Duke began retiring Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski’s final NCAA tournament with minimal stress, beating Cal State Fullerton 78-61 on Friday night.
Freshman Paolo Banchero scored 17 points to lead the Blue Devils (29-6), who jumped to a double-digit lead in the first four and a half minutes and remained in control throughout. Duke led by 10 at halftime and pushed the margin to 20 midway through the second half.
The West Region’s No 2 seed had five players score in double figures while playing their neighboring state, backed by vocal sections of fans eager to be part of what they hope will be Krzyzewskis six-game run to title No 6. Next up: Michigan State in Sunday’s second round.
Damari Milstead scored 12 points to lead 15th-seeded Titans (21-11), who missed 15 of 18 shots to open the game.
No 7 Michigan State 74, No 10 Davidson 73
Joey Hauser scored a career-high 27 points and Michigan State edged Davidson to set up a second-round matchup between Hall of Fame coaches: the Spartans’ Tom Izzo and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski.
AJ Hoggard added 14 points for the seventh-seeded Spartans (23-12). They had to wrestle away control of a tight game in the second half and then hang on against a desperate comeback push in the final seconds.
The 10th-seeded Wildcats (27-7) took the fight to the final minute even while getting tripped up by several quick – and sometimes borderline – whistles down the stretch.
Luka Brajkovic scored 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting to lead Davidson. Sam Mennenga added 15 points.
No 7 Ohio State 54, No 10 Loyola Chicago
EJ Liddell scored 16 points, Big Ten freshman of theyear Malaki Branham added 14 and seventh-seeded Ohio State shut down 10th-seeded Loyola Chicago from start to finish, winning 54-41 in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday.
The Buckeyes (20-11) advanced to play either Villanova or Delaware on Sunday in the South Region while preventing another March run by the Ramblers (25-8), who shot 27% (15 of 56) from the floor.
Braden Norris led Loyola with 14 points but star Lucas Williamson endured perhaps his worst game of the season. The winningest player in program history finished with four points on 1-of-10 shooting and committed three turnovers as Loyola fell in the first round after reaching the Sweet 16 last season and the Final Four in 2018.
Sister Jean, Loyola’s 102-year-old chaplain, led the Ramblers in a pregame prayer and took in the school’s third NCAA appearance in five years from the mezzanine but could only watch as Loyola fumbled away an opportunity to further cement its status as a mid-major power.
Ohio State came in having lost four of its final five games, including a baffling setback to lowly Penn State in the Big Ten tournament last week. The return of forward Kyle Young – who hadn’t played since 8 March due to a concussion – and Liddell’s steadiness helped the Buckeyes avoid a second straight early exit.
A year ago, Ohio State came in as a two seed only to get stunned by 15th-seeded Oral Roberts in the opening round. Not this time.
No 2 Auburn 80, No 15 Jacksonville State 61
Freshman Jabari Smith had 20 points and 14 rebounds as second-seeded Auburn pulled away from Jacksonville State late in the first half to win its 10th straight NCAA tournament opener 80-61 Friday.
Walker Kessler, Smith’s partner in the paint, finished a block shy of a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks.
The Tigers (28-5) will face either seventh-seeded Southern California or 10th-seeded Miami on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.
If Smith, the potential high NBA lottery pick, plays like he did Friday, Auburn will be hard to slow down.
Smith had four three-pointers, a couple from far behind the line. He ended his first tournament game with an emphatic, right-handed slam with just over a minute to go as teammate Wendell Green Jr covered his face in disbelief.
No 2 Villanova 80, No 15 Delaware 60
Justin Moore scored 21 points, Collin Gillespie added 14 and second-seeded Villanova had little trouble with 15th-seeded Delaware.
The Wildcats (27-7) used a 35-10 surge spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second to turn an eight-point deficit into a blowout.
Delaware (22-13) showed some early fight against their northern neighbor in a meeting of programs separated by 43 miles on the map and considerably more in the college basketball landscape.
It wasn’t nearly enough as Villanova overwhelmed the Blue Hens under a barrage of three-pointers to begin the schools quest for a third national title in seven seasons.
Jyare Davis led Delaware with 17 points.
No 3 Purdue 78, No 14 Yale 56
Jaden Ivey raced his way to 22 points and Zach Edey controlled the action inside, helping Purdue overpower Yale.
Ivey, one of the fastest players in college basketball, went 3 for 6 from three-point range and 7 for 9 at the free-throw line in 27 minutes. The 7-foot-4 Edey made the most of his size advantage against the Ivy League champion Bulldogs, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes.
No. 3 seed Purdue (28-7) won its NCAA opener for the fourth time in its last five tournaments. Next up is Texas in the second round on Sunday.
Azar Swain scored 18 points on 8-for-19 shooting for Yale (19-12), which had won 11 of 13.
No 6 Texas 81, No 11 Virginia Tech 73
Andrew Jones scored 21 points, Marcus Carr beat the halftime buzzer with a shot from well beyond halfcourt to put Texas ahead for good, and the Longhorns beat Virginia Tech.
The sixth-seeded Longhorns (22-11) won their first tournament game since 2014.
Texas built on the momentum from Carr’s improbable basket and led by 17 with five and a half minutes left.
