NCAA Tournament recap: Iowa State scores upset, Illinois, Wisconsin survive scares; women's top seeds roll

Another day in the NCAA Tournament, another two bracket-busting upsets in the men's field.

No. 11 Notre Dame knocked out No. 6 Alabama during the second day of action Friday, following a double-overtime win in the First Four games on Wednesday. Hours later, Iowa State became the third No. 11 seed to score a major upset — joining Michigan on Thursday — when it took down No. 6 LSU.

The tournament's second full day started with Ohio State, the South Region's No. 7, taking down No. 10 Loyola-Chicago, which had been backed by America's favorite nun.

The women also took center stage Friday as the first round got underway, with three No. 1 seeds in action.

No. 1 overall seed South Carolina and player of the year candidate Aliyah Boston crushed No. 16 Howard, and No. 1 Louisville overwhelmed Albany. No. 1 Stanford dominated Montana State in a late game.

Florida Gulf Coast pulled off the first major upset, as the No. 12 seed stunned No. 5 Virginia Tech. A pair of No. 10 seeds also moved into the second round on the first day.

Here is all the action from Friday's men's and women's NCAA Tournament games:

Johnny Davis helps No. 3 Wisconsin pull away from Colgate late

The No. 14-seeded Colgate Raiders (23-12) came close to staging an upset but it wasn't enough as Wisconsin pulled away late for a 67-60 win behind All-American Johnny Davis' 25 points.

Nelly Cummings spearheaded the near-bracket buster with 20 points and six assists, while marksman Tucker Richardson's five three-pointers made it a close game early on.

While it was neck and neck throughout most of the game, Davis' takeover ability was the difference between the Big Ten regular season champions and the Patriot League champs.

The win caps off a perfect 5-0 day for the Big Ten Conference on Friday. That makes the league 8-3 overall in this Big Dance after garnering nine NCAA bids on Selection Sunday.

— Scott Gleeson

Iowa State women fight off No. 14 UT-Arlington's upset bid

AMES, Iowa — After a historic run through the regular season, the Iowa State women’s basketball team was rewarded with one of the top four seeds in their region and given the opportunity to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

It essentially rolled out what was expected to be the red carpet for the Cyclones to march into the Sweet 16 for the first time in over two decades.

That run nearly hit a snag.

Three-seed Iowa State held off an upset attempt by 14-seed UT Arlington on Friday night. The Cyclones overcame an ugly start in the first half before eventually beating the Lady Mavericks 78-71 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Hilton Coliseum. With the victory, Iowa State moves on to the second round of the tournament where they’ll face six seed Georgia on Sunday at Hilton Coliseum.

Ashley Joens finished with a game-high 36 points and 15 rebounds for the Cyclones. Emily Ryan added 20 points and a huge fourth-quarter performance that helped Iowa State rebound from a sluggish first half where the Cyclones couldn’t get stops. UT Arlington, meanwhile, fired on all cylinders. The Lady Mavericks shot 50% (15-for-30) from the field and built up a lead that grew to as many as 12 after a 3-pointer by Katie Ferrell in the second quarter.

— Tommy Birch, Des Moines Register

No. 1 Stanford holds Montana State scoreless in first quarter, cruises to victory

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford began a daunting title defense by winning its 21st consecutive game, 78-37 over Montana State on Friday night; its last defeat was 65-61 to No. 1 South Carolina on Dec. 21. The Cardinal (29-3) will play Sunday against No. 8 seed Kansas (21-9), a 77-58 winner against ninth-seeded Georgia Tech in Friday’s first game.

Cameron Brink had five points, three blocks and five rebounds before the Bobcats (22-13) even got on the board with their first points early in the second quarter.

Lexie Hull had 13 points and five assists and Hannah Jump scored 15 for a balanced Cardinal team that went 16-0 through the Pac-12 regular season and won the conference tournament.

Taylor Janssen scored 12 for the Big Sky Conference Tournament champions, who came into the game averaging 70 points per game but faced a Stanford squad that hasn’t allowed any opponent to score more than 77 since the end of the 2019-20 season.

Montana State missed its initial 21 shots spanning the first two quarters and trailed 23-0 before Janssen’s layup at the 9:15 mark of the second.

