Maryland overcame a sluggish start and a final heave at the buzzer by Kedrian Johnson, topping West Virginia 67-65 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Johnson led all scorers with 27 points but his potential winner bounced off the side of the rim as the horn sounded, allowing the 22-12 Terrapins to move on.

Maryland was led by Julian Reese with 17 points and nine rebounds. The Terps advance to face the winner of top-seeded Alabama and No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday.

JP Pegues made a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining, and No. 13 seed Furman completed a rally from a 12-point second-half deficit to hand fourth-seeded Virginia another first-round NCAA Tournament loss, 68-67.

Making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 43 years, the Paladins advanced to the second round in the South Region, where they will play either San Diego State or Charleston on Saturday.

Kihei Clark threw a bad pass that Garrett Hien intercepted at midcourt with 7 seconds to go, setting up Pegues’ go-ahead basket.

Virginia was eliminated in the first round as the higher-seeded team for the third time in its past four NCAA tournaments.

Missouri used a second-half scoring spurt from Kobe Brown to win its first NCAA Tournament game in 13 years, beating Utah State 76-65.

Brown hit three 3-pointers in a span of just over three minutes to fuel a 13-2 run that turned a two-point deficit into a 62-53 lead.

The seventh-seeded Tigers held on from there and ended a six-game tournament skid with their first win since beating Clemson in the first round in 2010.

The 10th-seeded Aggies have dropped their last 10 tournament games since beating Ohio State in the first round in 2001.

Jalen Wilson had 20 points and seven rebounds for No. 1 seed and defending national champion Kansas in a 96-68 victory over Howard.

The Jayhawks allowed absent and recovering coach Bill Self to rest easy during the West Region first round game.

Freshman Gradey Dick had 19 points and 11 rebounds in his first NCAA Tournament game with Self on the mend after a recent heart procedure.

K.J. Adams Jr. scored 13 points and Dajuan Harris Jr. added 11 points for the Jayhawks. They will play the Arkansas-Illinois winner in the second round. Shy Odom had 15 points for Howard.

Alabama buried Texas A&M-Corpus Christi under an early 3-point onslaught, launching the NCAA Tournament’s top seed to a 96-75 first-round romp even with star freshman Brandon Miller going scoreless.

The Crimson Tide set aside the off-court distractions and buried 10 first-half 3s in a predictably easy win over the 16th-seeded Islanders at Legacy Arena, less than an hour from campus.

It didn’t matter that the All-American Miller sat out the final 14 minutes and missed all five field goal attempts.

Alabama faces Maryland on Saturday in the second round of the South Region.

Matt Bradley scored 17 points, including two free throws in the final minute, and No. 5 seed San Diego State held on to beat 12th-seeded College of Charleston 63-57 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Aztecs won their first game in the Big Dance since 2015 and ended a four-game losing streak.

The win snapped an 11-game skid for the Mountain West Conference. The Cougars lost for the first time in six weeks and have not won a tournament game since 1997.

San Diego State advanced to face 13th-seeded Furman in the South Region at the Amway Center on Saturday.

Tosan Evbuomwan and Princeton used a late-game run to earn the school’s first NCAA Tournament win in 25 years, topping No. 2 seed Arizona 59-55.

The 15th-seeded Tigers scored the final nine points to finish the upset, holding the Pac-12 Tournament champions scoreless over the final 4:21.

Evbuomwan scored 15 points in Princeton’s first tournament victory since beating UNLV in 1998 when current coach Mitch Henderson was a player for the Tigers.

Princeton advanced to play seventh-seeded Missouri in the second round of the South Region. The Tigers beat Utah State 76-65.

Arkansas survived some anxious moments in the second half against an Illinois team that wouldn’t go away and held on to beat the Illini 73-63 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Devo Davis and Ricky Council IV scored 16 points apiece to lead the eighth-seeded Razorbacks, who used relentless defense and rebounding to build big leads but couldn’t get comfortable until the final minute.

