March Madness viewer’s guide to Saturday’s second round promotion
Mackenzie Salmon has you covered with everything you need to know for Round 2 of Saturday’s March Madness action.
US TODAY
The first eight applications for the Sweet 16 in the men’s NCAA tournament will close on Saturday while the women’s tournament concludes the first round.
Furman and Princeton took the sports world by storm on Thursday with upsets from No. 4 Virginia and No. 2 Arizona, respectively. Both are back in action. The 13-man Paladins began men’s action with a loss to No. 5 San Diego State. The 15 seed Tigers will be at 6:10 p.m. ET (TNT) in No. 7 Missouri versus tigers of another race.
On the women’s side, No. 1 seed Indiana was in action after top seeds South Carolina, Virginia Tech and Stanford took care of business on Friday. The Hoosiers started Day 2 of the women’s first round with a 77-47 win over 16th-seeded Tennessee Tech, who defeated Monmouth in a first-four game on Thursday.
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MEN’S TOURNAMENT: Complete scores and schedule
WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT: Complete scores and schedule
In a Battle of Tigers, No. 15 Princeton looked like the higher seed with an impressive 78-63 win over No. 7 Missouri.
Ryan Langborg led with a game-high 22 points.
Princeton is just the fourth No. 15 seed to make the Sweet 16, along with 2013 FGCU, 2021 Oral Roberts and 2022 Saint Peter’s, who made it into the Elite Eight last year before falling to national runners-up North Carolina fell.
The Ivy League Tigers play the winner of the Baylor-Creighton game on Sunday.
The No. 8 Razorbacks sent home the defending champion and defeated No. 1 Kansas 72-71 in the second round of the men’s NCAA tournament. To celebrate, coach Eric Musselman tore off his jersey. Really.
One of the most energetic coaches in college basketball — and that’s saying something — Musselman, one of the most energetic coaches in college basketball, pulled his polo shirt over his head and twirled it in front of “Calling the Hogs” with cheering Arkansas fans. Photos showed him shirtless hugging players and coaches.
This isn’t the first time the 58-year-old’s shirt has come off on the pitch or in the dressing room. Musselman was known for ripping his shirt off in celebration during his last stop in Nevada from 2015 to 2019.
The Razorbacks are in the Sweet 16 for the third straight year. We imagine if they make it to the Final Four we’ll see more of Musselman’s waistline this March.
The second No. 1 in the NCAA men’s tournament went down ahead of the Sweet 16.
Arkansas No. 8 beat Kansas No. 1 72-71 with a spirited second-half surge and late free throws from Ricky Council IV.
Baylor’s long-range shooting kept the Bears in the NCAA tournament.
After being held to a season-low four points in the first quarter and trailing as much as 18 points in the first half, Baylor fired back into play from long-range. Baylor made 14 3-pointers — no, that’s not a misprint — and Ja’Mee Asberry contributed seven of those in the No. 7’s 78-74 win over 10th-seeded Alabama.
Baylor wasn’t ahead until Sarah Andrews hit a 3 – what else? – at 5:35 in the third quarter. But Alabama came back and regained control, leading by eight early in the fourth quarter. However, the Crimson Tide went cold, scoring just two field goals at the final 6:21 and making several errors that allowed Baylor to end the game.
The loss spoiled a monstrous performance by Alabama’s Brittany Davis, who set a career-high 33 points. At one point in the first half, Davis single-handedly outclassed Baylor.
– Nancy armor
Princeton goes 33-26 in the dressing room lead against Missouri as it aims to become the fourth No. 15 to make the men’s NCAA tournament sweet 16.
Princeton led 33-19 before Missouri closed on a 7-0 run in which Sean East II buzzed to get some momentum going into halftime.
– Jace Evans
Maddy Siegrist reached another milestone in the Wildcats’ 76-59 win over the Vikings. She became only the fifth player in Women’s Division I history to score 1,000 points in a single season after scoring 35 points on her birthday. She is the first person in Villanova history to do so.
The Wildcats shot 43.9% from the field, 10-to-25 from three, and passed the Vikings 45-29. Christina Dalce added 16 rebounds and eight offensive boards.
Destiny Leo had 25 points.
North Carolina’s Deja Kelly got going in a thrilling first-round game Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, and scored a 1-1 to give the Tar Heels a 61-58 lead with 2.2 seconds left.
St. John’s Danielle Patterson was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 1.5 seconds left and had a chance for a tie, but the 81-percent free-throw taker missed her first two tries and North Carolina held on to their win and advanced to third place. seeded Ohio State on Monday.