— Associated Press

TCU wins first NCAA Tournament game since 1987

For the first time in 35 years, TCU has won a game in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. It happened Friday in San Diego, where the No. 9-seeded Horned Frogs destroyed No. 8-seeded Seton Hall 69-42 to advance to the second round Sunday against No. 1 seed Arizona.

The Horned Frogs (21-12) built a 30-21 lead at halftime and then dominated in the second half as the Pirates shot just 28.8% from the field for the game. TCU guard Mike Miles led all scorers with 21 points on 9-for-18 shooting

It’s TCU’s first NCAA win since 1987, when the team’s current head coach, Jamie Dixon, was a senior guard at the same school in Fort Worth, Texas.

— Brent Schrotenboer

Michigan State surges past Davidson, setting up matchup with Duke

No. 7 Michigan State’s offense surged to life late in the second half and keyed a 74-73 win against No. 10 Davidson, setting up a matchup of two college basketball blue-bloods Sunday against Mike Krzyzewski and No. 2 Duke.

The Spartans were carried by senior forward Joey Hauser, who scored 12 points in the first half and a season-high 27 overall. Hauser entered Friday averaging 6.7 points per game.

Down 56-51 with 6:54 on the clock, the Spartans went on a 15-3 run to take a seven-point lead with 1:15 left. MSU then made 10 of 12 free throws in the final minute to fend off the Wildcats, who made three shots from 3-point range, the last with under a second left, to stay close.

The Spartans have advanced to the Sweet 16 just once since 2015; the 2019 team reached the Final Four, one of seven Tom Izzo-coached teams to do so.

Duke has been the program’s nemesis. MSU is just 3-13 under Izzo against the Blue Devils, including seven straight losses from 2010-17.

— Paul Myerberg

Houston handles UAB with ease to avoid 12-over-5 seed upset

Houston wasn’t about to be on the wrong side of a 12-over-5 seed upset. The Cougars silenced a dynamic UAB offense to cruise for a 82-68 first-round win to advance to the round of 32.

Houston, which leads the nation in field goal percentage defense, smothered the Blazers all night. For a UAB team that averages 80 points, a 5-for-19 shooting clip from 3-point range didn’t do them any favors. Kyler Edwards paced a balanced offensive attack for Houston with 25 points. Jordan “Jelly” Walker led UAB with 17 points and five assists.

The Cougars (30-5) have now won nine of their last 10 and coach Kelvin Sampson’s group is putting forth a strong showing for the underrated American Athletic Conference. Memphis also won in the first round, beating Boise State. SMU was one of the first four teams left out on Selection Sunday.

— Scott Gleeson

Stanford junior throws down first dunk of women's NCAA Tournament

Block, break, BOOM!

That was the order of events at Stanford when sixth woman Fran Belibi, just 6-foot-1, threw down a dunk for the Cardinal with 6:21 left in the second quarter during the first-round matchup with No. 16 seed Montana State. Belibi blocked a 3-point attempt by Taylor Janssen, grabbed the ball and sprinted down the floor in a solo fast break before taking off and slamming it home.

The dunk gave Stanford a 31-6 lead. The defending champion and the No. 1 seed in the Spokane region, Stanford is currently up 41-12 at halftime.

The crowd erupted after Belibi’s dunk, and her teammates on the bench screamed and shouted before pretending to be so taken aback by what they saw that they collapsed. (To be clear, everyone on Stanford's roster already knows Belibi can dunk — she ends every warm up with a dunk, and regularly throws down in practice.)

It was Belibi’s third career dunk in a game; in December 2020, she became the first woman to dunk in a college basketball game since 2013, when Brittney Griner regularly dunked at Baylor.

In 2006, Candace Parker of Tennessee became the first woman to dunk in an NCAA Tournament game in a win over Army.

— Lindsay Schnell

Texas torches Fairfield in women's tournament

The Texas Longhorns are off and running in the women's NCAA Tournament.

Aaliyah Moore complemented a career-high 18 points with 10 rebounds in a 70-52 win over No. 15 seed Fairfield at the Erwin Center. The second seed in the Spokane region, Texas improved to 27-6 with victory.

This marks the second straight season that Texas has opened the NCAA Tournament with comfortable conquest. Last year, Texas recorded an 81-62 win over Bradley in the first round.