Arkansas moves to a second-round game Saturday against top-seeded Kansas in the South Region.

Terrence Shannon Jr. had 20 points for the Illini. They lost in the first round for the first time in five tournament appearances since 2011.

Johni Broome had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots, and No. 9 seed Auburn beat Iowa 83-75 on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers (21-12) made 11 of 12 free throws over the final four minutes to lock up a second-round matchup with No. 1 seed Houston or Northern Kentucky.

Broome even made his ninth 3-pointer of the season to push the margin into double digits for the first time with 16 minutes left.

The Tigers appeared poised to pull away in front of a partisan orange-and-blue crowd, going up by 17 with a 13-2 run midway through the second half sparked by Tre Donaldson's three 3-pointers off the bench.

The eighth-seeded Hawkeyes climbed back into it, twice cutting it down to four but coming no closer.“We knew they had another run in them,” Broome said. "We were like, ’Let’s make a stop and win this game.'”Auburn had six players score in double figures. Wendell Green Jr. had 15 points, and Donaldson, Jaylin Williams and KD Johnson each finished with 11. Allen Flanigan scored 10.

Payton Sandford scored 21 points for Iowa. Kris Murray had 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting and nine rebounds. Filip Rebraca scored 14 points.

Johnson had a scary moment in the final minute of the first half.

He went up attempting to block a shot by Rebraca, who pump-faked and sent Johnson somersaulting over the top of the Iowa player.

The junior guard landed with a thud on his lower back and buttocks, sending the crowd into a hushed silence. Johnson stayed down briefly, writhing in pain, before heading to the bench to get checked out. He played in the second half.“I was just scared,” Johnson said. "I wanted to make sure I didn’t hurt myself in any other way. That was crazy.”

Jeremy Roach scored a career-high 23 points, and No. 5 seed Duke beat Oral Roberts 74-51 on Thursday in the school’s first NCAA Tournament game since Jon Scheyer took over as Blue Devils coach.

Dariq Whitehead added 13 points for the Blue Devils (27-8), winners of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

Scheyer helped Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski win two of five national titles as a former Duke player and assistant. He's now trying to orchestrate some March Madness magic of his own.

In his first NCAA Tournament game as Krzyzewski's replacement, Scheyer led Duke to a 10th consecutive win and a second-round matchup in the East Region against either fourth-seeded Tennessee or No. 13 seed Louisiana-Lafayette.

Oral Roberts (30-5) entered the tournament on a nation-leading 17-game winning streak but was unable to replicate its success of two years ago, when the Golden Eagles upset Ohio State and Florida during a surprising run to the Sweet 16.

Duke scored the first 15 points of the game, Oral Roberts missed 12 straight shots — seven were 3-point attempts — during a 12-minute scoring drought to begin the game. Duke's advantage was never fewer than 13 the rest of the way.

Depleted by injuries for prolonged stretches of the season, Duke improved to 19-1 when Scheyer has his full roster available. While the Blue Devils have excelled defensively all year, their offense has blossomed down the stretch.

Summit League player of the year Max Abmas was limited to 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting for Oral Roberts. The high-scoring Golden Eagles shot just 30.2% from the field, including 8 of 32 from 3-point range.

Sir'Jabari Rice scored 23 points and No. 2 seed Texas shut down sharpshooting Colgate for an 81-61 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.

Rice made five of his seven 3-pointers in the first half, helping the Longhorns get off to a fast start. Marcus Carr finished with 17 points and Dylan Disu had 17 points and nine rebounds.

Texas (27-8) shot 13 for 23 from 3-point range while advancing to a second-round matchup against the Penn State-Texas A&M winner on Saturday in the Midwest Region.

In another inspired performance under interim coach Rodney Terry, Rice and the Longhorns picked the perfect time to get hot on the perimeter against the nation's leading outside shooting team. They matched their season best for 3-pointers made.

