INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Saint Peter's acted like it had been there before.
After the 15th-seeded Peacocks bounced storied Kentucky from the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night, they calmly exchanged handshakes with the Wildcats before heading over to the opposite sideline to celebrate with a small contingent of true believers.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Gonzaga coach Mark Few has seen plenty of No. 16 seeds in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. When he watched video of Georgia State, the longtime Bulldogs' coach didn't see a team that fit that profile.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jacob Gilyard had an inkling a week ago — well before Richmond had even qualified for the NCAA Tournament — that the Spiders were capable of a first-round upset.
“Probably last Thursday,” the fifth-year guard said, referring to the day Richmond began a four-win run to the Atlantic 10 Tournament title.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Freshman Frankie Collins made a starting debut that Michigan fans won't soon forget.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — New Mexico State coach Chris Jans was in the hallway of KeyBank Center preparing his pregame speech as Richmond celebrated the day's first victory by a No. 12 seed in a nearby locker room.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Akila Smith had 32 points and 13 rebounds, Kyla McMakin added 18 points with four 3-pointers and No. 16 seed Longwood led by 22 points before holding off Mount St. Mary’s 74-70 on Thursday night in an inaugural First Four game.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Hubert Davis was quick to point out the first NCAA Tournament victory for Caleb Love and other North Carolina players.
The Tar Heels coach was less interested in what it meant to win his tournament debut for a storied program that also is his alma mater.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Lessons from a tough start to the season helped Memphis weather a second-half challenge by Boise State on Thursday.
DeAndre Williams had 14 points, Jalen Duren made a crucial basket down the stretch and the ninth-seeded Tigers survived their first-round game against the Broncos with a 64-53 victory in the NCAA Tournament.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Trey Alexander still being in the game late in regulation and overtime was improbable enough for Creighton.
Never mind the freshman making the tying and winning plays while playing with four fouls since early in the second half.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Logan Johnson scored 20 points and fifth-seeded Saint Mary's took advantage of No. 12 seed Indiana's grueling recent schedule, rolling to an 82-53 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tennessee used its stout defense to win the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
If the Volunteers shoot as well as they did Thursday in Indianapolis, they could be headed toward an even bigger celebration.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Matthew Mayer just knew it was a perfect pass he turned into a half-ending breakaway dunk for defending national champion Baylor. He wasn't really sure what happened before he got the ball.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Providence coach Ed Cooley knows it takes some good fortune to make a long run in the NCAA Tournament.
So if anyone wants to call his gritty Friars lucky, that's fine by him.
“Old” is a relative term in college basketball, but if the players in this year's NCAA Tournament looked somehow older than usual, relax. It's not your eyesight. It's the new normal.
It began with the COVID-19 pandemic that cut a wide swath through the past three seasons and convinced the NCAA to grant more than a few players an extra year of eligibility.
Dawn Staley has a sheepish grin, which turns into a smile after a quick glance at the Greensboro Region of the women's NCAA Tournament.
There is sense of pride that exudes from the South Carolina basketball coach when she sees people who look like her, doing what she does and getting the chance to be successful at it.
ESPN has treated the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on the same level as the College Football Playoff and “Monday Night Football.” But with increased attention toward how the women’s version of “March Madness” is treated compared to the men’s tournament, ESPN’s coverage will be under the microscope.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Games like this require veteran leadership, which KJ Williams and others delivered for Murray State.
Williams scored six of his 18 points in overtime after Murray State blew an eight-point lead late in regulation, and the seventh-seeded Racers extended their winning streak to 21 games with a 92-87 victory over San Francisco in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Top-seeded Kansas opened its 50th NCAA Tournament the way it has so many times in the past, with a lopsided victory.
Remy Martin had 15 points and Christian Braun 14 to pace five Jayhawks scoring in double figures in an 83-56 victory over Texas Southern on Thursday night.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Stanley Umude had 21 points, JD Notae scored all 17 of his in the second half, and No. 4 seed Arkansas hung on for a 75-71 victory over 13th-seeded Vermont in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Akila Smith had 32 points and 13 rebounds, Kyla McMakin added 18 points with four 3-pointers and Longwood led by 22 points before holding off Mount St. Mary’s 74-70 on Thursday night in a women's First Four game.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Mike Brey knows more than anyone that sleep can be overrated during the NCAA Tournament.
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — At home over breakfast Thursday morning with sister Heidi, Tara VanDerveer formulated a plan to somehow help the suffering Ukrainian people who still mean so much to her years after she took the U.S.
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — When the bracket came out, Montana State coach Tricia Binford told her players they were absolutely considered underdogs and she felt like one, too.
On the opposite bench Friday night for the 16th-seeded Bobcats will be defending national champion Stanford and Hall of Famer Tara VanDerveer, the winningest women's basketball coach of all time.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The packaging is still there. On the surface anyway. Don't be fooled. The whole “Cinderella” thing surrounding Loyola Chicago no longer applies.
