Fourth-seeded Auburn shocked by No. 13 Yale
John Poulakidas scored 28 points, Samson Aletan made a key block during a wild scramble in the final seconds, and 13th-seeded Yale rallied in the final five minutes to take down East Region No. 4 seed Auburn 78-76 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Spokane, Wash.
For the second straight year, the Ivy League Tournament champion took down one of the pre-tournament favorites.
Last year it was Princeton toppling Arizona. This time, it was Yale's turn.
The Bulldogs (23-9) won an NCAA Tournament game for just the second time in school history, rallying from a 10-point deficit midway through the second half.
Poulakidas' 3-pointer with 2:10 left gave the Bulldogs a 73-72 lead. Yale never trailed again, despite a chaotic final stretch that included Auburn getting off two shots in the closing seconds following a missed free throw, one of which was rejected by Aletan.
Johni Broome led Auburn (27-8) with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
UCONN 91, STETSON 52 >> Donovan Clingan scored 19 points and Cam Spencer added 15 as the top-seeded Huskies (32-3) began defense of theirs national championship by cruising past the 16th-seeded Hatters (22-13), who were making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. NORTHWESTERN 77, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 65, OT >> Ryan Langborg scored 12 of his career-high 27 points in overtime, and the ninthseeded Wildcats (22-11) beat the No. 8 seed Owls (25-9).
Boo Buie, the leading scorer in Northwestern history, had 19 of his 22 points after a quiet first half.
South Region
COLORADO 102 ,FLORIDA 100 >> KJ Simpson rattled in a tiebreaking jumper from the baseline with 2 seconds left, and the 10th-seeded Buffaloes topped the seventhseeded Gators.
Simpson finished with 23 points for Colorado (2610), which extended its single-season school record for wins two days after beating Boise State in the First Four.
Walter Clayton Jr. scored the last 16 points for Florida (24-12), including a 3-pointer to tie the game at 100-all with 9 seconds left. He finished with 33 points. SAN DIEGO ST. 69, UAB 65 >> Jaedon LeDee scored 32 points, Lamont Butler added 15 and the No. 5seeded Aztecs held off the 12th-seeded Blazers (23-12).
A year after reaching the national title game, also as a No. 5 seed, San Diego State saw a 12-point second-half lead disappear before putting together a late surge on the strength of their star 6-foot-9 forward to avoid a March Madness surprise.
LeDee scored on three straight possessions for the Aztecs (25-10) after UAB took a 56-53 lead. LeDee climbed for an offensive rebound and was fouled with 1:01 remaining. LeDee hit both free throws to give SDSU a 66-63 lead, and he added two more foul shots with 20 seconds left.
DUKE 64, VERMONT 47 >> Jared McCain and Mark Mitchell each had 15 points, and the No.4 seed Blue Devils (25-8) routed the 13th-seeded Catamounts (28-7).
TEXAS A&M 98, NEBRASKA 83 >> Wade Taylor IV scored 25 points and the No. 9 seed Aggies (21-14) sent the eighth-seeded Cornhuskers (23-11) home still looking for their first NCAA Tournament victory. MARQUETTE 87, WESTERN KENTUCKY 69 >> Kam Jones scored 28 points and Tyler Kolek made a successful return from an oblique injury, helping the secondseeded Golden Eagles rally for a victory over the No. 15 seed Hilltoppers (22-12).
Marquette (26-9) trailed 43-36 at halftime, but it overwhelmed WKU in the second half. using a 15-2 run to open an 87-67 cushion.
Kolek finished with 18 points and 11 assists in his first game since Feb. 28.
Midwest Region
PURDUE 78, GRAMBLING ST. 50 >> Zach Edey had the first 30-point, 20-rebound game in the NCAA Tournament since 1995 in leading the top-seeded Boilermakers past the 16th-seeded Tigers (21-15).
The greatest scorer and rebounder in school history finished with 30 points and 21 rebounds in 30 minutes. The last player with a 3020 game in the tournament was Joe Smith of Maryland on March 18, 1995.
Braden Smith added 11 points and 10 assists for the Boilermakers (30-4), who tied the school's single-season record for victories.
This was a far different story from the one that played out 372 days earlier, when Purdue fell to Fairleigh Dickinson to become the second No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
West Region CLEMSON 77, NEW MEXICO 56
>> Chase Hunter scored 21 points and the sixth-seeded Tigers ended the No. 11 seed Lobos' hopes of repeating the Mountain West's run in the NCAA Tournament.
New Mexico (26-10) came in as the Mountain West Tournament champs, a popular pick to be this tournament's version of San Diego State a year ago and favored by 21/2 points in this game.
Clemson (22-11) held New Mexico to its worst shooting performance this season — 29.7% from the field and 13% (3 of 23) from 3-point range. BAYLOR 92, COLGATE 67 >> Jalen Bridges scored 23 points and the third-seeded Bears (24-10) coasted past the 14th-seeded Raiders (25-10).