PROVIDENCE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – RJ Luis Jr. made a career-high five 3-pointers and second-seeded St. John’s found its shooting stroke en route to an 83-53 victory over No. 15 seed Omaha in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night in Rhode Island.

St. John’s (31-4) earned its first tournament win since 2000. Coach Rick Pitino and the Big East champs will face John Calipari and No. 10 seed Arkansas in the second round Saturday.

Luis led all scorers with 22 points and added eight rebounds. He made 5 of 8 attempts from deep as St. John’s — a 30.4 percent 3-point shooting team entering the night — matched a season high with 14 3-pointers to counter Omaha clogging the lanes.

Simeon Wilcher scored 13 points for the Red Storm. Kadary Richmond had 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Zuby Ejiofor added 10 points, seven boards, four assists and three blocks.

JJ White posted 15 points and five assists to lead Omaha (22-13), which was playing in its first Division I NCAA Tournament after claiming the Summit League championship.

Marquel Sutton scored 11 for the Mavericks, and Isaac Ondekane pulled down 10 of his 11 rebounds in the first half.

St. John’s missed its first five shots and let Omaha stake out a 7-0 lead, prompting an early timeout from Pitino. After Richmond got the Red Storm on the board, Luis scored eight St. John’s points in a row, bookended by a pair of 3-pointers.

The Mavericks moved ahead 20-14 before St. John’s turned the tables. Wilcher cut the lead in half with a 3-pointer, prompting a 16-2 run that featured triples by Deivon Smith, Ruben Prey and another from Wilcher.

Omaha scored six in a row to cut it to 30-28, but Vince Iwuchukwu got inside for a bucket that turned into a three-point play with two seconds left, giving St. John’s a 33-28 halftime edge.

Luis kept the Red Storm 3-point party going by making one 14 seconds into the second half. Teammate Aaron Scott splashed a trey, then Luis and Wilcher went on a two-on-one that ended in an alley-oop dunk by Luis, giving St. John’s firm control at 43-30.

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Bracketology: NCAA Fails Geography 101

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

PROVIDENCE – Highly respected sports industry guru Tony Ponturo, he of multi-time nominee and winner for both the Most Powerful Man in Sports and in the theatre industry, wrote a thought-leadership book entitled, “Revenge of the C+ Student.”Ponturo, a two time TONY Award winner for his efforts on Broadway, reviving “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” and producing 2010 Best Musical “Memphis,” helped make the brands “Bud” and “Bud Light” household names on a worldwide basis. Just ask The Budweiser Clydesdales.

Ponturo spent 26 years selling Bud, the exact same amount of time this columnist spent working for David Stern at the National Basketball Association. Looking at those two parallel lines, and enlightened by Ponturo’s book and his transcript, I’d love to author a similar sports business practice book and I’d call it, “At Least I Was Good at Geography.”

To wit, I give you this year’s brackets for NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball.

In the East, we have:

• No. 2 Alabama
• No. 3 Wisconsin
• No. 4 Arizona
• No. 5 Oregon
• No. 6 BYU (Utah)
• No. 7 St. Mary’s Moraga (California)
• No. 14 Montana

In the West, we have:

No. 1 Florida

No. 2 St. John’s (New York)

No. 3 Texas Tech (Lubbock, Texas)

No. 4 Maryland

No. 5 Memphis (Tennessee)

No. 6 Missouri

No. 8 UConn (Hartford, Connecticut area)

No. 9 Oklahoma

No. 14 UNC Wilmington (North Carolina)

No. 16 Norfolk State (Norfolk, Virginia)

There’s a few more.

In the South, there’s Michigan State (Lansing), Marquette (Wisconsin), Yale (New Haven, Connecticut), and Michigan (Ann Arbor) – four schools where you can’t get much further North, unless Canada does become the 51st State and UConn is south of Yukon.

In the Midwest, the bracket claims, UCLA (Los Angeles), Gonzaga (Spokane, Washington), Utah State (Logan, Utah), and then a slew of Southeastern or Southern schools like Wofford (Spartanburg, South Carolina), High Point (North Carolina), Clemson (South Carolina), Kentucky, McNeese (Lake Charles, Louisiana), Tennessee and Georgia.

There are other examples, but you surely get the point.

In recent years, the NCAA made adjustments to the brackets so an Eastern team such as St. John’s (full disclosure as my alma mater) can play in the West Regional but remain in Providence, Rhode Island to do so. But, success in Providence sends teams in that pod to San Francisco while a successful weekend in Seattle for Arizona or Oregon sends a team to Newark New Jersey.

The tournament itself increased from 64 to 68 teams in 2001, so we’ve been bickering about this stuff for decades. Still, there is no resolve and it’s pretty bad when there’s no Big East team in the East.

Admittedly, this is nothing new being reported. The days of a truly East vs West NCAA Tournament went out with the 16 team set-up which gave the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in New York the golden opportunity of securing a very deep field in the late ‘60s and early ‘70’s. As the times changed and the Big Dance played to a bigger ballroom of dancers, the money kicked in and TV programmers maxed-out the billions being spent.

Suffice it to say, the names of the regionals should no longer be East, West, South and Midwest, and maybe the NCAA should take a page out of the NHL’s book and rename the basketball regionals something like:

• Lester Patrick
• Conn Smythe
• James Norris
• Charles Francis Adams

Joking aside, it’s time to rid the tournament of its D- grade in Geography, as the Men’s and Women’s basketball committees divvy-up the schools with goals other than to stack them to represent a region of the USA.

