2023 March Madness Day 1 highlights: Princeton stuns Arizona; Penn State crushes A&M
Welcome to the Madness!
The 2023 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament kicked into high gear Thursday in what is the most exciting day of the year on the college basketball calendar.
The action kicked off with an 8 vs. 9 matchup in the South Region, as Jahmir Young and the Maryland Terrapins pulled off a monster comeback to take down West Virginia, and No. 13 Furman stunned No. 4 Virginia with a last-second bucket.
Elsewhere, 15-seed Princeton upset 2-seed Arizona, capturing its first tournament win since 1998 to become the first Ivy League team to win in the tournament since 2016.
The Midwest, East and West Regions take center stage this evening. 9-seed Auburn was in control for much of its victory over 8-seed Iowa. 10-seed Penn State blew out 7-seed Texas A&M, winning by 17 to set up an enticing Round of 32 matchup against 2-seed Texas on Saturday.
We've got you covered with all the top highlights from an action-packed day of college hoops!
1. Houston 63, 16. Northern Kentucky 52
Making it interesting early
Northern Kentucky made a strong push to be the second No. 16 seed to ever beat a No. 1 seed in history. Sam Vinson scored seven points in the opening part of the first half, including a tip-in that gave Northern Kentucky the lead roughly 10 minutes in.
Ankle breaker
Xavier Rhodes hit his defender with a mean crossover and hit the jumper to give Northern Kentucky the lead again.
Northern Kentucky still trading blows with Houston
Trey Robinson hit a 3-pointer in the early minutes of the second half to tie the game.
Houston dodges upset
The Cougars avoided being on the wrong side of history on Thursday. Houston opened the game up a bit in the middle of the second half with Emanuel Sharp scoring 10 points in the final frame to help pull away.
4. Tennessee 58, 13. Louisiana 55
Chase-down block!
Olivier Nkamhoua got back on defense to stop Louisiana from scoring the easy bucket in transition, helping keep Tennessee's lead intact early.
Leave your tip before the buzzer!
Uros Plavsic got a hand on a perfect inbound pass to tip the ball in right before the buzzer sounded to give Tennessee a 30-19 point lead at the break.
ULL on the run!
The Ragin' Cajuns went on a 13-0 run as Kobe Julien drained a 3-pointer to cut the Volunteers' lead to five with just over seven minutes left.
Louisiana makes it close, but Tennessee pulls away
The Ragin' Cajuns still hung around until the final moments with Jalen Dalcourt making a pair of 3-pointers late. But the Volunteers made the free throws necessary to come away with the victory.
10. Penn State 76, 7. Texas A&M 59
Grabbing it out of the air!
Dexter Dennis turned Camren Wynter's easy layup into a blocked shot, hustling down the court to snatch the ball out of the air.
Uptown funk you up!
Andrew Funk was money from 3-point territory in the first half, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 15 points to help give the Nittany Lions a commanding 38-22 lead going into the break.
Can't stop the Funk!
Funk was hitting shots from everywhere, including the outside part of the logo as he made eight 3-pointers and scored 27 points in Penn State's blowout win.
2. UCLA 86, 15. UNC Asheville 53
A quick 14-0 lead
Unlike its Pac-12 counterparts, UCLA built a strong lead early against its 15-seeded opponent. Four different players contributed to the scoring to give the Bruins a 14-0 lead in the blink of an eye.
Emphatic swat, emphatic victory
The Bruins kept their intensity up in the opening moments of the second half with Kenneth Nwuba loudly sending back a Bulldogs shot en route to a 33-point win.
2. Texas 81, No. 15 Colgate 61
Sir 3s
Sir'Jabari Rice drained four 3-pointers in the game's first 12 minutes to give Texas a commanding double-digit lead.
Longhorns brushing away Colgate
An 8-0 run for Texas helped it take its biggest lead of the game, going up 64-57 with just under 12 minutes left in the game.
7. Northwestern 75, 10. Boise State 67
No stopping Naje
Naje Smith threw down a hard slam over a Northwestern defender as Boise State battled Northwestern closely in the opening minutes.
A few minutes later, Smith threw down another hard slam, with this one being a behind-the-back dunk.
Boise State making a run
Max Rice hit the pull-up 3 in transition to even the game up at 40-40 early in the second half to make things interesting.
Boo-ing Boise State's runs
Boo Buie drained a deep 3-pointer to fend off Boise State's run in the middle of the second half and keep Northwestern's lead.
McDimes
Patrick McCaffery found Payton Sandfort cutting to the rim while in transition to keep the action going back-and-forth early on.
Sky high!
Wendell Green Jr.'s alley-oop to Dylan Cardwell was high up, but Cardwell had the length and hops to get the ball to throw down the loud slam for Auburn.
All Auburn
Auburn drained four 3-pointers in a matter of minutes to go on a 13-2 run and take a 58-31 lead with just over 10 minutes left.
Murray magic turning into an Iowa comeback?
The Hawkeyes went on a 7-0 run to cut the Tigers' lead to 64-60 with just over five minutes left. Kris Murray helped ignite the run, hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the middle part of the second half in addition to recording a steal before throwing down a hard slam.
Auburn seals it
The Tigers made a quick run to get their lead back up to double digits and prevent a Hawkeye comeback to win and advance to the Round of 32.
5. Duke 74, 12. Oral Roberts 51
Duke dominant to start
The Blue Devils rode their nine-game win streak into the opening minutes of Thursday's game, holding a 15-0 lead early on. Duke didn't allow a bucket for eight minutes to start, with Jeremy Roach, Kyle Filipowski and Dereck Lively II dominating on both ends.
