Kyan Evans scored a game-high 23 points with six 3-pointers as No. 12 seed Colorado State increased its winning streak to 11 games with a 78-70 victory over fifth-seeded Memphis in an NCAA Tournament West Region first-round game Friday at Seattle.
Nique Clifford added 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Rams (26-9), who advanced to a second-round matchup Sunday against fourth-seeded Maryland. Jalen Lake also chipped in 14 points and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson tallied 12.
Colorado State went 11 of 30 from 3-point range and limited one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country to 6 of 23 from behind the arc. The Rams also forced 16 turnovers to help overcome Memphis’ 41-34 rebounding advantage. Colorado State had 13 offensive rebounds.
Dain Dainja scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Tigers (29-6), who were eliminated in the first round for the second time in three seasons. Colby Rogers and PJ Haggerty each added 18 points. Haggerty, who averaged 21.8 points per game, made just 7 of 23 shots.
No. 1 Florida 95, No. 16 Norfolk State 69
Walter Clayton Jr. scored 23 points and the Gators built a big early lead on the way to dismissing the Spartans in Raleigh, N.C.
Alijah Martin added 17 points, Thomas Haugh had 13 and Alex Condon 12 for Florida (31-4), which pushed its winning streak to seven games. The Gators will meet UConn in the second round on Sunday.
Christian Ings posted 16 points, Jaylani Darden had 15 and reserve Chris Fields Jr. racked up 14 for Norfolk State (24-11). The Spartans shot 2-for-14 on 3-point attempts.
No. 4 Maryland 81, No. 13 Grand Canyon 49
Julian Reese had 18 points and nine rebounds and Derik Queen had 12 points and 15 rebounds as the Terrapins rolled past the Lopes in Seattle.
The Terrapins (26-8) have won 16 of their last 17 first-round NCAA Tournament games dating to 1997 and will meet No. 12 seed Colorado State (26-9) in the second round on Sunday.
Tyon Grant-Foster had 23 points, but the rest of the starters combined for only 15 points for WAC champion Grand Canyon (26-8), which was seeking a second consecutive first-round win after beating fifth seed Saint Mary’s 75-66 a year ago.
No. 8 UConn 67, No. 9 Oklahoma 59
Solo Ball scored 14 points and Alex Karaban provided 10 of his 13 points in the last 11 minutes to help the two-time defending champion Huskies survive against the Sooners in Raleigh, N.C.
It was a game-long tussle for UConn (24-10), but the Huskies won their 13th consecutive NCAA Tournament game spanning three seasons. Tarris Reed Jr. added 12 points and seven rebounds. Karaban also finished with seven boards.
Jeremiah Fears notched 20 points and Jalon Moore had 13 points and seven rebounds for Oklahoma (20-14). Fears, a freshman widely envisioned as a potential NBA draft selection, wasn’t talking about his future after the game.
Midwest Region
No. 3 Kentucky 76, No. 14 Troy 57
Otega Oweh had 20 points and three teammates scored in double figures as the Wildcats pulled away in the second half to defeat the Trojans in Milwaukee.
Kentucky (23-11) will face sixth-seeded Illinois (22-12) in the second round on Sunday in Milwaukee. The Wildcats led 35-27 at the half, then took control with a 16-point run midway through the second half.
Koby Brea, Andrew Carr and Brandon Garrison each had 13 points for Kentucky. Marcus Rigsby had 17 points, and Sun Belt Player of the Year Tayton Conerway added 12 for Troy (23-11), which was appearing in the tournament for the first time since being a No. 15 seed in 2017.
No. 6 Illinois 86, No. 11 Xavier 73
Will Riley scored 22 points and Tomislav Ivisic added 20 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Illini to a victory over the Musketeers in Milwaukee.
Illinois (22-12) advances to a Sunday second-round game against third-seeded Kentucky. Kasparis Jakucionis added 16 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds and Kylan Boswell put up 15 points for the Illini, who had a 45-25 edge on the boards.
Dailyn Swain had 27 points and eight rebounds while Ryan Conwell and Dayvion McKnight had 12 points apiece for the Musketeers (22-12).
South Region
No. 2 Michigan State 87, No. 15 Bryant 62
Coen Carr came off the bench to produce 18 points and nine rebounds as the Spartans defeated the Bulldogs in Cleveland. Michigan State will face No. 10 seed New Mexico in the second round on Sunday.
Jase Richardson supplied 15 points and Tre Holloman contributed 14 for Michigan State (28-6). The Spartans controlled the boards, outrebounding the Bulldogs 54-29, and had a 31-6 advantage on second-chance points.
Rafael Pinzon led Bryant (23-12) with 21 points, and Earl Timberlake tossed in 14.
No. 3 Iowa State 82, No. 14 Lipscomb 55
Milan Momcilovic had 20 points, Curtis Jones added 17 and Iowa State rolled past Lipscomb in Milwaukee.
Iowa State (25-9) will face sixth-seeded Ole Miss in the second round Sunday. Joshua Jefferson and Tamin Lipsey each added 10 points for Iowa State, which played without starting guard Keshon Gilbert, who was declared out for the tournament with a groin injury.
Jacob Ognacevic, the Atlantic Sun Conference player of the year, had 18 points for Lipscomb (25-10), whose only other NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2018. Gyasi Powell added 11 points for the Bisons.