May it be suggested:

• Dave Gavitt Division (East)
• John Wooden Division (West)
• Ray Meyer Division (Midwest)
• Guy Lewis Division (South-Texas-Southwest representation)

Those names, in tribute of Dave Gavitt (founder of the BIG EAST), John Wooden (the great UCLA coach), Ray Meyer (coached Chicago’s DePaul University from 1942 to 1984) and Guy Lewis (coach of University of Houston from 1956 to 1986). To pay proper respect to college basketball in the United States, the Most Outstanding Player from each division would be recognized and awarded with:

• Gavitt MOP received the Patrick Ewing Trophy
• Wooden MOP honored with the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy
• Meyer MOP receives the Oscar Robertson Trophy
• Lewis MOP honored with the Junior Bridgeman Trophy

Should the tournament choose to expand, we could very easily add:

• Gonzaga Division (Northwest) – MOP award John Stockton Trophy
• Coach K Division (Southeast) – MOP gets the Michael Jordan Trophy (apologies to Grant Hill, Ralph Sampson, Artis Gilmore and Len Bias).

Those two divisional mentioned do not need further explanation, I hope.

The bottom line as the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament begins, is that the famed, crack committee did a pretty good job of selecting the right teams and fairly distributing them across the four existing regional pods, sans the Group of Death they sent out West.

The West is so stacked, a hot team like Florida, after its No. 1 vs No. 16 tilt against Norfolk State, will have a rough road to the Final 4, including:

• Winner of UConn v.Oklahoma
• Winner of Memphis v. Colo State/or/Maryland v. Grand Canyon
• A Regional Final against No. 2 St. John’s or others (Kansas/Texas Tech) etc

There’s gotta be a better way.

They were partying at West End Johnnies at an NCAA Regional in Boston

PICKS: Here are a few picks that are going into a combination of my two or three bracket submission with friends and family. (Note: I always bang out one bracket on Selection Sunday night and set it aside). Then with more thought and research I do another bracket for use in pools.

TEAMS CONSIDERED HOT: These teams were playing the best over the past few weeks and into their conference tournaments:

1. Florida
2. Duke
3. Houston
4. Auburn
5. Tennessee
6. Michigan State
7. St John’s
8. Alabama
9. Texas Tech
10. Iowa State

FACTS: In the Round of 64, the higher seed wins 71.5% and that includes No. 8 v. No. 9 which are really equal … In the Second Round, the better seeds win at a 73.1% clip. After that, the advantage for the higher seeds declines gradually:

• Sweet 16 – 63.8% victory pace for higher seed
• Elite 8 – 55%

In terms of vulnerable seeds since 2009, the No. 6 seeds are (29-31) against the No. 11s. In just the last 10 years, No. 11 seeds are 22-18 vs. No. 6

Applying the 6 vs 11 raw data to this particular year’s bracket set-up surfaces a few interesting upset possibilities:

• In the East bracket, can No. 11 VCU upset No. 6 BYU in Denver where you have to figure in the travel and altitude?
• In the South, No. 6 Ole Miss has to play the hot play-in winner of North Carolina.
• In the West, No. 6 Missouri (22-11) has a tough draw vs. No. 11 Drake (30-3).
• And, in the Midwest bracket, No. 6 Illinois will face play-in winner Xavier, a team that finished the Big East regular season quite strong with seven straight victories to close out the regular season before meeting and losing to Marquette at the Garden.

The teams entering the tournament that have executed the best in terms of both Offensive and Defensive efficiency:

• Auburn
• Duke
• Florida
• Houston
• Arizona
• Tennessee
• Louisville

Not to bore anyone with a full Round-by-Round, Pick-by-Pick selection show, (see Jay Bilas’ column on ESPN.com as he does a much better job than everyone else put together), I’ll simply list my Regional Finalist predictions. Yes, they are rather high seeds.

• East: Duke vs. Wisconsin
• Midwest: Houston vs. Tennessee
• South: Auburn vs. Michigan State
• West: Florida vs St. John’s

No matter what – whether your bracket is torn up tomorrow or your favorite team survives and advances – it’s time for March Madness. Enjoy the ride. Enjoy the spectacle of the best of College Basketball (Men’s and Women’s) with a love of the game and not the X and O marks on a piece of paper, otherwise known in American culture as “your bracket.”

TL

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LOS ANGELES – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Grant Nelson scored fourth-seeded Alabama’s final five points, including a three-point play with 38 seconds left that put the Crimson Tide ahead for good in a 89-87 win over top-seeded North Carolina on Thursday in an NCAA Tournament West Region semifinal in LA.

Alabama (24-11) rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit, holding North Carolina to seven points through the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Crimson Tide’s defensive effort to open the second half produced a back-and-forth final stretch in a contest that featured 13 ties and 12 lead changes.

Nelson put up a game-high 24 points for the Crimson Tide, who advance to face sixth-seeded Clemson on Saturday in the regional final. Aaron Estrada and Rylan Griffen each scored 19 points.

Armando Bacot led North Carolina (29-8) with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Cormac Ryan scored 17 points, and RJ Davis had 16 points and seven assists.

