while AJ Storr contributed 15 points off the bench. Star center Hunter Dickinson finished out his collegiate career with 11 points and nine rebounds, and KJ Adams Jr., who injured his achilles in the game, dropped 13.

Kansas outshot the Razorbacks from beyond the arc and the three-point line, draining eight triples and 14 free throws. Arkansas struggled with three-point efficiency, only making 25% of their attempts from beyond the arc.

Despite the higher efficiency, Kansas turned the ball over 16 times, which proved to be the difference-maker in the game.

Calipari will now face off against a former rival, Rick Pitino and the St. John’s Red Storm.

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No. 4 Texas A&M defeated No. 13 Yale

On Selection Sunday, this game was deja vu.

Last year, the Yale Bulldogs won the Ivy League title and squared off with the Auburn Tigers, a solid SEC squad. Behind John Poulakidas and Danny Wolf, the team battled and upset the Tigers 78-76.

This year, Yale, led by Poulakidas was billed to play Texas A&M. Same seeding. Same conference opponent.

The only difference—the result.

Texas A&M took care of business, defeating Yale 80-71.

Pharrel Payne led the Aggies with an efficient double-double, dropping 25 points on 10-12 shooting and grabbing 10 boards. Payne’s 25 points were a career high for the junior forward. Star guard Wade Taylor IV finished with 16 points, and Jace Carter added 10 more.

Poulakidas, the kryptonite of Auburn in last year’s tournament, finished with 23 points. Nick Townsend added 15 more, and Isaac Celiscar contributed 12 off the bench.

A Yale victory was the most picked No. 13 upset in the country, but a tough Aggie defense prevented that from happening. The Aggies held Yale to only 38.1% shooting from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs also struggled from the free-throw line, shooting 64.3% from the charity stripe in 14 attempts.

Bez Mbeng, Yale’s third-leading scorer, was held to only two points on the night. Mbeng finished with nine assists and eight boards, but could not find the bottom of the net.

Texas A&M will now move on to play the Michigan Wolverines in the round of 32.

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No. 11 Drake upset No. 6 Missouri

Experts and fans new Bennett Stirtz was a bucket.

The Division II star joined Drake, along with his head coach, Ben McCollum from Northwest Missouri State.

He had always been a bucket, but could never seem to find the national spotlight.

Maybe a few people noticed when he dropped 22 points in an overtime win against power-conference opponent Kansas State, when he went coast-to-coast before draining a deep go-ahead three of a snatch-back.

Maybe it was when he dropped 30 points on Southern Illinois on only 11 field goals.

However, in his tournament debut, Stirtz put everyone notice.

With momentum favoring Missouri, Stirtz caught the ball with time winding down on the shot clock. He dribbled to the top of the key and pulled up a running-three pointer off of one leg.

He drained it, giving Drake an 11 point lead with just under nine minutes to play, sending the INTRUST Bank Arena crowd into a frenzy.

Stirtz’s 21 points on 8-11 shooting helped propel the Drake Bulldogs to an upset victory over the Missouri Tigers, their first NCAA Tournament win since the 2020-21 season.

Alongside Stirtz, Tavion Banks added 15 points and nine boards. Stirtz and Banks were the only two Bulldogs to finish in double-digit scoring.

Caleb Grill led the Tigers with 14 points and Tamar Bates added 10 points. Mark Mitchell, Missouri’s leading scorer, was held in-check with eight points and eight rebounds.

Drake’s slow pace of play proved to be the difference-maker in the game, as the Bulldogs found efficiency all over the court. Drake shot 54.3% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc, nailing five triples. They shared the ball, with seven different players recording assists and were able to outrebound the Tigers 31-26.

However, despite a 10-point victory, the Bulldogs left opportunities at the free-throw line slip away. Drake shot 12-24 from the free-throw line. Despite the inefficiencies, they still grinded out a victory.

Missouri struggled from the field, only making 15 field goals for the entire game. They shot 33.3% from the field and 4-16 from deep. Grill, the Tigers’ primary sharpshooter only shot 1-7 from beyond the arc and struggled to get going offensively.

