A big upset is one of the most exciting parts of March’s madness, despite the pain that may possibly bring your already busted bracket. The first day of the men’s NCAA tournament began with a slight, but upset, as No. 9 Clayton ruled No. 8 Louisville. No. 12 McNeese gave a big shock a little later, defeating No. 5 Clemson. And it wasn’t just 12 seeds to win in the first round.
The top four species in each of the four regions have made their first round unharmed, limiting some of the parentheses-crushing madness in recent years. That changed on Saturday when John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks surprised Rick Pitino’s second-seeded St. John’s Red Storm in a Hall of Fame coach showdown.
Men’s Confusion in the 2025 NCAA Tournament:
No. 6 BYU 91, No. 3 Wisconsin 89: After beating an 11-point lead at halftime, the Cougars knocked off the Badgers and were held late to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in over a decade. Wisconsin had seen them take the game back within two points and send it overtime in the final seconds, but the Cougars stopped to seal their victory.
Richie Sanders dropped 25 points and seven rebounds while shooting 16-9 from the field, and the team shot nearly 50% from the entire field. The Cougars lost Dawson Baker late in the fourth quarter after excavating Wisconsin players in the gro caliber. It attracted an automatic Fragrant 2 Foul, leading to his ejection. John Tonjae led Wisconsin with 37 points.
BYU will currently assume either No. 2 Alabama or No. 7 St. Mary of Sweet 16.
No. 5 Michigan 91, No. 4 Texas A&M 79: Roddy Gayle Jr. scored a season-high 23 points as the Wolverines passed the Aggies in the second half to reach Sweet 16 in the South Region.
Gale added 12 rebounds and three blocks as the Big Ten Tournament champions continued their surge in the second half of the season.
Wade Taylor IV missed 11 of the 15 shots, including all but one of his eight three-point attempts, and the Aggies disappeared in the final seven minutes. Texas A&M led 70-66 with less than eight minutes remaining after Taylor’s lonely three-pointer, with Michigan struggling for control of the game with 15 of the next 17 points.
No. 10 Arkansas 75, No. 2St. John’s 66: The Magic Season of Red Storm stopped when they collided at the feet of Calipari and Razorbacks, sending the second seed of the Western Region home.
St. John’s struggled with Arkansas physicality for most of the game, repeatedly missing layups and other close looks. Pitino missed 14 of his 17 shots and finished with nine points before St. John’s Star RJ Luis Jr. benched for stretch.
The Redstorm shot a disastrous 28% (21 out of 75) from the field, missing 20 of 22 three-point attempts. Zuby Ejiofor scored a total of 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead Arkansas.
Calipari will be heading to Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.
No. 10 New Mexico 75, No. 7 Marquette 66: For the first time in over 10 years, Lobos is in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
No. 10 New Mexico surged late, shocking Kam Jones and No. 7 Marquette, earning a 75-66 victory in the first round match at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. This was the team’s first victory in the NCAA Tournament in 13 years and now they’re ahead to reach their first Sweet 16.
The Robos had almost the entire battle leading, but finally they were sent firmly ahead until the late run. They went on a long 10-0 run that lasted over three minutes and carried a huge bucket from Guard Donovan Dent. The Golden Eagles attack still seemed to be running out of gas. They managed just eight points in the final six minutes of the game, and Lobos advanced to a nine-point victory without issuing much stretch.
No. 12 Colorado 78, No. 5 Memphis 70: Is Colorado’s 78-70 victory over Memphis officially upset? it depends.
No. 12 Rams overcame a five-point halftime deficit on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and overcame a five-point halftime deficit. However, when we saw the betting line before the game, the outcome was hardly surprising. Colorado opened as a 2.5-point favorite before being closed as a 1.5-point favorite.
CSU was preferred as Memphis entered the game without point guard and third leading scorer Tyreeshunter due to a foot injury. His backup Dante Harris also missed the game.
Colorado chased 36-31 at halftime, but a barrage of 3-pointers in the second half helped them pull away. The Rams pulled within five minutes into the second half, taking the lead at 13:48. They never followed from there.
No. 9 Baylor 75, No. 8 Mississippi 72: The Bears fought a late rally from the Bulldogs and advanced to the second round.
Baylor led by eight points, leaving 5:10 alone to see Mississippi, leaving the game nervous in the minutes of closing. The Bulldogs had the opportunity to tie the game together with less than 10 seconds left, but Claudell Harris Jr. missed the 3-pointer.
Baylor overcame a game-high 26 points from Josh Hubbard of Mississippi. Robert Wright III led the Bears with 19 points.
