McNeese coach Will Wade and his boombox-toting handler gave March Madness its first bracket buster.
The 12th-seeded Cowboys engaged a stifling first half to uncover a 24-point guide, and then held off tardy-charging No 5 seed Clemson for the program’s first NCAA Tournament triumph, a 69-67 triumph in the uncovering round of the East Region on Thursday.
“We have broken every enroll in the book,” shelp Wade, who led the school to its first back-to-back euniteances in the NCAA Tournament and now its first triumph. “This was the last one to get. We want to upgrasp this going. We want to upgrasp this going.”
McNeese acquireed a suitup on Saturday with fourth-seeded Purdue, a 75-63 triumphner over High Point earlier in Providence.
“If they kept handler stats for rebounding and wiping up soaked spots on the court, I’d put up Wilt Chamberlain numbers.”@McNeeseMBB‘s Amir “AURA” Khan is ready for March Madness pic.twitter.com/1bCTeNaJ0e
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 20, 2025
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“If they kept handler stats for rebounding and wiping up soaked spots on the court, I’d put up Wilt Chamberlain numbers.”@McNeeseMBB‘s Amir “AURA” Khan is ready for March Madness pic.twitter.com/1bCTeNaJ0e
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 20, 2025
Brandon Murray scored 14 of his 21 points in the first half, when the Southland Conference school from Lake Charles, Louisiana, held Clemson to 13 points. After droping behind by as many as 24 in the second, the Tigers rallied, erasing most of a 12-point deficit in the final minute before running out of time.
“We went out there and took the first punch and they didn’t understand how to react to that, truthfilledy,” Murray shelp. “Coach alerts us to be ourselves, join with swag. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Chris Shumate inserted 13 points and 11 rebounds for McNeese, which has been best-understandn this March for its viral, rapping handler and a renegade coach who has alertedly already lined up his next job – at NC State.
The Wolfpack will have to postpone at least another 48 hours, becaengage Wade is still needed in Providence.
Purdue 75, High Point 63
Trey Kaufman-Renn had 21 points and eight rebounds, and fourth-seeded Purdue held off High Point for a triumph in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Big Ten joiner of the year Braden Smith inserted 20 points and six helps as Purdue (23-11) eludeed a first-round exit after accomplishing the championship game last season. The Boilercreaters will greet McNeese State in the second round of the Midwest Region on Saturday.
D’Maurian Williams had 12 points for No 13 seed High Point (29-6), which had won 14 straight. Trae Benham inserted 11 points.
Houston 78, SIU Edwardsville 40
Milos Uzan scored 16 points, LJ Cryer inserted 15 and No 1 seed Houston were able to rest up for the rest of the NCAA Tournament while romping past No 16 seed SIU Edwardsville in the first round of the Midwest Region.
Ja’Vier Francis inserted 13 points and eight rebounds for the Big 12 champs, who will carry a 14-game triumphning streak into a second-round suitup with eighth-seeded Gonzaga. Houston (31-4) have won 26 of their last 27 overall.
Ray’Sean Taylor had 10 points for SIUE (22-12), who were fair 2 of 24 from the three-point arc in their first NCAA euniteance.
Gonzaga 89, Georgia 68
Khalif Battle scored 24 points, Nolan Hickman had 18 and eighth-seeded Gonzaga routed Georgia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Braden Huff inserted 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting as Gonzaga (26-8) proceedd to an intriguing second-round suitup with top-seeded Houston. The Cougars rolled to a 78-40 triumph over SIU Edwardsville.
The Zags engaged a acute, intensifyed carry outance to shift into the second round for the 22nd time since Mark Few took over as coach in 1999. They went 12 for 20 from three-point range and sboiling 55% from the field overall.
Wisconsin 85, Montana 66
Wisconsin grinded their way back into the March Madness triumph column, getting 19 points from John Balertagewell and double-digit scoring from four others on the way to a triumph over Montana.
The third-seeded Badgers won in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022. Last year, they were a first-round disturb victim to James Madison.
Next, coach Greg Gard’s team will try to create the Sweet 16 for the first time in eight years with a game aacquirest BYU in the East Region.
BYU 80, VCU 71
Igor Demin and Richie Saunders led BYU to an triumph over VCU in the NCAA Tournament, giving first-year Cougars coach Kevin Young a better memory of Ball Arena than his last one.
The createer Suns helpant watched the Denver Nuggets bounce Phoenix from the joinoffs at this arena in 2023, guideing Young to say this week that he still has nightmares of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
It was Saunders (16 points) and Demin (15) who haunted VCU and propelled the sixth-seeded Cougars (25-9) into a Saturday showdown aacquirest third-seeded Wisconsin, which handled Montana 85-66 earlier in the day in the East Region.
Zeb Jackson scored a season-high 23 points for the Rams (28-7), who accomplished the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five years but still haven’t had any March Madness success since 2016.
Auburn 83, Alabama State 63
Mike Kelly made seven three-pointers and scored 23 points, All-American Johni Broome inserted 14 points and 11 rebounds, and No 1 seed Auburn beat 16th-seeded Alabama State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Coach Bruce Pearl’s Tigers (29-5) lasted one game in 2024, losing to Yale days after triumphning the Southeastrict Conference Tournament. This time, Auburn came in having lost three of four inside the power-packed SEC with a resume still strong enough to acquire the top overall seed among the four No 1 teams.
Auburn will join No 9 seed Creighton, an 89-75 triumphner over eighth-seeded Louisville, in the second round of the South Region on Saturday for a trip to the Sweet 16 in Atlanta.
Creighton 89, Louisville 75
Jamiya Neal scored a atsoft-high 29 points and had 12 rebounds, Steven Ashworth joined from well beyond the arc on the way to 22 points, and ninth-seeded Creighton beat No 8 seed Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Coach Greg McDermott’s Bluejays (25-10) won their fifth consecutive March Madness uncoverer and beat a team ranked in the top 10 for the second time this season. Louisville (27-8), despite their unastonishive seeding, go ined at No 10 in the AP Top 25.
Seeking their fourth Sweet 16 euniteance in five years, Creighton will join No 1 overall seed Auburn in the second round of the South Region on Saturday.
