ST. LOUIS (AP) — Purdue guard Braden Smith broke former Duke star Bobby Hurley’s Division I assist record with 12:11 to go in the first half of the Boilermakers’ NCAA Tournament game against Queens on Friday night. Smith picked up his second of the game and the 1,077th of his career with a feed to Trey Kaufman-Renn. The All-American already was the only player in NCAA history with at least 1,500 points, 1,000 assists and 500 career rebounds, and Smith is one of two players along with Southern’s Avery Johnson to have had at least 300 assists in two different seasons. He was a second-team AP All-American this season.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — UCLA guard Skyy Clark lost a tooth in the Bruins' first-round NCAA Tournament win over UCF. Clark had a chunk of a top front tooth knocked out when he took an elbow to the face. He says he plans to put it under his pillow, and he rated his pain as a nine on a scale of 10. UCLA walk-on Jack Seidler found the tooth on the court. Clark made a free throw after the injury to help UCLA hold on for a 75-71 win.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Eric Dailey Jr. scored 20 points, Xaiver Booker had 15 points and eight rebounds to make up for the absence of leading scorer Tyler Biloudeau and seventh-seeded UCLA withstood every serious challenge and beat 10th-seeded UCF 75-71 Friday night in the NCAA Tournament. Jordan Burks scored 22 points and hit six 3-pointers — including one that made it 72-69 with 10 seconds left — to almost single-handedly carry UCF (21-12) into the second round. The Bruins will face No. 2 seed UConn in the second round on Sunday.
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.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Braden Smith scored 26 points and became the Division I career leader in assists, guiding No. 2 seed Purdue to a 104-71 win over Queens University in the NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers seized control with a pair of 10-0 runs, once in the waning moments of the first half and in the opening minutes of the second half. Trey Kaufman-Renn contributed 25 points and nine rebounds, and Oscar Cluff had nine points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks for Purdue. Jordan Watford and Nasir Mann, the younger brother of Charlotte Hornets guard Tre Mann, led the 15th-seeded Royals with 10 points apiece.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota survived a home-court scare by No. 13 seed Green Bay, getting 21 points from Amaya Battle and using a 30-point fourth quarter for a 75-58 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Sophie Hart had 19 points and Mara Braun saved her best for the sizzling fourth quarter to finish with 16 points as the No. 4 seed Gophers celebrated their first tournament appearance since 2018 with a memorable comeback that had the Williams Arena crowd roaring. Minnesota will stay home to face No. 5 seed Mississippi in a second round game.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Grace VanSlooten and Kennedy Blair each scored 18 points, and Michigan State rallied in the second half to beat Colorado State 65-62 in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. VanSlooten added 10 rebounds for Michigan State, the fifth seed in the Sacramento Region. The Spartans will play either No. 4 seed Oklahoma or No. 13 seed Idaho in the second round on Sunday. Brooke Carlson had 26 points, six rebounds and three assists for No. 12 seed Colorado State, which played without leading scorer Lexus Bargesser. Hannah Ronsiek missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer that would have forced overtime.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Mila Holloway and Syla Swords each had seven points in a dominant opening quarter and combined to score 33 points, leading second-seeded Michigan to an 83-48 win over 15th-seeded Holy Cross in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. Holloway finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Swords scored 13 and Olivia Olson had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Wolverines on Friday night. Michigan will be back on its home court against N.C. State on Sunday with a chance to advance to the Sweet 16.
