Tom Izzo wins 20th first round NCAA Tournament game as Michigan State tops Mississippi State 69-51

Michigan State guard Tyson Walker drives to the basket past Mississippi State forward D.J. Jeffries during the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

By The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Tyson Walker scored 19 points and Spartans coach Tom Izzo picked up his 20th win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as his ninth-seeded Spartans beat the eighth-seeded Bulldogs 69-51 on Thursday in the West Region.

Michigan State improved to 20-6 in March Madness openers under Izzo, who is making his 26th straight NCAA Tournament appearance — an NCAA Division I record for a coach at one school.

Jaden Akins added 15 points and seven rebounds and Mailk Hall scored 10 points for the Spartans (20-14), who’ll face top-seeded North Carolina on Saturday.

Freshman Josh Hubbard scored 15 points for the Bulldogs (21-14), who haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2021. Hubbard had just two points in the second half.

Both teams entered the tournament having lost five of seven games.

The Spartans, who led wire to wire, pushed the tempo early and jumped out to an 20-8 lead after hitting 4 of 7 shots from beyond the arc, including two from Walker.

EAST REGION

NO. 4 IOWA STATE 82, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 65

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Milan Momcilovic looked nothing like a freshman while pouring in 19 points, Tamin Lipsey had 17 with seven assists, and No. 2 Iowa State used big runs to start each half to beat No. 15 seed South Dakota State in the NCAA Tournament.

Keshon Gilbert had 15 points and Hason Ward dunked his way to 10, helping the Cyclones (28-7) avenge an embarrassing first-round loss to Pittsburgh a year ago. They advanced to a second-round matchup with seventh-seeded Washington State.

South Dakota State (22-13) showed plenty of gumption after allowing Iowa State to race to a 17-3 lead to start the game, cutting the deficit in half by the break. But the Cyclones blitzed the Jackrabbits to start the second half, too, going on a 14-5 run to pull away.

Zeke Mayo hit four 3s and had 19 points for South Dakota State, which has never won an NCAA tourney game in seven tries. William Kyle III added 14 points and Charlie Easley finished with 11.

NO. 10 ILLINOIS 84, MOREHEAD STATE 69

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Marcus Domask posted the NCAA Tournament’s first triple-double since 2019 and Terrence Shannon scored 26 points, helping No. 3 seed Illinois pull away from No. 14 Morehead State.

Domask had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in his first career triple-double. It was the first triple-double in the NCAA tourney since Ja Morant accomplished the feat.

Dain Dainja scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as the Illini shook off the pesky Eagles. Dainja went 9 for 9 from the field and matched his career high with eight rebounds.

Next up for Illinois (27-8) is No. 11 seed Duquesne on Saturday. The Illini are trying to get past the tournament’s first weekend for the first time in nine appearances.

Riley Minix led the Eagles(26-9) with 27 points, giving him at least 20 in 13 of his last 14 games. Jordan Lathon added 23 points.

DUQUESNE 71, NO. 21 BYU 67

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Dae Dae Grant scored 19 points, including four clinching free throws in the final 10 seconds, and the Dukes kept retiring coach Keith Dambrot working for a little bit longer with a victory against the Cougars.

Jakub Necas added 12 points and Jimmy Clark III had 11 for the Atlantic 10 tourney champs celebrated their return to the dance after 47 years with their first win there since 1969. The Dukes (25-11) will play No. 3 seed Illinois for a spot in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.

The Cougars (23-11) trailed by as many as 14 in the second half before drawing even when Foussyni Traore, who had struggled all game, slammed down the second of back-to-back baskets to knot the game at 60-all with 1:45 to go.

Clark was fouled at the other end and made two free throws, and when Traore missed a floater for BYU, the Duquesne guard got to the foul line again. He made the first of two foul shots but was able to help tie up a loose ball after missing the second, and on the ensuing play, Clark was able to break down the defense for an easy layup and a 65-60 lead with 26.9 seconds left.

