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West Region Saint Mary’s 63, VCU 51
Saint Mary's got the pace it wanted — and another win in the NCAA Tournament.
Mitchell Saxen had 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, and Saint Mary's beat ailing VCU 63-51 on Friday. Alex Ducas also scored 17 points as the fifth-seeded Gaels (27-7) advanced to the second round for the second straight year. Logan Johnson had 12 points and 10 rebounds — part of a strong effort in the paint for Saint Mary's — and reserve Augustas Marciulionis scored 13 points.
Saint Mary's will play No. 4 seed UConn on Sunday. The Huskies advanced with an 87-63 victory over Iona.
In a matchup of the Gaels' more deliberate style and the Rams' up-tempo game, Saint Mary's controlled most of the action.
“I thought we'd beat them inside," Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett said. “Both teams have good guards. It was a gritty game, and we just kind of outlasted them a little bit and got a little separation and were able to hang on.”
Ace Baldwin led VCU (27-8) with 13 points, but he hurt his right Achilles tendon and groin after taking a jumper with just over 14 minutes left in regulation. The Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year lay on the court for a couple of minutes before receiving treatment on the bench and back in the locker room. VCU was down 38-34 when Baldwin left and 48-39 when he came back with 9:03 left after the Gaels of the West Coast Conference went on a 10-5 spurt sparked by a three-point play by Kyle Bowen. Baldwin hit a jump shot after returning but left the floor for good three minutes later.
“It's a bummer," VCU coach Mike Rhoades said. "Your best player goes down in an NCAA Tournament game, like come on, man. But this is sports. This is competition. Things happen. You've still got to find ways. You've still got to find a way. Look, we got beat by a better team today. They played better in the second half than we did, and they won." Saint Mary's outrebounded VCU 37-29 while holding the school to its second-lowest point total of the season. The Rams had 47 against Memphis. The NCAA appearance was the first for 12th-seeded VCU since it had to forfeit a game in the 2021 tournament because of a COVID-19 outbreak. The Rams had won nine in a row.
Saint Mary's held a 29-28 halftime lead in a rugged contest where neither team led by more than four points and tight, tough defense was the norm.
Saint Mary's shot 3 for 17 from 3-point range and 41% (20 for 49) overall. Freshman guard Aidan Mahaney, who was averaging 14.5 points, was 0 for 5 from the field and didn't score for the first time this season.
VCU wasn't much better. It only made six field goals in the second half. It shot 36.7% (18 for 48). Baldwin was its only player in double figures.
East Region Kentucky 61, Providence 53
Antonio Reeves scored 22 points and Oscar Tshiebwe pulled down 25 rebounds in an overpowering display, helping Kentucky beat Providence. Tshiebwe's rebounding work was the second-most in the tournament since 1973, and 11 of his rebounds came on the offensive glass — a big factor in the sixth-seeded Wildcats (22-11) staying in control.
With the two-time Associated Press All-American grabbing just about every loose ball, Kentucky finished with a 48-31 rebounding advantage, controlling the offensive glass (plus-10) and dominating in second-chance points for an 18-2 edge.
On a day when neither team shot well after halftime, that boardwork was vital to sending Kentucky on to face the Montana State-Kansas State winner Sunday in the East Region — a big turnaround from last year's surprising first-round exit against 15th-seeded Saint Peter's.
Reeves hit five 3-pointers to lead the offense, while Jacob Toppin had his own big game with 18 points. Tshiebwe managed eight points, but he was still an indomitable force that the 11th-seeded Friars (21-12) just couldn't manage. Ed Croswell scored 16 points for Providence, which shot just 36.2%.
Marquette 78, Vermont 61
Kam Jones scored 18 straight points for Marquette in the second half, and the second-seeded Golden Eagles beat No. 15 seed Vermont for their first NCAA Tournament victory in a decade. Jones finished with 19 points. Oso Ighodaro scored 14 points and David Joplin added 12 as Marquette (29-6) pulled away in the last 10 minutes. Marquette won its first NCAA Tournament game in a decade and advanced to face Michigan State on Sunday.
Dylan Penn, Matt Veretto and Robin Duncan each had 11 points for Vermont (23-11).
Jones made a 3-pointer early in the second half to begin an 18-6 spurt during which he scored all of Marquette's points as the Golden Eagles pulled ahead 63-46.
Michigan State 72, USC 62
Joey Hauser scored 17 points and No. 7 seed Michigan State clamped down defensively on No. 10 seed Southern California in the second half. Coach Tom Izzo's Spartans (20-12) will face Marquette on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.
Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins added 12 points apiece for Michigan State (20-12), which held USC to 34% shooting in the second half.
Joshua Morgan scored 14 and Kobe Johnson 13 to lead the Trojans (22-11), who were knocked out in the tournament's first round for the second straight year.
Midwest Region Pittsburgh 59, Iowa State 41
Nelly Cummings scored 13 points and No. 11 seed Pittsburgh held sixth-seeded Iowa State to 23% shooting. Jamarius Burton added 11 points and Greg Elliott had 10 for coach Jeff Capel's Panthers, who stormed to a 22-2 lead after Iowa State missed its first 11 shots. Things didn't get much better for the Cyclones, who had three stretches in which they missed at least eight consecutive shots.
Pitt (24-11), which edged Mississippi State in the First Four, moves on to play third-seeded Xavier on Sunday. Gabe Kalscheur and Jaren Holmes each had 12 points for Iowa State (19-14).
Xavier 72, Kennesaw State 67
Jack Nunge blocked Terrell Burden's driving attempt at a go-ahead layup in the final seconds, and Xavier dug out of a 13-point hole against surprising Kennesaw State to escape with a victory. Souley Boum hit four clinching free throws in the final 2.6 seconds for the third-seeded Musketeers (26-9), who ran off 15 unanswered points as part of a game-ending 24-6 run. That was enough to turn away the 14th-seeded Owls (26-9) in the program's first-ever March Madness game.
Xavier moves on to face Pittsburgh on Sunday in the Midwest Region. Xavier led 68-67 when Burden — who'd been successful all day with dribble penetration — turned into the paint past Jerome Hunter and appeared to have a path to the rim. The 7-foot Nunge moved over and swatted the ball into the backboard.
Jerome Hunter scored 24 points to lead the Musketeers, while Boum had 17. Nunge had 10 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Burden and Chris Youngblood each scored 14 points to lead Kennesaw State.
South Region Baylor 74, UC Santa Barbara 56
Caleb Lohner scored a season-best 13 points in just 18 minutes, and No. 3 seed Baylor beat UC Santa Barbara. Adam Flagler led the Bears with 18 points, and LJ Cryer scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half.
Baylor (23-10) overcame a one-point halftime deficit to advance to play Creighton on Sunday.
Miles Norris led the 14th-seeded Gauchos (27-8) with 15 points. Ajay Mitchell added 13.
Creighton 72, N.C. State 63
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored a career-high 31 points and sixth-seeded Creighton overcame an abysmal 3-point shooting day to fend off No. 11 seed North Carolina State.
The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner did a little bit of everything for the Bluejays (22-12), which included hitting a big 3-pointer on a day the team finished 3 of 20 from long range. Kalkbrenner had six dunks and 10 rebounds, and N.C. State big men D.J. Burns Jr. and Ebenezer Dowuona were hampered by foul trouble.
Terquavion Smith led the Wolfpack (2311) with 32 points.