ST. LOUIS (AP) — Malik Reneau scored 24 points, Tre Donaldson had 17 and seventh-seeded Miami pulled away late for a 80-66 victory over No. 10 seed Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Hurricanes advanced to play No. 2 seed Purdue on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16. The Tigers briefly took the lead in the second half, but Miami answered with an 11-0 to regain control. Jayden Stone had 21 points to lead the Tigers while Mark Mitchell finished with 19.
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Duke coach Jon Scheyer is “hopeful” starting big man Patrick Ngongba II will play Saturday against TCU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament as he recovers from soreness in his right foot. Ngongba has missed five straight games for the tourney's No. 1 overall seed and East Region headliner. That included Thursday’s first-round win over Siena in which the Blue Devils flirted with becoming only the third 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed. Ngongba is averaging 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Bennett Stirtz scored 16 points and No. 9 seed Iowa weathered his erratic shooting to hold off eighth-seeded Clemson 67-61 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes move on to a second-round South Region meeting against top-seeded and defending national champion Florida. Stirtz made two free throws with 10.9 seconds remaining help put the game away. But Iowa’s leading scorer had an off night, going 3 for 10 on 3-point attempts and 1 for 7 inside the arc.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jacari White hit six 3-pointers and scored 26 points, and third-seeded Virginia avoided yet another early NCAA Tournament exit, beating a resolute Wright State 82-73 in the first round. The Cavaliers will face sixth-seeded Tennessee in the second round in the Midwest Region on Sunday. Virginia won its first NCAA Tournament game since it won the 2019 national title. The Cavaliers lost in the first round or the First Four in 2021, 2023 and 2024. Now they're winners again under first-year coach Ryan Odom. Michael Imariagbe scored 19 points for 14th-seeded Wright State.
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Toby Fournier scored 24 points on 11-of-18 shooting and Duke maintained its momentum by opening the first round of March Madness with an 81-64 victory over the College of Charleston. Jordan Wood had 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting from 3-point range and Delaney Thomas had 19 points and nine rebounds for the third-seeded women Blue Devils, who are hosting the first and second rounds for the second consecutive year at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Since a 3-6 start, Duke is on a 22-2 run that includes their second ACC Tournament championship in a row. Junior guard Taryn Barbot led the 14th-seeded Cougars with 36 points.
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Tech has hired Troy’s Scott Cross to replace Damon Stoudamire, who was fired on March 8, as its men’s basketball coach. Georgia Tech athletic director Ryan Alpert moved quickly to hire Cross, who won seven conference championships and 350 games in 19 seasons at Texas-Arlington and Troy. Cross closed out his seventh season at Troy with the school’s second straight Sun Belt championship and NCAA Tournament berth. Troy suffered a 76-47 loss to Nebraska on Thursday in the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans finished 22-12 for their fifth consecutive 20-win season under Cross, whose career record is 350-260.
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — North Carolina blew a 19-point lead to fall in overtime to VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It marked a second straight loss for the blueblood program in the tournament's first round under Hubert Davis. UNC reached the NCAA title game in Davis' first season in 2022. But the Tar Heels have reached the round of 32 only once in the four seasons since. This year's UNC team was derailed by a season-ending injury to NBA prospect Caleb Wilson.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Katie Fiso scored 22 points and Oregon used a dominant third quarter to pull away from Virginia Tech for a 70-60 win Friday to open the NCAA Tournament. Ehis Etute added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the No. 8 seed Ducks. Oregon pulled away behind an 18-0 run in the third. The Ducks advance to the second round of the tournament for the second consecutive season. Carys Bakers scored 21 to lead the the No. 9-seed Hokies, who shot under 30 percent over the first three quarters.