Dallin Hall tried to give the Cougars a chance with four free throws and a deep 3-pointer in the final 20 seconds, but Grant — one of the nation’s best foul shooters — was stoic from the free-throw line in sending the Dukes to the next round.

NO. 25 WASHINGTON STATE 66, DRAKE 61

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Isaac Jones had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Isaiah Watts’ first 3-pointer in three games gave Washington State the lead with 1:51 left and the seventh-seeded Cougars beat No. 10 Drake.

The Cougars (25-9) shot just 29.6% while trailing most of the second half, but Drake’s season-worst 6-of-14 performance at the free-throw line allowed them to win in their first tournament appearance since 2008.

WSU will play Saturday in the East Region second round against No. 2 Iowa State (28-7), which beat South Dakota State 82-65.

Drake (28-7) had its largest lead at 54-46 when WSU started its comeback.

Tucker DeVries had a shot swirl in and out, and Andrej Jakimovski made a 3 from the wing to get the Cougars within 54-51. Drake’s Darnell Brodie had the ball slip out of his hands as he was making a move to the basket, and Jones snaked in for a layup on the other end to make it 54-53.

Brodie, who controlled much of the second half for Drake offensively, fouled out with 2:26 left before Watts connected for the lead. The Cougars made 5 of 6 free throws to hold off the Bulldogs.

MIDWEST REGION

NO. 6 TENNESSEE 83, SAINT PETER’S 49

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Dalton Knecht scored 23 points and Tennessee shot 64% in the first half to build a huge lead before beating Saint Peter’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Jonas Aidoo added 13 of his 15 points by halftime for the Midwest Region’s No. 2 seed, which quickly erased any chance of another improbable March Madness run for the 15th-seeded Peacocks. Tennessee (25-8) ran out to a double-digit lead in the first eight minutes, used a 9-0 burst to push the margin past 20, then increased that margin to 29 shortly before halftime.

There was no sign of the hiccups from multiple recent March stumbles, setting up a reunion for coach Rick Barnes and his former Texas program in the second round.

The Volunteers came in ranked third in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency by allowing 91.2 points per 100 possessions. And they were smothering, both in contesting shots early and using their strong frames to assert complete ownership of the glass (47-21).

NO. 11 CREIGHTON 77, AKRON 60

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 23 points and Trey Alexander had 19 as the Bluejays, which came within seconds of making the Final Four a year ago, opened the NCAA Tournament with a win over the Zips.

The third-seeded Bluejays (24-9) got all they could handle in the first half from the 14th-seeded Zips (24-11), the Mid-American Conference tourney champions who came in as a 10 1/2-point underdog.

However, Creighton flexed its Big East muscles after halftime and pulled away to advance to the second round and a matchup against Oregon on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena.

This was the start Creighton was hoping for. A year ago, the Bluejays’ season ended with a heartbreaking 57-56 loss to San Diego State — Creighton committed a foul in the closing seconds — in the South Region final. Much of that squad came back for coach Doug McDermott to try and make another deep run, and the Bluejays have taken the first step.

Baylor Scheierman added 15 points and 13 rebounds for Creighton, which made 10 of 17 3-pointers.

Akron’s Enrique Freeman, the MAC Player of the Year and nation’s leading rebounder, finished with 21 points and 14 boards. It was Freeman’s 31st double-double, tying him with Navy great David Robinson (1986) for the single-season NCAA record.

The Zips fell to 0-6 in NCAA Tournament play.

OREGON 87, NO. 16 SOUTH CAROLINA 73

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jermaine Couisnard scored a career-high 40 points to haunt South Carolina — his former school — while leading Oregon to a victory.

Couisnard, who spent three years at South Carolina (26-8) before transferring in part because of a coaching change following the 2022 season, made five 3-pointers and went 14 of 22 from the field to pace the 11th-seeded Ducks (24-11).

Oregon advanced to the second round to face No. 3 seed Creighton.

The Creighton-Oregon matchup will have a family feel, as it will reunite Ducks coach Dana Altman and Creighton, where he spent 16 years and built the Nebraska school into one of the nation’s best mid-major programs.

