Mar 20, 2025 5 min read

Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — McNeese coach Will Wade and his boombox-toting manager are moving on in March Madness after the 12th-seeded Cowboys held off late-charging No. 5 seed Clemson 69-67 on Friday in the first bracket buster of the NCAA Tournament.

Brandon Murray scored 14 of his 21 points in a stifling first half, when the Southland Conference school from Lake Charles, Louisiana, held Clemson to 13 points. After falling behind by as many as 24 in the second, the Tigers rallied, erasing most of a 12-point deficit in the final minute before running out of time.

With its first NCAA Tournament victory, McNeese earned a second-round matchup on Saturday with fourth-seeded Purdue, a 75-63 winner over High Point.

“We have broken every record in the book,” said Wade, who led the school to its first back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament and now its first victory. “This was the last one to get. We want to keep this going. We want to keep this going.”

Chris Shumate added 13 points and 11 rebounds for McNeese, which has been best-known this March for its viral, rapping manager and a renegade coach who has reportedly already lined up his next job — at NC State.

The Wolfpack will have to wait at least another 48 hours, because Wade is still needed in Providence.

A 7½-point underdog, McNeese (28-6) held the Tigers to one basket over almost eight minutes during a 17-2 first-half run that turned a tie game into a 23-8 lead. After Clemson (27-7) scored the first three points of the second, the Cowboys ran off nine in a row and led by as many as 24 points.

Jaeden Zackery scored 24 points, Chase Hunter had 21 and Viktor Lakhin grabbed 10 rebounds for Clemson before fouling out with six minutes left in the game.

Purdue 75, High Point 63

Trey Kaufman-Renn had 21 points and eight rebounds, and fourth-seeded Purdue held off High Point for a 75-63 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Big Ten player of the year Braden Smith added 20 points and six assists as 23-11 Purdue avoided a first-round exit after reaching the championship game last season. The Boilermakers will meet the winner of Clemson and McNeese State in the second round of the Midwest Region on Saturday. D’Maurian Williams had 12 points for No. 13 seed High Point, which had won 14 straight. Trae Benham added 11 points.

Creighton 89, Louisville 75

Jamiya Neal scored a career-high 29 points and had 12 rebounds, Steven Ashworth connected from well beyond the arc on the way to 22 points, and ninth-seeded Creighton beat No. 8 seed Louisville 89-75 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Coach Greg McDermott’s Bluejays won their fifth consecutive March Madness opener and beat a team ranked in the top 10 for the second time this season. Louisville, despite its unimpressive seeding, entered at No. 10 in the AP Top 25. Seeking its fourth Sweet 16 appearance in five years, Creighton will play No. 1 overall seed Auburn in the second round of the South Region on Saturday.

Auburn 83, Alabama St. 63

Miles Kelly made seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points, All-American Johni Broome added 14 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 1 seed Auburn beat 16th-seeded Alabama State 83-63 on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Auburn came in having lost three of four inside the power-packed SEC with a resume still strong enough to earn the top overall seed among the four No. 1 teams. Auburn will play No. 9 seed Creighton in the second round of the South Region on Saturday.

Houston 78, SIU-Edwardsville 40

Milos Uzan scored 16 points, LJ Cryer added 15 and No. 1 seed Houston was able to rest its starters early in a 78-40 rout of No. 16 seed SIU Edwardsville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. JaVier Francis added 13 points and eight boards for the Big 12 champs, who will carry a 14-game winning streak into a second-round matchup with No. 8 seed Gonzaga or No. 9 seed Georgia in the Midwest Region. Houston has won 26 of its last 27 games overall. Ray’Sean Taylor scored 10 points to lead SIUE, the champions of the Ohio Valley, who went just 2 of 24 from beyond the 3-point arc in its first NCAA appearance.

Gonzaga 89, Georgia 68

Khalif Battle scored 24 points, Nolan Hickman had 18 and eighth-seeded Gonzaga routed Georgia 89-68 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Braden Huff added 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting as 26-8 Gonzaga advanced to an intriguing second-round matchup with top-seeded Houston.

Wisconsin 85, Montana 66

Wisconsin grinded its way back into the March Madness win column, getting double-digit scoring from five players on the way to an 85-66 victory over Montana. This was the first victory in the NCAA Tournament for the third-seeded Badgers since 2022. Last year, they were a first-round upset victim to James Madison. The Badgers play BYU in the second round in the East Region. John Blackwell led Wisconsin with 19 points and Steven Crowl scored 18. Te’Jon Sawyer and Kai Johnson led Montana with 15 points each.

BYU 80, VCU 71

Igor Demin and Richie Saunders led BYU to an 80-71 victory over VCU in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday The Cougars atoned for last year’s flop as a sixth seed when they lost to 11th-seeded Duquesne in their NCAA tournament opener. BYU plays Wisconsin in the second round.

Tennessee 77, Wofford 62

Chaz Lanier scored 29 points on 11-of-22 shooting and No. 2 seed Tennessee never trailed in a 77-62 victory over Wofford that sent the Volunteers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season. The Vols will play either No. 7 seed UCLA or 10th-seeded Utah State on Saturday in the Midwest Region. Zakai Zeigler had 12 points and 12 assists for Tennessee. No. 15 seed Wofford was making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance but ended a run of four straight trips to the second round.