BROOME, AUBURN HOLD OFF IOWA
When it comes to Auburn and the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers know how to make an opening statement.
Johni Broome had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots, and No. 9 seed Auburn beat Iowa 83-75 on Thursday at Birmingham, Ala., for its 10th consecutive opening-round win dating to the mid-1980s.
The Tigers (21-12) made 11 of 12 free throws over the final four minutes to lock up a second-round matchup with No. 1 seed Houston.
It was a decidedly Auburnoriented crowd two hours from campus.
“They were loud and rowdy the whole game,” Auburn guard Allen Flanigan said. “It felt like a home game for us.”
Broome even made his ninth 3-pointer of the season to push the margin into double digits for the first time with 16 minutes left.
The Tigers appeared poised to pull away in front of a partisan orange-and-blue crowd, going up by 17 with a 13-2 run midway through the second half sparked by Tre Donaldson’s three 3-pointers off the bench.
The eighth-seeded Hawkeyes climbed back into it, twice cutting it down to four but coming no closer.
“We knew they had another run in them,” Broome said. “We were like, ’Let’s make a stop and win this game.’ ”
Auburn had six players score in double figures. Wendell Green Jr. had 15 points, and Donaldson, Jaylin Williams and KD Johnson each finished with 11. Allen Flanigan scored 10.
No. 1 Houston 63, No. 16 Northern Kentucky 52:
With All-American Marcus Strasser watching from the bench, Houston shook off Northern Kentucky for a victory to open the NCAA Tournament at Birmingham.
Chants of “NKU!” and “Overrated!” filled Legacy
No. 9 No. 8 Auburn 83, Iowa 75
Arena as the 16th-seeded Norse trailed by only three at halftime and made it 36-all with under 16 minutes to go against the Cougars (32-3).
But Houston pulled away behind 16 points from Jarace Walker, advancing to face ninth-seeded Auburn on Saturday.
No. 2 Texas 81, No. 15 Colgate 61:
At Des Moines, Iowa, Sir’Jabari Rice scored 23 points and Texas shut down sharpshooting Colgate.
Rice made five of his seven 3-pointers in the first half, helping the Longhorns get off to a fast start. Marcus Carr finished with 17 points and Dylan Disu had 17 points and nine rebounds. Texas (27-8) shot 13 for 23 from 3-point range.
In another inspired performance under interim coach Rodney Terry, Rice and the Longhorns picked the perfect time to get hot on the perimeter against the nation’s leading outside shooting team. They matched their season best for 3-pointers made.
No. 10 Penn State 76, No. 7 Texas A&M 59:
Andrew Funk had the shooting game of his career on Penn State’s biggest stage in over two decades. Funk made 8 of 10 3-pointers and scored 27 points in a win over Texas A&M at Des Moines, for the Nittany Lions’ first NCAA Tournament victory in 22 years.
Funk, in his first year at Penn State (23-13) after transferring from Bucknell, led the Nittany Lions to their ninth win in their last 11 games. They next play Texas in the second round of the Midwest Region on Saturday.
Texas A&M (25-10) had won 10 of 12 as it entered its first NCAA Tournament since 2018. The Aggies lost in the first round for only the second time in nine appearances since 2006.
Dexter Dennis scored 19 points to lead A&M.