Altman has done OK for himself while coaching out West as well. The Ducks improved to 8-0 in first-round NCAA Tournament games under him.

Oregon center N’Faly Dante added 23 points, some of them coming on some backboard-shaking dunks.

NO. 17 KANSAS 93, SAMFORD 89

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Kansas got a kind whistle at the end and Nicolas Timberlake made both his free throws to help the Jayhawks hold off Samford.

The 13th-seeded Bulldogs were trapping after trimming a 22-point deficit to one when Timberlake took a long pass as he was streaking toward the basket. He went to dunk and Samford’s A.J. Staton-McCray came from behind and blocked the shot, appearing to touch nothing but ball.

The whistle blew and Timberlake calmly made both free throws with 14.7 seconds left to help the fourth-seeded Jayhawks push the lead to three. They will play Gonzaga on Saturday in the second round of the Midwest Region.

Hunter Dickinson led the dinged-up Jayhawks with 19 points, 20 rebounds and four blocks.

NO. 18 GONZAGA 86, MCNEESE STATE 65

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Graham Ike scored 16 points and Anton Watson added 13 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists to power fifth-seeded Gonzaga over No. 12 seed McNeese State.

Ike made all six of his field goals and all four free throws while grabbing 10 rebounds.

Ben Gregg had 12 points, Nolan Hickman scored 11 and Dusty Stromer finished with 10 for the hot-shooting Bulldogs, who spoiled McNeese State’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 22 years.

They will face No. 4 Kansas in the next round.

Gonzaga, which shot 52% from the field and 48% from 3-point range, feels right at home in Salt Lake City, playing here more than any other site over the years and posting a 9-3 record.

Christian Shumate and Shahada Wells had 19 for the Cowboys.

TEXAS 56, COLORADO STATE 44

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Max Abmas and Dylan Disu each scored 12 points, and No. 7 seed Texas held Colorado State to 11 points in the first half en route to a victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Longhorns (21-12) will meet second-seeded Tennessee on Saturday.

Isaiah Stevens and Joel Scott paced the Rams (25-11) with 10 points each. The Rams shot 29% from the field.

Colorado State, which held Virginia to 14 first-half points in their First Four game on Tuesday, jumped out to an 8-2 lead before the wheels came off.

The Rams missed 18 of their next 19 shots and scored just three points over the final 15 1/2 minutes of the first half. Texas closed the half on a 25-3 run to take a 27-11 lead into the locker room after Abmas hit from downtown at the buzzer.

Colorado State became only the 10th team in tournament history to score 11 points or less in the first half. The last time it happened was in 2008 when UNLV led Kent State 31-10 at halftime in a first-round game.

SOUTH REGION

OAKLAND 80, NO. 12 KENTUCKY 76

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jack Gohlke made 10 3-pointers and 14th-seeded Oakland delivered the first true shock of this year’s March Madness, beating third-seeded Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Grizzlies (24-11) sent the Wildcats (23-10) to another early March exit behind Gohlke, a graduate transfer who finished with 32 points, and some late shot-making by his teammates. Trey Townsend had 17 points for the Horizon League champions. DQ Cole added 12, including a 3 from the corner with 28 seconds left that gave the Grizzlies a four-point lead.

Antonio Reeves led Kentucky with 27 points. Tre Mitchell added 14 and Rob Dillingham scored 10, but the Wildcats and their roster stacked with NBA prospects spent most of the night trying — and failing — to chase down Gohlke.

The 6-foot-3 guard who came to the Grizzlies this season after playing for Division II Hillsdale College made 10 of 20 3-point attempts, seven in the first half. His only other points came after he was fouled — while attempting a 3.

Gokhle cooled off a bit over the final 20 minutes while often getting picked up at halfcourt, but his teammates helped pick up the slack. Oakland never trailed over the final 14:32 to give the program its first victory in the round of 64.

NC STATE 80, NO. 22 TEXAS TECH 67

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ben Middlebrooks scored a career-high 21 points and 11th-seeded North Carolina State surged past sixth-seeded Texas Tech.

