East Regional

Cassius Winston scored 26 points, and the Spartans held off the Braves in the opening round at Des Moines, Iowa. Xavier Tillman had 16 points with 11 boards for Michigan State (29-6), which will face Big Ten rival Minnesota on Saturday in search of its first trip to the Sweet Sixteen in four years.

The Golden Gophers won their first NCAA Tournament game in six years behind 24 points from freshman Gale Kalscheur as Minnesota rolled past the Cardinals in Des Moines, Iowa. 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.

The Terrapins’ Eric Ayala deflected a pass to set up a steal by Darryl Morsell that stopped the Bruins’ last-second attempt at an NCAA Tournament upset, and Maryland escaped with a victory in Jacksonville, Fla.

Playing its second tournament game in less than 48 hours, Belmont left no doubt it belonged after receiving one of the selection committee’s final at-large bids. But the midmajor powerhouse couldn’t knock off the Terrapins (23-10) from the Big Ten, despite a 35-point performance by Dylan Windler.

Skylar Mays hit four free throws in the final 15 seconds to help the Tigers slip past the Bulldogs at Jacksonville, Fla. Mays scored 19 points but sealed the game from the line, and LSU (27-6) needed each one of his free throws.