West Region

No. 6 Clemson 77, No. 2 Arizona 72

Chase Hunter’s and-one play with 25.7 seconds remaining capped his game-high-matching 18-point performance, and the Tigers held off the Wildcats to earn their first trip to the Elite Eight since 1980 in Los Angeles.

Clemson (24-11) led nearly wire-to-wire behind the play of Hunter — who also had seven rebounds and five assists — and PJ Hall, who scored 17 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Ian Schieffelin added 14 points, including some pivotal baskets in the second half, and snared seven rebounds.

Caleb Love, who scored 13 points, went 0-of-9 from beyond the arc for Arizona (27-9). He shot 5-of-18 from the floor overall. Oumar Ballo finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds but was just 1-of-7 at the foul line. Keshad Johnson grabbed 11 rebounds to go with six points.

East Region

No. 1 UConn 82, No. 5 San Diego State 52

Cam Spencer scored a team-high 18 points and the Huskies dominated the offensive glass to beat the Aztecs in a meeting of East Region teams in the Sweet 16.

Spencer added five rebounds for the Huskies (34-3), who grabbed 21 offensive boards that led to 12 second-chance points. Tristen Newton chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds, and Stephon Castle supplied 16 and 11, respectively, as UConn became the first defending champion to reach the Elite Eight since Florida in 2007.

The Huskies downed the Aztecs 76-59 in last year’s national championship game. Jaedon LeDee paced San Diego State (26-11) with 18 points and eight rebounds. Micah Parrish had 10 points as the Aztecs’ only other scorer in double figures. San Diego State was outshot 46.2 percent to 36.2 percent from the field.

No. 3 Illinois 72, No. 2 Iowa State 69

Terrence Shannon Jr. poured in 29 points and the Illini held off a second-half rally to earn a victory over the Cyclones.

The Fighting Illini will face No. 1 seed UConn in the Elite Eight on Saturday. Coleman Hawkins chipped in 12 points and six rebounds for the Fighting Illini (29-8), who outshot Iowa State 42.1 percent to 39.7 percent.

Curtis Jones paced Iowa State (29-8) with 26 points. Keshon Gilbert supplied 14, and Tre King had 12 to go along with seven boards.

–Field Level Media

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BOSTON – (Staff and wire Service Report) -Connecticut’s Cam Spencer scored a team-high 18 points and No. 1 UConn dominated the offensive glass to beat fifth-seeded San Diego State 82-52 on Thursday night in a meeting of East Region teams in the Sweet 16.

Spencer added five rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Huskies (34-3), who grabbed 21 offensive boards that led to 12 second-chance points.

Tristen Newton chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds, and Stephon Castle supplied 16 and 11, respectively, as UConn became the first defending champion to reach the Elite Eight since Florida did so in 2007.

The Huskies downed the Aztecs 76-59 in last year’s national championship game.

Jaedon LeDee paced San Diego State (26-11) with 18 points and eight rebounds. Micah Parrish had 10 points as the Aztecs’ only other scorer in double figures.

San Diego State was outshot 46.2 percent to 36.2 percent from the field.

Lamont Butler trimmed the Aztecs’ deficit to 42-33 with 18:48 left in the game, but that was the last time San Diego State would ever be within single digits.

Newton then dropped in a 3-pointer to spark a 9-2 burst, a rally that was capped with four points from Castle for a 51-35 cushion.

The Aztecs twice made it a 14-point game, but San Diego State’s season effectively came to an end when Castle sank two free throws with 4:30 remaining to widen the margin to 28 at 73-45.

Neither team could create any separation until Spencer took over. He accounted for nine points during a 14-4 run, lifting the Huskies to a 27-16 advantage with 10:55 left in the first half.

Elijah Saunders stopped the bleeding with a three-point play and Miles Byrd added a jumper to pull San Diego State within six.

After UConn pushed its lead back to double digits at 33-23, Parrish canned a 3-pointer and a jumper during an 8-2 Aztecs surge that made it 35-31 with 2:09 to go.

However, Spencer knocked down a trey with 21 seconds remaining, sending the Huskies into the break leading 40-31.

–Nick Galle, Field Level Media

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BOSTON – Illinois’ Terrence Shannon Jr. poured in 29 points and third-seeded Illini held off a second-half rally to earn a 72-69 victory over second-seeded Iowa State on Thursday night in a battle of East Region teams in the Sweet 16.

The Fighting Illini will face top-seeded UConn in the Elite Eight on Saturday. The Huskies beat San Diego State earlier Thursday.

After trailing by nine with just under 14 minutes left in the game, the Cyclones (29-8) found themselves within 56-54 following a Curtis Jones 3-pointer with 5:27 to go.

Shannon and Luke Goode prevented Iowa State from moving in front by sandwiching Tre King’s layup with a pair of triples, making it 62-56 in favor of Illinois (29-8).

The Cyclones trailed by at least three the rest of the way, and Shannon’s steal and slam with 22 seconds to play clinched the victory.

Shannon is now 7-0 against Iowa State dating back to his Texas Tech days. He was with the Red Raiders for three seasons (2019-22).

Coleman Hawkins chipped in 12 points and six rebounds for the Fighting Illini, who outshot Iowa State 42.1 percent to 39.7 percent from the field.

Jones paced Iowa State with 26 points. Keshon Gilbert supplied 14, and King had 12 to go along with seven boards.

