2024 March Madness scores, takeaways: Sweet 16 field set, Purdue's Zach Edey continues to dominate

Houston survives insane ending

Final: (1) Houston 100, (9) Texas A&M 95 (OT)

The Cougars led by 10 with 1:24 to play before Texas A&M clawed its way back to force overtime when Andersson Garcia hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the second half.

Garcia's make, which was his only 3-point attempt of the game, knotted the score at 86 apiece and forced a physically bruising affair to go five more minutes. Both teams were saddled with foul trouble entering the extra period, and the Cougars lost a third starter when Emanuel Sharp picked up his fifth with 3:41 remaining in the extra period after scoring a career-high 30 points. 

With Sharp, fellow outside shooter LJ Cryer and veteran big man Ja'Vier Francis all disqualified, an already hobbled Houston team was forced to rely on three reserves in overtime. Among the remaining starters was Jamal Shead, who drilled a critical jumper with 30 seconds remaining to put Houston ahead 97-93.

Shead played every second of the game until fouling out with 18 seconds left. The Cougars' depth situation then became so dire after that walk-on Ryan Elvin was forced to enter and attempt critical free throws with the game on the line. 

March Madness 2024: No. 1 seed Houston survives in OT vs. Texas A&M after Aggies' remarkable late comeback

David Cobb

Texas A&M forces dramatic overtime

End 2H: (1) Houston 86, (9) Texas A&M 86

What. Just. Happened?! 

Texas A&M forward Andersson Garcia hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer in regulation to force overtime in true March Madness fashion. The Aggies closed the final 1:13 in regulation on a 13-3 run to keep their hopes alive. The winner of this game faces No. 4 seed Duke in the Sweet 16.

A tight Lone Star State battle

Half: (1) Houston 43, (9) Texas A&M 38

As expected, it was a tough battle in the first half between these two teams. Houston edged Texas A&M 70-66 earlier this season, and we could be headed toward a similarly close finish this time. Jamal Shead led Houston with 13 in the first half, while Tyrece Radford paced Texas A&M with 10. The Aggies did an incredible job of handling Houston's pressure in the first half, committing just one turnover, but Houston only committed two turnovers of its own. Texas A&M's strong recent surge had come largely because of improved 3-point shooting, but the Aggies are just 1 of 6 thus far from beyond the arc.

Alabama rolls to Sweet 16

(4) Alabama 72, (12) Grand Canyon 61

Alabama closes the game on a 17-3 run to defeat Grand Canyon as the Crimson Tide held the Lopes to without a field goal over the final minutes. The win sends Alabama to back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances for the first time since 1990-91.

Alabama lost Latrell Wrightsell Jr. early in this game but another huge performance from Mark Sears, who finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists -- the leader in each of those categories for the team. Rylan Griffen also gave some big minutes and had 13 points.

Alabama advances to play in the Sweet 16 vs. No. 1 seed North Carolina in the West Region on Thursday.

UConn is just showing off

Half: (1) UConn 40, (9) Northwestern 18

What the UConn Huskies are doing to the Northwestern Wildcats on truTV right now is actually illegal in 48 states. There are still 20 minutes of game time left, but this one feels very much over. UConn shot 53% from the field and held Northwestern to 0-of-8 shooting from 3-point range in the first frame. Donovan Clingan's defensive impact for the Huskies has certainly been felt; he has 11 boards and five (!!!) blocks in just 13 minutes of play. Everything coming up UConn right now. 

Clemson hangs on, advances to Sweet 16

Final: (6) Clemson 72, (3) Baylor 64

Baylor nearly pulled off a 15-point comeback in the final 7 minutes before coming up just short against a Clemson team that is back in the Sweet 16 for just the second time this century. Ja'Kobe Walter missed a pair of free throws that would have tied it at the 36-second mark, and the Tigers were rock solid at the stripe down the stretch. Chase Hunter led Clemson with 20 points while Joe Girard added 13.

Quite a turnaround for coach Brad Brownell's club, which entered the Big Dance with three losses in their last four games. Clemson will play No. 2 seed Arizona in the Sweet 16 next week in Los Angeles.

Alabama, Grand Canyon in dog fight

Half: (4) Alabama 38, (12) Grand Canyon 30

Alabama finishes on a 10-2 run to close the half after making seven of its last seven shots from the field to get some space ahead of Grand Canyon at the break. Sharpshooter Latrell Wrightsell left this game early for Bama with a head injury and won't return, but Mark Sears and Rylan Griffin scored 13 each to pace the Tide. Big first half for Tyon Grant-Foster of the Lopes, but non-Grant Foster Lopes are 1 of 9 from 3-point range and shooting 4 of 20 from the floor. 

Duke destroys the Dukes

Final: (4) Duke 93, (12) James Madison 55

Two days after handily defeating a really good Wisconsin team in the first round, James Madison was a trendy sleeper to take down Duke. But Duke took down the Dukes, instead, and in dominant fashion as the No. 4 seed Blue Devils never trailed and had control of the game throughout thanks to an offensive explosion. JMU's defensive pressure that troubled the Badgers in Round 1 wasn't enough to test Duke's deep backcourt, which dominated the game.

Jared McCain led the way on that front with 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting. McCain had 22 in the first half and made his first six 3-point attempts to start the game. Jeremy Roach and Tyrese Proctor combined for 33 points and 11 assists.

Duke will face Houston or Texas A&M in the Sweet 16 next. 