The Longhorns advance to play Utah in the second round on Sunday. That game will be the last event at the Erwin Center that features a Texas team.

— Danny Davis, Austin American-Statesman

Iowa State cements season turnaround with upset of LSU

Iowa State took advantage of an uninspired LSU team that fired its head coach prior to the NCAA Tournament, staving off a late rally to upset the sixth-seeded Tigers 59-54 to reach the Midwest Region’s second round.

The Cyclones (21-12) became the third No. 11 seed to knock off a No. 6 seed, joining Michigan and Notre Dame as ex-bubble teams that are still dancing in the round of 32. Those three No. 11s join No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s, No. 12 New Mexico State and No. 12 Richmond as the bracket-busters of this March Madness.

This game hardly felt like an upset. Iowa State was coming off three consecutive losses entering the NCAAs but had a deceiving record coming from the Big 12, ranked as the No. 1 conference in the country per NET. LSU fired coach Will Wade last week, moving Kevin Nickelberry in as the interim head coach.

The Tigers (22-12) sliced the deficit to 51-50 but Iowa State’s Tyrese Hunter drained a three-pointer with two minutes remaining and then buried another trey (his seventh of the game) with 16 seconds left and up 56-54 to make it a two-possession game. Tari Eason came off the bench to carry the offensive load for the Tigers, finishing with 18 points.

ISU leading scorer Izaiah Brockington, son of the Coppin State star Antoine Brockington, also helped to pace the Cyclones with 18 points—including two clinching free throws with under one minute left. Antoine had led Coppin State to an upset of No. 2 seed South Carolina back in 1997 tourney.

The win marks a big turnaround for first-year coach T.J. Otzelberger, as Iowa State was 2-22 last season, including an 0-18 stance in the Big 12.

— Scott Gleeson

Georgia dumps Dayton in women's tournament

Jenna Staiti scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds as sixth-seeded Georgia defeated No. 11 Dayton 70-54 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

Que Morrison added 16 points for the Bulldogs (21-9) and also collected eight rebounds, while Jillian Hollingshead scored 15 points.

Makira Cook led the Flyers (26-6) with 21 points.

Kansas returns to women's bracket for first time in nine years, downs Georgia Tech

Once Kansas set its mind on not getting outhustled for even one more possession, the Jayhawks took over.

Ioanna Chatzileonti had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Holly Kersgieter scored 19 points and eighth-seeded Kansas beat ninth-seeded Georgia Tech 77-58 on Friday night in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament.

Jayhawks 6-foot-6 junior center Taiyanna Jackson made things difficult in the paint on both ends, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds. She also swatted away a pair of shots to extend her a single-season school record to 92 blocks.

Kansas is back in the bracket for the first time since 2013 under Big 12 Coach of the Year Brandon Schneider,

Arizona overcomes sloppiness to overwhelm Wright State

The No. 1-seeded Arizona Wildcats have become a fashionable choice to win six straight tournament games and win their first national title since 1997.

Friday’s first-round game in San Diego might have added a smidge of doubt to that idea, however. They looked a little sloppy, committing 10 turnovers before halftime and letting 16th-seeded Wright State cut their lead to single digits in the second half before winning 87-70.

Bennedict Mathurin, the Pac-12 player of the year, led the way with 18 points. Center Christian Koloko added 17 points and 13 rebounds.

The Wildcats (32-3) played again without starting point guard Kerr Kriisa, who has missed three straight games after spraining his ankle March 10. The Wildcats still have won all three and now face the winner between Seton Hall and Texas Christian in the second round.

— Brent Schrotenboer

Out of sorts Illinois survives massive scare from Chattanooga

Illinois coach Brad Underwood summed it up with simplicity after the fourth-seeded Fighting Illini barely avoided an upset in a 54-53 win over No. 13-seed Chattanooga, advancing to the South Region’s second round.

“We just played bad,” Underwood said. The Illini (23-9) made the plays down the stretch, with a key defensive stop and two game-winning free throws by Alfonso Plummer, to pull out the gutsy victory.

All-American big man Kofi Cockburn wasn’t his normal self, struggling to adjust to the Mocs’ double teaming, but gave Illinois its first lead all day with 47 seconds left to make it 52-51. Illinois' Coleman Hawkins blocked Chattanooga leading scorer Malachi Smith (14 points on the night) in the final seconds before Smith recovered and missed a potential game-winner as the buzzer sounded.