Gilbert lit a spark under the Cyclones, scoring eight points in the opening 3:38 of the second half to cut Iowa State’s deficit to 41-37.

It didn’t take long for Illinois to push the lead to nine, doing so when Shannon drove for a layup less than three minutes later to make it 48-39.

Then the Fighting Illini faced some adversity in the form of foul trouble for Shannon, who picked up his fourth personal with 11:17 to go. Shannon went to the bench, and Iowa State capitalized on his departure, using a 11-5 spurt to get within 56-54.

Illinois scored the first eight points of the game and later led 16-6, taking advantage of Iowa State’s 2-for-12 start from the field. But Jones got the Cyclones on track, knocking down a 3-pointer before converting a three-point play to make it a four-point game.

The Fighting Illini’s advantage grew to 24-12 with 6:31 left in the first half before Illinois took a 36-26 lead into the break.

–Nick Galle, Field Level Media

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – UConn’s quest to become the first team to repeat as the men’s national champion in nearly two decades has gotten off to a dominating start.

Not only do the Huskies own the longest winning streak in the country at nine games, but UConn has now won eight consecutive NCAA Tournament games by double digits. After dispatching No. 16 Stetson and No. 9 Northwestern by an average of 28 points, next up for UConn in the East Regional is No. 5 seed San Diego State tonight at TD Garden.

The Huskies opened the tournament as the +360 favorite via Betting Hero, and those odds have shortened to +210 ahead of the Sweet 16. It helps that No. 4 Auburn and No. 6 BYU failed to make it out of the first round.

UConn is also the third-biggest liability at BetMGM, where the Huskies are the +200 title favorite and lead the field with 11.8 percent of the total bets and 20.3 percent of the money backing them.

Next is North Carolina with 11.7 and 12.0 percent of the action, respectively, as the Tar Heels have moved from +1300 to +1000 since the start of the tournament. DraftKings reported Monday they had received the most action in the title market in the past 24 hours, followed by UConn.

North Carolina has also cruised through its first two games, but if the Tar Heels get past No. 4 Alabama in the Sweet 16 an Elite Eight date against No. 2 Arizona could lie in wait.

Arizona owns double-digit victories over Long Beach State and Dayton to begin the tournament and will face No. 6 Clemson next. The Wildcats have been the biggest mover of the tournament at DraftKings, where their title odds have shifted 30 percent from +1200 to +900.

Next is Duke, which opened at +3500. The fourth-seeded Blue Devils are now +2200 at the book ahead of a Sweet 16 matchup against top-seeded Houston. After that is a potential matchup against No. 2 seed Marquette.

While UConn does face a difficult road with four of the top five seeds remaining in the East, No. 1 Purdue faces the same challenge in the Midwest. If the Boilermakers can get past No. 5 Gonzaga in the Sweet 16, they would face an Elite Eight duel against either No. 2 Tennessee or No. 3 Creighton.

Purdue has been a popular play at BetMGM, drawing the third most total bets (7.7 percent) on the title winner along with the third most money (9.1 percent).

However, the biggest liability remains North Carolina State, the 11th seed in the South. The surprise ACC Championship winner has kept the ride rolling with opening victories over No. 6 seed Texas Tech and an overtime win over No. 14 Oakland.

The only double-digit seed to reach the Sweet 16, the Wolfpack opened the tournament at +15000 to cut down the nets at the end. A third of the way toward that unlikely event, NC State is now +10000 while drawing 2.1 percent of the total title money wagered.

Now that a program that finished below .500 in conference play clinched its first Sweet 16 since 2015, NC State star DJ Burns Jr. was asked for his message to the Wolfpack’s doubters.

“I’m just saying welcome back,” he said. “They didn’t really believe in us. They probably still don’t, but that doesn’t matter to us. We’re just going to stay together.”

–Field Level Media

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INDIANAPOLIS  – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Purdue’s center Zach Edey once again dominated with 23 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and two steals to lead the Midwest’s top-seeded Boilermakers to a 106-67 second-round rout of No. 8 seed Utah State on Sunday.

Purdue (31-4) advances to play No. 5 seed Gonzaga on Friday in Detroit.

Lance Jones and Trey Kaufman-Renn sparked a 20-6 uprising to open the second half, turning a 16-point lead to 30. Purdue didn’t let its foot off the gas in the second half, building the lead as high as 41.

Kaufman-Renn finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Fletcher Loyer added 15 points for Purdue went 8-of-14 from 3-point range in the second half to put the game away.

Great Osobor had 14 points and Josh Uduje added 13 for Utah State (28-7), which fell to 7-25 all-time in NCAA Tournament play and fell a round shy of reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1970.

Purdue thrilled the heavily-partisan crowd of 16,770 that turned out to watch them advance to the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years.

Utah State provided some resistance early on, taking leads of 14-10 and 20-17.

But after Uduje hit a 3-pointer with 9:21 left in the first half to put the Aggies ahead 23-21, Utah State missed its next 12 shots from the field while Purdue caught fire behind Edey, Jones and Kaufman-Renn.

Purdue went on a run of 18-1 to take a 39-24 lead. Jones ended the first-half scoring when he banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put the Boilermakers up 49-33.

Jones opened the second half with a trey as well, just 13 seconds in.

