Northwestern beats FAU 77-65 in East
Ryan Langborg scored 12 of his career-high 27 points in overtime, and ninth- seeded Northwestern finally put away No. 8 seed Florida Atlantic 77- 65 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
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. They will play No. 1 overall seed Uconn or 16th-seeded Stetson in the second round of the East Region on Sunday in Brooklyn.
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.
BAYLOR 92, COLGATE 67 >> Jalen Bridges scored 23 points, Ja’kobe Walter added 19 and third-seeded Baylor coasted past 14thseeded Colgate 92- 67 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
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 first-round games in March Madness.
Keegan Records led Colgate (25-10) with 14 points. Sam Thomson had 11 and Braeden Smith scored 10.
SAN DIEGO STATE 69, UAB 65>> 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. MARQUETTE 87, WESTERN KENTUCKY 69 >> Kam Jones scored 28 points and Tyler Kolek made a successful return from an oblique injury, helping No. 2 seed Marquette rally for an 8769 victory over No. 15 seed Western Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
The Golden Eagles (269) trailed 43- 36 at halftime, but they overwhelmed the Hilltoppers in the second half. They used a 15-2 run to open an 87- 67 cushion on the way to their second consecutive first-round NCAA victory.
Jones scored 18 in the second half. Kolek finished with 18 points and 11 assists in his first game since
Feb. 28.
UCONN 91. STETSON 62 >> 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 91-52 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The top- ranked Huskies (32-3) will face ninthseeded Northwestern on Sunday in the second round of the East Region at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Stephan Swenson scored 20 points for the Hatters (22-13), the Asun champions who were making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They never had a chance against Uconn, which scored the first eight points and went on to its most lopsided NCAA victory since beating Chattanooga by 56 in the first round of the 2009 tournament.
CLEMSON 77, NEW MEXICO STATE 56 >> Chase Hunter scored 21 points and sixthseeded Clemson ended No. 11 seed New Mexico’s hopes of repeating the Mountain West’s run in the NCAA Tournament, beating the Lobos 77-56 on Friday.
The Lobos (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 2 1/2 points in this game, according to Fanduel Sportsbook. New Mexico won its league tournament, beating a trio of teams that also earned March Madness berths including SDSU — last year’s national runner-up.
Clemson (22-11) dominated on both ends, leading by 19 points in the first half and 23 in the second. The Tigers also held New Mexico to its worst shooting performance this season — 29.7% from the field and
13% (3 of 23) from 3-point range.
The Tigers will play third- seeded Baylor, a 9267 winner over 14th-seeded Colgate, in the second round Sunday. A Sweet 16 game in Los Angeles awaits that winner on March 28. YALE 78, AUBURN 76 >> 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 on Friday.
For the second straight year, the Ivy League Tournament champion took down one of the pre-tournament favorites — busting plenty of March Madness brackets once again.
Last year it was Princeton toppling Arizona. This time, it was Yale’s turn. COLORADO 102, FLORIDA 100 >>
KJ Simpson rattled in a tiebreaking jumper from the baseline with 2 seconds left, and 10th-seeded Colorado beat seventh- seeded Florida in a 102-100 thriller on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Simpson finished with 23 points as the Buffaloes (2610) and Gators (24-12) put on the most impressive offensive display of this year’s March Madness. Colorado extended its single-season school record for wins two days after beating Boise State in the First Four. The Buffs advance in the South Region to face second- seeded Marquette on Sunday.
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.