Chattanooga (27-8) came out firing on all cylinders in Friday's clash with the Big Ten regular-season champions. But then injuries and foul trouble took the Southern Conference champion out of its rhythm. That set up a thrilling comeback from Illinois and an ending that saw Plummer’s three-point shooting — three momentous triples in key second-half stretches — keep the Illini within striking distance.

It almost was the second disappointing exit in two years for Illinois under coach Brad Underwood. The Fighting Illini lost in the second round to Loyola-Chicago as a No. 1 seed last year. This year was different. “We found a way to win,” Underwood said.

Barely.

— Scott Gleeson

Duke rolls in first game of Coach K's last tournament

The Mike Krzyzewski era at Duke will last at least one more game.

Five players scored in double figures to lead No. 2 Duke past No. 15 Cal State Fullerton 78-61, as the Blue Devils avoided becoming the latest top seed to be sent packing early from this year’s topsy-turvy men’s NCAA Tournament.

Duke (29-6, 16-4) was led by freshman forward Pablo Banchero, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore center Mark Williams added 15 points and five blocks.

The Blue Devils shot 50.9% from the field, including 40.9% from 3-point range. The Titans hit on just 37.5% of attempts.

— Paul Myerberg

No. 1 Louisville cruises past Albany in women's tournament

Louisville, the top seed in the Wichita region, defeated No. 16 seed Albany 83-51, pushing its home record to 15-0 this season.

The Cardinals (26-4,16-2) will host No. 9 seed Gonzaga on Sunday with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.

The trio of Emily Engstler, Kianna Smith and Hailey Van Lith led the way for Louisville. Van Lith had a game-high 20 points, Engstler had 17 points, seven rebounds and seven steals and Smith had 15 points and had five assists.

— Cameron Teague Robinson, Louisville Courier Journal

Utah women dominate from three in win over Arkansas

No. 7 Utah unloaded a barrage of 3-pointers to bolt to a big early lead and coast to a 92-69 win over No. 10 Arkansas on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Utes built a 20-point lead in the first half, then used another burst of 3s to squelch an Arkansas rally in which the Razorbacks fought to get within 12 with six minutes left.

The Utes were long-range specialists all season as the Pac-12’s highest-scoring team. On Friday, they were 15 of 31 from 3 and had made at least nine 3-pointers in 19 games this season.

Kennady McQueen finished with 20 points. Gianna Kneepkens added 16 points for the Utes (21-11), who advance to play either No. 2 seed Texas or Fairfield in Sunday’s second round.

Maryland women sharp in win over Delaware

Ashley Owusu scored 24 points and Diamond Miller added 23 to lift fourth-seeded Maryland to a 102-71 rout of 13th-seeded Delaware on Friday.

Jasmine Dickey led the Blue Hens with 31 points, but they couldn’t keep up with a Maryland team that looked healthy and ready for this NCAA Tournament. The Terrapins (22-8) advanced to face 12th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday.

Texas ends drought with win over Virginia Tech

The momentum from winning its first ACC tournament title didn’t carry over for Virginia Tech. The Hokies were rolling into their first-round game against Texas looking like a team that could do some damage. Instead, the No. 6 Longhorns ended their eight-year drought without an NCAA win by rolling to a 81-73 victory.

The defense of Texas held Tech, which averages nine three-pointers per game, to just two makes before the final minute. On offense, the Longhorns had one of their best shooting nights of the season, hitting 10 of 19 from behind the arc. The leader of the perimeter attack was Andrew Jones, who made five threes as part of his 19 points. Four other Longhorns players also reached double figures. The Hokies were led by Sean Pedulla’s 19 points.

Texas under first-year coach Chris Beard will now hope to reach its first Sweet 16 since 2008. In its way will be Purdue, which cruised past Yale in its opener.

— Erick Smith

Notre Dame upsets Alabama despite running on 'fumes'

No. 11 Notre Dame didn’t have an easy week.

After beating Rutgers in Dayton, Ohio, in double-overtime on Wednesday, the Fighting Irish traveled across the country the next day for a first-round game in San Diego on Friday against No. 6 seed Alabama.