The Wolfpack (23-14), who won five games in five days in the ACC Tournament, won their first March Madness game in nine years behind Middlebrooks’ boost off the bench and another bruising performance by center DJ Burns Jr.

The 6-foot-9, 275-pound Burns finished with 16 points. Mo Diarra had 17 points and 12 rebounds for N.C. State, and DJ Horne also scored 16.

The Wolfpack will face 14th-seeded Oakland on Saturday, ensuring a double-digit seed will advance to the South Region semifinals.

Joe Toussaint led the Red Raiders (23-11) with 16 points, but Texas Tech made just 7-of-31 3-pointers and couldn’t keep pace in the second half. N.C. State broke the game open with a 13-2 surge midway through the second half, highlighted by a pretty bounce pass from Michael O’Connell that turned into a dunk by Diarra and a soft running hook shot by Burns that made it 65-51.

WEST REGION

NO. 5 NORTH CAROLINA 90, WAGNER 62

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Armando Bacot had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and No. 1 seed North Carolina never trailed in beating 16th-seeded Wagner.

Jae’Lyn Withers had a season-high 16 points and matched his best rebounding work with 10 boards for the West Region’s headliner. That helped the Tar Heels (28-7) finish the game shooting 55% while dominating up front against a short-handed upstart aiming to pull off only the third opening-round takedown of a 1-seed in March Madness history.

RJ Davis, named this week as a first-team All-American by The Associated Press, had 17 of his 22 points after halftime for the Tar Heels.

The Tar Heels dominated this one inside, finishing with 48 points in the paint and a 43-24 rebounding advantage to go with 17 second-chance points.

Melvin Council Jr. and Julian Brown each scored 18 points for the Seahawks (17-16), who won their first-ever NCAA game by holding off Howard in the First Four on Tuesday night. Wagner shot 39.7% for the game.

NO. 9 ARIZONA 85, LONG BEACH STATE 65

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Arizona scored 16 straight points over a five-minute stretch to pull away for a victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and snuff out Dan Monson’s coaching tenure at Long Beach State.

Kylan Boswell scored 20 points for the second-seeded Wildcats (26-8), who made 13 3-pointers, the program record for March Madness.

This marked the end of a 17-year stretch at Long Beach State for the 62-year-old Monson. He learned last week that he wouldn’t return next season. His team responded by unexpectedly winning the Big West Tournament to send the program to March Madness for the first time since 2012.

Arizona trailed by one with 2:34 left in the first half. A few free throws and a 3-pointer by Caleb Love started the Wildcats’ onslaught before halftime. Keshad Johnson (13 points) kicked off the second half with a layup, a 3 and a dunk off an alley-oop from Love, who finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

By the time the surge was over at the 17:08 mark of the second half, Arizona led 50-35. Counting the halftime break, the 15th-seeded Beach went about 40 minutes without a basket.

Aboubacar Traore and A.J. George led the Beach (21-15) with 14 points each.

DAYTON 63, NEVADA 60

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – DaRon Holmes II and seventh-seeded Dayton staged a huge March Madness rally, closing with a 24-4 run to erase a 17-point deficit and beat 10th-seeded Nevada in the West Region.

Holmes, the Atlantic 10 player of the year, finished with 18 points, including a three-point play with 2:01 remaining that gave Dayton its first lead since the first half.

The Flyers (25-7) trailed 56-39 with 7:36 remaining but responded with a 17-0 run that included two 3-pointers by Koby Brea, who finished with 15 points.

Enoch Cheeks’ layup with 34 seconds left gave Dayton the lead for good, and he made two free throws for the final margin. He scored 12 points as the Flyers picked up their first NCAA Tournament win in nine years.

Dayton will face No. 2 seed Arizona in the second round on Saturday.

Jarrod Lucas scored 17 points, and Kenan Blackshear and Nick Davidson scored 15 apiece for the Wolf Pack (26-8), who took control by closing the first half on a 16-0 run.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness