First day of March Madness yields upsets and blowouts
The first rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball championship began Thursday.
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MI STATE 69 – MS STATE 51
Coach Tom Izzo got his 56th career NCAA Tournament victory with a win over Mississippi State.
Next up, Michigan State will face North Carolina on Saturday.
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DUQUESNE 71 – BYU 67
No. 11 seed Duquesne had the bracket’s first upset, knocking off sixth-seeded BYU 71-67 in the East Region for their first NCAA Tournament win since 1969.
Duquesne next faces No. 3 Illinois.
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CREIGHTON 77 – AKRON 60
Creighton is into the second round after the third-seeded Bluejays topped 14th-seeded Akron 77-60 in the Midwest Region.
A 10-0 second-half run provided breathing room and Creighton kept control the rest of the way.
The Bluejays will play 11th-seeded Oregon on Saturday.
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ARIZONA 85 – CSULB 65
Dan Monson’s run at Long Beach State is over.
Second-seeded Arizona pulled away in the second half and moved into the second round of the West Region by topping 15th-seeded Long Beach State 85-65.
It was the final game for Monson at LBSU. The coach was fired by the school earlier this month.
Arizona will play Dayton on Saturday.
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UNC 90 – WAGNER 62
The top seeds in the West are through to Round 2.
North Carolina eased away from 16th-seeded Wagner 90-62 in a first round matchup.
Awaiting the Tar Heels: Michigan State on Saturday. Again.
This will be the sixth time the Heels and Spartans meet in the tournament. North Carolina has won each of the previous five, the last four of them as a No. 1 seed.
The last tournament meeting for the two storied programs was the 2009 title game, won 89-72 by North Carolina
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ILLINOIS 85 – MOREHEAD ST 69
Marcus Domask had the 10th triple-double in men’s tournament history, and third-seeded Illinois rallied past 14th-seeded Morehead State 85-69 in the first round of the East Region.
The Illini were within four points at the first media timeout thanks to Shannon scoring nine of his team’s first 13.
Next up for Illinois: Duquesne on Saturday.
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OREGON 87 – S. CAROLINA 73
A second No. 11 seed is on to the second round.
Jermaine Couisnard scored a school NCAA Tournament-record 40 points against his former team and Oregon knocked off No. 6 seed South Carolina 87-73 in the Midwest Region.
The Ducks join fellow No. 11 seed Duquesne, a 71-67 winner over BYU, in the second round.
Couisnard, who played three seasons at South Carolina before transferring, scored 26 points in the second half as the Ducks pulled away.
Oregon moves on to play No. 3 Creighton, coach Dana Altman’s former team, on Saturday.
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DAYTON 63 – NEVADA 60
DaRon Holmes II scored eight of his 18 points during a massive second-half run and No. 7 seed Dayton rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat No. 10 Nevada 63-60 in the West Region.
The Wolf Pack closed the first half on a 16-0 run, but the Flyers answered with a 20-2 run to go up 59-58. Nevada had two chances to tie after Dayton went up three but missed both.
The Flyers move on to face No. 2 seed Arizona on Saturday.
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TEXAS 56 – CO STATE 44
No. 7 seed Texas overcame a shaky shooting night to grind out a 56-44 win over No. 10 Colorado State in the Midwest Region.
Texas used a 25-3 run to lead 27-11 at the half, holding the Rams scoreless over the final 6:50.
Colorado State rallied to pull within six, but Texas stretched the lead back out to move into the second round against Tennessee or Saint Peter’s.
The Longhorns went 1 for 14 from the 3-point arc but held the Rams to 29% from the floor.
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OAKLAND 80 – KENTUCKY 76
Jack Gohlke took the first star turn of the NCAA Tournament, pushing Oakland past mighty Kentucky.
Gohlke made 10 3-pointers — one shy of the tourney record — and No. 14 Oakland pulled off the biggest upset of March Madness so far with an 80-76 win over No. 3 Kentucky in the South Region.
Gohlke went 10 for 20 from the arc, finishing just short of the single-game record set by Loyola Marymount’s Jeff Fryer against Michigan in 1990.
Gohlke scored 32 points to send the Grizzlies into Saturday’s second round against N.C. State.
Gohlke took 335 shots this season and all but eight were from 3. He doesn’t even shoot layups during warmups.
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GONZAGA 86 – MCNEESE ST 65
That upset pick of McNeese over Gonzaga? The Zags blew it out of the bracket.
Graham Ike had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 5 Gonzaga dominated from start to finish in an 86–65 win over McNeese in the Midwest Region.
Gonzaga led by 17 at halftime and stretched it to 35 to earn a spot in Saturday’s second round against Kansas.
Anton Watson had 13 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists for the Zags.
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IOWA STATE 82 – SD STATE 65
Iowa State cruised into the second round. The second-seeded Cyclones shot a blistering 58% in an 82-65 win over No. 15 South Dakota State in the East Region.
Milan Momcilovic scored 19 points and Tamin Lipsey added 17 to send Iowa State into the second round against Washington State.
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TENNESSEE 83 – ST PETER’S 59
Dalton Knecht scored 23 points and Tennessee shot 64% in the first half to build a huge lead before beating Saint Peter’s 83-49 on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Volunteers have faced the Longhorns twice in Barnes’ tenure in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, losing on the road in January 2022 but winning the home matchup the following year.
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NC STATE 80 – TEXAS TECH 67
NC State, the south’s No. 11 seed, upset No. 6 Texas Tech.
NC State will face No. 14 Oakland on Saturday.
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WA STATE 66 – DRAKE 61
The seventh-seeded Cougars prevailed over the No. 10 Bulldogs after a neck-and-neck battle.
Washington State will next face No. 2 Iowa State on Saturday.
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KANSAS 93 – SAMFORD 89
In a match that went down to the wire, No. 4 Kansas edged No. 13 Samford to move on to the second round.
Jayhawks center Hunter Dickinson posted a double-double with 19 points and 20 rebounds.
Next, Kansas will face Gonzaga on Saturday.