Most of Missouri’s points came from the free-throw line, which they converted 23 of 26 total opportunities.

After being down for nearly the entire game, Missouri erased a double-digit lead in the second half, cutting it down to a three-point game. That was the closest the Tigers would get.

Drake, despite missing many of their free-throws while in the bonus, played lockdown defense to only allow six points in the final four minutes of the second half, outscoring the Tigers 13-6 in that frame.

The Bulldogs will now face off against another high-powered offense in Texas Tech in the round of 32.

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No. 7 UCLA defeated No. 10 Utah State

UCLA defeated Utah State 72-47.

Skyy Clark and Eric Dailey Jr. led the Bruins with 14 points each. Adey Mara contributed 10 points off the bench and added five blocks.

Mason Falslev led the Aggies with a double-double, dropping 17 points and grabbing 10 boards. Deyton Albury added 12 points. No other Aggie player scored more than four points.

It was a Mick Cronin special: a dominant defensive performance.

The Bruins held the Aggies to 30% shooting from the field and 12.9% from deep. They forced 11 turnovers and never relinquished the lead after taking a 10-8 lead five minutes into the first half.

UCLA’s experience proved to be the difference-maker. The veteran squad took efficient shots, shooting 48.1% from the field and 41.7% from deep, draining 10 triples. They also went perfect from the free-throw line.

UCLA will look to build off of this performance when they take on another elite defensive team in Tennessee in the round of 32.

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No. 2 St. John’s defeated No. 15 Omaha

Rick Pitino and St. John’s are back in March.

On the heels of a dream season that has seen the Johnnies capture a Big East regular season and conference title, the team made the Big Dance for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

Their seeding as a No. 2 seed—hasn’t been seen since the 1999-00 season, where they were upset by an upstart Gonzaga team led by Richie Frahm.

However, with New York City on their back, the Johnnies took care of business, dominating Omaha 83-53.

Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr. led the Johnnies with 22 points, while Simeon Wilcher added 13. Kadary Richmond and Zuby Ejiofor, other members of the team’s Big Three, added 10 points each.

JJ White led the Mavericks with 15 points, while Marquel Sutton added 11. Sutton and White were the only two Omaha players to finish in double-digit scoring.

However, the story of the game was not St. John’s defense, but rather their shooting.

The Red Storm silenced all critics who were worrisome about their inefficient three-point shooting, knocking down 14 triples at a 37.8% clip.

Luis and Wilcher knocked down five and three triples respectively, while sharpshooters Aaron Scott and Deivon Smith drilled two each.

Combined with a lockdown defense that held the Mavericks to 25.7% shooting from the field and 5-36 from beyond the arc, the Johnnies appear to be peaking at the perfect time in March.

Pitino will now clash with a familiar foe, John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks in the round of 32.

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No. 5 Michigan defeated No. 12 UC San Diego

Down two with two minutes to play against a scrappy mid-major with an upset in mind, Tre Donaldson found himself in a similar spot.

Last year, the junior guard was playing for the Auburn Tigers, who landed the No. 4 seed in last year’s tournament. The Tigers squared off against a Yale team led by John Poulakidas and Danny Wolf—Donaldson’s current teammate with Michigan.

At the free throw line down two with seconds left, Donaldson missed his first attempt. He intentionally missed the second, and after a blocked layup and missed triple, the rest was history. A 78-76 Yale upset.

But in his first tournament game with Michigan, he wasn’t going to let history repeat itself.

In crunch time, Donaldson caught a pass and took one dribble to the wing, pulling up from deep. He held the follow-through, stepping back—almost as if he knew it was going in.

His shot was money, putting the Wolverines up 66-65, a lead they would not relinquish.

After a multiple tough defensive possessions, Vladislav Goldin made two clutch free throws, giving Michigan a three-point lead.

After Tyler McGhie’s game-tying shot caromed off the rim, the Wolverines escaped with a 68-65 victory.

