John Poulakidas sank six 3-pointers and scored 28 points and Samson Aletan made a key blocked shot in the final seconds as 13th-seeded Yale notched a 78-76 upset of fourth-seeded Auburn on Friday afternoon in an East Region first-round game at Spokane, Wash.
August Mahoney scored 14 points and Danny Wolf had 13 for the Bulldogs (23-9), who overcame a 10-point, second-half deficit to improve to 2-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. Upstart Yale will face No. 5 seed San Diego State in Sunday’s second round.
“I don’t know if that’s the best win in Yale basketball history, but I will tell you that’s the best basketball team we’ve beaten in Yale basketball history as far as I’m concerned,” Bulldogs coach James Jones said.
Johni Broome recorded 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Tigers (27-8). Denver Jones added 17 points and Jaylin Williams had 13 for Auburn. K.D. Johnson had a chance to win it at the buzzer with a 3-pointer, but his shot bounced off the rim.
No. 1 UConn 91, No. 16 Stetson 52
Donovan Clingan scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half for the top-seeded Huskies, who began the defense of their national championship with a wire-to-wire win over the Hatters in an East Region first-round game in New York.
Cam Spencer had 15 points, including 13 in the first half, for UConn (32-3), which will oppose No. 9 Northwestern in a second-round game Sunday. Stephon Castle (14 points), Tristen Newton (13 points, eight assists) and Alex Karaban (12 points) all scored in double figures for the Huskies.
Stephan Swenson scored a game-high 20 points and Jalen Blackmon had 14 points and eight rebounds for Stetson (22-13), which made its first NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the Atlantic Sun Conference.
No. 5 San Diego State 69, No. 12 UAB 65
Jaedon LeDee recorded 32 points and eight rebounds to lead the Aztecs to a victory over the Blazers in East Region first-round play at Spokane, Wash.
Lamont Butler added 15 points and four steals for the San Diego State (25-10), which is looking for another deep run after losing to UConn in last season’s NCAA title game.
Efrem “Butta” Johnson made five 3-pointers and scored 19 points for UAB (23-12). However, Johnson missed a tying 3-point attempt with eight seconds remaining before Reese Waters split two free throws with 3.5 seconds left to seal it for San Diego State.
No. 9 Northwestern 77, No. 8 Florida Atlantic 65 (OT)
Ryan Langborg scored 12 points in overtime for the Wildcats, who squandered a nine-point second-half lead before recovering to beat the Owls in an East Region first-round game in New York.
Brooks Barnhizer forced overtime by hitting a floater with nine seconds left for Northwestern (22-11).
Vladislav Goldin scored 19 points for Florida Atlantic (25-9), which returned every player who had remaining eligibility from last year’s Final Four team. Johnell Davis had 18 points.
West Region
No. 3 Baylor 92, No. 14 Colgate 67
Four players scored in double figures and the Bears canned 16 of 30 3-point attempts to dispatch the 14th-seeded Raiders in an NCAA Tournament West Region first round game in Memphis.
Jalen Bridges scored a game-high 23 points for Baylor (24-10), which advanced to the second round Sunday against Clemson. Ja’Kobe Walter added 19, while Jayden Nunn tallied 15 and RayJ Dennis contributed 10 points plus nine assists.
Keegan Records paced Colgate (25-10), which won 17 of 18 prior to this one, with 14 points. Sam Thomson added 11, and Patriot League Player of the Year Braeden Smith scored 10.
No. 4 Alabama 109, No. 13 Charleston 96
Mark Sears poured in 30 points, and the nation’s top-scoring team was in high gear as the Crimson Tide rolled over the Cougars in Spokane, Wash.
Latrell Wrightsell Jr. made 5 of 6 3-point attempts while adding 17 points for Alabama (22-11), which entered the contest averaging 90.8 points per game and set a school mark for most points in an NCAA Tournament game. Alabama will face No. 12 Grand Canyon in Sunday’s second round.
Ben Burnham scored 19 points for Charleston (27-8), which had its 12-game winning streak halted. Frankie Policelli added 15 points.
No. 12 Grand Canyon 75, No. 5 Saint Mary’s 66
Tyon Grant-Foster recorded 22 points and seven rebounds and the Lopes beat the Gaels at Spokane, Wash., to win an NCAA Tournament game for the first time.
Ray Harrison added 17 points and six assists for Grand Canyon (30-4), which is making its third appearance in March Madness.
Mitchell Saxen had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Aidan Mahaney scored 13 points but shot just 5 of 21 from the field for Saint Mary’s (26-8).
No. 6 Clemson 77, No. 11 New Mexico 56
The Tigers got a game-high 21 points from Chase Hunter and led by as many as 23 points in the second half of a rout of the Lobos at Memphis.
First-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference pick PJ Hall scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half for Clemson (22-11).
Jaelen House scored 12 points for the Lobos (26-10) before fouling out with 6:27 remaining in the game. Nelly Joseph worked hard inside for 14 points and 12 rebounds but New Mexico never found any sort of rhythm, connecting on just 29.7 percent of its field-goal attempts and going 3 of 23 on 3-point shots.
