What happened in Thursday and Friday's first round

No. 13 seed, South Region

Opponent, time, TV: Duke, 7:10 p.m., CBS

Team in 16 words: An America East juggernaut with a stout defense, Vermont has lost just one game in 2024.

Record: 28-6 (15-1 America East)

Coach: John Becker (1-5 in NCAA Tournament)

Player to watch: Shamir Bogues (first-team All-America East)

Numbers:

BetMGM title odds: +100000

Sweet 16 projected chance: 7.1 percent

Final Four projected chance: 0.5 percent

Outlook: The Catamounts have won eight straight America East regular-season titles. This is the 10th time in the last 20 NCAA Tournaments that they’ve gotten a bid — but they haven’t won a game in the tourney since T.J. Sorrentine hit that one from the parking lot.

This Vermont team is built on defense. Vermont ranks near the top 60 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric, and the Catamounts were to the America East what Houston is to everyone else. They are incredible at controlling tempo. They’ll make you play at their pace. They’ll make it tough for you to run offense. They’ll get on the defensive glass and end possessions. They’ve done it all year, but the question is whether or not that will work against teams that are significantly bigger and more athletic.

The other key is going to be their backcourt trio of TJ Long, Shamir Bogues and Aaron Deloney. Those three are UVM’s three leading scorers, but most of the offense that Vermont creates comes out of sets. If those sets get blown up, that trio is going to be tasked with creating against a power-conference defense. If they can win those matchups often enough, they can pull off an upset.

— Rob Dauster

Walter Clayton Jr. coolly sinks a long 3-pointer to bring Florida even with Colorado. That's 33 points for Clayton — and a great Gators comeback from a 13-point deficit with 4:28 to play. Colorado will have 6.1 seconds to answer. https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1771309994895356294

LINCOLN, Neb. — Consider that 38 years ago in the first NCAA Tournament basketball game to involve Nebraska, its head coach quit immediately after the loss to Western Kentucky.

Before Moe Iba left the court, he handed an envelope to a school official that contained his letter of resignation. The beginning of Iba’s end came in the weeks ahead of that 1985-86 season when he was exposed for holding unauthorized practice sessions on campus.

From there, things trended only more negatively for the Nebraska men in the NCAA Tournament.

The Huskers, set to tip off Friday as the No. 8 seed in the South Region against No. 9 Texas A&M, enter this first NCAA appearance for the school since 2014 at 0-7 in the postseason event. When Northwestern beat Vanderbilt in its first tourney appearance seven years ago, the Wildcats left Nebraska as the only major-conference program without an NCAA Tournament victory.

How is this possible?

Well, Nebraska rarely appears in the tournament. The bid this year marks its second in 25 years. And when the Huskers have made it to the Big Dance, just about anything that could go wrong has gone wrong.

They’ve been beaten by an eclectic group of teams in the first round coached by the likes of Clem Haskins, Pete Gillen, Jim Calhoun and Nolan Richardson. The average margin of defeat: 11.6 points. Nebraska has led at halftime just once. Only one team has earned a victory beyond its elimination-game win against the Huskers.

The conversation casts a shadow over coach Fred Hoiberg’s program.

“It’s not embarrassing,” said Andy Markowski, a two-year starter who played on the 1997-98 tournament team, “because we’ve had some really good teams and a lot of things to be proud about. But that seems to be the dark cloud that hangs over us. It would be nice to be out of that.”

When ex-Huskers gathered on Alumni Weekend in January, Hoiberg encouraged his players to meet them and hear their stories.

“We talk about it,” Hoiberg said of the lack of postseason success. “We’re not going to run from it. Pressure’s a privilege.”

Continue reading.

No. 8 seed, South Region

Opponent, time, TV: Texas A&M, 6:50, TNT

Team in 16 words: Thanks to a steady dose of defense and 3-pointers, the perennial doormats have second weekend appeal.