Carr had 15 points and Timmy Allen added 14. Texas went 10 of 19 from three-point range while ending a five-game tournament losing streak.
Sean Padulla scored 19 points for Virginia Tech (23-13) with 13 coming in the last four and a half minutes.
No 10 Miami 68, No 7 USC 66
Charlie Moore made two free throws with three seconds left and finished with 16 points to lift 10th-seeded Miami over No 7 seed Southern California.
Moore drove the lane in the final moments and appeared to have his layup blocked by Chavez Goodwin. But a foul was called and Moore made the free throws.
Miami (24-10) got its first tournament win in six years.
Isaiah Wong led Miami with 22 points before fouling out with 2:07 to play with his team ahead 59-58. The Hurricanes stretched the lead to 65-58 with 44 seconds left, but Drew Peterson, who led the Trojans (26-8) with 17 points, hit consecutive 3s and his inside basket tied it.
Miami led 29-16 late in the first half, but the Trojans opened the second half on 17-2 run to go ahead and set up a tight battle to the finish.
No 3 Texas Tech 97, No 14 Montana State 62
Terrence Shannon Jr scored 20 points and set a dominating tone in the opening minutes for Texas Tech, which overwhelmed Montana State with one of the best-shooting games in the first round since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Bryson Williams also scored 20 points for Texas Tech (26-9), which shot 66.7% (36 of 54) from the field, including making 12 of 20 3-pointers. At one point the Red Raiders were trending toward breaking Syracuses record of 67.9% (38 of 56) against Southern Illinois in 1995. They settled for a tie for fourth.
Texas Tech, the N 3 seed in the West Region, was too big, quick and talented for the Bobcats (27-8), who were making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1996. The Red Raiders will play 11th-seeded Notre Dame in the second round.
Xavier Bishop led Montana State with 12 points.
No 11 Notre Dame 78, No 6 Alabama 64
Cormac Ryan scored a career-high 29 points, including seven three-pointers, and 11th-seeded Notre Dame recovered from a grueling First Four win and late-night flight to beat sixth-seeded Alabama.
Ryan, a senior guard, was 10 of 13 from the field and made a career-best seven of his nine tries from beyond the arc for Notre Dame (24-10), which beat Rutgers in double overtime Wednesday night in Dayton, Ohio, to earn a trip to San Diego.
Blake Wesley had 18 points while Paul Atkinson Jr. added 13 points and eight rebounds. The Fighting Irish missed six of their first seven shots but went 28 of 47 the rest of the way.
Keon Ellis led Alabama (19-14) with 16 points and Jaden Shackelford scored 13. Junior guard Jahvon Quinerly suffered a left knee injury early in the game and did not return.
No 4 Illinois 54, No 13 Chattanooga 53
Alfonso Plummer scored 15 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 12 seconds to go, and fourth-seeded Illinois escaped 13th-seeded Chattanooga.
The Big Ten co-champion Illini (23-9) never led until the final minute and survived when Chattanooga star Malachi Smith missed twice in the closing seconds.
Illinois will play fifth-seeded Houston on Sunday.
Illinois All-America center Kofi Cockburn had 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. His putback gave the Illini a 52-51 lead with 48 seconds to go. Smith, the Southern Conference Player of the Year, responded by drilling a pair of free throws to put Chattanooga back in front.
Plummer, who hit three 3-pointers to help Illinois climb back from an 11-point second-half deficit, drove the left side and was fouled. He knocked down both shots.
No 5 Houston 82, No 12 UAB 68
Kyler Edwards scored 25 points, Fabian White Jr added 14 and Houston looked like a team capable of making another deep run in March as it beat UAB.
Edwards, who played three years at Texas Tech before transferring to Houston, made six three-pointers – the last an exclamation point in the final minute – and controlled the fast tempo.
Houston (30-5) made it to the Final Four a year ago but don’t have a single starter left from that squad. The Cougars have won 10 of 11 – nine by double digits.
Jordan Jelly Walker finished with 17 points on 6-of-18 shooting to lead UAB (27-8).
No 1 Arizona 87, No 16 Wright State 70
Christian Koloko scored 17 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and keyed a big second-half surge for top-seeded Arizona, which beat Wright State.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 18 points and Dalen Terry had 16 for the Wildcats (32-3). Arizona won its seventh straight game and earned its first NCAA tournament win since beating Saint Marys in the second round in 2017. First-year coach Tommy Lloyd, a longtime assistant at Gonzaga, has Arizona in the NCAAs for the first time since 2018.
Arizona advanced to face TCU.
Grant Basile scored 21 points and Trey Calvin had 16 for Wright State (22-14).
No 9 TCU 69, No 8 Seton Hall 42
Mike Miles Jr scored 21 points and ninth-seeded TCU got their first NCAA tournament victory in 35 years, easily dispatching eighth-seeded Seton Hall.
The Horned Frogs’ last tournament victory was in 1987 against Marshall, when coach Jamie Dixon was a senior at his alma mater.
Damion Baugh scored 14 points for TCU, which shot 27 of 53 (50.9%) from the field and led most of the game.
Jamir Harris and Myles Cale each scored 11 points for Seton Hall (21-11), which shot 28.8% from the field, their worst performance in an NCAA tournament game.
