Izzo improves to 20-6 in first-round contests
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo won his 20th first-round game in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
This one, he said, might have been the most impressive, even to former Spartans greats like Draymond Green.
Tyson Walker scored 19 points and the ninth-seeded Spartans improved to 20-6 in March Madness openers under Izzo with a 69-51 win over eighth-seeded Mississippi State on Thursday. It was Izzo’s 26th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance — an NCAA Division I record for a coach at one school.
Jaden Akins added 15 points and seven rebounds and Malik Hall scored 10 points for Michigan State (2014), which will face top-seeded North Carolina on Saturday.
Freshman Josh Hubbard scored 15 points for the Mississippi State (21-14), which hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2021.
NORTH CAROLINA 90, WAGNER 62
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Armando Bacot had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and No. 1 seed North Carolina never trailed in beating 16th-seeded Wagner.
Jae’Lyn Withers had a season-high 16 points and matched his best rebounding work with 10 boards for the West Region’s headliner. That helped the Tar Heels (28-7) finish the game shooting 55% while dominating up front against a short-handed upstart aiming to pull off only the third opening-round takedown of a 1-seed in March Madness history.
RJ Davis, named this week as a firstteam All-American by The Associated Press, had 17 of his 22 points after halftime for the Tar Heels.
Melvin Council Jr. and Julian Brown each scored 18 points for the Seahawks (17-16).
DAYTON 63, NEVADA 60
SALT LAKE CITY — DaRon Holmes II and seventh-seeded Dayton staged a huge March Madness rally, closing with a 24-4 run to erase a 17-point deficit and beat 10th-seeded Nevada.
Holmes, the Atlantic 10 player of the year, finished with 18 points, including a three-point play with 2:01 remaining that gave Dayton its first lead since the first half.
The Flyers (25-7) trailed 56-39 with 7:36 remaining but responded with a 17-0 run that included two three-pointers by Koby Brea, who finished with 15 points.
Enoch Cheeks’ layup with 34 seconds left gave Dayton the lead for good, and he made two free throws for the final margin. He scored 12 points as the Flyers picked up their first NCAA Tournament win in nine years.
Jarrod Lucas scored 17 points, and Kenan Blackshear and Nick Davidson scored 15 apiece for the Wolf Pack (26-8)
ARIZONA 85, LONG BEACH STATE 65
SALT LAKE CITY — Arizona scored 16 consecutive points over a five-minute stretch to pull away for a victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and snuff out Dan Monson’s coaching tenure at Long Beach State.
Kylan Boswell scored 20 points for the second-seeded Wildcats (26-8), who made 13 three-pointers, the program record for March Madness.
This marked the end of a 17-year stretch at Long Beach State for the 62-year-old Monson. He learned last week that he wouldn’t return next season. His team responded by unexpectedly winning the Big West Tournament to send the program to March Madness for the first time since 2012.