Record: 23-10 (12-8 Big Ten)

Coach: Fred Hoiberg (4-4 in NCAA Tournament)

Player to watch: Keisei Tominaga (second-team All-Big Ten)

Numbers:

BetMGM title odds: +15000

Sweet 16 projected chance: 12.4 percent

Final Four projected chance: 2.6 percent

Strengths: The Cornhuskers have placed opponents in a sleeper hold over the past several weeks. Over their final 10 regular-season games, they ranked top five nationally in effective field-goal percentage defense, conceding only 44.8 percent from two and 29 percent from three. Stifling. On the scoring side, Fred Hoiberg’s squad is often prolific from the perimeter. Keisei Tominaga, Brice Williams, C.J. Wilcher, Jamarques Lawrence and Rienk Mast each shoot at least 34 percent from distance. Overall, nearly 45 percent of their shots come from outside.

Weaknesses: Cupcake city best sums up Nebraska’s non-conference strength of schedule (No. 322 in the country). Outside of a win against lackluster Kansas State in December and a loss to Creighton, the Cornhuskers weren’t often challenged beyond the Big Ten. As a below-average rebounding team, the Huskers are also vulnerable if matched against a formidable interior. Most unsettling, they were just 5-9 in road and neutral games.

Outlook: Doing its best Michigan State impression, the Huskers are peaking at the most opportune time. Yes, their suspect play away from Lincoln is well documented, but Tominaga, when on, is an absolute flamethrower. Just ask Purdue. Nebraska’s outside execution combined with its oxygen-depriving defense labels it a sleeper. Top seeds beware.

— Brad Evans

No. 9 seed, South Region

Opponent, time, TV: Nebraska, 6:50 p.m., TNT

Team in 16 words: It has been a disappointing season, but the Aggies’ guards and offensive rebounding make them dangerous.

Record: 20-14 (9-9 SEC)

Coach: Buzz Williams (10-9 in NCAA Tournament)

Player to watch: Wade Taylor IV (first-team All-SEC)

Numbers:

BetMGM title odds: +20000

Sweet 16 projected chance: 10.4 percent

Final Four projected chance: 2 percent

Strengths: This is a capable, athletic team with two guards — Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford — who have put opponents in blenders. A third, Manny Obaseki, is surging late in the season. The Aggies are top 60 in offensive and defensive efficiency and top 50 in steal percentage, a reflection of the variety of pressure strategies coach Buzz Williams employs. The Aggies beat Kentucky twice, Tennessee, Iowa State and Florida and gave Houston a great game, so high-end winning potential is there. And A&M leads the nation in offensive rebounding percentage (40 percent).

Weaknesses: The opportunities for offensive rebounds are plentiful because this is a terrible shooting team. They’re around the 350s nationally in effective field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage, and Taylor is shooting the best among Aggies who have taken 50 or more from long range — at 31.5 percent. Texas A&M also has lost way too many close games for having veteran guards, some to bad teams, including Vanderbilt and Arkansas (twice). Texas A&M has athletic length in players like Solomon Washington and Henry Coleman III, but offensive creation is all on the guards.

Outlook: Radford can get wherever he wants to go with his hesitation dribbles and bursts of speed. Taylor is a nightmare for defenders and creates shots for his teammates. When Taylor also hits some of his own from deep — and when Radford doesn’t settle for too many of those shots — the Aggies look more like the team they were supposed to be. It’s hard to count on that to show up every night in the NCAA Tournament, but no opponent should relish drawing the Aggies. Kentucky sure didn’t in a 97-87 SEC tourney upset loss to them.

MEMPHIS — New Mexico head coach Richard Pitino, when asked after the loss to Clemson if he anticipates losing any players to the transfer portal this offseason: "How could you not? They're all free agents. We'll have conversations with them next week. I'm sure their people are reaching out to them. They've got all the freedom in the world right now. And if we do lose somebody, the beauty of it is you can go get somebody.

"And it's just part of the ever-changing landscape. I don't think anyone likes it. But it is what it is. We'll go home tonight, visit with some guys throughout the week next week and give a little time off, get back to work. But if somebody leaves, it's not going to be an indication of what's wrong with them. It's happening everywhere. We had an amazing year, and they've got the choice to go look elsewhere, fine, we'll support them, and we'll go find a way to replace them."

