No. 1 Wisconsin 86, No. 16 Coastal Carolina 72: Big Ten player of the year Frank Kaminsky had 27 points and 12 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season, and No. 1 seed Wisconsin defeated Coastal Carolina 86-72 in the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.
No. 11 Dayton 66, No. 6 Providence 53: Dyshawn Pierre scored 20 points and Dayton rode a loud home-crowd advantage to another NCAA tournament victory. The 11th-seeded Flyers (27-8) will face Oklahoma on Sunday night, with a chance to reach the round of 16 for the second straight season.
No. 1 Duke 85, No. 16 Robert Morris 56: Quinn Cook scored 22 points to help No. 1 seed Duke get off to a torrid start and beat Robert Morris 85-56 on Friday night. Freshman Jahlil Okafor added 21 as the Blue Devils (30-4) wasted little time getting their offense revving, hitting their first seven shots and 12 of 15 to quickly build a big lead.
No. 4 Maryland 65, No. 13 Valparaiso 62: Varun Ram played 13 seconds of Maryland’s first NCAA Tournament game since 2010 and with one timely swipe earned a place in Terrapins’ history. The former walk-on thwarted Valparaiso’s last shot attempt with a steal in the closing seconds to help Maryland hold off the determined Crusaders 65-62 on Friday. The fourth-seeded Terrapins (28-6) advanced to face West Virginia in Midwest Regional on Sunday.
No. 7 Iowa 83, No. 10 Davidson 52: Once Aaron White got rolling, Iowa could not be stopped. White scored 13 straight points as part of Iowa’s 18-3 run early in the second half, and the seventh-seeded Hawkeyes rolled into the South Region round of 32 with an 83-52 rout of No. 10 seed Davidson on Friday. White finished with 26 points as Iowa (22-11) used its significant height advantage to overwhelm the champions of the Atlantic 10 Conference regular season. Davidson had no answers on defense and couldn’t match Iowa’s shooting as the Hawkeyes won their first NCAA Tournament game since 2001 when they were also a No. 7 seed and won their opener.
No. 2 Gonzaga 86, No. 15 North Dakota State 76: For Gonzaga, it’s on to the next round. For North Dakota State, it’s back to the market. Kyle Wiltjer scored 23 points Friday night to lift the second-seeded Bulldogs to an 86-76 victory over the team that lifts weights in an out-of-commission grocery store. Gonzaga (33-2) will play Iowa on Sunday to try to make the second weekend of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2009.
No. 8 Oregon 79, No. 9 Oklahoma State 73: Joseph Young and Oregon shined just a little bit brighter than Oklahoma State. Young scored 27 points, Elgin Cook added 18 and the eighth-seeded Ducks beat the Cowboys on Friday night. Dillon Brooks had 17 points for the Ducks (26-9). Le’Bryan Nash had 18 points before fouling out in his final game for ninth-seeded Oklahoma State (18-14).
No.3 Oklahoma 69, No. 14 Albany 60: TaShawn Thomas powered his way to 18 points inside and versatile Buddy Hield added 15 to lead third-seeded Oklahoma past Albany on Friday night, carrying the Sooners into the Round of 32 after early exits the last two years.
No. 7 Wichita State 81, No 10. Indiana 76: Fred VanVleet matched his career high with 27 points, Ron Baker made big free throws late, and Wichita State defeated Indiana 81-76 in the NCAA Tournament on Friday. By winning, the seventh-seeded Shockers (29-4) set up a much-anticipated SunflowerState showdown with Kansas on Sunday.
No. 8 San Diego State 76, No. 9 St. John’s 64: JJ O’Brien scored 18 points, Dwayne Polee II added 15 points on five 3-pointers and San Diego State defeated St. John’s on Friday night. Skylar Spencer added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Aztecs (27-8), who’ll face the South’s top-seeded Duke Blue Devils on Sunday.
No. 2 Kansas 75, No. 15 New Mexico State 56: Frank Mason III scored 17 points to lead a balanced attack, and the Jayhawks rolled to a 75-56 victory over No. 15 seed New Mexico State on Friday, giving their beleaguered conference its first NCAA Tournament victory in four tries this March. Perry Ellis added nine points for the Jayhawks (27-8), who did their part in setting up a tantalizing matchup with seventh-seeded Wichita State in the Midwest Region’s round of 32.
No. 7 Michigan State, No. 10 Georgia: Denzel Valentine scored 16 points and went 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the final 30 seconds to help Michigan State hold off Georgia 70-63 on Friday in the round of 64.
No. 5 Northern Iowa 71, No. 12 Wyoming 54: Paul Jesperson led five Northern Iowa players in double figures with 16 points, Seth Tuttle added 14 and the fifth-seeded Panthers held off the comeback of No. 12 seed Wyoming for a 71-54 victory in an East Region matchup on Friday.
No. 5 West Virginia 68, No. 12 Buffalo 62: Tarik Phillip hit a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left while the shot clock was winding down, adding the clinching points as the Mountaineers held off Buffalo.
No. 2 Virginia 79, No. 15 Belmont 67: Malcolm Brogdon scored 22 points, Justin Anderson re-emerged as a scoring threat and second-seeded Virginia survived an opening-round scare, defeating 15th-seeded Belmont. Anderson had 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting and Anthony Gill added 16 points as the Cavaliers (30-3) moved on to face No. 7 seed Michigan State on Sunday in the East Region.
No. 4 Louisville 57, No. 13 Cal-Irvine 55: Freshman Quentin Snider hit the winning free throws and Terry Rozier made the saving steal for fourth-seeded Louisville. With the game tied, Snider snagged a rebound in the corner off a long miss by Luke Nelson and drew a foul when Will Davis II crashed into him. Snider made the free throws with 8.9 seconds left and the 13th-seeded Anteaters (21-13) never got a final shot, thanks to Rozier’s pick of Alex Young as he was moving up the court.