Coach Mike Brey described it as “going on fumes.” But the hectic pace still worked for them somehow. The Irish beat the Crimson Tide 78-64 and now will play a third game in five days Sunday in the second round.

Guard Cormac Ryan scored 29 points and made seven of his nine 3-point attempts, helping his team advance to play the red-hot Red Raiders from Texas Tech, a No. 3 seed in the West Region of the men’s tournament.

It didn’t help Alabama that it lost starting guard Jahvon Quinerly less than four minutes after tipoff, when he had to be helped off the court with an apparent leg injury. Quinerly entered the game as his team’s leader in assists, their second-leading scorer and No. 2 player in minutes played.

— Brent Schrotenboer

Iowa blows out Illinois State in opening round of women's tournament

Iowa hoped to get in and out of Friday's first-round game with minimal issues.

No problem there.

After taking roughly a quarter to warm up, the second-seeded Hawkeyes took firm control toward the end of the first half and eliminated any upset vibes with a dominant third quarter. The final product was a 98-58 Iowa win over No. 15 seed Illinois State, which advances the Hawkeyes to Sunday's second-round game against No. 10 seed Creighton. The Bluejays beat No. 7 seed Colorado to begin the day.

— Dargan Southard, Des Moines Register

Truong leads Gonzaga women to win over Nebraska after scary landing

Kayleigh Truong scored a career-high 20 points to lead No. 9 seed Gonzaga to a 68-55 victory over No. 8 Nebraska in the first round of women’s NCAA Tournament on Friday.

Truong, a junior guard, scored 15 of her points in the second half, and those came after she landed awkwardly in a second quarter after a collision with Nebraska’s Jaz Shelley. That caused her to miss the final five minutes of the first half.

She made up for it in good time, though, as she scored the first two baskets of the second half. Gonzaga (27-6) never looked back. The Bulldogs, in winning their sixth straight, led by as much as 68-52 in the waning minutes of the contest.

Baylor women breeze past Hawaii

No. 2 Baylor won their 19th consecutive first-round game in the women’s NCAA Tournament, overwhelming Hawaii 89-49 on Friday.

NaLyssa Smith and Jordan Lewis combined to score the first 27 Baylor points in the third quarter, when the No. 2 seed Bears outscored the Rainbow Wahine 34-8 after taking a modest nine-point lead into halftime. Smith finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Lewis scored 23.

Amy Atwell scored 29 points but was limited to nine after halftime as 15th-seeded Hawaii (20-10) faded and fell to 1-7 in the NCAA Tournament. The lone victory was in 1990.

Baylor will face South Dakota in the second round on Sunday. The 10th-seeded Coyotes beat Mississippi in the opener.

Miami nearly blows sizable big leads, but hangs on for upset

No. 10 Miami (Fla.) squandered an 11-point halftime lead and nearly coughed up a 7-point lead with under a minute left but held on to beat No. 7 Southern California, 68-66.

The Hurricanes were up 65-58 with 44 seconds left but had to withstand a pair of 3-pointers from the Trojans’ Drew Peterson, which cut the lead to 65-64 with 25.3 seconds remaining. After Miami made one free throw, Petersen put in a lay-up to tie the game at 66-66 with 14 seconds left.

On the ensuing possession, Miami guard Charlie Moore was fouled on a drive near the basket and made both free throws to set up the win. Petersen’s desperation heave from near midcourt bounced off the backboard and the rim before falling out.

Moore had 16 points and four steals for the Hurricanes, who advanced out of the first round of the men’s NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016. The Trojans are sent packing after reaching the Elite Eight a year ago.

The win sets up a date in the second round of the Midwest Regional with No. 2 Auburn, which also scuffled early but pulled away to beat No. 15 Jacksonville State 80-61.

— Paul Myerberg

Villanova thumps Delaware to move on

For nearly 20 sweet minutes Friday afternoon, No. 15 Delaware and a large, boisterous rooting section could ponder the wonderful possibilities.

The Blue Hens shot well and defended strongly at the outset of its first-round showdown with Villanova inside PPG Paints Arena, which pulsed with sound and fervor.

The Blue Hens ran out of both after their encouraging start, and No. 2 Villanova pulled away for an 80-60 victory while beginning its pursuit of a third national title in seven years.