The NCAA Tournament is off to a good start ratings-wise. Yesterday was the most-watched first-round Thursday in the NCAA Tournament since 2015.

SALT LAKE CITY — All year, we’ve widely accepted that Arizona’s ceiling is as high, if not higher, than maybe any team in the country. The Wildcats have pros at multiple positions, size across the board, and both an offense and defense ranked in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Tommy Lloyd’s team is loaded.

According to those on the floor, though, one key unlocks all the doors.

“When he's going,” Arizona forward Keshad Johnson said during a Friday press conference of sophomore Kylan Boswell, “we're literally the best team in the country.”

Boswell, the Wildcats’ point guard, dropped a career-high 20 points on 8-of-19 shooting with four made 3s and eight assists in Thursday’s opening round win over Long Beach State. The showing came after a 4-for-23 stretch as Arizona dropped two of its last three games, slipping down to the No. 2-seed line in the NCAA Tournament.

It's hard to Johnson's point. Boswell is averaging 11.7 points on 45.8 percent shooting in Arizona's 26 wins, while putting up 4.8 points on 20.9 percent shooting in the team's eight losses.

Boswell was the youngest player in college basketball a year ago, entering Arizona from Compass Prep and playing 15.2 minutes per game as a 17-year-old. Now 18, he’s started 33 of 34 games, playing 27.3 minutes per outing.

With age comes confidence and that, Arizona says, might be the key to not only taking care of seventh-seeded Dayton on Saturday, but making it to Phoenix for a home Final Four in two weeks.

“When his confidence is high, we're hard to be beaten. We just lean on him for a lot. He's our point guard so he kind of runs the show and so he gets us into offense. When he's knocking shots down like he was yesterday, it's tough for teams to go at us."

A year after Princeton's Sweet 16 run, Ivy League counterpart Yale has a 44-43 lead on Auburn with 15:39 to go. The Bulldogs are on a 10-0 run. John Poulakidas is having a day: 18 points, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Yale's last NCAA Tournament win came in 2016, when it upset Baylor in a 12-vs.-5 game.

MEMPHIS — Well, we have an upset. Technically. No. 6 Clemson defeated No. 11 New Mexico 77-56. The Tigers entered the game as 2.5-point underdogs despite having the better seed.

Clemson’s size and slower pace were an effective antidote to New Mexico’s frenetic tempo. The Tigers were efficient in the halfcourt, scoring 38 points in the paint and turning the ball over nine times. The Lobos couldn’t answer, hitting just 3-of-23 from beyond the arc and giving it away 13 times, which Clemson turned into 19 points.

The NCAA selection committee will take some pride in this one, after describing New Mexico as a bid stealer following its run to the Mountain West Conference tournament title. Many assumed the Lobos, with a NET of 22, were safely in the field, and the betting lines favored them over a Clemson side that limped into March Madness, having lost three of its last four, including an early exit from the ACC tournament.

Chase Hunter led all scorers, with 15 of his 21 points coming in the second half. Forward Ian Schieffelin had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and P.J. Hall added 14 points. Nelly Junior Joseph led New Mexico with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Guard Jaelen House, the son of former NBA player Eddie House, had 12 points on just 4 of 14 from the field, and battled foul trouble for much of the second half, sitting on the end of the bench with a towel wrapped around his head.

Rick Pitino, the head coach of St. John’s, who missed out on an at-large bid, was seated across from the New Mexico bench to cheer on his son, Richard, head coach of the Lobos. The two shared a knowing wave as the younger Pitino exited the court after the loss.

Clemson’s win sets up a round of 32 matchup against third-seeded Baylor on Sunday after the Bears won big over Colgate earlier on Friday. The game will pit Baylor’s top-five offense against Clemson’s top-25 offense, according to KenPom. The Tigers advance beyond the first round of the tournament for the first time since 2018, when Brad Brownell’s team reached the Sweet 16.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Auburn has trailed for all of 44 seconds in the first half against Yale. And it should not be comfortable with that at all.

