No. 14 seed Oakland defeated No. 1 seed Kentucky #3 80-76 in the opening round of the South Region of the NCAA tournament thanks to 10 3-pointers made by Jack Gohlke, who finished with 32 points, and DQ Cole’s game-winning three. In Pittsburgh, on Thursday.
For the majority of the second half, the Golden Grizzlies (24-11) held a lead and faced off against the strongly favored Wildcats (23-10) shot for shot in the closing moments. Oakland gives Kentucky its second first-round loss in three years and moves on to the Round of 16, marking Oakland’s first appearance in Division I.
Gohlke, a Division II Hillsdale graduate transfer, merited his spot in NCAA Tournament annals. He made all 20 of his field goals from three-point range, and he was just a hair away from matching the Loyola Marymount player Jeff Fryer’s 1990 single-game tournament record of 11 triples.
Oakland, the Horizon League champion, will play No. 11 NC State on Saturday in the second round. Antonio Reeves attempted to rally Kentucky from the dead with 27 points and 5 of 9 3-pointers made. Tre Mitchell finished with 13 rebounds and 14 points.
Texas Tech 67, No. 6; North Carolina State 80, No. 11
The Wolfpack defeated the Red Raiders in Pittsburgh, led by career-high scoring from Ben Middlebrooks (21 points), career-high rebounding from Mohamed Diarra (17 points with 12 rebounds), and their unexpected ascent.
For NC State (23-14), who only advanced this far by winning five games in five days to win the ACC tournament title, where he was the 10th seed, DJ Horne had 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists, and DJ Burns Jr. had 16 points. The Wolfpack now have a trip to the South Region Sweet 16 on Saturday when they take on Oakland, ranked as the 14th seed.
With 16 points, Joe Toussaint led Texas Tech (23-11). Pop Isaacs finished with twelve points, while Darrion Williams had seven rebounds, six assists, and ten points.
West Area
No. 1 North Carolina 90, No. 16 Wagner 62
RJ Davis scored 22 points and Armando Bacot had a double-double in the first half as the Tar Heels routed the Seahawks in Charlotte.
Bacot finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds, Jae’Lyn Withers had 16 points and 10 rebounds off the bench and Cormac Ryan scored 13 points for the top-seeded Tar Heels, who shot 55 percent from the ground.
North Carolina (28-7) will meet ninth-seeded Michigan State in the second round on Saturday. Melvin Council Jr. and Julian Brown both had 18 points for Wagner (17-16), which beat Howard 71-68 in Tuesday night’s First Four in Dayton, Ohio. Keyontae Lewis added 13 points.
No. 2 Arizona 85, No. 15 Long Beach State 65
In the opening four minutes of the second half, the Wildcats seized the initiative with a 17-2 run, defeating Beach in the Salt Lake City first-round match.
With 20 points and 11 rebounds, Caleb Love and Kylan Boswell led Arizona (26–8). Oumar Ballo led the Wildcats with 11 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocked shots.
Arizona’s attack settled into a rhythm in the second half, and Long Beach State (21–15) was unable to stay up. Aboubacar Traoré contributed 14 points and 15 rebounds, while Amari Stroud, who came off the bench, scored 14 points for Beach.
Dayton 63 No. 7, Nevada 60 No. 10
DaRon Holmes II scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Flyers came back strong to beat the Wolf Pack in Salt Lake City.
Dayton (25-7) erased a 17-point second-half deficit to earn its first tournament victory since the 2014-15 campaign. Koby Brea finished with 15 points on five 3-pointers and Enoch Cheeks scored 12 points.
Jarod Lucas scored 17 points to lead Nevada (26-8), which recorded the eighth-most wins in program history but failed to advance to the first round. Kenan Blackshear and Nick Davidson finished with 15 points each.
No. 9 Michigan State 69, No. 8 Mississippi State 51
The Spartans defeated the Bulldogs in their first-round matchup thanks to 19 points from Tyson Walker, who also never let up.
On Saturday, the second-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels will take on Michigan State (20-14). In addition to Walker’s three 3-pointers, Jaden Akins scored fifteen points, and Malik Hall chipped in ten.
Mississippi State (21-14), led by Josh Hubbard’s 15 points, shot 37 percent from the field, and made only 6 of its 27 3-point attempts. It was the Bulldogs’ lowest point total of the year in the end.
the Midwest Area
Tennessee No. 2, Saint-Pierre No. 15, 49
The Volunteers easily crushed any dreams the Peacocks had of pulling off another spectacular Cinderella run in the playoffs with a first-round rout led by Dalton Knecht, who scored 23 points.
The Volunteers had a lead of up to 29 points in the first half thanks to the 15 points and 10 assists of Jonas Aidoo and Zakai Zeigler. On Saturday, seventh-seeded Texas (21-12) will take on Tennessee (25-8).
Latrell Reid led Saint Peter’s (19-14) to an Elite Eight appearance two years ago as a No. 15 seed. Marcus Randolph added nine points after Reid’s 17 points. Before Thursday, the Peacocks had triumphed in eight of their previous ten games.
Creighton No. 3 77, Akron No. 14 60
The Pittsburgh Bluejays defeated Akron with a score of 23 points and 8 rebounds from Ryan Kalkbrenner and 15 points and 13 rebounds from Baylor Scheierman.
For the fourth consecutive tournament, the Bluejays (24-9) advanced past the first round by shooting 56.5 percent overall and a season-high 58.8 percent from 3-point range (10 of 17). The next round will see them play No. 11 Oregon. Steven Ashworth and Mason Miller each scored ten points, while Trey Alexander scored nineteen.
