Yale rallies to stun Auburn after wild finish
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 No. 4 seed Auburn 78-76 in the first round of the NCAA tournament in an East Region game at Spokane, Wash., on Friday.
For the second straight year, the Ivy League tournament champion took down one of the tournament favorites — busting plenty of March Madness brackets once again.
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, rallying from a 10-point deficit midway through the second half.
After the final seconds ticked off, the players celebrated on the scorer’s table in front of their fans.
Poulakidas hit big shot after big shot. His step-back three-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.
No. 1 Connecticut 91, No. 16 Stetson 52:
Donovan Clingan scored 19 points and Cam Spencer had 15 as the Huskies (32-3) began the defense of their national championship by cruising past the Hatters at New York.
No. 5 San Diego State 69, No. 12 Alabama Birmingham 65:
Jaedon LeDee dominated inside on the way to 32 points, Lamont Butler scored 15 and the Aztecs (2510) held off the Blazers at Spokane, Wash.
No. 9 Northwestern 77, No. 8 Florida Atlantic 65 (OT):
Ryan Langborg scored 12 of his career-high 27 points in overtime, and the Wildcats (22-11) put away the Owls at New York.
South
No. 2 Marquette 87, No. 15 Western Kentucky 69:
Kam Jones scored 28 points and Tyler Kolek made a successful return from an oblique injury, helping the Golden Eagles (26-9) rally past the Hilltoppers at Indianapolis.
No. 10 Colorado 102, No. 7 Florida 100: KJ Simpson rattled in a tiebreaking jumper with two seconds left to lift the Buffaloes (26-10) at Indianapolis.
West
No. 3 Baylor 92, No. 14 Colgate 67:
Jalen Bridges scored 23 points, Ja’Kobe Walter had 19 and the Bears (24-10) coasted past the Raiders at Memphis, Tenn.
Jayden Nunn added 15 points, going four for five from three-point range.
No. 6 Clemson 77, No. 11 New Mexico 56:
Chase Hunter scored 21 points and the Tigers (22-11) dominated on both ends for a relatively easy win over the Lobos at Memphis. Clemson led by 19 points in the first half and 23 in the second.
Thursday’s late men’s games
Jack Gohlke made 10 three-pointers and scored a career-high 32 points as 14th-seeded Oakland delivered the first true shock of this March Madness, beating third-seeded Kentucky 80-76 . ... Kansas took advantage of a much-debated foul call in the waning seconds to make two free throws for a 93-89 victory over 13thseeded Samford . ... Ben Middlebrooks scored a career-high 21 points and 11thseeded North Carolina State surged past sixth-seeded Texas Tech 80-67 . ... Graham Ike scored 16 points to power Gonzaga over McNeese State 86-65 . ... Isaac Jones had 20 points and 11 rebounds to power Washington State over 66-61 . ... No. 2 seed Iowa State used big runs to start each half and bury South Dakota State 8265 . ... Dalton Knecht scored 23 points and Tennessee routed Saint Peter’s 83-49 . ... Texas held Colorado State to 11 points in the first half en route to a 56-44 victory.
WOMEN
Regional 2 No. 11 Middle Tennessee 71, No. 6 Louisville 69:
Savannah Wheeler scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half, and the Blue Raiders (30-4) overcame an 18-point, second-quarter deficit to upset the Cardinals at Baton Rouge, La.
No. 3 Louisiana State 70, No. 14 Rice 60:
Angel Reese had 10 points and 19 rebounds, and the defending national champion Tigers (29-5) held off the feisty Owls at Baton Rouge.
Regional 3
No. 2 Ohio State 80, No. 15 Maine 57:
Jacy Sheldon had 19 points and three other players scored in double figures as the Buckeyes (26-5) rolled to a win at Columbus, Ohio.
No. 7 Duke 72, No. 10 Richmond 61:
Reigan Richardson scored 25 points as the Blue Devils (21-11) rallied at Columbus.
Regional 1
No. 1 South Carolina 91, No. 16 Presbyterian 39: Chloe Kitts tied her career high with 21 points on ninefor-nine shooting as the Gamecocks (33-0) rolled at Columbia, S.C.
No. 8 North Carolina 59, No. 9 Michigan State 56:
Deja Kelly had 13 points as the Tar Heels (20-12) held on at Columbia.
Regional 4
No. 1 Texas 82, No. 16 Drexel 42:
Shaylee Gonzales scored 21 points and Taylor Jones had 18 for the Longhorns (32-4) at Austin, Texas.
No. 8 Alabama 82, No. 9 Florida State 74: Essence Cody had 20 points and 14 rebounds to power the Crimson Tide (24-9) at Austin.