The first round of the men’s tournament kicked off Thursday, featuring nail-biters, signature performances, and most important of all, upsets.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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,
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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 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.