Don't shoot on Dereck
Lively protected the rim well for Duke, recording six blocks by the middle of the second half as Oral Roberts had a tough time scoring.
8. Arkansas 73, 9. Illinois 63
Style points!
It's the rarest of all feats indeed. After Illinois took an early 2-0 lead, Arkansas looked to tie it up, but Nick Smith's acrobatic layup attempt got lodged in between the rim and backboard. Then, several possessions later, Illinois had the same thing happen, giving us a rare "double wedgie."
Strong start
The Razorbacks couldn't be stopped early on, picking up a 14-point lead.
Battling late
The Razorbacks went on a 10-0 run early in the second half, to which Illinois answered with an 8-0 run of its own to keep Arkansas within arm's reach. In the end, Arkansas had more left in the tank, cruising to a 10-point win.
15. Princeton 59, 2. Arizona 55
Finding a rhythm
Arizona stars Oumar Ballo and Azuolas Tubelis got things started against Princeton.
Anyone's game!
Princeton ended the half on an 8-0 run and pulled within just one point of Arizona, 31-30, ahead of halftime.
Wild turn of events
The Tigers cut the Wildcats' lead down to just three points late in the second half before taking the lead, 56-55, with just over two minutes to play. Arizona never scored another point after that, as Princeton narrowly secured the win.
Just like that, only 0.12% of official NCAA brackets remained perfect.
5. San Diego State 63, 12. Charleston 57
Not so fast!
Things between Charleston and San Diego State began as a defensive standoff, as both teams kept things close. SDSU was first to strike, but Charleston roared back late in the frame to knot things up, 24-24, with 4:20 to play before halftime.
The Aztecs took a three-point lead, 32-29, into the break.
Teamwork makes the dream work
The Aztecs put space between them and the Cougars in the second half, thanks to big plays from Keshad Johnson and others. That hard work paid off in the end, as SDSU came away with the six-point win, 63-57.
1. Alabama 96, 16. Texas A&M-CC 75
All gas, no brakes
Alabama jumped out to a 9-0 lead over Texas A&M-CC in the first half, setting the tone early. The Tide continued to pour it on as the first half winded down, grabbing a 20-point lead, 54-34, at halftime.
In the end, Alabama sealed its third Round of 64 win in its past four tournaments with a double-digit victory Thursday.
Making a statement
It was a back-and-forth battle between these two teams to start, to the surprise of many. Howard didn't let Kansas get more than six points ahead in the first half before tying things up at 24-24.
Seeing stars
Jayhawks star forward KJ Adams Jr. set the tone for his team later in the frame, coming down with a jaw-dropping dunk.
Kansas led 50-37 at the break and continued to dominate in the second half en route to a double-digit victory, 96-68. With the win, their 16th straight, the Jayhawks improved to 35-2 all-time in the Round of 64.
Kansas' 96 points were the most scored by a defending national champion in its tournament opener since Florida in 2007. That Gators team were the last to win back-to-back national titles.
7. Missouri 76, 10. Utah State 65
Hot start
Both squads were firing on all cylinders early, but it was Missouri that kept a small advantage from the jump.
Too smooth
Missouri commanded the court with one smooth basket after another, extending its lead at the first half winded down.
The Tigers led 35-31 at halftime.
Full speed ahead
Missouri got the quick bucket to retake the lead over Utah State early in the second half before the Tigers' lead has ballooned to nine points, 62-53, as the final few minutes approached.
Missouri continued to build on its lead all the way until the end, running away with a 76-65 win and cashing in for its first NCAA tournament win since 2010, having lost in the Round of 64 in five straight previous appearances.
Missouri's win left less than 7% of official NCAA brackets intact.
Star power
Virginia's defense settled into a rhythm early against Furman, which fell into an 8-0 hole early in the first half.
As things continued, Furman forward Jalen Slawson came up big for the Paladins, which slowly began closing the gap.
Heating up
The Cavaliers had a few tricks up their sleeve, as Reece Beekman came up with one big play after another to keep Furman at arm's length. Virginia carried a five-point lead, 32-27, into the half.
Neck and neck
To start the second half, Virginia opened the largest lead of the game, 38-27, but Furman didn't let it last long.
The Paladins pulled within four points midway through the frame before going on to tie things up with a monster 3-pointer from Slawson with 5:42 to play. Then, Slawson added a layup and free throw to put Furman ahead by three points, 57-54.
Chaos!
Furman got a steal and sophomore JP Pegus drilled a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining as the Paladins stunned the Cavaliers with a 68-67 win in the opening round of the tournament.
It was just the ninth time in the last 13 tournaments that a 13-seed defeated a 4-seed. With that upset, just 10.67% of official NCAA brackets remained perfect.
8. Maryland 67, 9. West Virginia 65
And we're off!
WVU was the first to strike in this one, which sparked an early 14-0 run for the Mountaineers.
Midway through the first half, Maryland broke its scoring drought, but that didn't faze West Virginia much. Exhibit A:
Clawing back!
West Virginia squandered a 13-point lead late in the first half after letting Maryland pull within a few points after a 16-2 run en route to taking the lead, 22-21, with 6:10 to play before halftime.
Both teams went back and forth and traded the lead two more times before the break, which ended with Maryland ahead by two points, 32-30.
Madness!
The second half was a wild ride for both squads. WVU jumped out to a nine-point lead, 47-38, in the first few minutes …
… but Maryland went on a clutch run to knot things up, once again.
In the end, Maryland came up with one big-time sequence after another to secure the two-point win, 67-65. It marked Maryland's third consecutive win when appearing in the Round of 64 (2023, 2021, 2019).
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