Justin Moore scored 21 points, Collin Gillespie added 14 to lead the Wildcats, who 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.

— Kevin Tresolini, Delaware News Journal

From beyond half court

As the action picks up into the evening, we already have one of the highlights of the day, when 6 Texas guard Marcus Carr took the inbounds from the opposite end of the court with 2.1 seconds left in the first half and the Longhorns down one point against No. 11 Virginia Tech.

Carr hoisted a heave well beyond half court and sank the buzzer beater as time expired to give Texas a two-point lead headed into the half, 34-32.

Florida Gulf Coast stuns Va. Tech in women's tournament upset

Karli Seay and Kendall Spray came to Florida Gulf Coast to play in the NCAA women's basketball tournament. The two of them helped the No. 12 Eagles to an 84-81 upset of No. 5 Virginia Tech in a first-round matchup in College Park, Maryland, on Friday.

Seay made a huge 3-pointer to give FGCU a 79-74 lead, and Spray made four free throws with 16 seconds left to seal it. Kierstan Bell had 18 of her 22 points in the second half, including a free throw with 5 seconds left to give the Eagles a five-point lead.

Hokies' 6-foot-6 junior Elizabeth Kitley, the ACC Player of the Year, had a career- and arena-high 42 points for the Hokies (23-10). But it wasn't enough.

FGCU (30-2) will play Maryland or Delaware on Sunday.

— Greg Hardwig, Naples Daily News

Boilermakers crush Yale

No. 3 seed Purdue cruised past Yale 78-56 to avoid the type of upset that has plagued the program in the NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers, who were knocked out in the opening round by North Texas last season, left no doubt against the Bulldogs by breaking open the game with a 15-0 run early in the second half. Purdue, seeking its first Final Four appearance, was led by 22 points from Jaden Ivey.

Azar Swain had 18 points to lead Yale.

The win by the Boilermakers advances a third Big Ten into the second round with the possibility of three more joining them later Friday.

— Erick Smith

Another 10-7 upset in the women's tournament

Morgan Maly matched a career high with 20 points and Lauren Jensen and Molly Mogensen each had 16 as 10th-seeded Creighton defeated No. 7 seed Colorado 84-74 on Friday.

Emma Ronsiek added 10 points for the Bluejays, making their first NCAA appearance since 2018.

Creighton (21-9) will No. 2 seed Iowa in Sunday’s Greensboro Region second round. Colorado finished the season at 22-9.

Texas Tech cruises to second round

Three years ago, Texas Tech went all the way to the national championship game under coach Chris Beard.

But then Beard left Lubbock last year, opting to become the head coach at rival Texas instead.

Nearly a year later, the No. 3-seeded Red Raiders don’t exactly look like they’ve been disrupted by the upheaval. To the contrary, they looked like a team ready to make another deep run in the men's tournament after demolishing No. 14 seed Montana State at Viejas Arena Friday 97-62.

Under new head coach Mark Adams, the Red Raiders have stressed defense on a team that has five returning players from last year, six NCAA Division I transfers, one junior college transfer, a walk-on who joined at midterm and a high school signee. They used it to race out to 30-9 lead in the first nine minutes and held the Bobcats to 38% shooting for the game.

Offensively, Tech shot 67% and was led by guard Terrence Shannon and forward Bryson Williams, both of whom had 20 points. The Red Raiders (26-9) scored 23 points off of 16 turnovers for Montana State.

— Brent Schrotenboer

South Dakota makes history with win in women's tournament

South Dakota has won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in school history.

The Coyotes (28-5, 17-1 Summit) topped Ole Miss (23-9, 10-6 SEC) 75-61 in the First Round Friday in Waco, Texas, completely dominating from start to finish.

South Dakota center Hannah Sjerven had 20 points and seven rebounds. Chloe Lamb added 20 including several big 3’s at the end of the game. Maddie Krull had 13 and Kyah Watson has eight.

South Dakota will play the winner of No. 2 Baylor vs. No. 2 Hawaii in the second round of the Wichita region.

— Michael McCleary, Sioux Falls Argus Leader

No. 2 Auburn easily handles No. 15 Jacksonville State

At least one SEC heavyweight will advance out of the first round of the men’s NCAA Tournament.

