LeDee, San Diego State hold off UAB in near-upset
Defending champ UConn easily cruises past Stetson
SPOKANE, Wash. — Jaedon LeDee dominated inside on the way to 32 points, Lamont Butler added 15 and No. 5 seed San Diego State held off 12th-seeded UAB 69-65 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
A year after marching to the national title game, also as a No. 5 seed, the Aztecs 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 in the East Region.
Quiet for most of the second half, LeDee scored on three straight possessions for the Aztecs (25-10) after UAB took a 56-53 lead. Butler hit a difficult fallaway, and LeDee climbed for an offensive rebound and was fouled with 1:01 left. LeDee hit both free throws to give SDSU a 66-63 lead, and he added two more foul shots with 20 seconds left.
UAB’s Efrem Johnson had a contested look at a tying 3-pointer with 8 seconds left, but it rimmed off, and Reese Waters’ free throw with 3 seconds remaining allowed the Aztecs a chance to exhale.
LeDee made 11 of 18 shots, was 9 of 10 at the free throw line and had eight rebounds. He topped 30 points for the fourth time this season and finished two short of his career high. San Diego State will play No. 13 seed Yale in the second round on Sunday.
East Region
UCONN 81, STETSON 52: In New York, Donovan Clingan scored 19 points and Cam Spencer added 15 as top-seeded UConn began defense of its national championship by cruising past 16th-seeded Stetson.
The top-ranked Huskies (32-3) will face ninth-seeded Northwestern on Sunday.
Stephan Swenson scored 20 points for the Hatters (22-13), the ASun champions who were making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
NORTHWESTERN 77, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 65, OT:
In New York, Ryan Langborg scored 12 of his career-high 27 points in overtime, and ninth-seeded Northwestern finally put away No. 8 seed Florida Atlantic.
Brooks Barnhizer’s driving layup tied it with nine seconds left for the Wildcats (22-11), who recovered after squandering a nine-point lead late in the second half.
Boo Buie had 19 of his 22 points after a quiet first half, and Barnhizer added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Northwestern, which advanced in the NCAAs for the second consecutive season.
Vlad Goldin had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Owls (25-9).
Midwest Region
PURDUE 78, GRAMBLING STATE 50:
In Indianapolis, Zach Edey had the first 30-point, 20-rebound game in the NCAA Tournament since 1995, delivering on his promise to end the discussion about first-round March Madness exits by leading top-seeded Purdue Boilermakers past 16th-seeded Grambling State.
The greatest scorer and rebounder in school history finished with 30 points and 21 rebounds in 30 minutes, going 11 of 17 from the field.
Braden Smith added 11 points and 10 assists for the Boilermakers (30-4), who tied the school’s single-season record for victories. Purdue had a 48-23 rebounding advantage.
Purdue will play a second-round contest Sunday against either eighth-seeded Utah State or ninth-seeded TCU.
South Region
MARQUETTE 87, WESTERN KENTUCKY 69:
In Indianapolis, Kam Jones scored 28 points and Tyler Kolek made a successful return from an oblique injury, helping No. 2 seed Marquette rally for a victory over No. 15 seed Western Kentucky.
The Golden Eagles (26-9) trailed 43-36 at halftime, but they overwhelmed the Hilltoppers in the second half.
Jones scored 18 in the second half. Kolek finished with 18 points and 11 assists in his first game since Feb. 28.
Next up for Marquette is Colorado on Sunday in the second round of the South Region.
Tyrone Marshall scored a career-high 21 points for WKU (22-12).
DUKE 64, VERMONT 47: In New York, Jared McCain and Mark Mitchell each had 15 points, and No. 4 seed Duke opened the NCAA Tournament with an uneven performance before finally pulling away from 13th-seeded Vermont.
Jeremy Roach scored 14 for the Blue Devils (25-8), who were able to advance without much offensive production from star center Kyle Filipowski.
Duke will face No. 5 seed Wisconsin or 12th-seeded James Madison in a second-round game Sunday.
Shamir Bogues had 18 points for Vermont (28-7).
COLORADO 102, FLORIDA 100:
In Indianapolis, KJ Simpson rattled in a tiebreaking jumper from the baseline with 2 seconds left, and 10th-seeded Colorado beat seventh-seeded Florida in a thriller.
Simpson finished with 23 points as the Buffaloes (26-10) and Gators (24-12) put on the most impressive offensive display of this year’s March Madness.
Walter Clayton Jr. scored the last 16 points for Florida, including a 3-pointer to tie the game at 100-all with 9 seconds left. He finished with a career-high 33 points, but his half-court heave at the buzzer didn’t hit the rim.
TEXAS A&M 98, NEBRASKA 83: In Memphis, Tenn., Wade Taylor IV scored 25 points and No. 9 seed Texas A&M sent eighth-seeded Nebraska home.
The Aggies (21-14) added insult to injury by beating Nebraska after unexpectedly hiring athletic director Trev Alberts away from his alma mater for the same job last week.
Manny Obaseki added 22 points for the Aggies, who put five players in double figures and scored a season high in points.
Texas A&M will play either top-seeded Houston or No. 16 seed Longwood on Sunday.
Nebraska (23-11) leaves Memphis still looking for that elusive NCAA victory following the program’s best finish in conference play since 1992-93.
West Region BAYLOR 92, COLGATE 67:
In Memphis, Tenn., Jalen Bridges scored 23 points, Ja’Kobe Walter added 19 and third-seeded Baylor coasted past 14th-seeded Colgate.
Jayden Nunn added 15 points, going 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and RayJ Davis finished with 10 points and nine assists for coach Scott Drew’s Bears (24-10), who have won their past six firstround games in March Madness.
Keegan Records led Colgate (2510) with 14 points. Sam Thomson had 11 and Braeden Smith scored 10.
Baylor will play Clemson in the second round.
Colgate (25-10), which dominated the Patriot League in the regular season and won the conference tournament, fell to 0-7 in the NCAA Tournament.