South Region
No. 1 Houston 86, No. 16 Longwood 46
It didn’t take long for the Cougars to announce their presence with authority, and once they did, they were well on their way to a blowout of the Lancers in Memphis.
The result sets up a rematch Sunday in the second round against ninth-seeded Texas A&M, which beat Nebraska 98-83 earlier in the day. Houston held off the Aggies 70-66 on Dec. 16.
L.J. Cryer finished with 17 points, going 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, Jamal Shead finished with 11 points and nine assists and Damian Dunn added 17 points off the bench for Houston (31-4). Johnathan Massie scored 10 points off the bench to pace Longwood (21-14).
No. 2 Marquette 87, No. 15 Western Kentucky 69
Tyler Kolek returned from a three-week absence and fell just four rebounds shy of a triple-double to help the Golden Eagles pull away in the second half for a win over the Hilltoppers.
Kolek, who finished with 18 points, 11 assists and six rebounds, showed no ill effects from an oblique injury sustained on Feb. 28. Kolek hit two long threes on his first two shot attempts and scored 10 points in the opening seven minutes, helping Marquette (26-9) build a 26-17 lead. The Golden Eagles advance to a second-round matchup on Sunday vs. No. 10 seed Colorado.
For the Hilltoppers (22-12), Tyrone Marshall Jr. scored 17 of his team-leading 21 in the first half while teammate Don McHenry was the only other player in double figures with 11 points.
No. 4 Duke 64, No. 13 Vermont 47
Mark Mitchell and Jared McCain scored 15 points apiece to lead four Blue Devils players in double figures as Duke pulled away in the second half to beat the Catamounts.
Duke (25-8) will play James Madison in a second-round game on Sunday. The Blue Devils, who were knocked out by Tennessee in the second round last season, haven’t missed the Sweet 16 in consecutive tournaments since 2007-08.
Jeremy Roach scored 14 points and Tyrese Proctor added 13 for Duke. Kyle Filipowski, who was averaging 17.1 points per contest, was held to three points and just one field goal attempt but pulled down 12 rebounds. Shamir Bogues scored 18 points for Vermont (28-7), which won the America East for the third straight season.
No. 12 James Madison 72, No. 5 Wisconsin 61
Terrence Edwards Jr. scored 14 points for the Dukes, who never trailed as they upset the Badgers in a first-round matchup in New York.
James Madison (32-3) extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 14 games. T.J. Bickerstaff and Julien Wooden scored 12 points apiece, while Michael Green III added 11 points for the Dukes, who advanced beyond the first round for the first time since 1983.
Max Klesmit scored all 18 of his points while hitting five 3-pointers in the second half for Wisconsin (22-14).
No. 10 Colorado 102, No. 7 Florida 100
KJ Simpson capped a wild second half with a baseline jumper that hit the rim five times before rattling in with one second left, lifting the Buffaloes to a dramatic win over the Gators in Indianapolis.
Simpson finished with a team-leading 23 points while Eddie Lampkin Jr. added 21 for Colorado (26-10).
Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. scored a game-high 33 points and hit the backboard on a desperation miss at the final buzzer. The Gators (24-12) ended their season in heartbreak after erasing a 13-point deficit in the final 4:28.
No. 9 Texas A&M 98, No. 8 Nebraska 83
The Aggies converted 13 3-pointers and enjoyed a comfortable win over the Cornhuskers.
Wade Taylor IV bombed in 7 of 10 attempts from deep and scored 25 points for the Aggies (21-14). Manny Obaseki added 22 points, while Tyrece Radford stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Brice Williams scored 24 points to pace the Cornhuskers (23-11), who were making their first NCAA tourney appearance in 10 years. Keisei Tominaga added 21 points.
Midwest Region
No. 1 Purdue 78, Grambling State 50
All-American Zach Edey scored 30 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and blocked three shots to power the Boilermakers to a rout of the Tigers in Indianapolis.
The Boilermakers (30-4) pulled away at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half to atone for last year’s shocking first-round loss to No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson in Columbus, Ohio. Purdue will play No. 8 Utah State on Sunday in a second-round contest, again before a heavily partisan crowd inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Tra’Michael Moton had 21 points and Kintavious Dozier scored 16 to lead Grambling (21-15), which made it difficult for the first 18 minutes, trailing just 31-27 before Purdue scored the final five points of the first half.
No. 8 Utah State 88, No. 9 TCU 72
Isaac Johnson scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half to lead the Aggies past the Horned Frogs, breaking their 10-game NCAA Tournament losing streak.
Ian Martinez added a game-high 21 points, while Darius Brown II chipped in with 10 points and 10 assists for Utah State (28-6).
JaKobe Coles had 19 points while Emanuel Miller added 13 points and 11 rebounds for TCU (21-13), which jumped out to leads of 16-8 and 18-10 but couldn’t hold on.