Goldin led the Wolverines with 14 points, while Donaldson added 12, including his go-ahead trey. Roddy Gayle Jr. added 11 points off the bench. Wolf, Michigan’s point-forward, finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.

McGhie led the Tritons with 25 points, while Nordin Kapic and Hayden Gray added 15 and 10 points respectively. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, the team’s leading scorer, fouled out after playing only 25 minutes. He finished with seven points, his lowest scoring output since Nov. 21.

Despite losing their leading scorer, the Tritons fought throughout the game. Michigan threatened to run away early, opening the game on a 10-0 run. Facing a 14-point halftime deficit, the Tritons battled, cutting the lead to three only four minutes into the second half.

A McGhie jumper gave the Tritons their first lead of the game with just over two minutes to play. However, on the ensuing possession, Donaldson’s clutch three snagged the advantage back for the Wolverines.

The Wolverines will now face No. 4 Texas A&M Saturday.

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No. 3 Texas Tech defeated No. 14 UNC Wilmington

In a tightly contested affair, the Texas Tech Red Raiders defeated the UNC Wilmington Seahawks 82-72.

Kerwin Walton led the Red Raiders with a career-high 27 points, making eight triples. All of Walton’s 19 shot attempts came from beyond the arc. The team’s leading scorer JT Toppin posted a double-double, dropping 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Elijah Hawkins also posted a double-double, dropping 14 points and dishing out 10 assists.

Nolan Hodge led the Seahawks with 18 points off the bench. Donovan Newby, the team’s senior leading scorer, was held in check, finishing with eight points.

The Seahawks gave the Red Raiders a fight when nobody expected them to. Entering the game as 15.5 point underdogs, the Seahawks matched Texas Tech’s high-powered offense, closing out the first half only down four points following a Hodge triple.

Both teams traded buckets in the second half, with the Red Raiders outscoring the Seahawks 44-38 in the final frame.

While UNC Wilmington shot more efficiently than Texas Tech, the Red Raiders’ barrage of three-pointers proved to be the difference-maker in the game. Texas Tech shot 28.3% from beyond the arc, but nailed 13 triples throughout the game, compared to UNC Wilmington’s seven.

Texas Tech will now move on to play Drake in the round of 32.

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With a little over three seconds left in the game and needing to go the entire length of the court for a bucket, Alabama State coach Tony Madlock drew up the perfect play.

With shades of Christian Laettner and Grant Hill in ’92, Hornets guard Micah Simpson threw a hail-mary pass into a sea of players. The ball deflected, tipped in the air and caromed off multiple players—right into the hands of Amarr Knox.

Knox then put up a layup to put the Hornets ahead by two with one second left, sending the bench into a frenzy as they stormed the court to celebrate.

The perfect deflections led to the Hornets winning their first-ever game in the NCAA Tournament, defeating St. Francis 70-68 in a back-and-forth affair.

Knox’s game-winner capped off his team-leading 16-point night. He shot 8-15 and added two steals.

Guards CJ Hines and TJ Madlock also finished with double-digit points, scoring 11 and 10 points respectively. Madlock grabbed seven boards and dished out two assists.

Red Flash freshman Juan Cranford led the game with 18 points and eight boards. He was a sniper from deep, nailing 5-7 shots from beyond the arc.
Valentino Pinedo and the team’s regular season leading scorer, Riley Parker finished with 17 and 12 points respectively.

The Red Flash had a more efficient scoring night, shooting 50% from the field and 45.5% from deep. They also had 10 more free throw attempts than the Hornets, going 10-14 from the charity stripe.

However, sloppy turnovers and errant passes doomed the team, who combined for 15 turnovers in the game. The turnovers limited scoring possessions and created 26 points for the Hornets.

St. Francis led the entire second half until a Hines three gave the Hornets a 62-60 lead with less than five minutes to play.

The Hornets will now travel to Lexington, Kentucky, to take on the tournament’s top overall seed—the Auburn Tigers.

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