Unlike rival Kentucky, which suffered a shocking loss as a heavy favorite against Saint Peter’s, No. 2 Auburn overcame a sluggish start and looked the part of a tournament contender with an 80-61 win against No. 15 Jacksonville State.

Down 24-22 with 5:39 left in the first half, the Tigers closed the first half on a 17-3 run and pulled away to reach the second round of the Midwest Regional. The SEC regular-season champions will face the winner of No. 7 Southern California and No. 10 Miami (Fla.) for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Auburn was led by freshman forward Jabari Smith, one of the top prospects in the upcoming NBA draft, who scored 20 points capped by an exclamation-mark dunk with just over a minute left. Coach Bruce Pearl has advanced out of the first round eight times in 11 tournament trips at three different stops: Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Tennessee and with the Tigers.

— Paul Myerberg

Women's overall No. 1 seed South Carolina dominates Howard

Top-seeded South Carolina — one of the heavy favorites to make the women's Final Four — cruised into the second round with a 79-21 win over No. 16 Howard. The Bison's 21 points was the fewest points ever in a woman’s NCAA Tournament game and broke the record held by Kansas State which scored 26 in a loss to UConn in 2012.

Aliyah Boston scored 10 points and had 12 rebounds to lead the Gamecocks, the No. 1 overall seed.

South Carolina led the Bison at the half by a score of 44-4, also a women's NCAA Tournament low. Howard converted just a single shot from the field, giving it a 3.8% shooting percentage. All four points were scored by the same player, guard Iyanna Warren.

Ohio State knocks off Loyola Chicago

There will be no deep tournament run for Loyola Chicago this season. Ohio State knocked off the trendy, first-round upset pick by reversing its poor form at the end of the season with a comfortable 54-41 victory. E.J. Liddell had a game-high 16 points and Malaki Branham added 14 to push the Buckeyes into the second round after losing four of their last five entering the tournament.

The 10th-seeded Ramblers, one year removed from making the Sweet 16 and four years away from making the Final Four, were stifled by the Buckeyes defense. They shot just 26.8% from the field and leading scorer Lucas Williamson managed just four points on 1-for-10 shooting.

— Erick Smith

Hurricanes hold on to top Bulls in women's tournament

In the women's tournament, the No. 8 seed Miami Hurricanes are moving on after they took down the No. 9 South Florida Bulls 78-66.

The Hurricanes had a balanced day on offense, with five players scoring in double figures, as Miami shot 53.6% from the field. It was the opposite for the Bulls, who had forward Elena Tsineke and guards Elisa Pinzan and Sydni Harvey combine for 51 points, or 77.3% of the team's scoring.

'Finally on the map'

JERSEY CITY — Angelo Madrigal heard a lot of noise coming from his hallway around 9:30 on Thursday night.

"It was a bit chaotic in the hallways," said Madrigal, a resident adviser at St. Peter's University. "A lot of people were just happy. I don't blame them at all."

The happiness was the result of the men's basketball team's shocking 85-79 overtime victory over national powerhouse Kentucky in the first round of the men's NCAA Tournament. The Peacocks were the No. 15 seed in the East Regional bracket, while Kentucky was the No. 2 seed and considered a favorite to win the entire tournament.

It was the first NCAA Tournament win in school history for the private Jesuit school with just more than 3,000 students enrolled.

— Robert Aitken Jr., NorthJersey.com

Sister Jean is back at it

Loyola Ramblers fans will be glad to know their biggest supporter and good luck charm, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, is back for the program's latest run in the men's tournament. Sister Jean, their 102-year-old team chaplain and America’s favorite nun, is in attendance Friday for No. 10 Loyola's game against No. 7 Ohio State.

Ever since Loyola’s unexpected run to the Final Four in 2018, Sister Jean has become a March Madness staple.

“I’m excited to come here because of the NCAA having chosen (Pittsburgh) to be the spot of the games,” Sister Jean said before the tournament began. “This is something our team has been talking about all year long – long before the season began. When we won the conference (title), we were so happy because we had the past week to be thinking about it.”

And we're off.....

The action got started in the women's tournament as South Florida is taking on Miami in Columbia, South Carolina, in the Greensboro region. The winner will take on the victor of top-seeded South Carolina and Howard matchup.