After Purdue’s Braden Smith stole a pass from Ian Martinez, Smith found Kaufman-Renn cutting to the basket for a layup.

On the next possession, Kaufman-Renn’s two-handed slam ignited the Purdue fans, putting the Boilermakers up 56-33 and sparking a desperate timeout from Utah State head coach Danny Sprinkle just 73 seconds into the half.

–Field Level Media

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PITTSBURGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – DJ Burns Jr. had six points and one crucial assist in overtime and No. 11 seed North Carolina State outlasted No. 14 Oakland 79-73 on Saturday to secure an improbable Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament’s South Region.

Burns finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for the Wolfpack (24-14), who won their seventh straight postseason game between the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Michael O’Connell had 12 points and a season-high eight assists, and DJ Horne, Casey Morsell and Mohamed Diarra each supplied 11 points.

Oakland (24-12) clawed back in the final minutes of regulation before its underdog story ended with an 11-1 NC State run in overtime. Trey Townsend scored 24 of his 30 points after halftime and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Jack Gohlke, Oakland’s first-round hero who made 10 3-pointers against Kentucky, went 6-for-17 from deep Saturday to finish with 22 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Grizzlies.

West Region

No. 1 North Carolina 85, No. 9 Michigan State 69

RJ Davis scored 20 points and the Tar Heels shrugged off a slow start and a couple of shaky moments to defeat the Spartans in Charlotte.

Armando Bacot added 18 points and seven rebounds and Harrison Ingram had 17 points as the Tar Heels delighted a partisan crowd and were sent off to the West Coast with momentum after two games in their home state.

North Carolina (29-7) goes on to face Alabama or Grand Canyon in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night in Los Angeles. Tyson Walker scored 24 points Malik Hall added 17 for Michigan State (20-15), which began the season ranked No. 4 in the country.

No. 2 Arizona 78, No. 7 Dayton 68

Caleb Love scored 19 points and the Wildcats earned a Sweet 16 spot with a victory over the Flyers in Salt Lake City.

Pelle Larsson had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Keshad Johnson recorded 13 points and seven rebounds for Arizona (27-8). Jaden Bradley added 12 points, three steals and three blocked shots.

Daron Holmes II had 23 points, 11 rebounds and three steals for Dayton (25-8).

Midwest Region

No. 2 Tennessee 62, No. 7 Texas 58

Dalton Knecht churned out 18 points to help Volunteers coach Rick Barnes defeat his former Longhorns in Charlotte.

Knecht, who provided seven of his team’s final 15 points, clinched the outcome by sinking both ends of a 1-and-1 with 3.8 seconds to play. Tennessee (26-8) won despite shooting just 33.8 percent for the game and will face No. 3 Creighton on Friday.

Reserve Chendall Weaver and Tyrese Hunter both had 13 points to lead Texas (21-13), which is coached by former Barnes assistant Rodney Terry. The Longhorns shot 36.4 percent.

No. 3 Creighton 86, No. 11 Oregon 73 (2 OT)

Steven Ashworth scored 21 points and ignited the game-winning, 15-point run to propel the Bluejays past the Ducks in Pittsburgh.

Trey Alexander tallied 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Ryan Kalkbrenner had 19 points, 14 boards and five blocks for Creighton (25-9). The Blue Jays escaped a tough second half and will play No. 2 seed Tennessee in the Sweet 16.

Oregon’s two-man wrecking crew of Jermaine Couisnard and N’Faly Dante ran out of gas in the second overtime. Couisnard finished with 32 points and eight rebounds, and Dante racked up a career-high 28 points and 20 rebounds for the Ducks (24-12).

No. 5 Gonzaga 89, No. 4. Kansas 68

Anton Watson scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting and the Bulldogs delivered a massive second-half knockout punch in routing the Jayhawks in Salt Lake City.

Nolan Hickman had 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting as Gonzaga reached its ninth consecutive Sweet 16. The Bulldogs blew the game open with a 32-4 burst over a 12-plus minute stretch of the second half.

Hunter Dickinson scored 15 points and KJ Adams Jr. and Dajuan Harris Jr. added 10 points apiece for the Jayhawks (23-11). Harris added 11 assists, and Kansas again played without All-American Kevin McCullar Jr. (knee). Gonzaga will face either No. 1 Purdue or No. 8 Utah State in the Sweet 16.

East Region

No. 2 Iowa State 67, No. 7 Washington State 56

Tamin Lipsey scored 15 points and the Cyclones reached the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons with a victory over the Cougars in Omaha, Neb.

Curtis Jones added 14 points for Iowa State, which won for the ninth time in its past 10 games. Keshon Gilbert and Milan Momcilovic added 10 points apiece.

Jaylen Wells scored 20 points for Washington State. Myles Rice added 13 points.

No. 3 Illinois 89, No. 11 Duquesne 63

Terrence Shannon Jr. scored a game-high 30 points and Marcus Domask added 22 to help the Fighting Illini cruise past the Dukes in Omaha, Neb., and into the Sweet 16.

Illinois (28-8) advanced to face No. 8 Iowa State in Boston on Thursday. It’s the Illini’s first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2005.

Saturday marked the final game for Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot, who is retiring at season’s end. Dambrot guided the 11th-seeded Dukes to an Atlantic 10 tournament championship to clinch the school’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 1977. Jimmy Clark III paced Duquesne with 14 points, and Fousseyni Drame followed with 13.

