Huge upsets are arguably one of the thrilling elements of March Madness, regardless of the ache it’d convey your already-busted bracket. And we technically obtained one to kick issues off on Thursday, as No. 9 Creighton dominated No. 8 Louisville. 13-seed Excessive Level put up a battle towards No. 4 Purdue, however the Boilermakers had been in a position to pull out a 75-63 win.
Make amends for all of the upsets of the boys’s 2025 NCAA event beneath:
No. 10 New Mexico 75, No. 7 Marquette 66: For the primary time in additional than a decade, the Lobos are into the second spherical of the NCAA event.
No. 10 New Mexico surged forward late and shocked Kam Jones and No. 7 Marquette with a 75-66 win of their first-round matchup at Rocket Enviornment in Cleveland. It’s the group’s first win within the NCAA event in 13 years, and now has them on the cusp of reaching their first Candy 16.
Whereas the Lobos led practically your complete manner within the battle, it wasn’t till a late run within the second half that lastly despatched them firmly forward. They went on a protracted 10-0 run that lasted greater than three minutes, powered by a pair of giant buckets from guard Donovan Dent. The Golden Eagles offense appeared to simply run out of gasoline at that time, too. They managed simply eight factors within the closing six minutes of the sport whereas the Lobos powered forward to the nine-point win with out a lot concern down the stretch.
No. 12 Colorado State 78, No. 5 Memphis 70: Is Colorado State’s 78-70 win over Memphis formally an upset? It relies upon.
The No. 12 Rams overcame a five-point halftime deficit to take down the No. 5 Tigers on Friday within the first spherical of the NCAA event. However for those who appeared on the betting line earlier than the sport, the result was hardly a shock. Colorado State closed as a 1.5-point favourite after opening as a 2.5-point favourite.
CSU was favored as a result of Memphis entered the sport with out level guard and third-leading scorer Tyrese Hunter due to a foot damage. His backup, Dante Harris, additionally missed the sport.
Colorado State trailed 36-31 at halftime however a barrage of 3-pointers within the second half helped them draw back. The Rams pulled inside one lower than 5 minutes into the second half and took the lead with 13:48 to go. They by no means trailed from there.
No. 9 Baylor 75, No. 8 Mississippi State 72: The Bears fought off a late rally from the Bulldogs to advance to the second spherical.
Baylor led by eight factors with 5:10 remaining solely to look at Mississippi State make the sport tense within the closing minutes. The Bulldogs had an opportunity to tie the sport with lower than 10 seconds left however Claudell Harris Jr. missed a 3-pointer.
Baylor overcame a game-high 26 factors from Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard. Robert Wright III led the Bears with 19 factors.
No. 11 Drake 67, No. 6 Missouri 57: Drake delivered the West area its second upset of the night by taking down Missouri for its first NCAA event victory since 1971.
Bennett Stirtz, the Missouri Valley Convention Participant of the Yr, led the Bulldogs with 21 factors on 8-of-11 taking pictures.
Drake owned the nation’s prime scoring protection and efficiently slowed the tempo towards the Tigers, who entered the event averaging 84 factors a recreation.
Like McNeese coach Will Wade, who’s leaving to take the North Carolina State job after the season, Drake’s Ben McCollum additionally could possibly be teaching his closing video games with the Bulldogs. He is a candidate for quite a lot of openings.
No. 10 Arkansas 79, No. 7 Kansas 72: As soon as ranked No. 1 within the nation early within the season, Kansas continued its slide by getting bounced within the first spherical of the NCAA event for the primary time since 2006.
The Razorbacks had been the second double-digit seed of the day to advance to the second spherical. It was additionally the primary time John Calipari — in his first season at Arkansas — coached a double-digit seed within the event. With St. John’s caring for Omaha, Calipari and the Razorbacks will face Rick Pitino in a second-round assembly of two of the game’s best coaches.
The Jayhawks led late in a recreation that was shut all through however had been finally doomed by turnovers. A 7-0 run by Arkansas put the sport away. Jonas Aidoo led Arkansas with 22 factors.
Kansas senior KJ Adams Jr. left the sport within the closing minutes with what’s feared to be an Achilles tendon damage, Jayhawks coach Invoice Self mentioned.
No. 12 McNeese 69, No. 5 Clemson 67: We’ve our first Cinderella candidate of the NCAA event.
McNeese State dominated Clemson for a 69-67 win within the first spherical of event play on Thursday. With the win, McNeese State turns into the primary double-digit seed to advance to the second spherical.
Clemson tried to mount a late second-half rally, however its first-half deficit proved an excessive amount of to beat. McNeese State reeled off an early 19-2 run to take a 23-8 lead that remained at double digits till late within the second half. By halftime, McNeese State held a 31-13 benefit as the Tigers narrowly missed setting a tournament record for first-half futility. Issues did not get significantly better after the break for Clemson, which didn’t put important strain on the Cowboys.
The win additionally means we’ll see more of student manager Amir Khan, who’s become a fan favorite for strolling the group out of the locker room with a increase field and singing alongside to rap songs.
No. 9 Creighton 89, No. 8 Louisville 75: No. 9 Creighton ran away from No. 8 Louisville within the first half on the way in which to win their first-round recreation within the South area.
The Blue Jays led 49-34 on the break and had a double-digit lead for everything of the second half. Louisville obtained the lead reduce to 12 with lower than 5 minutes to go, however any hope of a last-ditch comeback had been extinguished when Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey obtained a technical foul with 4:41 to go.
And the upsets of the ladies’s 2025 NCAA event:
No. 10 Oregon 77, No. 7 Vanderbilt 73 (OT): The Commodores pressured time beyond regulation with a late second-half push, after the Geese led by as many as 19 factors earlier within the half.
Oregon held a slim two-point lead within the closing 30 seconds of regulation. However after just a few missed free throws, Vanderbilt guard Leilani Kapinus — who was taking part in off the Commodores’ bench — hit a perfectly-timed game-tying layup.
Issues remained tight within the further interval, however the tide turned within the closing minute, when star Commodores freshman Mikayla Blakes and Kapinus fouled out. Khamil Pierre, who was the group’s second-leading scorer with 17 factors, fouled out close to the tip of the fourth quarter, leaving three key Vanderbilt gamers on the bench.
With the rating at 75-73, Oregon guard Peyton Scott had an opportunity for 4 free throws after being fouled twice in a row; whereas Scott missed the primary two throws, she nailed the subsequent two to make it a two-score recreation with 5 seconds left. Though the Commodores had yet another possession left, they fell simply in need of the win.
No. 9 Indiana 76, No. 8 Utah 68: The Hoosiers and Utes performed an extremely tight first half, matching one another score-for-score via the primary two quarters. However Indiana was in a position to begin to draw back in the course of the third quarter, and whereas Utah saved it shut, the Hoosiers pulled off the win.
It was a group effort for Indiana, who shot 58 p.c from the sphere, with guard Yarden Garzon main the group with 17 factors. Utah’s Gianna Kneepkens led all scorers with 14.
