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. 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 seconds remaining and the Panthers earned their first NCAA Tournament win over the Badgers in Portland, Ore.
High Point 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 High Point (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. 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, who play High Point on Saturday.
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.
South Region
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. 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. The Commodores play Nebraska on Saturday.
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.
