JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Fletcher Magee has led Wofford to the first NCAA Tournament victory in school history.
Magee hit seven treys to set the Division I career record for 3-pointers, pouring in 24 points to lead seventh-seeded Wofford to an 84-68 victory over Seton Hall in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
Wofford (30-4) was 0-4 in the NCAA tournament before its victory over the 10th-seeded Pirates (20-14). It was its 21st consecutive victory overall.
MURRAY STATE 83, MARQUETTE 64
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Ja Morant recorded the ninth triple-double in the NCAA Tournament since 1987 as Murray State trounced fifth-seeded Marquette in the first round of the West Region.
Murray State continued a trend of a No. 12 seed winning at least one game in all but three tournaments since 2001 — including last year’s — but this looked nothing like an upset.
Morant had 17 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds as he sliced through Marquette and showed the Racers (28-4) were better in every way than their opponent from the Big East.
BAYLOR 78,
SYRACUSE 69
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Makai Mason scored 22 points and Baylor set a school NCAA Tournament record with 16 3-pointers to beat Syracuse in the West Region.
The ninth-seeded Bears (20-13) found gaps in Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, mostly by getting the ball into the high post or driving and kicking out. Baylor nearly matched the school tournament record of 11 3-pointers in the first half (10) and made 16 of 34 overall.
PURDUE 61,
OLD DOMINION 48
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Carsen Edwards scored 26 points and third-seeded Purdue coasted to victory against Old Dominion in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The third-seeded Boilermakers (24-9) will play reigning NCAA champion Villanova, the sixth-seed in the South Region, on Saturday.
MICHIGAN 74,
MONTANA 55
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Charles Matthews had 22 points and 10 rebounds in his best performance since coming back from injury, and No. 2 seed Michigan put away Montana early in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Ignas Brazdeikis added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Jon Teske had 11 points and nine boards for the Wolverines, who led by as many as 27 points in the second half.
VILLANOVA 61,
SAINT MARY’S 57
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The defending national champions are moving on in the NCAA Tournament.
Phil Booth scored 20 points, fellow senior Eric Paschell added 14 and No. 6 seed Villanova held off Saint Mary’s in the first round of the South Region.
Jordan Ford and Malik Fitts each had 13 points for Saint Mary’s (22-12), which never trailed by more than eight.
GONZAGA 87,
FAIRLEIGH
DICKINSON 49
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — One year after dreamers and underdog lovers rejoiced at top-seeded Virginia’s first-of-its-kind, first-round loss, the Gonzaga Bulldogs crushed any thought of a repeat with a wire-to-wire thumping of Fairleigh Dickinson in the West Region.
Rui Hachimura led the Zags (31-3) with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Gonzaga led by 10 after the first 4:12, by 20 after 10:25 and by the score of 53-17 at halftime.
FLORIDA 70,
NEVADA 61
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Kevarrius Hayes scored 16 points, Jalen Hudson added 15 and 10th-seeded Florida beat Nevada in the West Region in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after squandering most of an 18-point lead.
Andrew Nembhard, whose last-second shot beat LSU in the Southeastern Conference Tournament last week, drove to the basket for a layup with 1½ minutes left and Florida scored the last seven points after the Wolf Pack had cut the lead to two points.
KENTUCKY 79, ABILENE CHRISTIAN 44
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Keldon Johnson scored 25 points in a huge mismatch that was over by halftime, and second-seeded Kentucky romped in the Midwest Regional over NCAA Tournament newcomer Abilene Christian.
The Wildcats shot 60 percent in the opening period, held Abilene Christian to 5 of 26 from the field and went to the locker room with a 39-13 lead.
MARYLAND 79,
BELMONT 77
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Maryland’s Darryl Morsell made a crucial defensive stop as Belmont went for a last-second upset in the NCAA Tournament, allowing the Terrapins to escape in the East Regional.
The mid-major powerhouse from Nashville, Tennessee couldn’t knock off the No. 6-seeded Terrapins (23-10) from the Big Ten, despite a 35-point performance by Dylan Windler.
MINNESOTA 86,
LOUISVILLE 76
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Minnesota won its first NCAA Tournament game in six years behind 24 points from freshman Gale Kalscheur as the 10th-seeded Gophers rolled past Louisville in the opening round of the East Region.
It was the first tournament win in Richard Pitino’s six seasons coaching the Gophers and came against the school that fired his father, Rick Pitino, in 2017.
Jordan Murphy and Amir Coffey each had 18 points for Minnesota (22-13), which knocked down 11 3s despite entering play ranked 344th nationally in made 3s per game.
AUBURN 78, NEW MEXICO STATE 77
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — After a teammate passed up an open layup that could have tied the game, New Mexico State’s Terrell Brown was fouled behind the arc and missed two of three free throws as the Aggies dropped a heartbreaker to fifth-seeded Auburn in the Midwest Region.
The Aggies (30-5) were trailing 78-76 when guard A.J. Harris had his defender beat and looked to be headed to the glass for the tying bucket. He instead lobbed out to Brown, who was spotted up at the elbow for a possible game-winner. Brown missed but was fouled with 1.1 seconds left.
MICHIGAN STATE 76, BRADLEY 65
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Cassius Winston scored 26 points and second-seeded Michigan State held off Bradley in the East Region.
Xavier Tillman had 16 points with 11 boards for the Spartans (29-6), who’ll face Big Ten rival, 10th-seeded Minnesota, on Saturday in search of their first trip to the Sweet Sixteen in four years. Michigan State throttled the Gophers 79-55 in East Lansing back on Feb. 9.
FLORIDA STATE 76, VERMONT 69
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Mfiondu Kabengele had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Florida State held off a barrage of 3-pointers from 13th-seeded Vermont in the opening round of the West Regional.
Terance Mann added 19 points for the fourth-seeded Seminoles (28-7), who were tied with the Catamounts at halftime but pulled away late.
LSU 79, YALE 74
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Skylar Mays hit four free throws in the final 15 seconds to help embattled LSU slip past 14th-seeded Yale.
Mays scored 19 points but sealed the game from the foul line, and the Tigers (27-6) needed each one of his free throws.
Yale (22-8) hit four 3-pointers in the final minute and whittled an 18-point deficit to three in the closing seconds. With the lead on the line, Mays calmly stepped to the line and sank all his free throws.
KANSAS 87, NORTHEASTERN 54
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dedric Lawson had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and fourth-seeded Kansas dominated inside in a rout over Northeastern in the Midwest Region.
The fourth-seeded Jayhawks (26-9) had a notable size advantage inside and used it, outscoring the Huskies 50-16 in the paint while grabbing 17 more rebounds.
Devon Dotson controlled the offense and scored 18 points, while Dedric’s brother, K.J., chipped in 13 points.
