Cameron Boozer had 22 points and 13 rebounds to help No. 1 overall seed Duke rally for a 71-65 victory over No. 16 Siena in a first-round East Region matchup on Thursday in Greenville, S.C.
Boozer went 13-for-14 from the free-throw line for Duke (33-2), which trailed by as many as 13 points before escaping. Twin brother Cayden Boozer added a season-high 19 points and Isaiah Evans had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who advance to face No. 9 TCU on Saturday.
Siena (23-12) was the first NCAA Tournament team since DePaul in 1979 to play its starters the entire game. The Saints nearly became the third No. 16 seed to upset a No. 1 in tourney history, following UMBC (2018) and Fairleigh Dickinson (2023).
Gavin Doty scored 21 points to lead the Saints, followed by Francis Folefac with 18 and Brendan Coyle with 12. Sienna held an 11-point halftime lead, but Duke outscored the Saints 39 to 22 in the second half to earn the win.
No. 11 VCU 82, No. 6 North Carolina 78 (OT)
Terrence Hill Jr. scored a game-high 34 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in overtime to help the Rams to top the Tar Heels in Greenville, S.C.
Nyk Lewis added 16 points and Lazar Djokovic chipped in 15 for VCU (28-7), which trailed by 19 points in the second half then staged the sixth-biggest comeback in NCAA Tournament history and second biggest for a second-half comeback, behind only Nevada’s 22-point rally against Cincinnati in 2018. The record for a tournament game is BYU’s rally from a 25-point deficit against Iona in the 2012 First Four.
Henri Veesaar led North Carolina (24-9) with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Seth Trimble scored 15. Derek Dixon and Jarin Stevenson scored 11 points apiece for the Tar Heels, who failed to reach the second round for the second straight year after playing in the First Four and first round in 2025.
No. 3 Michigan State 92, No. 14 North Dakota State 67
Carson Cooper matched his career high with 20 points along with 10 rebounds as the Spartans earned an easy victory over the Bison in a first-round East Region matchup at Buffalo, N.Y.
Coen Carr added 17 points and Jeremy Fears Jr. had 11 assists as the Spartans had 26 assists on 33 made field goals. Cameron Ward scored 13 points and Jaxon Kohler added 12 with nine rebounds for Michigan State (26-7), which opened its 28th consecutive NCAA Tournament with a win.
Damari Wheeler-Thomas scored 16 points and Trevian Carson added 11 points with seven rebounds and six assists as North Dakota State (27-8) saw its four-game winning streak come to an end.
No. 6 Louisville 83, No. 11 South Florida 79
Isaac McKneely drilled seven 3-pointers to help the Cardinals build a big lead and hold off the Bulls in a first-round matchup in Buffalo, N.Y.
McKneely matched his season high of 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Ryan Conwell added 18 points with six assists and Sananda Fru notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinals (24-10), who won their first NCAA Tournament game since 2017.
Joseph Pinion (career-high 27 points) and Izaiyah Nelson (22) scored 22 and 15 points, respectively, in the second half as the Bulls (25-9) shot 47.6% after halftime but saw their 11-game win streak snapped. South Florida made just 5 of 33 shots from the perimeter (15.2%).
No. 9 TCU 66, No. 8 Ohio State 64
Xavier Edmonds made a go-ahead layup with 4.3 seconds left to lift the Horned Frogs over the Buckeyes in a first-round matchup in Greenville, S.C.
Micah Robinson led TCU (23-11) with 18 points, while David Punch added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Horned Frogs, who fell behind by five after leading by 15 points at halftime. Edmonds also scored 16 for TCU, which advanced to face No. 1 Duke on Saturday.
John Mobley Jr.’s 15 points led Ohio State (21-13), followed by Devin Royal’s 14. Amare Bynum added 12 and Bruce Thornton and Christoph Tilly chipped in 10 apiece.
