Kyan Evans and favored No. 12 seed Colorado State beat short-handed Memphis
SEATTLE (AP) — Kyan Evans made a career-high six 3-pointers and scored 23 points to lead No. 12 seed Colorado State past fifth-seeded Memphis 78-70 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Nique Clifford, the Mountain West Tournament MVP, had his quietest scoring night in a month, finishing with 14 points, eight on free throws. He added eight rebounds and six assists for the Rams (26-9), who extended their winning streak to 11 games and advanced to face either Maryland or Grand Canyon in the second round on Sunday.
This 12-over-5 result was no shocker, with Colorado State a 2 1/2-point favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Coach Penny Hardaway's Tigers (29-7) were not at full strength, with veteran guard and third-leading scorer Tyrese Hunter sidelined by a left foot injury.
MARYLAND 81 , GRAND CANYON 49
SEATTLE (AP) — Julian Reese had 18 points and nine rebounds, and fourth-seeded Maryland pounded No. 13 seed Grand Canyon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Ja'Kobi Gillespie added 16 points for the Terrapins (26-8), who will play No. 12 Colorado State on Sunday in the second round of the West Region. The Rams beat fifth-seeded Memphis 78-70.
Derik Queen, the Big Ten freshman of the year who was averaging 16.3 points and nine rebounds a game, finished with 12 points and 15 boards, becoming the first Maryland freshman with a double-double in the tournament since Jalen Smith in 2019.
Tyon Grant-Foster led Grand Canyon (26-8) with 23 points.
EAST REGION
ALABAMA 90, ROBERT MORRIS 81
CLEVELAND (AP) — All-America guard Mark Sears scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half and second-seeded Alabama pulled away late to escape 15th-seeded Robert Morris in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Colonials gave the Crimson Tide (27-8) all they could handle and even took their first lead at 65-64 on a layup by Josh Omojafo to bring the Rocket Arena crowd to its feet.
Alabama responded behind Sears, who had seven points during an 11-2 surge that gave the Crimson Tide some breathing room against the Horizon League champions. Robert Morris (26-9) came in as a 22-1/2 point underdog, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, yet spent most of the afternoon threatening to author the first true bracket-buster of the tournament after a relatively quiet opening day on Thursday.
BAYLOR 75, MISSISSIPPI ST. 72
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Robert Wright scored 19 points, V.J. Edgecombe added 16 and No. 9 Baylor squeaked past No. 8 Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Langston Love added 15 points and Norchad Omier had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Bears (20-14), who led by 11 points in the second half but had to hold off the Bulldogs in the final seconds — and even tenths of seconds.
Josh Hubbard had 26 points to lead the Bulldogs (21-13), who were seeking their first March Madness victory since 2008.
DUKE 93, MOUNT ST. MARY'S 49
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Tyrese Proctor had 19 points and freshman star Cooper Flagg returned from an ankle injury as No. 1 seed Duke beat Mount St. Mary's in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Flagg had 14 points and seven boards for the Blue Devils (32-3), the East bracket headliner opening a push for a sixth national title roughly a half-hour's drive from its Durham campus. Duke jumped to a 13-2 lead in a dominant first half marked by clean execution on the way to a big lead.
The Blue Devils cooled after the break, but finished at 50% shooting with 14 3-pointers to cruise toward a second-round date with Baylor. Proctor went 6 for 8 from deep.
SAINT MARY'S (CAL) 59, VANDERBILT 56
CLEVELAND (AP) — Saint Mary's guard Jordan Ross keyed a second-half rally while star Augustas Marciulionis dealt with foul trouble, and the seventh-seeded Gaels fended off 10th-seeded Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Commodores led by 12 points when Marciulionis — the two-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year — exited with his fourth foul early in the second half.
Ross finished with 15 points. Marciulionis added 14 points and eight rebounds for Saint Mary's, which turned the second half into the kind of grind-it-out rock fight that became the program's signature on the way to its second straight WCC regular-season title.
Jason Edwards led Vanderbilt (20-13) with 18 points, but the Commodores missed a chance at the program's first tournament victory in 13 years when they couldn't keep Saint Mary's in check late. Vanderbilt shot 34% in the second half.
SOUTH REGION
IOWA ST. 82, LIPSCOMB 55
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milan Momcilovic scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half, and third-seeded Iowa State routed Lipscomb in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Curtis Jones had 17 points as Iowa State bounced back nicely after dropping four of seven going into the tourney. Joshua Jefferson finished with 10 points and eight assists.
Next up for the Cyclones (25-9) in the South Region is Mississippi.
MISSISSIPPI 71, NORTH CAROLINA 64
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Sean Pedulla made a critical 3-pointer with 52.8 seconds left, and Mississippi topped North Carolina after the Rebels squandered most of a 22-point lead in the second half.
The Rebels are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. They hadn't won an NCAA tourney game since beating BYU 94-90 in the First Four in 2015, and they hadn't advanced beyond the round of 64 since 2013.
Pedulla finished with 20 points. Dre Davis had 15 for Ole Miss, and Jaemyn Brakefield added 12 points.
RJ Davis scored 15 and Ven-Allen Lubin had 14 for North Carolina, which advanced to the round of 64 with a 95-68 victory over San Diego State in the First Four on Tuesday.
_____
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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