–Field Level Media

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Here in Boston, we have the Duke vs Carolina rivalry of College Ice Hockey as the Hockey East finals brought No. 2 ranked Boston University and No. 1 ranked Boston College together for the fourth time this season. It’s tagged “The Green Line” rivalry and noted for the six-mile stretch of Commonwealth Avenue that separates the schools.

It’s not the 8-miles from Durham to Chapel Hill but rather a Driver and a couple three woods from Agannis Arena to Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill. BU kids vote for the Mayor of Boston, while the BC kids call the City of Newton home.

Heading into the Saturday night Hockey East finale, BC held a 2-1 edge in the 2023-24 ice hockey season, but the one BU win came in the annual Beanpot Tournament (won by Northeastern University as they’ve gone back-to-back with Beanpot wins twice in the last six years).

This year?

Boston College took the Hockey East title, as BC took a 2-0 lead into the second period. But, BU cut that lead in half with a gorgeous wrist shot goal by defenseman Gavin McCarthy, a freshman from Clarence Center, N.Y. (Population 3,337).

BC extended its lead to 3-1, on a goal by Cutter Gauthier, BC’s third power play goal of the game which came at 18:46 of the 2nd period.

Eagles’ freshman Will Smith scored his third goal of the night to make it 4-1, BC, at the 6:46 mark of the third period. Smith has 22 goals and 44 assists on the season.

BC’s key goal of the game made it 5-1, as Boston College freshman Gabe Perreaultscored on the power play, BC’s fourth power play goal of the night. All three players – Perreault, Gauthier and Smith – player on the USA Developmental team for USA Hockey.

BU tightened the score on a power play to make it 5-2. A BC empty-netter made it 6-2 for the final before the fisticuffs broke out to close out the game.

BC freshman goalkeeper, Jacob Fowler, recorded the win.

The NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship begins next week (March 28-29) and concludes at the Frozen Four, scheduled for April 11-13 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Note: The Bulldog Edition of WWYI was held for 30 minutes to see the final result of the Hockey East championship game from TD Garden in Boston.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: March Madness did not fail to entertain this week, as noteworthy upsets included No. 13 Yale defeating No. 4 in heavily favored Auburn in the first round, while No. 14 Oakland upended No. 3 Kentucky. In the second round, Oakland lost to streaking N.C. State, 79-73 in OT. N.C. State qualified for the NCAAs by winning the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament (upset over North Carolina) and with the win over Oakland, the Wolfpack move on to the South’s Sweet 16 in Dallas.

TO WIN JUST ONCE? – As the NCAA hoops tournament progresses, this column reflects to what might have been for the St. John’s Red Storm in last week’s BIG EAST Conferencde tournament. The Johnnies defeated a tough Seton Hall team in the No. 4 (Hall) vs. No. 5 (Johnnies) match-up on Thursday (Quarterfinals). As winner of the No. 4 vs No. 5, the reward was a match-up vs No. 1 UConn in the Friday night semis. You know that story.

Everyone left Madison Square Garden assured St. John’s secured a tournament bid and the speculation was whether Seton Hall and/or Providence would be “in” as well. When the Sunday Selection Show played out, all three teams were left out in the cold, as the likes of N.C. State – by winning the ACC – stole a berth, and the BIG EAST was left with only three clubs – UConn, Marquette and Creighton.

Rightfully so.

Seton Hall was closest, but their loss to St. John’s hurt the chances of grabbing a spot. St. John’s while hot during the home stretch (six game winning streak, including a big won over Creighton at MSG), did not have the overall resume as a tournament team. Losses to Michigan, Dayton and Boston College crushed St. John’s early, and two losses to each of the likes of UConn, Marquette and The Hall during the regular season was too much to overcome when the NCAA basketball committee met in Indianapolis to decide between NCAA and NIT bids.

The Johnnies quickly turned down the NIT bid, but Seton Hall (the No. 1 seed) has flourished. Guessing the Johnnies were focused on hitting the transfer portal or the seniors had enough.

Go figure, but has anyone noticed that the “Red Storm” nickname is useless, jinxed, terrible, confusing and not well liked?

It’s rebuilding time for coach Rick Pitino – make that a total renovation.

TID-BITS: In the NCAA’s, there’s plenty of Huskies, Bulldogs and other assorted animal mascots, but here, we have the two maniacs.

NATIONAL PUPPY DAY: How can we let “National Puppy Day” go by without mention of our TWO pups, the nearing “Adult Dog,” Penny (Lane) and the seven month old Max. … Penny joined us on Thanksgiving Weekend, 2020, right smack in the middle of the global pandemic due to the COVID-19 virus. In many ways, she got us through the “dog days” of that terrible year. National Puppy Day was celebrated March 23 and its founding doctrine states, “Established in 2006, National Puppy Day is a paw-some day for all dog enthusiasts to celebrate unconditional love and fawn over the undeniably cute fur balls that bring so much happiness into this world.” … True story. … It’s been a quick three and a half years that we’ve enjoyed having Penny bark and chase and play and only five months since we adopted the seven-month old “Mighty Max.” … Penny (Lane) has the obvious connection to The Beatles while Max was named as a “Silver Hammer” kinda guy, but we met his (human) parents on Springsteen Road in Albany, NY, so there was an immediate bond with “Mighty” MaxWeinberg of the E Street Band. Weinberg, born and bred in New Jersey, learned to play the drums with the influence of The Beatles’ Ringo Starr, like so many who grew up in the British Invasion era. … In the dual-meaning of names, Penny (Lane), played by Kate Hudson in the motion picture “Almost Famous” clocks in as No. 3 of my all-time favorite movies, locked in behind “Casablanca” and “The Sting.” … Happy Puppy Day to all who partake. Penny and Max have enriched all of our lives (four in the family) and they’ve made friends with all of our neighbors. It’s just GREAT.

