Las Vegas welcomes the College Basketball Crown at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Monday, March 31. A total of 16 teams are competing in the week-long tournament, and eight teams are ready for the quarterfinals after the first round of competition. So, who’s advancing?
Butler Bulldogs 86 – University of Utah Utes 84
The tournament kicked off with a Big East vs. Big 12 game. The Butler Bulldogs came into the day with a 15-19 overall record and a 6-14 conference record. The Utah Utes stood at 16-17 overall and 8-12 in conference play.
The teams were back and forth in the first half, with Utah leading 46-42. Butler had a huge second half. The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 11 but went on a 10-0 run. That led them to tie the game at 62 with 10:17 remaining. Butler didn’t stop there. The team made a season-best 13 three-pointers, including four from Pierre Brooks II. Brooks II led the team with 22 points and made the game-winning layup with three seconds left on the clock.
The Utes saw success in player stats despite the loss. Keanu Dawes recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Dawes added critical points when he went 5-for-6 at the charity stripe.
Boise State Broncos 89 – George Washington University Revolutionaries 59
The Mountain West faced the Atlantic 10 when Boise State and George Washington University took the court. The Broncos (25-10, 14-6) and GW (21-13, 9-9) had a clear winner in the second half.
Boise State had five double-figure scorers, shot 50% in the second half and scored 57 points in the second half. This was the team’s fifth 30-point victory of the season. Tyson Degenhart led the team with 19 points. The Broncos had 27 points off turnovers and 18 fast break points to give them a significant advantage.
Three players on GW reached double figures. Trey Autry led with 16 points. Rafael Castro tallied his 19th consecutive double-digit scoring effort with 11 points.
Nebraska Huskers 86 – Arizona State Sun Devils 78
Big Ten vs. Big 12 was a big hit. The Huskers (18-14, 7-13) had a 56-point second half to take the win over the Sun Devils (13-20, 4-16).
Brice Williams torched down the Sun Devils with his game-high 30 points. This was Williams’ fourth game scoring 30+ points this season. Nebraska scored 24 points off turnovers and had 15 fast break points. The Huskers went on a 10-point run, holding the Sun Devils to no score for almost three minutes at the end of the second. The victory marks the program’s first postseason win since 2019.
For Arizona State? Alston Mason paved the way with 23 points, and Basheer Jihad was right behind with 21. The Sun Devils ended the first half on a 14-4 run to give them the 38-30 lead at halftime. The men were able to tie the game six times but couldn’t come back in time to win.
Georgetown University Hoyas 85 – Washington State University Cougars 82
A pair of free throws decided the game-winner against the Hoyas and Cougars to end the first day of the tournament. The Big East Hoyas (18-15, 8-12) beat the PAC 12 Cougars (19-15, 8-10).
Malik Mack led Georgetown with a career-high 37 points. Jordan Burks tallied his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The duo came together in the last 1:34 of the game to secure the win. Burks and Curtis Williams Jr. each made a layup. With a one-point lead, Mack was on the charity stripe, where he sunk two to win the game.
Stat-wise, the Cougars excelled in many boxes. The men had a better FG% (50%) and FT% (76%) than the Hoyas. WSU also had the largest lead of the game, which was 10 points at the beginning of the first half. LeJuan Watts took control of the Cougars with 22 points and eight rebounds.
Quarterfinal Games on April 2:
Butler vs. Boise State @ 4pm PT
Nebraska vs. Georgetown @ 6:30pm PT
First Round Games on April 1:
DePaul vs. Cincinnati @ 12pm PT
UCF vs. Oregon State @ 2:30pm PT
Villanova vs. Colorado @ 5:30pm PT
Tulane vs. USC @ 8pm PT