Friday's Watchability rankings

Some of the most intriguing matchups involve teams that are closely seeded. Virginia Tech comes in as one of the hottest teams in the nation, having ran through the ACC elite to capture the conference tournament title. The Hokies will take on Texas (4:30 p.m., TBS who are known for their defense, but have issues making baskets. First team to 70 probably wins.

Here are some other games to keep an eye on.

10 Loyola Chicago vs. 7 Ohio State, 12:15 p.m., CBS

This is another case where the higher seed might actually be the perceived underdog. The Buckeyes limp into the tournament with just one win in their last five outings and could still be shorthanded due to lingering injuries, but E.J. Liddell’s takeover ability will still warrant plenty of attention.

9 TCU vs. 8 Seton Hall, 9:57 p.m., truTV

The Pirates had to reinvent themselves when Bryce Aiken sustained a concussion in early January that ended his season, but they won enough games in the Big East to earn a bid. The Horned Frogs took some lumps in the crowded Big 12 but were able to post one win in three tries against Kansas down the stretch

- Eddie Timanus

Who is Saint Peter's? Meet the No. 15 Peacocks, who upset No. 2 Kentucky

After No. 2 seed Kentucky's shocking loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, coach John Calipari was asked what the Wildcats struggled with against Saint Peter's.

"Give Saint Peter's credit," Calipari said. "I watched the tape of them before the game. These guys can play."

Indeed they can.

The Peacocks (20-11) busted brackets everywhere Thursday by taking down Kentucky in a first-round overtime thriller – becoming just the 10th-ever No. 15 seed to oust a No. 2 in the NCAA Tournament. They followed in the footsteps of mid-majors Oral Roberts (last year), Middle Tennessee (2016) and Florida Gulf Coast (2013), who became the darlings of their respective tournaments.

Saint Peter's University is a private Jesuit university in Jersey City, New Jersey. It has roughly 2,500 undergraduate students, helping to fit the definition of a mid-major.

- Scott Gleeson

Murray State outlasts San Francisco in overtime thriller

INDIANAPOLIS – KJ Williams scored six of his 18 points in overtime after Murray State blew an eight-point lead late in regulation, and the seventh-seeded Racers extended their winning streak to 21 games with a 92-87 victory over San Francisco in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.

The Racers (31-2) tied South Dakota State for the longest winning streak in the nation this season. With SDSU’s loss to Providence earlier Thursday, Murray State can edge ahead in Saturday’s East Region second-round game against Saint Peter’s. The 15th-seeded Peacocks toppled Kentucky 85-79 in OT.

The nightcap in Indianapolis was just as tight, with 18 lead changes and 14 ties. Murray State ultimately took control with Williams’ clutch baskets and Jordan Skipper-Brown’s timely plays in the extra session.

Jamaree Bouyea scored 36 points for USF (24-10), which made its first NCAA appearance since 1998.

Williams made a go-ahead layup with 1:15 remaining before Skipper-Brown’s layup made it 89-85 with 30 seconds left. Zane Meeks’ putback got USF within a basket, but he missed a free throw. Skipper-Brown made two free throws with 13.7 seconds left before adding another with 1.7 seconds remaining to seal the win.

— Associated Press

UCLA squeaks by Akron

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Akron Zips’ confidence was fueled by eight consecutive victories, including three upsets to win the Mid-American Conference tournament.

Their nerves were replaced by excitement for the big moment for the University of Akron and its men’s basketball program.

The 13th-seeded Zips led most of the way in a bitter battle with fourth-seeded UCLA in an NCAA Tournament East Regional game at the Moda Center before losing 57-53.

UCLA (26-7), which reached the Final Four from the First Four in 2021, advanced to meet fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s, an 82-53 winner over 12th-seeded Indiana.

Xavier Castaneda led UA with 18 points, six rebounds and one assist and Enrique Freeman added 14 points, 10 rebounds and an assist before fouling out.

Tyger Campbell scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half to pace the Bruins and added five assists. Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists. UA held Johnny Juzang to nine points, five rebounds and two assists.

— Marla Ridenour, Akron Beacon Journal

More stories to help you dominate your bracket

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Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness 2022: NCAA Tournament recap for men's, women's games