The NCAA tournament continued on Friday, but March Madness was largely MIA as many top seeds delivered wins.
Duke freshman sensation Cooper Flagg made his NCAA tournament debut after missing a couple of games with an ankle injury, scoring 14 points with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks in a win. Florida, Kentucky, Arizona and Maryland all rolled to easy wins. Two-time defending champion UConn also held its own against Oklahoma to advance to a second-round showdown with the Gators.
Since many favorites came out on top, the day was light on the tournament upsets. Colorado State became the second No. 12 seed to advance to the second round, but the Rams were favored to beat No. 5 Memphis due to poor seeding and injuries to key players.
Here’s how Friday’s schedule played out:
No. 9 Baylor 75, No. 8 Mississippi State 72
No. 2 Alabama 90, No. 15 Robert Morris 81
No. 3 Iowa State 82, No. 14 Lipscomb 55
No. 12 Colorado State 78, No. 5 Memphis 70
No. 1 Duke 93, No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s 49
No. 7 Saint Mary’s 59, No. 10 Vanderbilt 56
No. 6 Ole Miss 71, No. 11 North Carolina 64
No. 4 Maryland 81, No. 13 Grand Canyon 49
No. 1 Florida 95, No. 16 Norfolk State 69
No. 3 Kentucky 76, No. 14 Troy 57
No. 7 Marquette 75, No. 10 New Mexico 66
No. 4 Arizona 93, No. 13 Akron 65
No. 8 UConn 67 No. 9 Oklahoma 59
No. 6 Illinois 86 No. 11 Xavier 73
No. 2 Michigan State 87, No. 15 Bryant 62
No. 5 Oregon 81, No. 12 Liberty 52
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Final: Oregon 81, Liberty 52
The Ducks grabbed the wire-to-wire win to officially close out the first round. They’ll take on No. 4 Arizona next on Sunday.
Final: MSU 87, Bryant 62
Well, it didn’t look pretty in the first 15 minutes, but the Spartans absolutely throttled the Bulldogs after the break to advance to the Round of 32. Led by Coen Carr with 18, five different Spartans had 11 or more points.
They’ll face No. 10 New Mexico on Sunday.
MSU putting Bryant on ice
This thing appears to be over. The Spartans have opened up a healthy 19-point lead on the Bulldogs and it doesn’t look like there’s a way back with just under 6 minutes left.
Final: Illinois 86, Xavier 73
The Illini run away with the first-round win over Xavier. Next up for Illinois: No. 3 Kentucky in the Round of 32.
Spartans up double digits midway through 2nd half
Michigan State is looking more confident by the minute and Bryant may be wearing down a bit.
Final: UConn 67, Oklahoma 59
The defending champs live to play another day! It wasn’t easy against a tough, physical OU team, but the Huskies move on to face No. 1 Florida in the second round.
UConn taking control
The Huskies are up 64-59 with 1:19 to play as they try to close this one out.
UConn up 4 with under 4 minutes
Alex Karaban knocked down a big 3 to extend the Huskies’ lead to 60-56.
3:32 to play.
Michigan State gaining control
The Spartans are starting to flex a little early in the second half.
UConn-OU tied up
It’s 54-54 with 5:43 to play. Fun finish incoming in Raleigh.
Illinois starting to pull away
Four Illini players are in double figures scoring as they lead Xavier 62-48 midway through the 2nd half.
Halftime: Oregon 44, Liberty 20
The Flames found their offense a little bit after a brutal start, but Oregon is headed into the locker room with a 24-point lead. Jackson Shelstad leads the way with 15 points after shooting 6-of-8 from the field.
Oklahoma closing the gap
UConn’s lead has shrunk to 46-45 with just under 10 minutes to play.
Are the defending champions in danger?
Illinois comes out strong in 2nd half
The Illini have expanded their lead to 50-41 over Xavier in the opening minutes of the 2nd half.
Halftime: MSU 33, Bryant 28
The Spartans pushed out in front before the halftime break in their South region showdown with the Bulldogs. It hasn’t been a comfortable 20 minutes by any means though. Coen Carr is carrying MSU with 15 points and 5 rebounds so far.
The winner of this game will play No. 10 New Mexico on Sunday.
Sparty surges
Michigan State is on a roll now, going on a 10-0 run as the game inches toward halftime. Jase Richardson’s 3-pointer with just over 2 minutes left gives them a 7-point lead.
Oklahoma keeping it close with UConn
We’re back for the 2nd half and the Sooners are sticking with UConn so far.
It’s a 37-32 Huskies lead at the under-16 timeout.
MSU retakes lead late in first half
Michigan State’s Coen Carr is on a roll now. He has 12 of the Spartans’ 26 points as they look to go into the break with the lead.
Halftime: Illinois 40, Xavier 35
Kylan Boswell’s 3-pointer caps a solid first half for the Illini.
Bryant is not backing down
The Bulldogs are still leading as the game ticks down to the 7-minute mark in the first half.