West Region
No. 12 High Point 83, No. 5 Wisconsin 82
Chase Johnston made his first 2-point basket of the season with 11.7 seconds remaining and the Panthers earned their first NCAA Tournament win over the Badgers in Portland, Ore.
Panthers forward Owen Aquino blocked Nick Boyd’s driving layup with 2.1 seconds left remaining and Cam’Ron Fletcher missed the front end of a one-and-one, but the Panthers’ Terry Anderson intercepted Wisconsin’s full-court pass to end the game. Rob Martin had a team-high 23 points and 10 assists, Anderson had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Fletcher had 14 and 11 for the Panthers (31-4).
Boyd had 27 points and John Blackwell scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half for Wisconsin (24-11). Austin Rapp scored 12 points for the Badgers, who led 70-62 with seven minutes left before High Point’s comeback.
No. 11 Texas 79, No. 6 BYU 71
Matas Vokietaitis had 23 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, Tramon Mark added 19 points and four clinching free throws, and the Longhorns won their second NCAA Tournament game in three days by knocking off the Cougars in Portland, Ore.
Dailyn Swain had 14 points and Jordan Pope had 11 for Longhorns (20-14), who overcame a 35-point, 10-rebound performance by Cougars freshman AJ Dybantsa in what might have been his final college game. Dybantsa, a projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft if he leaves school by some, was 11 of 25 from the field and made all 12 of his free-throw attempts for BYU (23-12).
The Longhorns had a 40-31 rebounding edge for the game. They were plus-12 on the boards in the 60-66 victory over North Carolina State in Dayton on Tuesday in the First Four. They did not land in Portland until about 6 a.m. local time Wednesday.
No. 4 Arkansas 97, No. 13 Hawaii 78
Darius Acuff Jr. had 24 points and seven assists, Meleek Thomas had 21 points and the Razorbacks blew out the Rainbow Warriors in the first-round game in Portland, Ore.
Trevon Brazile scored 19 points and Malique Ewin added 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for Southeastern Conference champion Arkansas (27-8), which has won six straight. Thomas had eight rebounds and five assists, and Billy Richmond III had 10 points and seven rebounds for the athletic Razorbacks.
Dre Bullock tallied 21 points and eight rebounds, Isaac Johnson had 15 points and Isaac Finlinson scored 12 for the Big West tournament champion Hawaii, (24-9), which never led. Isaiah Kerr added 11 points and five assists.
No. 3 Gonzaga 73, No. 14 Kennesaw State 64
Graham Ike scored 19 points and Davis Fogle added 17 off the bench to lead a balanced attack as the Bulldogs held off the Owls in the first round in Portland.
Jalen Warley had 12 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season for the Bulldogs (31-3), who won their 17th straight NCAA Tournament opener.
RJ Johnson and Amir Taylor each scored 15 points, Kaden Rickard had 14 points and Frankquon Sherman notched 13 points and 10 rebounds for the 14th-seeded Owls (21-14), who survived the loss of leading scorer Simeon Cottle in a midseason federal gambling probe to win the Conference USA tournament as the sixth seed. Gonzaga will play Texas in the second round Saturday.
South Region
No. 10 Texas A&M 63, No. 7 Saint Mary’s 50
Rashaun Agee recorded 22 points and nine rebounds to lead the Aggies to an easy upset of the Gaels in Oklahoma City.
Ruben Dominguez scored all 11 of his points in the first half in a contest that the Aggies (22-11) never trailed. Texas A&M shot 44.2% from the field, including 8 of 23 from 3-point range.
Joshua Dent scored 18 points and Liam Campbell added 15 for the Gaels (27-6), who committed a season-worst 18 turnovers. Paulius Murauskas, the Gaels’ leading scorer, had just four points and three rebounds in 23 minutes while battling an illness.
No. 4 Nebraska 76, No. 13 Troy 47
Pryce Sandfort sank seven 3s and scored a game-high 23 points as the Cornhuskers routed the Trojans in Oklahoma City to secure their first ever NCAA Tournament victory in nine tries.
