March Madness: FAU beats Memphis 66-65 in final seconds to set up showdown with Fairleigh Dickinson

Nicholas Boyd drove into the lane and made a floater with 2.5 seconds left, and Florida Atlantic beat Memphis 66-65 Friday night in a rugged, back-and-forth game for the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win.

Coach Penny Hardaway´s Tigers (26-9) had the ball and a one-point lead with 19 seconds left, but a steal by Brandon Weatherspoon and a subsequent jump ball – Hardaway argued his team had called timeout before the tie-up – gave the Owls (32-3) a chance, and Boyd converted.

Giancarlo Rosado scored 15 points to lead ninth-seeded FAU, which advanced to face a surprising opponent, No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, in the second round of the East Region. The Knights knocked off top seed Purdue in one of the biggest upsets in March Madness history.

Kendric Davis scored 16 points despite being hobbled by a second-half leg injury for eighth-seeded Memphis. Davis also got into a shouting match with teammate Malcolm Dandridge, who shoved Davis during a second-half timeout.

DeAndre Williams added 13 points while playing most of the second half with four fouls for the Tigers, including a tip-in that put his team ahead 65-64 with 34 seconds left.

Florida Atlantic guard Alijah Martin (15) and guard Brandon Weatherspoon (23) celebrate after defeating Memphis

UCONN 87, Iona 63

With a dominant performance from its best player in the second half, UConn took the next step toward returning to its championship past.

Adama Sanogo scored 10 of his season-high 28 points in the first five minutes of the second half as the fourth-seeded Huskies seized control and beat Rick Pitino´s Iona Gaels 87-63 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

UConn (26-8) advanced to play fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s on Sunday in the West Region after losing in the first round under coach Dan Hurley the last two seasons.

Iona (27-8) had its 14-game winning streak snapped as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion didn’t have the depth to keep up with one of the Big East’s best for 40 minutes.

Walter Clayton Jr. led the Gaels with 14 points.

Adama Sanogo scored a season-high 28 points as UCONN came to life in the second half

Kentucky 61, Providence 53

Tshiebwe pulled down 25 rebounds and Antonio Reeves scored 22 points, helping the Wildcats beat Providence 61-53 in Friday night’s first round.

Tshiebwe’s rebounding output represented the most in any tournament game since 1977. Eleven of his rebounds came on the offensive glass – a big factor in the sixth-seeded Wildcats (22-11) staying in control as both offenses grinded to a halt after halftime.

Behind Tshiebwe, Kentucky finished with a 48-31 rebounding advantage, controlling the offensive glass (plus-10) and dominating in second-chance points for an 18-2 edge.

That was vital considering shots weren’t falling; Kentucky shot 36.5% overall but just 7 of 28 (25 percent) after halftime.

Reeves hit five 3-pointers to lead the offense, while Toppin had his own big game with 18 points. Tshiebwe managed eight points, but he was still an indomitable force that the 11th-seeded Friars (21-12) just couldn’t manage.

Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe (34) and Providence forward Clifton Moore (21) battle for a rebound

Michigan State 72, USC 62

Joey Hauser scored 17 points and No. 7 seed Michigan State clamped down defensively on No. 10 seed Southern California in the second half.

Coach Tom Izzo´s Spartans (20-12) will face Marquette on Sunday in the East Region for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins added 12 points apiece for Michigan State, which held USC to 34 percent shooting in the second half.

Joshua Morgan scored 14 and Kobe Johnson 13 to lead the Trojans (22-11), who were knocked out in the tournament´s first round for the second straight year.

Davis Smith of Michigan State celebrates a basket against the USC Trojans during their win

Miami 63, Drake 56

Nijel Pack scored 21 points, including the go-ahead jumper and a pair of free throws in the final minute, and No. 5 seed Miami rallied past 12th-seeded Drake.

The Hurricanes (26-7) scored the final 10 points. Norchad Omier added 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Hurricanes, who were held to a season low in scoring. 

Wooga Poplar had 15 points.

Miami will face fourth-seeded Indiana or 13th-seeded Kent State in the second round.