Baylor in trouble

Half: (6) Clemson 35 (3) Baylor 25

A Clemson team that entered the NCAA Tournament in a stretch of three losses in four games has suddenly found itself defensively. The Tigers held New Mexico below 30% shooting in the first round and frustrated Baylor in the first half by holding the Bears to 33.3% shooting. Aside from a couple of Ja'Kobe Walter 3-pointers, nothing came in rhythm for the Bears early. Defensively, Baylor played some zone but Clemson shot the Bears out of it. The Tigers are 6 of 11 from deep, which included a pull-up trey from Chase Hunter at the halftime buzzer.

The winner will play No. 2 seed Arizona in Los Angeles next week in the Sweet 16.

McCain on fire as Duke builds big lead

Half: (3) Duke 47, (12) James Madison 25

About the only thing that went wrong for Duke in the first half was an injury scare with Jeremy Roach, who was in a lot of pain after jamming his pinky. Ultimately, he returned and dished out four assists during a dominant start for the Blue Devils. Freshman guard Jared McCain is on fire. He set a tournament record for most 3-pointers in a game from a Duke freshman with six. He was 6 of 6 from beyond the arc before missing his final two attempts.

The Blue Devils outscored JMU 13-3 in second-chance points and committed just two turnovers in the half. This version of Duke is much better than the version which had dropped two straight entering the Big Dance.

Purdue dominates again to reach Sweet 16

Final: (1) Purdue 106, (8) Utah State 67

One year after losing as a No. 1 seed to a No. 16 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Purdue punches a ticket to the Sweet 16 with a second consecutive lopsided win in this year's tourney. Utah State is its latest victim after a 39-point drubbing Sunday just two days after the Boilermakers routed No. 16 seed Grambling State by 28 points. 

Zach Edey's star shined even brighter with another double-double as he finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds in only 26 minutes of play. Edey's now played 54 total minutes this March Madness, and in that span, he's scored 54 points, grabbed 35 rebounds and blocked six shots.

"All of our guys have worked really hard," said Purdue coach Matt Painter after the game about the challenge this year after an early exit last year. "We tried to add as much skill as possible around Zach as possible. Our whole team has been great."

Marquette advances to Sweet 16

Final: (2) Marquette 81, (10) Colorado 77

Sunday's second-round action in the 2024 NCAA Tournament got off to a fantastic start as Marquette survived an upset bid from Colorado for an 81-77 win to advance to the program's first Sweet 16 since 2013. The Golden Eagles led by as many as 11 points in the first half before Colorado took a brief lead in the opening minutes of the second half.

Marquette star Tyler Kolek scored a game-high 21 points and added 11 assists to set up a matchup with No. 11 seed NC State in the Sweet 16 next week. Kolek is the first player with at least 10 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in consecutive tournament games since former Cal guard Jason Kidd did it in 1993. The Golden Eagles shot 34 of 55 from the floor and knocked down nine 3-pointers.

Colorado ends its season with a 26-11 record. The Buffaloes defeated Boise State in the First Four and Florida in the first round. 

Marquette madness continues

Half: (2) Marquette 45, (10) Colorado 34

No. 2 seed Marquette picked up where it left off from a blistering finish to the first round with a big opening half vs. No. 10 seed Colorado. The Golden Eagles shot 68% from the field and nailed six of their 13 3-point attempts, helping them out to an 11-point halftime lead over Colorado. Kam Jones had 16 points in the first 20 minutes after turning in 18 points in the second half vs. Western Kentucky in Round 1, and Tyler Kolek, making his second appearance after missing six games, is already up to eight points and six assists. 

Winners, losers from Saturday's second round

The theme surrounding Saturday's second-round NCAA Tournament slate was a lack of upsets. Seven of the eight winners were lower-seeded teams.  No. 11 seed Oregon looked like it might provide a late-night upset, but ran out of gas in the second overtime of an 86-73 loss to Creighton. The lone exception came from Gonzaga, which blew out No. 4 seed Kansas, 89-68.

The win gave the No. 5 seed Bulldogs their ninth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance and opened the door for an intriguing showdown against the winner of (1) Purdue and (8) Utah State next week. Kansas failed to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament after opening the season as the preseason No. 1 team. Read more below: 

2024 March Madness scores, winners and losers: Tennessee back to Sweet 16, Kansas falls, is on to next year

Cameron Salerno

Sunday's second-round storylines 

Sunday's eight-game slate has a good mix of heavyweights and Cinderellas. There are four games featuring a double-digit seed looking to crash the Sweet 16, but also three games with No. 1 seeds putting expectations of advancing to the second weekend on the line. For any of those top-seed teams to fall would be a massive disappointment, and for any of those double-digit seeds to win would be absolute elation. That's the kind of razor-thin margin for error we have up as the tournament's first weekend reaches its conclusion with the remaining second round game. Read more below: 

2024 March Madness live stream: NCAA Tournament TV schedule, watch basketball streaming online Sunday

Chip Patterson

Sunday's expert picks for second round

The NCAA Tournament is all about surviving and advancing, but for those plunking down on their coach or pulling up to their desk to consume as much March Madness content as possible, which teams cover their spreads will be quite important as well. The CBS Sports college basketball experts have been covering the sport for years and certainly all season since November, and they are not shy with their picks for these games. Read more below: 

2024 March Madness predictions: Expert picks against the spread, NCAA odds in Sunday second-round games

Chip Patterson