Jamarques Lawrence and Braden Frager had 13 apiece for Nebraska, which had 20 assists on 28 field goals and just six turnovers. The Cornhuskers (27-6) frustrated the Trojans and achieved their 27th win, a new program record, by easily finding open looks with spacing and ball movement.
Troy (22-12) was led by Victor Valdes with 14 points. The Trojans came in averaging 80.3 points per game but shot 28.3% (13 of 46) and just 24% (6 of 25) in the second half, during which they trailed by as many as 30.
No. 2 Houston 78, No. 15 Idaho 47
Kingston Flemings scored 18 points and Emanuel Sharp added 16 on 6-of-7 shooting to help the Cougars roll to a victory over the Vandals in Oklahoma City.
Freshman Chris Cenac Jr. collected a season-best 18 rebounds as the Cougars (29-6) held a 47-32 edge on the boards. JoJo Tugler added 13 points, Milos Uzan scored 12 and Mercy Miller added 10 for Houston. The Cougars will face No. 10 seed Texas A&M in Saturday’s second round. The Aggies beat Saint Mary’s on Thursday.
Kolton Mitchell scored 14 points for the Vandals (21-15), who had a five-game winning streak halted and lost for just the second time in 10 games.
No. 5 Vanderbilt 78, No.12 McNeese 68
Tyler Tanner registered 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Commodores held off the Cowboys in Oklahoma City for their first NCAA Tournament win since 2012.
Devin McGlockton scored 12 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds for Vanderbilt (27-8), while Duke Miles added 13 points and Tyler Nickel finished with 12.
Garwey Dual led McNeese (28-6) with 16 points and six assists. Southland Conference Freshman of the Year Larry Johnson scored 15 but was 4-for-17 from the field, while Tyshawn Archie scored 13 and Javohn Garcia chipped in 10.The Cowboys got the game they wanted, winning the turnover battle 13-6, and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds. But they were outshot 51.0% (26 of 51) to 36.2% (25 of 69) from the field.
No. 3 Illinois 105, No. 14 Penn 70
David Mirkovic had 29 points and 17 rebounds to help the Fighting Illini breeze past the Quakers in Greenville, S.C..
Keaton Wagler added 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Illinois (25-8), which advances to face No. 11 seed VCU on Saturday. Kylan Boswell scored 13 points, while Tomislav Ivisic and Ben Humrichous finished with 12 apiece. The Fighting Illini shot 15-for-36 (41.7%) on 3-point attempts in the easy win.
Michael Zanoni’s 20 points led overmatched Penn (18-12), which was playing in its first NCAA Tournament since 2018. Cam Thrower scored 14 for the Quakers, who attempted just two free throws.
MIDWEST
No. 1 Michigan 101, No. 16 Howard 80
Morez Johnson Jr. scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Wolverines pulled away for a win over the Bisons in Buffalo, N.Y.
Aday Mara added 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting for Michigan (32-3), which advanced to the second round for the second season in a row. Mara chipped in seven rebounds and six assists, Nimari Burnett finished with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting and Roddy Gayle Jr. chipped in 14 points (6 for 7) off the bench.
Bryce Harris and Cam Gillus scored 21 points apiece to lead Howard (24-11). Cedric Taylor III finished with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
No. 9 Saint Louis 102, Georgia 77
Dion Brown scored 18 points and the Billikens ran a layup line for most of a rout of the Bulldogs in Buffalo.
Amari McCottry added 13 for Saint Louis (29-5). Robbie Avila chipped in 12 points, five rebounds and five assists. Saint Louis never trailed and owned a 40-point advantage on two occasions in the second half.
Jeremiah Wilkinson scored a game-high 30 points for Georgia (22-11), and Marcus Millender added 13. The Bulldogs made only 9 of 35 shots (25.7%) in the first half.
–Field Level Media
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