Darnell Brodie had 20 points and nine rebounds to lead Drake (27-8). The Missouri Valley Conference tournament champions were outscored 16-1 over the final 4:29 and 10-0 in the last 2:28. 

The Bulldogs missed their last seven shots from the field and were scoreless the final 3:24.

Nijel Pack scored 21 points as Miami rallied late to beat Drake on Friday night, 63-56

TCU 72, Arizona State 70

JaKobe Coles hit a floater from the lane with 1.5 seconds left and No. 6 seed TCU rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to beat 11th-seeded Arizona State 72-70 on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Coles took a pass Mike Miles Jr. from near the top of the 3-point circle, dribbled once and let go of the game-winner. Arizona State’s desperation heave at the buzzer missed.

Miles, playing on a hyperextended right knee, finished with 26 points for the Horned Frogs (22-12).

They advanced to a second-round matchup with No. 3 seed Gonzaga on Sunday in the West Region.

DJ Horne had 17 for Arizona State (23-13).

JaKobe Coles (21) shoots the game-winning basket over Arizona State Sun Devils forward Warren Washington (22)

Indiana 71, Kent State 60

Trayce Jackson-Davis did it all with 24 points, 11 rebounds, five blocked shots and five assists as Indiana defeated 13th-seed Kent State 71-60 Friday night to reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.

The fourth-seeded Hoosiers (23-11) advanced to play fifth-seeded Miami Sunday for a trip to Kansas City for the Midwest Region semifinals.

Jackson-Davis became the first player since blocks became an official NCAA statistic in 1985-86 to have at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and five assists in an NCAA Tournament game, according to OptaSTATS.

The last of 32 first-round games to tip off was played in front of mostly Indiana fans and their team delivered a no-drama victory to cap what was already a pretty good day. Earlier, the Hoosiers’ in-state rival Purdue became the second No. 1 seed in the history of the tournament to lose to a 16 seed when Fairleigh Dickinson pulled the stunner in Columbus, Ohio.

The Mid-American Conference champs from Kent State couldn’t muster any such magic, shooting 32% from the field. Sincere Carry scored 15 points to lead the Golden Flashes (28-7), who had won six straight heading into tournament.

Trayce Jackson-Davis starred for Indiana in the win with 24 points, 11 rebounds, five blocked shots and five assists

Xavier 72, Kennesaw State 67

Jack Nunge blocked Terrell Burden´s driving attempt at a go-ahead layup in the final seconds, and Xavier dug out of a 13-point hole against surprising Kennesaw State.

Souley Boum hit four clinching free throws in the final 2.6 seconds for the third-seeded Musketeers (26-9), who ran off 15 unanswered points as part of a game-ending 24-6 run. That was enough to turn away the 14th-seeded Owls (26-9) in the program´s first-ever March Madness game.

Xavier moves on to face Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Xavier led 68-67 when Burden – who´d been successful all day with dribble penetration – turned into the paint past Jerome Hunter and appeared to have a path to the rim. The 7-foot Nunge moved over and swatted the ball into the backboard.

Jerome Hunter scored 24 points to lead the Musketeers, while Boum had 17. Nunge had 10 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Burden and Chris Youngblood each scored 14 points to lead Kennesaw State.

Colby Jones had 12 points, six rebound and four assists for Xavier in the hard-fought win

Pittsburgh 59, Iowa State 41

Nelly Cummings scored 13 points and No. 11 seed Pittsburgh held sixth-seeded Iowa State to 23% shooting.

Jamarius Burton added 11 points and Greg Elliott had 10 for coach Jeff Capel´s Panthers, who stormed to a 22-2 lead after Iowa State missed its first 11 shots. Things didn´t get much better for the Cyclones, who had three stretches in which they missed at least eight consecutive shots.

Pitt (24-11), which edged Mississippi State in the First Four, moves on to play third-seeded Xavier on Sunday.

Gabe Kalscheur and Jaren Holmes each had 12 points for Iowa State (19-14).