No. 11 Drake 67, No. 6 Missouri 57: Drake saved the western region from the second evening upset by beating Missouri for the first victory of the NCAA Tournament since 1971.
Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Bennett Stillz led the Bulldogs with 21 points in 11 shots.
Drake owned the country’s top scoring defense and slowed down the pace well with the Tigers.
Like McNeese coach Will Wade, who is leaving to work for North Carolina after the season, Drake Ben McCollum could also coach his final game against the Bulldogs. He is a candidate for many openings.
No. 10 Arkansas 79, No. 7 Kansas 72: Ranked number one in the country early in the season, Kansas continued his slide by bouncing back in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006.
The Razorback was the second double-digit seed on the day that progressed into the second round. It was also the first time John Calipari (in his first season in Arkansas) had coached a double-digit seed in the tournament. With St. Johns taking care of Omaha, the Calipari and the Razorbacks will face Rick Pitino in the second meeting of the two great coaches of the sport.
The Jayhawks were nearing their end, but ultimately doomed by sales. Arkansas’ 7-0 management has put the game away. Jonas Aidoo led Arkansas with 22 points.
Kansas senior KJ Adams Jr. left the game in the final minutes with what is feared to be an Achilles heel injury, Jayhawks coach Bill Self said.
No. 12 McNeese 69, No. 5Clemson 67: We have the first Cinderella candidate in the NCAA Tournament.
McNeese State dominated Clemson, who won a 69-67 victory in the first round of tournament play on Thursday. The victory led McNeese State to be the first double-digit seed and advanced to the second round.
Clemson tried to mount the second half rally, but that first half deficit turned out to be too much to overcome. McNeese State rolled up an early run in the 19-2 inning to take a 23-8 lead that remained in double digits until the second half. By halftime, McNeece State held a 31-13 advantage. The Tigers slightly missed setting up a tournament record for the first half of the futileness. Things didn’t get much better after Clemson’s break.
This victory also means seeing more student manager Amir Khan, who will become a fan favorite to sing to rap the song by walking the team from the locker room with a boombox.
No. 9 Creighton 89, No. 8 Louisville 75: No. 9 Creighton fled No. 8 Louisville in the first half to win the first round of games in the South Region.
The Blue Jays led 49-34 on a break, taking a double-digit lead throughout the second half. Louisville took the lead to 12 in under five minutes, but hopes for a final groove comeback vanished when Cardinals manager Pat Kelsey got a technical foul at 4:41.
Women’s Confusion at the 2025 NCAA Tournament
No. 9 Mississippi State 59, Cal 46: Madina Okot led Mississippi State past Cal with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Mississippi controlled the CAL in the first quarter by limiting its CAL to five points. Enya Russell also scored 14 points for Mississippi.
Ugonne Onyiah led Cal with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
No. 10 South Dakota 74, No. 7 Oklahoma 68: Jack Rabbit is moving to the second round. South Dakota scored just nine points after a brutal second quarter, returning to Storps, Connecticut on Saturday afternoon, erupting after halftime.
Jack Rabbit scored 28 points in the third term alone, jumping forward nine points ahead of Oklahoma. From there, they snuck out the stretch in the final period and sneaked in a six-point victory, earning a spot in the second round of the tournament.
Brooklyn Meyer led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Page Meyer got 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists to Jack Rabbit.
They now take on UConn in the second round. The Husky won the opening round game on Saturday with nearly 70 points.
No. 10 Oregon 77, No. 7Vanderbilt 73 (OT): Commodore was forced to work overtime on a second half push.
Oregon took a slim two-point lead in the final 30 seconds of regulation. However, after missing a few free throws, Vanderbilt guard Leilani Capinus (who was playing from the Commodores bench) hit a layup that puts a completely timing game on the game.
Things remained tough for the extra period, but the tide changed in the final minute when Star Commodore freshmen Mikaira Blakes and Capinus fowed out. Kamil Pierre, the team’s second goal scorer with 17 points, was fouled out near the end of the fourth quarter, leaving three Keevanderbilt players on the bench.
With a score of 75-73, Oregon guard Payton Scott had four free throws chances after being fouled for the second straight time. Scott missed the first two throws, but she nailed the next two, making it a two-score game with five seconds left. The Commodore still had one more possession, but they were not enough to win.
No. 9 Indiana 76, No. 8Utah 68: Hoosiers and Utes played a very tight first half to match their scores throughout the first two quarters. However, Indiana was able to start pulling away in the third quarter, and Utah had brought it closer, but the Hoosiers pulled out a victory.
This was an effort by the Indiana team, shooting 58% off the field, with Guard Yard Garzon leading the team with 17 points. Utah’s Gianna Kneskens led all the scorers with 14.