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SPOKANE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Yale’s John Poulakidas sank six 3-pointers and scored 28 points and Samson Aletan made a key blocked shot in the final seconds as 13th-seeded Bulldogs notched a 78-76 upset of fourth-seeded Auburn on Friday afternoon in an East Region first-round game.

August Mahoney scored 14 points and Danny Wolf had 13 for the Bulldogs (23-9), who overcame a 10-point, second-half deficit to improve to 2-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. Upstart Yale will face No. 5 seed San Diego State in Sunday’s second round with the winner headed to Boston for the Regional final.

“I don’t know if that’s the best win in Yale basketball history, but I will tell you that’s the best basketball team we’ve beaten in Yale basketball history as far as I’m concerned,” Bulldogs coach James Jones said.

Johni Broome recorded 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Tigers (27-8). Denver Jones added 17 points and Jaylin Williams had 13 for Auburn. K.D. Johnson had a chance to win it at the buzzer with a 3-pointer, but his shot bounced off the rim.

East Region

No. 1 UConn 91, No. 16 Stetson 52

Donovan Clingan scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half for the top-seeded Huskies, who began the defense of their national championship with a wire-to-wire win over the Hatters in an East Region first-round game in New York.

Cam Spencer had 15 points, including 13 in the first half, for UConn (32-3), which will oppose No. 9 Northwestern in a second-round game Sunday. Stephon Castle (14 points), Tristen Newton (13 points, eight assists) and Alex Karaban (12 points) all scored in double figures for the Huskies.

Stephan Swenson scored a game-high 20 points and Jalen Blackmon had 14 points and eight rebounds for Stetson (22-13), which made its first NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the Atlantic Sun Conference.

No. 5 San Diego State 69, No. 12 UAB 65

Jaedon LeDee recorded 32 points and eight rebounds to lead the Aztecs to a victory over the Blazers in East Region first-round play at Spokane, Wash.

Lamont Butler added 15 points and four steals for the San Diego State (25-10), which is looking for another deep run after losing to UConn in last season’s NCAA title game.

Efrem “Butta” Johnson made five 3-pointers and scored 19 points for UAB (23-12). However, Johnson missed a tying 3-point attempt with eight seconds remaining before Reese Waters split two free throws with 3.5 seconds left to seal it for San Diego State.

No. 9 Northwestern 77, No. 8 Florida Atlantic 65 (OT)

Ryan Langborg scored 12 points in overtime for the Wildcats, who squandered a nine-point second-half lead before recovering to beat the Owls in an East Region first-round game in New York.

Brooks Barnhizer forced overtime by hitting a floater with nine seconds left for Northwestern (22-11).

Vladislav Goldin scored 19 points for Florida Atlantic (25-9), which returned every player who had remaining eligibility from last year’s Final Four team. Johnell Davis had 18 points.

West Region

No. 3 Baylor 92, No. 14 Colgate 67

Four players scored in double figures and the Bears canned 16 of 30 3-point attempts to dispatch the 14th-seeded Raiders in an NCAA Tournament West Region first round game in Memphis.

Jalen Bridges scored a game-high 23 points for Baylor (24-10), which advanced to the second round Sunday against Clemson. Ja’Kobe Walter added 19, while Jayden Nunn tallied 15 and RayJ Dennis contributed 10 points plus nine assists.

Keegan Records paced Colgate (25-10), which won 17 of 18 prior to this one, with 14 points. Sam Thomson added 11, and Patriot League Player of the Year Braeden Smith scored 10.

No. 4 Alabama 109, No. 13 Charleston 96

Mark Sears poured in 30 points, and the nation’s top-scoring team was in high gear as the Crimson Tide rolled over the Cougars in Spokane, Wash.

Latrell Wrightsell Jr. made 5 of 6 3-point attempts while adding 17 points for Alabama (22-11), which entered the contest averaging 90.8 points per game and set a school mark for most points in an NCAA Tournament game. Alabama will face No. 12 Grand Canyon in Sunday’s second round.

Ben Burnham scored 19 points for Charleston (27-8), which had its 12-game winning streak halted. Frankie Policelli added 15 points.

No. 12 Grand Canyon 75, No. 5 Saint Mary’s 66

Tyon Grant-Foster recorded 22 points and seven rebounds and the Lopes beat the Gaels at Spokane, Wash., to win an NCAA Tournament game for the first time.

Ray Harrison added 17 points and six assists for Grand Canyon (30-4), which is making its third appearance in March Madness.

Mitchell Saxen had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Aidan Mahaney scored 13 points but shot just 5 of 21 from the field for Saint Mary’s (26-8).

No. 6 Clemson 77, No. 11 New Mexico 56

The Tigers got a game-high 21 points from Chase Hunter and led by as many as 23 points in the second half of a rout of the Lobos at Memphis.

