After the round of 64 finishing Friday night, six out of seven Big 12 teams advance to the next round.
No. 1 seeded Houston got things going in Wichita, Kansas against No. 16 seed SIU Edwardsville. SIU Edwardsville defeated Southeast Missouri State in the Ohio Valley Conference final to earn the school’s first automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Houston had a dominant performance winning 78-40. Guard, Milos Uzan, led the Cougars with 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Senior guard, LJ Cryer, also contributed 15 points and 4 assists in the win. The Cougars are set to play Gonzaga tonight at 8:40 pm for the second round of the Midwest region.
No. 6 seed BYU tipped off against No. 11 seed VCU in Denver Thursday afternoon. VCU entered the tournament as a strong 11 seed, finishing the regular season with a record of 28-6 and winning the Atlantic 10 Conference. BYU led for 29 minutes of the 40-minute game, holding VCU off for an 80-71 win. Forward, Richie Saunders led the way for the Cougars with 16 points and 4 rebounds. Centers, Keba Keita and Fousseyni Traore each came down with 9 rebounds in the win. BYU is set to take on No. 3 seed Wisconsin tonight for the second round of the East region.
No. 7 seed Kansas took on No.10 seed Arkansas in Providence, Rhode Island. The Razorbacks finished the regular season with a 20-13 record, playing in a strong SEC conference. In a back-and-forth battle, the Jayhawks were not able to hold off the Razorbacks, losing 79-72. Arkansas forward, Jonas Aidoo led the Razorbacks with 22 points. Zeke Mayo put 18 points in the Kansas loss. Hunter Dickinson led the Jayhawks in rebounds with 6. Dickinson also contributed 11 points. Arkansas advances to play No. 2 seed St. John’s in the second round of the West region.
Texas Tech faced off against UNC Wilmington for their first-round matchup. No. 14 seed UNC Wilmongton reached the tournament after winning the Coastal Athletic Association tournament. They finished the regular season 27-7. Surprisingly the Seahawks were only trailing the Red Raiders by four points at half. The Seahawks were able to grab the lead at 48-47 with 13 minutes left in the second half. Ultimately, the Red Raiders were able to hold UNC Wilmongton, winning 82-72. Guard Kerwin Walton stayed hot all day, dropping 27 points in the win. JT Toppin and Elijah Hawkins both contributed double-doubles in the Red Raiders win. Texas Tech will face a hot 11-seeded Drake team tonight for the second round of the West region.
In a matchup between No. 9 seed Baylor and No. 8 seed Mississippi State, it went down to the wire. In a close battle, there were seven lead changes between the teams. Ultimately, the Bears were able to hold off a late-game push by Mississippi State, winning 75-72. Robert Wright III led the Bears with 19 points. Norchad Omier, VJ Edgecombe, and Langston Love all contributed double-digit points for Baylor in their victory. Baylor is now set to face No. 1 seed Duke in the second round of the East region.
Iowa State faced off against Lipscomb in the first round of the South region. Lipscomb was coming off a 25-9 season, winning the Atlantic Sun Conference. No. 3 seed Iowa State was able to hold off the Bison in a dominant 82-55 win. Milan Momcilovic led the Cyclones with 20 points. Forward Joshua Jefferson also contributed 10 points, 8 assists, and 8 rebounds in the win. The Cyclones are set to play No. 6 seed Ole Miss on Sunday night for the second round of the South region.
The final Big 12 team to play was No. 4 seed Arizona. The Wildcats faced off against Akron who were the Mid-American Conference champions. The Wildcats allowed no hope for an upset, leading the entirety of the game. The final score was 93-65 with Arizona coming out on top. Jaden Bradley led the Wildcats with 19 points and 6 rebounds. Trey Townsend, Caleb Love, Carter Bryant and KJ Lewis all had double-digit points in the win. Arizona will now take on No. 5 seed Oregon in the second round of the East regional.