No. 6 Ole Miss 71, No. 11 North Carolina 64
Sean Pedulla had 20 points and Dre Davis added 15 as the Rebels staved off the Tar Heels’ second-half rally for a victory in Milwaukee.
Ole Miss (23-11) advanced to the second round Sunday against third-seeded Iowa State (25-9), which rolled past 14th-seeded Lipscomb. North Carolina, which trailed by 22 early in the second half, closed within 66-64 on RJ Davis’ three-point play with 1:09 left. Pedulla countered with a 3-pointer from the top left to make it 69-64.
On their next possession, the Tar Heels missed a 3-pointer and Pedulla hit a pair of free throws to push the lead to 71-64 with 34 seconds left. RJ Davis had 15 points and Ven-Allen Lubin 14 for the Tar Heels (23-14), who shot 38.1 percent from the field and made just 5 of 24 attempts from 3-point range (20.8 percent).
No. 10 New Mexico 75, No. 7 Marquette 66
Donovan Dent scored 21 points to lead four Lobos in double figures as New Mexico eliminated the Golden Eagles in Cleveland.
Nelly Junior Joseph added 19 points and seven rebounds for the Lobos (27-7). Tru Washington contributed 12 points, and CJ Noland came off the bench to chip in 11.
David Joplin starred in defeat for the Golden Eagles (23-11), pumping in a game-high 28 points and going 6 of 10 from the 3-point arc. Marquette converted just 24 of 59 shots from the field (40.7 percent) and was outrebounded 36-30.
East Region
No. 1 Duke 93, No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s 49
Star freshman Cooper Flagg scored 14 points in his return to action after missing two-plus games and the Blue Devils blew out the Mountaineers in Raleigh, N.C.
Tyrese Proctor scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half, Caleb Foster bagged 12 points off the bench and Khaman Maluach added 11 points for Duke (32-3).
Arlandus Keyes came off the bench to score 15 points for Mount St. Mary’s (23-13), which won a First Four matchup against American on Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio.
No. 2 Alabama 90, No. 15 Robert Morris 81
Mark Sears scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half to help the Crimson Tide hold off the Colonials at Cleveland.
Mouhamed Dioubate finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds and Clifford Omoruyi had 17 points for Alabama (26-8), which advanced to Sunday’s second round to face No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s.
Sears, who also dished out 10 assists, made 11 of 13 free throws and sparked a late 11-1 surge by the Crimson Tide after the Colonials briefly took the lead late in the second half. Amarion Dickerson scored a game-high 25 points and added nine rebounds for 15th-seeded Robert Morris (26-9).
No. 4 Arizona 93, No. 13 Akron 65
Jaden Bradley recorded 19 points and six rebounds to help the Wildcats roll to a victory over the Zips at Seattle.
Trey Townsend added 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and collected eight rebounds, and Carter Bryant had 12 points and three blocked shots for the Wildcats (23-12), who will play fifth-seeded Oregon in Saturday’s second round. Caleb Love registered 10 points and seven rebounds and KJ Lewis also scored 10 points for the Wildcats.
Tavari Johnson scored all 13 of his points in the first half for Akron (28-7), which lost in the first round of the NCAA tourney for the third time in four seasons. The Zips are winless in seven all-time attempts. Nate Johnson also scored 13 points for the Zips, but he was just 1 of 9 from the field. Shammah Scott added 11 points for Akron, which saw a seven-game winning streak come to an end.
No. 5 Oregon 81, No. 12 Liberty 52
Jackson Shelstad scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to help the Ducks douse the Flames in Seattle.
Nate Bittle contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds and Keeshawn Barthelemy added 10 points for Oregon (25-9), which never trailed while winning for the ninth time in the past 10 games. Oregon will play fourth-seeded Arizona on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.
Zach Cleveland had 10 points, six rebounds and six assists for Liberty (28-7), which lost for just the second time in the past 13 games.
No. 7 Saint Mary’s 59, No. 10 Vanderbilt 56
The Gaels rallied from a sluggish offensive start and a second-half deficit of 12 points to upend the Commodores in Cleveland.
The Gaels (29-5) fell behind 39-27 just before the first media timeout of the second half when Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner connected on a 3-pointer. Saint Mary’s chipped away at the deficit over the ensuing eight minutes, however, embarking on a 16-4 run. Jordan Ross led the Gaels with 15 points, while both Mitchell Saxen and Luke Barrett finished with double-doubles.
Vanderbilt (20-13) went 8-of-26 from 3-point range on the day. Jason Edwards, who finished with a game-high 18 points, finished just 2-of-9 from beyond the arc.
No. 9 Baylor 75, No. 8 Mississippi State 72
Robert Wright III scored 19 points as the Bears got rolling late in the first half and held on to defeat the Bulldogs in Raleigh, N.C.
VJ Edgecombe provided 14 points in his first NCAA Tournament game, Langston Love posted 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting and Norchad Omier collected 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears. Ninth-seeded Baylor (20-14) will meet top-seeded Duke in the second round on Sunday.
Josh Hubbard sank four 3-pointers and pumped in 26 points to keep eighth-seeded Mississippi State (21-13) in contention. Claudell Harris Jr. had 13 points, Riley Kugel supplied 11 and KeShawn Murphy added 10.
–Field Level Media