First-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference pick PJ Hall scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half for Clemson (22-11).

Jaelen House scored 12 points for the Lobos (26-10) before fouling out with 6:27 remaining in the game. Nelly Joseph worked hard inside for 14 points and 12 rebounds but New Mexico never found any sort of rhythm, connecting on just 29.7 percent of its field-goal attempts and going 3 of 23 on 3-point shots.

South Region

No. 1 Houston 86, No. 16 Longwood 46

It didn’t take long for the Cougars to announce their presence with authority, and once they did, they were well on their way to a blowout of the Lancers in Memphis.

The result sets up a rematch Sunday in the second round against ninth-seeded Texas A&M, which beat Nebraska 98-83 earlier in the day. Houston held off the Aggies 70-66 on Dec. 16.

L.J. Cryer finished with 17 points, going 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, Jamal Shead finished with 11 points and nine assists and Damian Dunn added 17 points off the bench for Houston (31-4). Johnathan Massie scored 10 points off the bench to pace Longwood (21-14).

No. 2 Marquette 87, No. 15 Western Kentucky 69

Tyler Kolek returned from a three-week absence and fell just four rebounds shy of a triple-double to help the Golden Eagles pull away in the second half for a win over the Hilltoppers.

Kolek, who finished with 18 points, 11 assists and six rebounds, showed no ill effects from an oblique injury sustained on Feb. 28. Kolek hit two long threes on his first two shot attempts and scored 10 points in the opening seven minutes, helping Marquette (26-9) build a 26-17 lead. The Golden Eagles advance to a second-round matchup on Sunday vs. No. 10 seed Colorado.

For the Hilltoppers (22-12), Tyrone Marshall Jr. scored 17 of his team-leading 21 in the first half while teammate Don McHenry was the only other player in double figures with 11 points.

No. 4 Duke 64, No. 13 Vermont 47

Mark Mitchell and Jared McCain scored 15 points apiece to lead four Blue Devils players in double figures as Duke pulled away in the second half to beat the Catamounts.

Duke (25-8) will play James Madison in a second-round game on Sunday. The Blue Devils, who were knocked out by Tennessee in the second round last season, haven’t missed the Sweet 16 in consecutive tournaments since 2007-08.

Jeremy Roach scored 14 points and Tyrese Proctor added 13 for Duke. Kyle Filipowski, who was averaging 17.1 points per contest, was held to three points and just one field goal attempt but pulled down 12 rebounds. Shamir Bogues scored 18 points for Vermont (28-7), which won the America East for the third straight season.

No. 12 James Madison 72, No. 5 Wisconsin 61

Terrence Edwards Jr. scored 14 points for the Dukes, who never trailed as they upset the Badgers in a first-round matchup in New York.

James Madison (32-3) extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 14 games. T.J. Bickerstaff and Julien Wooden scored 12 points apiece, while Michael Green III added 11 points for the Dukes, who advanced beyond the first round for the first time since 1983.

Max Klesmit scored all 18 of his points while hitting five 3-pointers in the second half for Wisconsin (22-14).

No. 10 Colorado 102, No. 7 Florida 100

KJ Simpson capped a wild second half with a baseline jumper that hit the rim five times before rattling in with one second left, lifting the Buffaloes to a dramatic win over the Gators in Indianapolis.

Simpson finished with a team-leading 23 points while Eddie Lampkin Jr. added 21 for Colorado (26-10).

Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. scored a game-high 33 points and hit the backboard on a desperation miss at the final buzzer. The Gators (24-12) ended their season in heartbreak after erasing a 13-point deficit in the final 4:28.

No. 9 Texas A&M 98, No. 8 Nebraska 83

The Aggies converted 13 3-pointers and enjoyed a comfortable win over the Cornhuskers.

Wade Taylor IV bombed in 7 of 10 attempts from deep and scored 25 points for the Aggies (21-14). Manny Obaseki added 22 points, while Tyrece Radford stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Brice Williams scored 24 points to pace the Cornhuskers (23-11), who were making their first NCAA tourney appearance in 10 years. Keisei Tominaga added 21 points.

Midwest Region

No. 1 Purdue 78, Grambling State 50

All-American Zach Edey scored 30 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and blocked three shots to power the Boilermakers to a rout of the Tigers in Indianapolis.

The Boilermakers (30-4) pulled away at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half to atone for last year’s shocking first-round loss to No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson in Columbus, Ohio. Purdue will play No. 8 Utah State on Sunday in a second-round contest, again before a heavily partisan crowd inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Tra’Michael Moton had 21 points and Kintavious Dozier scored 16 to lead Grambling (21-15), which made it difficult for the first 18 minutes, trailing just 31-27 before Purdue scored the final five points of the first half.

No. 8 Utah State 88, No. 9 TCU 72

Isaac Johnson scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half to lead the Aggies past the Horned Frogs, breaking their 10-game NCAA Tournament losing streak.

Ian Martinez added a game-high 21 points, while Darius Brown II chipped in with 10 points and 10 assists for Utah State (28-6).

JaKobe Coles had 19 points while Emanuel Miller added 13 points and 11 rebounds for TCU (21-13), which jumped out to leads of 16-8 and 18-10 but couldn’t hold on.

–Field Level Media

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