No. 1 North Carolina 83, No. 16 FGCU 67
UNC had bracket owners worried going into halftime. The Tar Heels came out of halftime with a vengeance. The win maintained the perfect streak of No. 1 seeds defeating No. 16 seeds. UNC Forward Brice Johnson set a Tar Heel tournament record with eight blocks while also scoring 18 points. Roy Williams also won his 66th NCAA Tournament game. He passed Dean smith to move into second place on the all-time list.
No. 9 Providence 70, No. 8 USC 69
Providence won its first NCAA tournament game since 1997. The Friars scored a game-winning layup with 1.5 seconds left. Providence had six potential go-ahead field goal attempts in the last 59 seconds. Friars forward Ben Bentil netted 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Providence will play North Carolina in the second round.
No. 5 Indiana 99, No. 12 Chattanooga 74
Indiana guard Yoki Ferrell led all scorers with 20 points. He netted a team-high four three-pointers and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Five Indiana players scored in double digits.
No. 4 Kentucky 85, No. 13 Stony Brook 57
Kentucky improved to 46-10 all-time in first-round game. UK also set a NCAA Tournament record for blocks in a tournament game. Five Wildcat players finished with double figures. Kentucky forward Skal Labissiere finished with 12 points and led UK with six blocks. Kentucky shot 52.4 percent from the field. Stony Brook forward Jameel Warney led all scorers with 23 points while also grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds. Jamal Murray led Kentucky with 18 points.
No. 6 Notre Dame 70, No. 11 Michigan 63
Notre Dame bounced back in the second half to hold off the wolverines. Michigan failed to advance beyond the first round for just the fifth time in 26 appearances. V.J. Beachem led the Fighting Irish with 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting. The Irish snapped a 13-game losing streak while trailing at halftime in the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame forward Zach Auguste recorded his 20th double-double of the season.
No. 15 Stephen F. Austin 70, No. 3 West Virginia 56
It’s been the day of upsets, and Stephen F. Austin didn’t disappoint. SFA Guard/Forward Thomas Walkup had a game for the ages. He netted 33 points. He was just 6-of-15 from the field, but was 19-20 from the free throw line. SFA was 29-of-39 from the free thrown line. Forward Clide Geffrard netted 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
No 7 Wisconsin 47, No. 10 Pittsburgh 43
In what possibly might be the lowest scoring game of the tournament, No 7 Wisconsin escaped No. 10 Pittsburgh. Badger forward Ethan Happ led all scorers with 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds. He was 6-of-8 from the field. Both teams shot less than 40 percent from the field. Pittsburgh had a chance to take the lead in closing seconds.
No. 2 Xavier 71, No. 15 Weber State 53
The win allows the Musketeers to move within one game of their sixth sweet sixteen appearance since 2008. Xavier is 9-3 in opening round NCAA tournament games since 2002. X forward James Farr scored 18 points off the bench and grabbed 15 rebounds. Xavier shot 50 percent (7-of-14) from beyond the arc.