The Raiders (26-9) went just 3 for 15 from deep against a relentless and long-armed Longhorns defense. Colgate shot better than 40% before the tournament. The leading individual 3-point shooter in the country, Oliver Lynch-Daniels, went 1 for 4. He was a 50% shooter from long range this season.

Keegan Records and Ryan Moffatt each scored 13 points for the 15th-seeded Raiders, who fell to 0-6 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. Tucker Richardson, the Patriot League Player of the Year, had nine points on 4-for-11 shooting.

With most of the fans in Wells Fargo Arena rooting for the upset, the Longhorns adjusted to Colgate's second-half zone defense and never let the lead get smaller than seven points.

About an hour before Texas took the court, No. 2 seed Arizona was ousted by Princeton in the West Region. The Tigers became the 11th team seeded 15th to win a first-round game in 149 tries and the third in three years.

The Longhorns played hard enough — and shot well enough — to make sure they didn't land on that list.

Boo Buie scored 22 points to lead Northwestern to a win in the school's second appearance ever in the NCAA Tournament, 75-67 over Boise State on Thursday.

The seventh-seeded Wildcats (22-11) previously made it to the Big Dance in 2017, and just like that time, they made sure they wouldn't be one-and-done.

Northwestern never trailed in a game that was close most of the way and advanced to play either UCLA or UNC Asheville in the second round of the West Region.

The 10th-seeded Broncos (24-10) are still searching for their first tournament win, losing their opener for the ninth time in as many tries. Max Rice scored 17 points to lead Boise State and Naje Smith added 14.

Chase Audige added 20 points for the Wildcats and Ty Berry scored 13, including three 3-pointers.

The Bulldogs fell behind by 10 points early but fought back to tie the game at 40 early in the second half when Rice hit his second 3-pointer of the half.

The game was tight most of the way before Northwestern finally built the lead back to 10 on a tip-in by Brooks Barnhizer with 3:15 to go.

With All-American Marcus Strasser watching from the bench, top-seeded Houston shook off Northern Kentucky for a 63-52 victory to open the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.

Chants of “NKU!” and “Overrated!” filled Legacy Arena as the 16th-seeded Norse trailed by only three at halftime and made it 36-all with under 16 minutes to go against the Cougars (32-3).

But Houston pulled away behind 16 points from Jarace Walker, advancing to face ninth-seeded Auburn on Saturday.

Now, all eyes turn to Sasser, the team's top scorer and its first member of The Associated Press All-America first team since 1984.

After going down last weekend with a groin injury in the American Athletic Conference Tournament, Sasser was a game-time decision for the start of the NCAA Midwest Region.

He got the start and looked just fine when he knocked down an early 3-pointer. But Sasser didn't do much else, finishing with five points on 2-of-5 shooting in just under 14 minutes of playing time.

When the second half began, Sasser wasn't on the court. The school announced he had aggravated his groin problem, forcing him to watch the rest of the game from the bench.

The Cougars didn't need him on this night. The Norse's upset bid went down in a hail of clankers, the Horizon League champions shooting just 27.5% from the field (19 of 69) — including a horrendous 5 of 34 from 3-point range — to ruin any chance of becoming the next UMBC.

The Retrievers remain the only 16th seed in NCAA history to knock off a No. 1 seed, shocking Virginia in 2018.

The Cougars avoided that fate but things figure to get much tougher in the next one, especially if Sasser can't go.

Auburn knocked off No. 8 seed Iowa 83-75 and will have another de facto home game in the second round, playing just a two-hour drive from its campus.

The Cougars struggled offensively against Northern Kentucky's matchup zone, which was unlike any defense they had seen this season. Houston led just 30-27 at halftime and finished well under its 75-point average coming into the game.

Tyreke Key scored 12 points, Jahmai Mashack added 11 and No. 4 seed Tennessee survived a late scare to hold off Louisiana-Lafayette 58-55 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.