St. John’s took their first lead at 6:39 to go 49-48 on a 3, and the teams traded big plays for the rest of the game. Mimi Reid scored for St. John’s with a wild layup with 6.5 seconds left and it looked like overtime was on the way. But then Kelly made it big for UNC.
Kelly scored 18 points and grabbed 4 rebounds while Kennedy Todd-Williams added 14 points and seven rebounds. Jayla Everett led St. John’s with 17 points.
The Jayhawks went into halftime with a 35-27 lead over the Razorbacks, but the Kansas fans all held their breath as Dajuan Harris Jr. went down with an ankle injury. He limped into the dressing room at 3:07 at the half after awkwardly landing on the right foot while disputing a shot. He had four points while Jalen Wilson leads the team with nine points.
Arkansas’ Anthony Black twisted his ankle early in the game but returned after retaping his ankle. He has two points and Ricky Council IV has a game high of 10 points.
Both teams fight from the 3 point line. Kansas was 1-for-7 from across the arc while Arkansas was 1-for-9.
In the second 12-5 excitement of the day, the Rockets of Toledo used 48% shooting to defeat fifth-place Iowa State 80-73. Toledo advance to play Tennessee on Monday at the Lady Vols home floor.
Quinesha Lockett, a five-foot guard — aptly dubbed “Lockett the Rocket” — scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the win, and Jayda Jansen added 17 points in 6-for-13 shooting. Iowa State star Ashley Joens, a consistent All-American, finished the game with 23 points and 13 rebounds, but her team only went 13-to-30 on layups and couldn’t recover after going 23-13 in the second quarter had been surpassed.
Toledo extended a lead of up to 16 points in the second half as the Rockets clinched their first NCAA tournament win since 1996.
Aaliyah Edwards did a little of everything in UConn’s 43-point win over Vermont. She finished her career with 28 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and two blocks. Caroline Ducharme added 12 points from the bench.
The Huskies controlled the boards, passed the Catamounts 43-19 and had 14 free throw attempts compared to Vermont’s two. UConn shot 61.9% from the field compared to the Catamounts who shot 33.3%.
Tennessee’s Olivier Nkamhoua burned in the second half and scored 23 of his 27 points after halftime. He entered Friday’s matchup, shooting 31.3% from 3-point range but going 3-on-3 from beyond the arc to extend Tennessee’s lead in the second half. Nkamhoua put an exclamation mark on the win with a put-back dunk with 1:16 to go.
“They didn’t let me play in the first game, so I had to show my action in the second,” said Nkamhoua after the 65-52 win.
Turnovers were the story of the game for the Blue Devils. They committed 15 turnovers resulting in 18 points for the volunteers. Tyrese Proctor led Duke by 16 points. Dereck Lively II had 11 rebounds but didn’t attempt a shot the entire game. Jeremy Roach, who was in trouble for most of the game, finished with 13 points.
The nation’s leading 3-pointer per game needed just five treys — averaging nearly 12 on the Florida Gulf Coast — to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the women’s first round, topping fifth-placed Washington State 74-63.
This is the second year in a row that the FGCU No. 12 has hit a 5 in the first round (last year Virginia Tech fell to the Eagles). FGCU shot a sizzling 56% from the field and dominated the paint (50 to 26) in the win.
It was a huge disappointment for Washington State, which just a few weeks ago won the school’s first-ever Pac-12 championship when the Cougars defeated UCLA in the conference tournament championship. FGCU did a great job capturing WSU star Charlisse Ledger-Walker, who finished with just five points before fouling at 5:25 to play.
Four Eagles hit double digits, led by guard Sha Carter, who had 24 on 10-for-13 shooting. She also grabbed 6 rebounds.
The Hurricanes beat the Cowgirls 62-61 on Friday and it was a dramatic ending. Oklahoma State’s Anna Gret Asi knocked down a quick three with 5.3 seconds remaining in the game to put the Cowgirls at 1, 62-61. Hit with a five-second injury, Miami flipped the ball while attempting to smash the ball in. Oklahoma State’s Naomie Alnatas missed a jumper that would have won the game when the clock ran out.
The Hurricanes outplayed the Cowgirls 42-24 in the second half to close a 17-point halftime deficit that marks the fifth-biggest comeback in NCAA tournament history. It was a team effort for Miami with four starters in double digits led by Haley Cavinder’s 16 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Blue Devils and Volunteers are having a hard time finding the bucket as Tennessee leads 27-21 at halftime.
