Advertisement

March Madness roundup: Zion Williamson leads Duke to win, UNC dominates

By Connor Grott
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils advanced to the second round after a win over North Dakota State on Friday. Duke plays ninth-seeded UCF on Sunday. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils advanced to the second round after a win over North Dakota State on Friday. Duke plays ninth-seeded UCF on Sunday. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

March 22 (UPI) -- The first round of the NCAA tournament concluded Friday night as Zion Williamson and No. 1 seed Duke dominated North Dakota State.

North Carolina, the Midwest Region's No. 1 seed, started slow but eventually dominated No. 16 Iona to reach the second round. No. 2 Tennessee, No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 1 Virginia also had victories in the opening round.

Advertisement

Third-seeded Houston posted Friday's most dominant performance with an 84-55 drubbing of Georgia State. No. 12 Oregon, No. 12 Liberty, No. 13 UC Irvine, No. 11 Ohio State and No. 10 Iowa had double-digit seed upsets.

Below is a roundup of all the action from the final day of the NCAA tournament's first round.

No. 2 Tennessee 77, No. 15 Colgate 70

The Tennessee Volunteers held off a second-half rally behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Admiral Schofield. Schofield had 19 points and Jordan Bone added 16.

Advertisement

The win gave the Vols 30 victories this season, marking the second time in program history the team reached the 30-win plateau. Tennessee plays No. 10 Iowa on Sunday.

No. 10 Iowa 79, No. 7 Cincinnati 72

Luka Garza scored 20 points to lead the Hawkeyes to an upset win over Cincinnati. It was the school's first NCAA tourney win in four years.

Iowa plays the second-seeded Volunteers on Sunday in the second round.

No. 9 Oklahoma 95, No. 8 Ole Miss 72

Hot-shooting Oklahoma cruised by Kermit Davis' Ole Miss squad behind 20-point outings from Rashard Odomes and Christian James. The Sooners shot 57.6 percent from the floor, including a 46.2 percent mark from 3-point territory.

Oklahoma's 95 points was the most it has scored this season. The Sooners challenge No. 1 Virginia on Sunday.

No. 3 Texas Tech 72, No. 14 Northern Kentucky 57

TTU's Jarrett Culver had 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the Red Raiders overcame a sluggish start.

Texas Tech plays red-hot Buffalo in the second round.

No. 13 UC Irvine 70, No. 4 Kansas State 64

Evan Leonard drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to spark the decisive run in UC Irvine's upset win over KSU. The Anteaters lost their only previous tournament game in 2015 against Louisville.

Advertisement

UC Irvine sticks around longer for a matchup against No. 12 Oregon in the second round Sunday.

No. 1 Virginia 71, No. 16 Gardner-Webb 56

Virginia trailed Gardner-Webb 36-30 at halftime, bringing back ugly memories of last year's historic loss to 16th-seeded UMBC. The Cavaliers didn't let history repeat itself, rallying for a first-round win. Virginia became the first team to lose as a No. 1 seed in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year.

De'Andre Hunter, who missed last year's game against UMBC due to a broken wrist, led the Cavaliers with a game-high 23 points.

Virginia plays No. 9 Oklahoma in the second round.

No. 6 Buffalo 91, No. 11 Arizona State 74

High-scoring Buffalo cruised to a win against Arizona State in the first round. Jeremy Harris had 21 points and 10 rebounds. CJ Massinburg added 18 points and six rebounds.

Buffalo takes on Texas Tech, who beat 14th-seeded Northern Kentucky, on Sunday.

No. 12 Oregon 72, No. 5 Wisconsin 54

Payton Pritchard scored 19 points and Louis King had 17 points and four rebounds as Oregon continued its strong run.

Oregon plays No. 13 UC Irvine on Sunday.

Advertisement

No. 9 Washington 78, No. 8 Utah State 61

Washington coasted to a 17-point victory in its first NCAA tournament appearance in eight years. Noah Dickerson had 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Huskies.

Washington plays No. 1 North Carolina in the next round.

No. 1 Duke 85, No. 16 North Dakota State 62

Zion Williamson, with a CBS camera following his every step, shined in his NCAA tournament debut, posting 25 points on 12-of-16 shooting with three rebounds. RJ Barrett led Duke with 26 points and 14 rebounds as the duo carried the Blue Devils to a dominant first-round win.

No. 1 Duke faces No. 9 UCF in the second round.

No. 3 Houston 84, No. 14 Georgia State 55

Corey Davis Jr. dropped 26 points while Houston's defense contained Georgia State to 30-percent shooting from the field.

Houston plays No. 11 Ohio State on Sunday.

No. 12 Liberty 80, No. 5 Mississippi State 76

Caleb Homesley scored 22 of his 30 points in the second half as Liberty earned its first NCAA tournament win in school history. Lovell Cabbil sank a go-ahead 3-pointer with under two minutes left to guide the Flames to the upset win.

Advertisement

Liberty advances to play No. 4 Virginia Tech on Sunday.

No. 1 North Carolina 88, No. 16 Iona 73

Cameron Johnson had 21 points and Luke Maye added 16 points and nine rebounds as North Carolina overcame a slow start. The Tar Heels trailed Iona by five points at halftime. Nassir Little scored 19 points off the bench.

UNC plays No. 9 Washington on Sunday.

No. 11 Ohio State 62, No. 6 Iowa State 59

Ohio State used 21 points from Kaleb Wesson to reach the second round of the tournament.

The Buckeyes take on No. 3 Houston in the next round.

No. 9 UCF 73, No. 8 VCU 58

UCF's defense stifled VCU in a first-round victory Friday. The Knights held VCU to 31.1 percent from the field. Central Florida's B.J. Taylor had 15 points and Tacko Fall registered 13 points and 18 rebounds.

UCF plays No. 1 Duke in the second round.

No. 4 Virginia Tech 66, No. 13 Saint Louis 52

The Hokies jumped out to a 40-18 halftime lead and held off Saint Louis for their first NCAA tournament win since 2007.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 20 points and Kerry Blackshear Jr. had 15 points and three rebounds.

Advertisement

The Hokies play Liberty on Sunday.

Latest Headlines