Day two of the 2025 NCAA March Madness wasn’t filled with a lot of upsets, but it provided more scoring and some great emotions for some seniors playing their last game ever. There was even a huge comeback that would fall short for a historic blue-blood team. Both #1 seeds looked very impressive in their first games. Let’s recap a crazy Friday of college basketball.
Midwest
#3 Kentucky Wildcats vs #14 Troy Trojans
This wasn’t a great game for Kentucky but it was never in danger as they were up eight points at half, and then pushed the final score to a 19-point win 76-57. The Wildcats had four players score in double figures. A nice win for Kentucky as they get set to face off against #6 seed Illinois Fighting Illini.
#6 Illinois Fighting Illini vs #11 Xavier Musketeers
The Musketeers kept this game close at the half 40-35, but the big men for the Illini were no match for the Musketeers interior. Tomislav Ivisic and Will Riley dominated the game by combining for 42 points and 14 rebounds. Illinois outrebounded Xavier 45-25, and Illinois went 18-18 from the free throw line. Pretty impressive win for Illinois, they get #3 seed Kentucky Wildcats which should be a great game.
South
#2 Michigan State Spartans vs #15 Bryant Bulldogs
The Michigan State Spartans proved why they’re always a tough team to beat come NCAA tournament time. A balanced scoring attack with five players scoring in double-figure points. The Spartans grabbed 21 offensive rebounds and crushed the Bulldogs on the glass 54-29. Tom Izzo is always magic come tournament time and the Spartans will be tough to beat. They took care of Bryant easily 87-62. They will face #10 seed New Mexico Lobos for another chance at a NCAA Sweet 16 berth.
#3 Iowa State Cyclones vs #14 Lipscomb Bisons
Iowa State came out and proved why they were worthy of a #3 seed. Their balanced attack with Milan Momcilovic, and Curtis Jones was too much for the Bison as Iowa State rolled with an 82-55 victory. Iowa State shot the lights out (58.3%), also adding 50 points in the paint compared to the Bisons 20. The Cyclones turned over the Bison 17 times that amount to 23 points off turnovers. Up next the Cyclones take on #6 seed Ole Miss Rebels.
#6 Ole Miss Rebels vs #11 North Carolina Tar Heels
The Rebels got off to a great start in this game taking a 44-26 lead into halftime. The Tar Heels would make a valiant effort at one point going on an 11-2 run to get the score within 2, but they ended up missing a few shots late in the game and the Rebels iced it with free throws to win 71-64. This was a very exciting game especially when North Carolina made their run. The Rebels take on #3 seed Iowa State Cyclones with a chance to get back to the Sweet 16.
#7 Marquette Golden Eagles vs #10 New Mexico Lobos ***Upset Alert***
This was a great game from the start. Each team went on runs of their own before the Lobos were able to pull away at the end for a 75-66 win. Donovan Dent and Nelly Junior Joseph combined for 40 of the Lobos 75 points. New Mexico went to the free throw line nine more times than than the Golden Eagles and were 18-21 total (85.7%). New Mexico will see if they can knock off the #2 seed Michigan State Spartans.
East
#1 Duke Blue Devils vs #16 Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers
Duke was flat-out dominant in their performance today winning 93-49. They had four players score in double figures. Tyrese Proctor led all scorers with 19 points. Cooper Flagg had an efficient game scoring 14 points and adding 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Points were hard to come by for the Mountaineers as the Blue Devils held them to 30.2% from the field. Duke only turned the ball over twice in this game. Duke will take on #9 Baylor Bears next.
#2 Alabama Crimson Tide vs #15 Robert Morris Colonials
The Crimson Tide got pushed to their limits in this game. Amarion Dickerson had a great game scoring 25 points and adding 9 rebounds. It came down to the Colonials not being able to make stops late in the game, and too much of Mark Sears, he finished with a double-double of 22 points and 10 assists. Alabama escapes with a 90-81 win Up next they play a very dangerous #7 seed St. Mary’s Gaels.
#4 Arizona Wildcats vs #13 Akron Zips
A complete win for the Wildcats 93-65 over the Zips. Their inside presence dominated a smaller Akron team. Arizona outrebounded Akron 53-23 despite them shooting 3-10 from the free throw line. The physical play from the start bothered the Zips forcing them to shoot 33.3% from the field. Oregon will face the #5 seed Oregon Ducks.
#5 Oregon Ducks vs #12 Liberty Flames
The Oregon Ducks got out to a 22-point lead at halftime and never looked back. The flat-out dominated the Liberty Flames. Shooting was the biggest stat in this game. Liberty only managed to shoot 32.8% compared to the Duck’s 54.4%. Oregon cruised in this game winning 81-52, which sets up a date with #4 Arizona Wildcats.
#7 Saint Mary’s Gaels vs #10 Vanderbilt Commodores
Vanderbilt led for most of this game until St. Mary’s took the lead with 6:54 to go in the game. Neither team shot the ball well or turned the ball over much. This game came down to execution in the last five minutes. Senior guard Augusas Marciulionis hit two big threes in the second half to spark the comeback. Second chance points were in the Gaels’ favor outrebounding the Commodores 41-28. St. Mary’s completed the comeback by winning 59-56. The Gaels will get a tough test against #2 seed Alabama Crimson Tide on Sunday.
#8 Mississippi State Bulldogs vs #9 Baylor Bears ***Upset Alert***
This was a good up-and-down back-and-forth game. Josh Hubbard was unconscious early for the Bulldogs. He scored 26 points. The two Freshman guards of Robert Wright III and VJ Edgecombe proved to be too much for the Bulldogs. The last-second three to tie it by Claudell Harris Jr was no good and Baylor completed the upset 75-72. Baylor will have their hands full when they play the #1 Duke Blue Devils on Sunday.
West
#1 Florida Gators vs #16 Norfolk State Spartans
The Gators took a big chomp out of the Spartans. Walter Clayton Jr continues to shine for the Gators, his game-high 23 points were more than enough, as the Gators won big 95-69. The Gators held the Spartans to 2-14 (14.3%) from three-point land. The Gators went to the line 33 times making 27 of those. They will look to punch their ticket to the NCAA Sweet 16 against #8 seed UConn Huskies.
#4 Maryland Terrapins vs #13 Grand Canyon Lopes
The Terrapins dominated this game from start to finish. Freshman sensation Derik Queen continued to half an excellent first season. He had 12 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for another double-double. The Terrapins held the Lopes to 28.6% shooting as they rolled to an 81-49 victory. They will play upset-ready #12 seed Colorado State Rams.
#5 Memphis Tigers vs #12 Colorado State Rams ***Upset Alert***
Colorado State’s Kyan Evans made a school-record six 3-pointers to go along with a game-high 23 points. The Rams never seemed to lose control of this game winning their 11th game in a row by beating the Tigers 78-70. They look to stay hot and will play #4 seed Maryland Terrapins next.
#8 seed UConn Huskies vs #9 Oklahoma Sooners
UConn outlasts Oklahoma. This was a great game overall. Jeremiah Fears put the Sooners on his back scoring 20 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Sooners went cold from three-point range. Solo Ball led the Huskies with 14 points, a pretty evenly matched game. The back-to-back NCAA National Champions Huskies win 67-59 and will take on the #1 Florida Gators.
The next recap will be Sunday night when the Sweet 16 will be set, but tomorrow’s games won’t disappoint at all. Stay tuned for more great NCAA games and much more Madness!!!!!
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