The Ragin’ Cajuns (26-8) whittled an 18-point deficit to three in the final minute — creating some tense moments and a couple technical fouls — but the Volunteers (24-10) closed it out by forcing tough shots and making just enough free throws.

Tennessee, which lost six of 10 heading into the tournament, advanced to face fifth-seeded Duke in the East Region’s second round at the Amway Center. The Blue Devils routed No. 12 seed Oral Roberts 74-51 earlier Thursday, giving Duke coach Jon Scheyer a win in his tournament debut.

It will be the first meeting between Tennessee and Duke in the NCAA Tournament.

The Vols should hope to take much better care of the ball than they did against the Sun Belt Conference Tournament champions. They finished with 18 turnovers in the fourth game without starting point guard Zakai Zeigler, who tore a ligament in his left knee in the team’s regular-season finale. Zeigler led the Southeastern Conference with 6.5 assists a game.

Uros Plavsic added nine points, and Oliver Nkamhoua chipped in eight for Tennessee.

Jordan Brown led the Ragin’ Cajuns with 16 points.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 points and UCLA raced out to a fast start and never looked back in an 86-53 victory over UNC Asheville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.

The second-seeded Bruins (30-5) scored the first 14 points of the game and rolled from there. Amari Bailey also scored 17 points and David Singleton had 11.UCLA advanced to play seventh-seeded Northwestern in the second round of the West Region. The Wildcats beat Boise State 75-67 earlier in the day.

Drew Pember scored 13 points for the 15th-seeded Bulldogs (27-8). UNC Asheville, which won the Big South regular-season and tournament titles, has now lost all five times the school has advanced to the round of 64.

The Bruins apparently took notice of what happened earlier in the day at this site when fellow Pac-12 No. 2 seed Arizona was ousted by Princeton 59-55.UCLA made sure this game was never in doubt, making its first five shots and taking a 14-0 lead on a 3-pointer by Singleton just 3:06 into the game.

Jaquez scored inside to give the Bruins their biggest lead of the first half at 34-11 and they coasted from there.

Andrew Funk had the shooting game of his career on Penn State's biggest stage in over two decades.

Funk made 8 of 10 3-pointers and scored 27 points Thursday night in a 76-59 win over Texas A&M for the Nittany Lions' first NCAA Tournament victory in 22 years.

Funk, in his first year at Penn State after transferring from Bucknell, led the Nittany Lions to their ninth win in their last 11 games. They next play Texas in the second round of the Midwest Region on Saturday.

Penn State's previous tournament win was its second-round upset of North Carolina in New Orleans in 2001. The Nittany Lions lost to Temple in the Sweet 16, and they lost to the Owls again when they returned to the tournament in 2011.

Texas A&M (25-10) had won 10 of 12 as it entered its first NCAA Tournament since 2018. The Aggies lost in the first round for only the second time in nine appearances since 2006.

Dexter Dennis scored 19 points to lead A&M, which shot 34%.

Funk was 0 for 5 on 3s in the Big Ten championship game last weekend. But he made his first 3-pointer against the Aggies, missed his second, and then hit six in a row. The streak ended when he put up an air ball on a desperation 3 as the shot clock was running out.

Jalen Pickett, the biggest star for Penn State (23-13), played another strong all-around game with 19 points, eight assists, no turnovers and seven rebounds.

Penn State led 38-22 after outscoring the Aggies 28-10 to close the first half. The Aggies hadn't scored so few points in a first half since a win over Notre Dame on Nov. 24, 2021.

The Lions' offense ran just the way coach Micah Shrewsberry likes it, with the threat of 6-foot-10 Kebba Jjie in the post creating space on the perimeter for Funk, Myles Dread and Seth Lundy to do what they do best. Dread and Lundy had two 3s apiece and Penn State finished 13 of 22 from distance.

The Aggies have had trying times recently when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. Coach Buzz Williams was infamously miffed when the Aggies weren't selected last year. This season they came in as a No. 7 seed, lower than Aggie faithful felt fair.