Tennessee is shooting 33% and ending the first half on a 14-2 run, and Duke, who also has 11 turnovers, is doing a little better to hit 36%.
Dariq Whitehead leads Duke by eight points while Santiago Vescovi is eight points ahead of the Volunteers.
No lead is safe when Ohio State is playing.
The third-placed Buckeyes rebounded from 16 points down to beat 14th-seeded James Madison 80-66. It’s the seventh time this year Ohio State has won from a double-digit deficit, including a record-breaking comeback against Indiana in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament when the Buckeyes closed a 24-point deficit.
Big Ten freshman of the year Cotie McMahon had 18 before fouling to lead four buckeyes in double digits. Ohio State also got a big game from Jacy Sheldon, who was in her fourth game — and making her first start — after missing much of the past three months with a foot injury. Sheldon had 17 points, nine assists and four steals.
The defeat continued the series of futility for 14 seeded players in the women’s tournament.
– Nancy armor
Rickea Jackson and Jordan Horston combined for 39 of the Lady Vols’ 95 points in a first-round win over the Billikens. Horston (8 rebounds) was two points short of a double-double. The 45-point win marked Tennessee’s biggest lead this season and the Lady Vols improved to 25-0 in the first round of their NCAA home tournament.
Brooke Flowers, Saint Louis’ all-time leader in blocks, added five more to her career on Saturday, on top of 17 points and nine rebounds in her last collegiate game. The Billikens shot 3-for-20 together from 3-point range, had 20 turnovers, and were outrebounded 39-28.
San Diego State is heading for the Sweet 16 after knocking out Furman with a suffocating defensive effort and ending the Paladins’ Cinderella run in the second round.
The Aztecs advance to the South Regional in Louisville, Kentucky to face off against the winners of Alabama and Maryland, making their first appearance at Sweet 16 since 2014.
Micah Parrish had 16 points for San Diego State, which shot 50 percent and passed Furman by 16 as the Paladins had no answer to the Aztecs and their inside game. Darrion Trammell had 13 points, Lamont Butler scored 12 and Matt Bradley contributed 10.
Southern Conference Player of the Year Jalen Slawson had eight points and two rebounds before fouling with 10 minutes left. Mike Bothwell led Furman by 15 points. The Paladins shot 32 percent, including 6-26 from three-point range.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama forward Brandon Miller is expected to play against Maryland, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Tuscaloosa News on Saturday. The person was granted anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about Miller’s status.
Miller played just 19 minutes and didn’t score in Thursday’s win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He is grappling with a groin injury sustained in the SEC Tournament Finals.
The SEC Player of the Year, who made headlines for his involvement in a homicide, was banned from live practice sessions Friday, Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “I think knowing Brandon and how tough he is, physically and mentally, I think he’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
– Nick Kelly, The Tuscaloosa News
Sydney Parrish led the Hoosiers to a 30-point win over the Golden Eagles with 19 points, eight rebounds and a steal. Indiana had two other starters in double figures: Grace Berger (17 points) and Yarden Garzon (12 points).
But the star of the show was the Hoosiers’ defense with 11 blocks and seven steals in front of 14,000 fans at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana. “It’s such an advantage to have a sixth man,” Berger said of the home crowd.
Tennessee Tech was held at eight points in the fourth quarter. Maaliya Owens had a team high with 17 points.
San Diego State is 20 minutes from the Sweet 16 as Furman leads 39-25 at halftime in the second round in the South Region.
The Aztecs took control with an 18-1 run and held Furman without a field goal for more than 10 minutes. The Paladins shot 33 percent in the first half, including 2 of 11 from 3-point ranges.
Micah Parrish has 14 points off the bench for SDSU, while Furman’s Jalen Slawson has eight points and two rebounds.
– Scooby Axson
Saturday’s winners earn a spot in the Sweet 16, and the eight games feature some of college basketball’s best teams and players. Three No. 1 seeded players are in action, and the spotlight will be on first-team All-Americans Jalen Wilson of Kansas and Alabama forward Brandon Miller and possibly Houston’s jack-of-all-trades Marcus Sasser.
Here’s the list of Saturday’s eight games, ranked by how worth seeing they are.
– Scooby Axson
Kansas head coach Bill Self will not practice in the team’s second-round game against Arkansas on Saturday, the school said. Self continues to recover from a cardiac catheterization that caused him to miss the Big 12 tournament. Self, 60, attended Jayhawks practice Friday but mostly sat and watched.
Assistant Norm Roberts will once again serve as assistant head coach for Kansas. He coached the Jayhawks to a 96-68 win over Howard in the first round.
