Brandon Murray came from the bench to get a team high 21 points, and the 12th seeded McNeese deducted the first major outrage of the NCAA tournament and eliminated Fifth-seeded Clemson 69-67 in the first round of Midwest Region Matchup Thursday in Providence, Ri
Quadir Copeland added 16 points, seven returns and five assists for Cowboys (28-6), who advanced to a second round competition on Saturday against No. 4 Purdue, which knocked out highlight 75-63.
Christian Shumate added 13 points and 11 returns, while the sincere parks contributed 12 points in a spare role. McNeese led 24 points with 16:14 left in the game and built the huge lead thanks to a 15-0 advantage in points outside sales during the first half and a margin of 44-24 in points in the color of the day.
Jaeden Zackery got a game-high 24 points and Chase Hunter added 21-all in the last 10: 02-to take the tigers (27-7). But other leading goal scores Ian Schieffelin missed all four shots he tried and ended with just one point, 11.8 below his average.
No. 1 Houston 78, No. 16 Siu Edwardsville 40
Milos Uzan scored 14 of his 16 points during the first half to help the top -notified Cougars Cruise by Siue Cougars in the Midwest Region first round in Wichita, can.
LJ Cryer scored all 15 points during the first half and Ja’vier Francis had 13 points and eight returns when Houston (31-4) won his 14th straight match on the way to a second round with No. 8 Gonzaga on Saturday.
Siu Edwardsville star Ray’s Taylor scored 10 points on 3-AV-13-shooting. Taylor ended his career with a school record 1,962 points. His cousin, Brian Taylor, also had 10 points for Edwardsville, who qualified for his first NCAA tournament by winning the Ohio Valley Conference Posteason tournament.
No. 2 Tennessee 77, No. 15 Wofford 62
Chaz Lanier set up 29 points, Zakai Zeigler added 12 points and 12 assists and the volunteers advanced to the second round of the Midwest region with a victory over terrier in Lexington, KY.
Jahmai Mashack had nine points and seven returns for Tennessee (28-7), which will meet No. 7 UCLA in the second round on Saturday.
Jackson Sivills had 15 points and five boards for Wofford (19-16), Corey Tripp got 14 points and Jeremy Lorenz ended up with 12.
No. 4 Purdue 75, No. 13 High Point 63
Trey Kaufman-Renn was poured into 21 points, Braden Smith added 20 with six assists and the BoilerMakers wear out a victory over Panthers in the first round in Providence, Ri
Kaufman-Renn shot 10-for-16 and had eight returns to guide Purdue (23-11). Camden Heide added an 11-point, 10-Rebound double double for Purdue, which will meet No. 12 McNeese in the second round of the Midwest region on Saturday.
D’Aurian Williams got 12 points and Trae Benham added 11 to Pace High Point (29-6). The Big South champion entered his first NCAA tournament in program history on a winning line of 14 games.
No. 7 UCLA 72, No. 10 Utah State 47
Skyy Clark and Eric Dailey Jr. scored 14 points per piece to lead the bruins to a simple victory over aggies in a midwest region competition.
Clark led a sharp shooting screen of Bruins (23-10), which was 10-for-24 from 3-point interval and advanced to meet No. 2 Tennessee in the second round on Saturday.
Mason Falslev led aggies (26-8) with 17 points and 10 returns while Deyton Albury added 12 points and seven boards.
No. 8 Gonzaga 89, No. 9 Georgia 68
The bulldogs ran out to a lead of 27-3 out of the gate and crushed to a first round of victory over Georgia in the Midwest region in Wichita, can.
Khalif Battle had 24 points and eight returns to lead Gonzaga (26-8), who will play No. 1 Houston on Saturday. Braden Huff added 18 points and eight boards for Bulldogs, which won their 16th straight first round. Nolan Hickman chipped in with 18 points.
Georgia (20-13) was led by Asa Newell’s 20 points and eight returns, while Silas Demary Jr. Contributed 15 points. Blue Cain and Somto Cyril finished with 10 points per piece.
West region
No. 2 St. John’s 85, No. 15 Omaha 53
RJ Luis JR made a career pile five 3-points and Red Storm found their shooting stroke on their way to a victory over Omaha in Providence, Ri
St. John’s (31-4) got his first tournament victory since 2000. Coach Rick Pitino and Big East Champs will meet John Calipari and No. 10 Frö Arkansas in the second round Saturday. Luis led all scores with 22 points and added eight returns. Simeon Wilcher got 13 points for the red storm. Kadary Richmond had 10 points, eight returns and six assists, while Zuby Ejiofor added 10 points, seven boards, four assists and three blocks.
JJ White published 15 points and five assists to lead Omaha (22-13), who played in his first NCAA tournament after claiming the Summit League Championship.
No. 11 Drake 67, No. 6 Missouri 57
Bennett Stirtz had 21 points and four assists when the bulldogs upset the tigers in Wichita, can.