Pittsburgh forward Guillermo Diaz Graham (25) reacts after scoring during the second half

Saint Mary’s 63, VCU 51

Mitchell Saxen had 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, and Saint Mary´s beat ailing VCU.

Alex Ducas also scored 17 points as the fifth-seeded Gaels (27-7) advanced to the second round for the second straight year. 

Logan Johnson had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and reserve Augustas Marciulionis scored 13 points. Saint Mary’s will face UConn on Sunday.

Ace Baldwin led 12th-seeded VCU (27-8) with 13 points, but he appeared to sprain his right ankle on his landing after taking a jumper with just over 14 minutes left in regulation. 

The Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year went to the locker room for treatment and missed about five minutes as VCU expanded its lead from four points to nine.

St. Mary’s guard Alex Ducas (44) shoots the ball against VCU Rams forward Jalen DeLoach

Creighton 72, North Carolina State 63

Ryan Kalkbrenner scored a career-high 31 points and sixth-seeded Creighton overcame an abysmal 3-point shooting day to fend off No. 11 seed North Carolina State.

The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner did a little bit of everything for the Bluejays, which included hitting a big 3-pointer on a day the team finished 3 of 20 from long range. 

Kalkbrenner had six dunks and seven rebounds, and N.C. State big men D.J. Burns Jr. and Ebenezer Dowuona were hampered by foul trouble.

Next up for the Bluejays (22-12) is third-seeded Baylor in the second round.

Terquavion Smith led the Wolfpack (23-11) with 32 points. 

Ryan Kalkbrenner scored a career-high 31 points in the win for Creighton vs. NC State

Fairleigh Dickinson 63, Purdue 58

Pulling off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, the undersized, underdog Knights stunned top-seeded Purdue 63-58 on Friday night, becoming the second No. 16 seed to win a game in March Madness.

The shortest of the 363 Division I teams in the country, the Knights (21-15) showed no fear in swarming 7-foot-4 All-America center Zach Edey from the start and simply outplayed the Big Ten champion Boilermakers (29-6).

Gonzaga 82, Grand Canyon 70

Slow-starting Gonzaga finally started playing like a title contender, then wore out Grand Canyon behind 28 points and 10 rebounds from Julian Strawther.

Zags senior Drew Timme brought his sweatband and handlebar moustache back to March Madness and finished with 21 points, six rebounds and three blocks for the third-seeded Bulldogs (29-5), who haven´t lost a first-round game in the tournament since 2008.

Baylor 74, UC Santa Barbara 56

Caleb Lohner scored a season-best 13 points in just 18 minutes, and No. 3 seed Baylor beat UC Santa Barbara.

Adam Flagler led the Bears with 18 points, and LJ Cryer scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half.

Fairleigh Dickinson guard Demetre Roberts celebrates in the first half of the game

Julian Strawther of the Gonzaga Bulldogs shoots the ball against the Grand Canyon Antelopes

Caleb Lohner put on a show – scoring 13 points in just 18 minutes in what was a season-high

Marquette 78, Vermont 61

Kam Jones scored 18 straight points for Marquette in the second half, and the second-seeded Golden Eagles beat No. 15 seed Vermont for their first NCAA Tournament victory in a decade.

Jones finished with 19 points. Oso Ighodaro scored 14 points and David Joplin added 12 as Marquette (29-6) pulled away in the last 10 minutes and won their first NCAA Tournament game in a decade.

Kansas State 77, Montana State 65

Markquis Nowell had 17 points and 14 assists and No. 3 seed Kansas State held off 14th-seeded Montana State 77-65 Friday night for its first NCAA Tournament win since knocking off Kentucky in 2018 to reach the Elite Eight.

Now the two Wildcat programs will meet again in a rematch on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum. Kentucky, the sixth seed, defeated No. 11 Providence 61-53 in the earlier game.

Marquette guard Emarion Ellis, left, guard Stevie Mitchell (4), guard Chase Ross (5) and guard Sean Jones celebrate on the bench

Kansas State forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin drives to the basket past Montana State guard Caleb Fuller