The Tigers have a 41-34 lead over the No. 13 seed Bulldogs, who remain fully relevant at Spokane Arena despite leading scorer Danny Wolf hitting one shot and senior guard August Mahoney picking up three first-half personal fouls. The difference is nine first-half turnovers from Yale turning into 13 Auburn points, but everywhere else the Ivy League champs are keeping pace with the SEC tournament champs.

Somewhere, Greg Sankey breaks into another heavy flop sweat.

It should be noted that Auburn is now without starter Chad Baker-Mazara, too, after the junior forward delivered a preposterously clear elbow to Mahoney behind a fast break roughly four minutes into the game. That earned Baker-Mazara a flagrant 2 foul on review and an ejection, depriving the Tigers of their third-leading scorer for the rest of the afternoon.

All year, as the ACC was projected as a four-bid league at best and the Mountain West got lots of love (and six teams in), ACC fans howled about disrespect. "Our teams win in the tournament," they'd say. "Shouldn't that count for something?"

Whatever side you fall on the argument, the ACC has at least emphasized its point, while the Mountain West ... not so much. Boise State, Colorado State and Nevada are already gone, while New Mexico — which won the MWC tournament — just got blown out by Clemson, which finished fifth in the ACC. And though Colorado State did beat the withered husk of Virginia in the First Four, the Rams went out meekly in the first round on Thursday. And NC State is in the second round. Assuming Duke beats Vermont tonight, the ACC will have put four of its five teams into the second round. Meanwhile, so far only San Diego State has carried the Mountain West banner past the opening round, though Utah State could join the Aztecs there later tonight. If the Aggies lose to TCU, it will mean no Mountain West team besides San Diego State has won an NCAA Tournament first-round game since Eric Musselman's Nevada in 2018.

Going 1-5 in the first round would be a terrible look for the Mountain West, while ACC fans could rightly puff their chests out.

CHARLOTTE — Did you know: Rick Barnes used to coach at Texas.

That’s a fair share of the discussion around Spectrum Center today. The Tennessee coach is the winningest coach in Texas men’s basketball history, in fact, with a record of 402-180 from 1998 to 2015, including the lone Final Four (2003) the Longhorns have reached since that’s been a term — the school did get to the semifinals in 1943 and 1947 as well.

If Barnes’ No. 2 seed Vols beat the No. 7 seed Longhorns on Saturday at Spectrum Center, he will have three Sweet 16s in nine seasons in Knoxville — 30 percent of the program’s total.

To get there, he’ll have to beat a program he very much doesn’t want to play because of close relationships with Texas head coach Rodney Terry, who was a Barnes assistant at Texas from 2002-11, and Terry assistant Frank Haith, who was with Barnes from 2001-04 before getting the Miami (Fla.) head job.

“Those guys probably know me as well as anybody, and they know how I think,” Barnes said. “I think, if you ask both of us, would we rather be playing someone else, the answer would be yes.”

Said Terry: “I would completely agree with that. Coach is family to me. He's one of my biggest mentors. He's been incredible throughout my career. We love each other. But we also, at the end of the day, I'm super competitive, he's super competitive. When the game starts, it will be about our players and the guys on the floor.”

This will be the third straight season these programs are playing, though, after they split two games in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. And they become SEC rivals starting next season.

Moments after his presser, Terry ended up outside Tennessee’s locker room with a plate of food, joking with Barnes and asking him if he’d like to try on his glasses. It was a fun moment for two coaches whose teams are likely to engage in a game that will be especially fun for people who like cutters bumped and box-outs finished.

Terry, 43-20 in his second season, is still in the establishment phase with the Longhorns, while pressure is on Barnes to get Tennessee to the second weekend and stave off complaints about his underperforming in the tournament — a reputation forged in Texas.

“I thought he did a helluva job there,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, another close Barnes friend whose team is playing in Charlotte, said of his work at Texas. “And maybe was under appreciated a little bit, in my humble opinion. But he sure has taken things to Knoxville and done an unbelievable job.”