With 21 points and 14 rebounds, Enrique Freeman led Akron (24-11) in victory.
Kansas 93, Samford 89, No. 4
With 19 points, 20 rebounds, and four blocked shots, Hunter Dickinson helped the Jayhawks defeat the Bulldogs in Salt Lake City and avoid an upset.
For Kansas (23–10), KJ Adams Jr. scored 20 points, and Nicolas Timberlake added 19. The Jayhawks, who never trailed but almost squandered a 22-point advantage in the second half, were led by Johnny Furphy, who finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Achor Achor led Samford (29–6) with 23 points and eight rebounds. With 14.7 seconds remaining, AJ Staton-McCray of the Bulldogs seemed to block a Timberlake shot cleanly, but a foul was called, and Timberlake converted two free throws to give Kansas a three-point lead.
No. 12 McNeese 65, No. 5 Gonzaga 86
In the opening round in Salt Lake City, the Bulldogs dominated the Cowboys, led by double-doubles from Graham Ike and Anton Watson.
For the Bulldogs (26-7), Watson ended with 13 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists, and two steals, while Ike finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
For McNeese, which came into the tournament riding an 11-game winning streak, Christian Shumate recorded 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Shahada Wells scored 19 points.
Oregon No. 11 87, South Carolina No. 6 73
The Ducks defeated the Gamecocks in Pittsburgh thanks to a career-high 40 points from Jermaine Couisnard against his old team.
Prior to the 2022–2023 season, Couisnard transferred to Oregon after playing for the Gamecocks for three seasons. On Thursday, he made 14 of 22 shots, including 5 of 9 from beyond the arc, and he also pulled down 4 rebounds and 6 assists. With 23 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals, N’Faly Dante was productive. On Saturday, Oregon (24-11) will take on Creighton, the No. 3 seed.
South Carolina (26-8), led by Meechie Johnson with 24 points, Ta’Lon Cooper with 15, and BJ Mack with 13. However, the team was unable to bounce back after missing an 8:21 field goal late in the first half.
Texas 56, Colorado State 44, No. 10
In Charlotte, the Longhorns prevailed over the Rams despite offensive setbacks thanks to the combined 12 points from Max Abmas and Dylan Disu.
Texas (21–12) player Chendall Weaver added 11 points off the bench, nailing five of seven shots as most other players had trouble scoring. The game was characterized by both poor shooting and turnovers, as Colorado State fell behind the Longhorns 19–12.
Colorado State (25-11), seeded number ten, received ten points apiece from Isaiah Stevens and Joel Scott. The team was playing for the second match in three nights. The Rams only pulled down 13 offensive rebounds on their 29.3% shooting from the field, even though they missed 41 field goals.
Eastern Area
No. 15 South Dakota State 65, No. 2 Iowa State 82
In Omaha, Nebraska, Milan Momcilovic’s 19 points enabled the Cyclones to defeat the Jackrabbits.
The Cyclones (28-7) won their eighth game in a row and their fourth in a row with 17 points and seven assists from Tamin Lipsey. 15 points and three steals were scored by Keshon Gilbert. On Saturday, Iowa State takes on Washington State, ranked seventh.
The Jackrabbits (22-13) ended an eight-game winning streak with 19 points from Zeke Mayo and 14 from William Kyle III. In NCAA tournaments, they are 0-7 all-time.
No. 14 Morehead State 69, No. 3 Illinois 85
Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 26 points, Dain Dainja scored 17 of his 21 points after halftime, and Marcus Domask recorded a triple-double to lead the Illini against the Eagles.
Halfway through the second half, Illinois (27-8) took a 68-51 lead after going on a 20-3 run. Dainja finished 9 of 9 from the field and scored 10 points during the spurt. Illinois will play Duquesne, ranked eleventh, on Saturday in the second round. Domask finished with ten assists, eleven rebounds, and twelve points.
Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year Riley Minix, an NAIA transfer, finished the season with a game-high 27 points, making him 13 of 14 games with 20 or more points. After that, Jordan Lathon led the Eagles (26-9) with 23 points and seven rebounds.
Duquesne No. 71 and BYU No. 67
In Omaha, Nebraska, the Dukes defeated the Cougars with 19 points from Dae Dae Grant, giving them their first NCAA tournament win since 1969.
As Duquesne (25-11) won its ninth straight game, Jakub Necas added 12 points, six boards, and three blocked shots. Jimmy Clark III scored five of his 11 points in the final eighty-seven seconds. This was the first time the Dukes have competed in the NCAA tournament since their 1977 tournament run under head coach Norm Nixon.
Coming off the bench, Jaxson Robinson led BYU with 25 points (23–11). 11 points and 16 rebounds were scored by Spencer Johnson.
Washington State, No. 7, 66, Drake, No. 10
In Omaha, Nebraska, the Cougars defeated the Bulldogs with the help of Isaiah Watts’ game-winning basket and 20 points and 11 rebounds from Isaac Jones.
The Cougars (25-9) won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2008 with the addition of 17 points and 9 rebounds from Jaylen Wells. On Saturday, series no. 2, Washington State takes on Iowa State, ranked first.
For the Bulldogs (28-7), Atin Wright scored 20 points. Darnell Brodie scored 13 points, pulled down nine rebounds, and blocked three shots in addition to Tucker DeVries’ 14 points and six assists.