Tavion Banks added 15 points for Bulldogs (31-3), which will meet No. 3 Texas Tech on Saturday. After Missouri trimmed the deficit to 52-51 with 4:28 to play, Stirtz met a jumper and Cam Manyawu did inside to keep Missouri in the fourth. Banks then threw a transition can with 58 seconds left to Isa the game.
Caleb Grill got 14 points and Tamar Bates added 10 for Tigers (22-12).
No. 10 Arkansas 79, no. 7 Kansas 72
Jonas Aidoo scored a game-high 22 points and Razorback’s preserved eight straight Foul shots at the last minute to get a victory over the Jayhawks in Providence, Ri
Johnell Davis added 18 points, including two free throw with 10.4 seconds left for an advantage of 77-72. DJ Wagner scored 14 points and pulled out six assists, while Trevor Brazile chipped in an 11-point, 12-Rebound double double. Razorbacks (21-13) move on to a second round of matchup on Saturday against St. John’s.
Zeke Mayo scored 18 points to lead Kansas (21-13), while AJ Storr came from the bench to add 15. KJ Adams hit for 13 points and Hunter Dickinson contributed 11.
No. 3 Texas Tech 82, No. 14 UNC Wilmington 72
Kerwin Walton established Career Best of 27 points and eight 3 points to lead the Red Raiders past the Seahawks in the West Region first round in Denver.
Elijah Hawkins added 14 points, 10 assists and nine returns for Texas Tech (26-8), which will meet No. 11 Drake on Saturday’s second round. Darrion Williams had 13 points and nine boards, and JT Toppin added 12 points and 11 returns.
Nolan Hodge has 18 points and seven returns for UNC Wilmington (27-8), which is 1-7 all the time in NCAA Tournament Play. Bo Montgomery added 10 points for the Seahawks.
Southern Region
No. 1 Auburn 83, No. 16 Alabama State 63
Miles Kelly published a game high 23 points and beat 7 out of 15 3 points, when Tigers cruised to a first round of victory over Hornets in the southern region in Lexington, KY.
Johni Broome recorded 14 points and 11 returns for Auburn (29-5), which will meet No. 9 Creighton in Saturday’s second round. Tahaad Pettiford finished with 16 points for the tigers.
Amarr Knox led Alabama State (20-16) with 18 points, while TJ Madlock contributed 11. CJ Hines contributed nine points for Hornets.
No. 4 Texas A & M 80, No. 13 Yale 71
Payl Payne counted a career pile of 25 points and took 10 returns, Wade Taylor IV had 16 points, and Aggies beat Bulldogs in Denver.
Jace Carter added 10 points for Aggies (23-10), which will meet No. 5 Michigan in the second round on Saturday night.
John Poulakidas got 23 points, Nick Townsend had 15, Isaac Celiscar finished with 12 points and Casey Simmons contributed 11 points for Bulldogs (22-8).
No. 5 Michigan 68, No. 12 UC San Diego 65
Three Donaldson met a 3-pointer with 2:13 left, and Wolverine’s weather out a second half comeback by Tritons in Denver.
Donaldson finished with 12 points, Vladislav Goldin had 14 points, Roddy Gayle Jr. Contributed with 11 and Danny Wolf took 11 returns for Wolverines (26-9), which plays No. 4 Texas A&M on Saturday.
Tyler McGhie scored a game high 25 points, Nordin Kapic added 15 and Hayden Gray ended with 10 for UC San Diego (30-5).
No. 9 Creighton 89, No. 8 Louisville 75
Jamiya Neal received a career pile of 29 points while publishing 12 boards and six assists to lead Bluejays to an upset victory over the Cardinals in South Region Play in Lexington, KY.
Steven Ashworth produced 22 points, five returns and five assists; Ryan Kalbrenner added 14 points and Jackson Mcandrew had 11 for Creighton, who will meet No. 1 Auburn in the second round on Saturday.
Louisville was led by Chucky Hepburn (22 points), Terrence Edwards Jr. (21) and J’vonne Hadley (13).
East region
No. 3 Wisconsin 85, No. 14 Montana 66
John Blackwell scored 19 points, Steven Crowl had 18 and John Tonje chipped in 15 when Badgers cruised past Grizzlies in the East Region Action in Denver.
Te’jon Sawyer led Wisconsin in the loss and published a 15-point, eight-rebound effort, Kai Johnson added 15 points (hit 4 out of 7 shots beyond the arch) and Joe Pridgen had 12 points.
Wisconsin surpassed Montana 38-24 while making 55.4 percent of his shots. It led 40-32 after the first half and pulled away after the break. Badgers will play sixth-seeded byu in the second round on Saturday.
No. 6 ByU 80, No. 11 VCU 71
Richie Saunders had 16 points and Egor Demin poured 15 to lead Cougars to an East Region victory over Rams in Denver.
Fouseyni Traore had 13 points for Byu (25-9), which will meet No. 3 Wisconsin in the second round on Saturday. Keba Keita finished with nine points and nine returns for Cougars.
Zeb Jackson published a seasonal 23 points to lead VCU (28-7), while Jack Clark, Joe Bamisile and Max Shulga amounted to 12 points per piece.
-Field level media