The defending champion will take on the Razorbacks at 5:15 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.
In case you missed it on Friday night (though we can’t imagine how), Purdue became just the second men’s No. 1 set to drop to 16 since the group was expanded to 64 teams in 1985 when Fairleigh Dickinson died Nation upset with a shocked 63-58.
Besides current Fairleigh Dickinson players and first-year head coach Tobin Anderson, if there’s a winner — not to mention every single FDU alumnus and fan — it’s likely Virginia coach Tony Bennett, who now isn’t the only one Coach is losing to a number 16. whoops Talk about a club you don’t want to join.
But perhaps the biggest winners are college hoops fans. That we’ve seen two 16-seeds beat 1-seed over the past five years is evidence that parity in men’s college basketball continues to increase, making the NCAA tournament more unpredictable and ultimately more entertaining.
— Lindsay Schnell and Paul Myerberg
Lior Garzon’s initial excitement during Sunday’s selection show was the fact that Oklahoma State was tied for #8 in the NCAA women’s tournament against #9 Miami, Fla. It took the junior less than a minute to realize that the Cowgirls were not only dancing, but heading to Bloomington, Indiana, where her younger sister Yarden Garzon is a freshman guard for Indiana’s No. 1.
At their respective schools in Ra’anana, Israel, the Garzon sisters never discussed the possibility of ending up in the group together before Sunday, but they knew it might at least be in play. Indiana tip against Tennessee Tech at 11:30 a.m. ET, followed by Oklahoma State-Miami at 2 p.m
Thursday’s reunion at the team hotel marked the first time the sisters have seen each other since Yarden visited Stillwater, Oklahoma over the winter break.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing them play,” said Lior, who averages 11 points and shoots 43% from the bench.
As for the possibility of a second-round matchup between Indiana and Oklahoma State — and Lior was quick to point out they have yet to win their first-round games — it would mark the first time the sisters have faced each other since they played in a club game just before Lior left for the United States.
– Brian Hanchen, Indianapolis Star
15th-seeded Princeton dominated inside, throwing the southern region into chaos with a riot against Arizona.
Maybe it wasn’t quite like when the Tigers staged a memorable riot at UCLA in 1996 when they were seeded 14th and beat third-ranked and reigning champion Bruins 43-41. There was more insult and given how common upsets are now, it probably didn’t shock as many people. But it’s still a big deal. And it’s only Princeton’s second tournament win since that game. The Tigers defeated UNLV in the first round in 1998.
– Lindsay Schnell
Princeton may have thrived on Thursday, but the 13-seeded Furman’s win over No. 4 Virginia was a fun start to the 2023 NCAA men’s tournament (unless you’re a Cavaliers fan, of course).
Paladins men’s basketball fans have been waiting for this for a long time. It has been more than 40 years since Furman was last in the tournament and over 45 years since his last March Madness victory.
The American Heritage College Dictionary defines a paladin as “the epitome of chivalry” or “a heroic champion”. A paladin was also one of the 12 legendary peers or knightly champions present at the court of Charlemagne or Charlemagne in the 8th century.
— Jordan Mendoza
Alabama’s greatest adversary may be exhaustion from the endless chaos
The athletics director made a statement at halftime. The most tested 20-year-old in basketball failed to get a shot before eventually going to the bench to rest a sore groin. The Walk-On, which no one had heard of before Wednesday night, threatened the New York Times with a lawsuit. And for two hours the coach loses his mind every time he dribbles a game he didn’t even come close to losing.
In other words, it was just another day in Alabama basketball.
– Dan clouds
That backfired spectacularly.
Just five days after Marcus Sasser pulled his groin in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament, he was back on the Cougars starting lineup Thursday night. For a first round match against a No. 16 team.
To a surprise to almost no one, Sasser didn’t even make it to halftime. Now, top-seeded Houston may not make it to the second weekend, let alone the Final Four in his hometown.
– Nancy armor
Houston entered the NCAA tournament ranking first in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches poll, despite his loss in the American Athletic Conference championship game just before Sunday’s unveiling of the brackets.
The Cougars, who were without top scorer Marcus Sasser in the loss to Memphis, retained 21 of 32 No. 1 votes to hold off second-place Alabama. The Crimson Tide earned eight firsts after impressively winning the SEC title on Sunday.
Houston defeated Northern Kentucky in their first-round game, while Alabama defeated Texas A&M Corpus Christi in their tournament opener. The Cougars meet No. 9 Auburn on Saturday while the Crimson Tide meet No. 8 Maryland.
– Eddie Timanos