Yes, the enduring symbol for the Jesuit school located hard against Lake Michigan in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood remains Sister Jean, the centenarian nun and team chaplain who became a folk hero during the school's stunning run to the Final Four in 2018.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The smile is wide and bright, like everything else about Kofi Cockburn.
The Illinois center, a man mountain and one of the most dominant interior players in this year's NCAA Tournament, is almost always the one leading the laughter during practice and any other time his teammates need a lift.
Louisville appreciates its latest No. 1 seeding in the NCAA Tournament a little more than usual.
The Cardinals’ early exit from the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament raised questions about where they would land in the bracket.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks has had a few days to come to grips with his team's next challenge.
“I get high anxiety when we play against teams who shoot a lot of 3s," he said.
WACO, Texas (AP) — NaLyssa Smith, Queen Egbo and Caitlin Bickle got to Baylor together and were part of a national championship as freshmen in 2019. They all had a decision to make following an unexpected coaching change after last season.
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State's players don't need to be reminded about the disappointing ending to last season.
All summer the scoreboard in their practice facility read “Texas A&M 84, Iowa State 82" and, in a nod to the San Antonio bubble where the NCAA Tournament was played, they worked out in T-shirts with the message “Remember the Alamo.”
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Longhorns are tearing into the NCAA Tournament behind one of the hottest players in the country in freshman point guard Rori Harmon.
Harmon has been the engine behind an 11-game win streak that saw the Longhorns topple 12-time regular-season Big 12 champion Baylor in the tournament championship game.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — It was just a few weeks ago when Iowa wasn’t sure it was going to be a host school for the first two rounds of the NCAA women's basketball tournament.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Virginia Tech has been playing do-or-die games for the last week and believes it can use that experience to make a deep NCAA Tournament run.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Even in a season that finished with South Carolina selected as the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Gamecocks have had a chance to grow and learn through their two losses.
Florida Gulf Coast is a No. 12 seed in the women's NCAA Tournament, something that few outside of the committee that put the bracket together seem to understand.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — John Raymond made a plan and was sticking to it after arriving at Atlantic City's Borgata casino to bet on the March Madness college basketball tournament Thursday.
“I'm going to drink as much as I can, win as much money as I can, watch every single game, eat some good food and hang with my friends,” the Wilmington, Delaware man said.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mick Cronin has signed a six-year contract extension as UCLA basketball coach that will keep him in Westwood through the 2027-28 season.
Athletic director Martin Jarmond announced the deal Thursday, hours before the fourth-seeded Bruins opened play in the NCAA Tournament against 13th-seeded Akron in Portland, Oregon.
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Paul Atkinson Jr. was in the right place at the right time for Notre Dame as the clock wound down in the second overtime period against relentless Rutgers.
Atkinson rebounded a missed shot by Blake Wesley and put back a layup with 1.4 seconds left to give the Irish an 89-87 win in a wild First Four game and put them into a first-round West Region contest on Friday in San Diego.
KJ Williams was playing a supporting role for Murray State a few years ago when Ja Morant posted a triple-double while leading the Racers to an NCAA Tournament victory.
As the Racers return to March Madness this week, Williams has matured into one of the team's star attractions.
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Paul Atkinson Jr.’s putback layup with 1.4 seconds left in the second overtime gave Notre Dame an 89-87 win over Rutgers in a wild First Four game Wednesday night.
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Erin Whalen scored a career-high 28 points, hitting seven of Dayton’s 13 3-pointers and the 11th-seeded Flyers eased past DePaul 88-57 on Wednesday night in the inaugural women’s First Four.
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Erin Whalen scored a career-high 28 points, hitting seven of Dayton's 13 3-pointers and the 11th-seeded Flyers eased past DePaul 88-57 on Wednesday night in the inaugural women’s First Four.
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Tanner Holden had 37 points and 11 rebounds and Wright State beat Bryant 93-82 on Wednesday night for its first NCAA Tournament victory.
Playing inside the University of Dayton Arena just 12 miles from its home court, Wright State (22-13) advanced to play top-seeded Arizona in San Diego on Friday in the West Region.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Brooklynn Fort-Davis had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Krislyn Marsh added 14 points and 17 rebounds and Howard beat fellow No. 16 seed Incarnate Word 55-51 on Wednesday night in the first women’s First Four game.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — While Gonzaga is the king of the mid-majors come tournament time, the Bulldogs are happy to spread some of that attention around.
The top-seeded Zags (26-3) are one of three West Coast Conference teams in the NCAA Tournament, along with Saint Mary's, the only team to beat Gonzaga in conference play this season, and upstart San Francisco.
The developers of the NCAA March Madness Live app frequently hear two complaints — the inability to watch multiple games at once and lag times between television broadcasts and streaming.
They have fixed one of those issues and are hoping they made improvements on the other.