West Region

Duke 78, Cal State Fullerton 61

Mike Krzyzewski got the defensive improvement he wanted to start the NCAA Tournament after some shaky performances down the stretch of his final season.

Duke began the retiring Hall of Famer's last journey through the brackets with minimal stress, beating Cal State Fullerton 78-61 on Friday night.

“We played better tonight than we have been playing,” Krzyzewski said.

Freshman Paolo Banchero scored 17 points to lead the Blue Devils (29-6), who jumped to a double-digit lead in the first 4 1/2 minutes. Duke led by 10 at halftime and pushed the margin to 20, avoiding the shocking exit that befell another of the sport's top programs — Kentucky — in a 2-vs.-15 matchup a night earlier.

“I mean, we all watched the game last night,” said Wendell Moore Jr., who had 13 points, six rebounds and six assists. “I mean, obviously we didn't want it to happen to us as well."

The West Region's No. 2 seed had five players score in double figures while playing in its neighboring state, backed by vocal sections of fans eager to be part of what they hope will be Krzyzewski's six-game run to title No. 6. Next up: Michigan State in Sunday's second round.

Krzyzewski was pleased by the way his team used the time leading up to the tournament to regroup and recharge, along with maybe rebuilding some defensive cohesion and communication that had been there earlier this season.

“Their offense really puts you in a tough position to communicate because there's a lot of dribble exchanges,” Krzyzewski said, adding: “So it's a big improvement. We've been a really good defensive team, but the last four games we were a really bad defensive team.”

Damari Milstead scored 12 points to lead 15th-seeded Titans (21-11), who missed 15 of 18 shots to open the game. The Big West Conference champions finished the game shooting 38%, including 5 for 17 on the 3s needed for any mid-major to take down a big favorite.

“Even in the timeouts, I said to the guys: ‘The shots we’re getting are good shots,’” Titans coach Dedrique Taylor said. “They just weren't falling. I think at the end of the day, Duke's size and athleticism and strength — those shots looked a little different today than they did last Saturday" in the Big West Tournament.

Duke has long begun its postseason runs with added attention as a blueblood program with five NCAA titles. There's extra scrutiny this year with any game potentially being the last for the winningest coach in college basketball history, now with 1,199 victories — down to TV cameras following Krzyzewski walking into the arena hand-in-hand with his wife, Mickie, and the team.

The Blue Devils haven't looked quite the same of late, potentially weighed down by the enormity of playing through a legend's final games in a 47-year career. The Blue Devils suffered a dispiriting loss to rival North Carolina in Krzyzewski’s emotional final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium and fell last weekend to Virginia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game.

But Krzyzewski said he thought his team looked “fresher” in workouts, and the Blue Devils got off to a fast start that backed up their coach.

The first half featured multiple players slipping and falling on the court. That included Moore, who slipped on a slick spot, got up, then slipped again and ended up in a near split.

That aggravated Moore's hip and had him exiting early in the second half to slowly pedal an exercise bike at the end of the bench before returning — along with a more intensive effort by staffers to wipe down the court at every stoppage.

“That damn floor was slippery,” Krzyzewski said. “I mean, on both ends. So I don't know what it was. I know it wasn't the shoes. Nike called me and wanted me to make sure I didn't say it was the shoes.”

Moore had said the team used days leading up to the tournament to work on recovering its defensive edge. There were some positive signs on the stat sheet, namely 10 blocked shots — five by the 7-foot-1 Williams.

The Titans were playing in their fourth NCAA Tournament and first since 2018. Taylor said he had a mature team but acknowledged this stage was “a different animal." His team didn't look intimidated, but it couldn't knock down the open shots it got while struggling to handle Duke's size and length.

“Just having the opportunity to compete against Duke, for us seniors, there's no better team we want to play in the NCAA Tournament,” said Titans forward E.J. Anosike, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds. “That alone, playing against Coach K, we gave it our all.”

Michigan State 74, Davidson 73

Joey Hauser scored a career-high 27 points and Michigan State edged Davidson to set up a second-round matchup between Hall of Fame coaches — the Spartans' Tom Izzo and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski.

A.J. Hoggard added 14 points for the seventh-seeded Spartans (23-12). They had to wrestle away control of a tight game in the second half and then hang on against a desperate comeback push in the final seconds.

The 10th-seeded Wildcats (27-7) took the fight to the final minute even while getting tripped up by several quick — and sometimes borderline — whistles down the stretch.

Luka Brajkovic scored 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting to lead Davidson. Sam Mennenga added 15 points.

Texas Tech 97, Montana State 62

Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 20 points and set a dominating tone in the opening minutes for Texas Tech, which overwhelmed Montana State with one of the best-shooting games in the first round since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Bryson Williams also scored 20 points for Texas Tech (26-9), which shot 66.7% (36 of 54) from the field, including making 12 of 20 3-pointers. At one point the Red Raiders were trending toward breaking Syracuse’s record of 67.9% (38 of 56) against Southern Illinois in 1995. They settled for a tie for fourth.

Texas Tech, the No. 3 seed, was too big, quick and talented for the Bobcats (27-8), who were making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996. The Red Raiders will play 11th-seeded Notre Dame in the second round.

Xavier Bishop led Montana State with 12 points.

South Region

Ohio State 54, Loyola Chicago 41

E.J. Liddell scored 16 points, Big Ten Freshman of the Year Malaki Branham added 14 and seventh-seeded Ohio State shut down 10th-seeded Loyola Chicago from start to finish.

The Buckeyes (20-11) advanced to play Villanova on Sunday while preventing another March run by the Ramblers (25-8), who shot 27% (15 of 56) from the floor.

Braden Norris led Loyola with 14 points, but star Lucas Williamson endured perhaps his worst game of the season. The winningest player in program history finished with four points on 1-of-10 shooting and committed three turnovers as Loyola fell in the first round after reaching the Sweet 16 last season and the Final Four in 2018.

Villanova 80, Delaware 60

Justin Moore scored 21 points, Collin Gillespie added 14 and second-seeded Villanova had little trouble with 15th-seeded Delaware.

The Wildcats (27-7) used a 35-10 surge spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second to turn an eight-point deficit into a blowout.

Delaware (22-13) showed some early fight against its northern neighbor in a meeting of programs separated by 43 miles on the map and considerably more in the college basketball landscape.

It wasn’t nearly enough as Villanova overwhelmed the Blue Hens under a barrage of 3-pointers to begin the school’s quest for a third national title in seven seasons.

Jyare Davis led Delaware with 17 points.

Illinois 54, Chattanooga 53

Alfonso Plummer scored 15 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 12 seconds to go, and fourth-seeded Illinois escaped 13th-seeded Chattanooga.

The Big Ten co-champion Illini (23-9) never led until the final minute and survived when Chattanooga star Malachi Smith missed twice in the closing seconds.

Illinois will play fifth-seeded Houston on Sunday.

Illinois All-America center Kofi Cockburn had 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. His putback gave the Illini a 52-51 lead with 48 seconds to go. Smith, the Southern Conference Player of the Year, responded by drilling a pair of free throws to put Chattanooga back in front.

Plummer, who hit three 3-pointers to help Illinois climb back from an 11-point second-half deficit, drove the left side and was fouled. He knocked down both shots.

Houston 82, UAB 68

Kyler Edwards scored 25 points, Fabian White Jr. added 14 and Houston looked like a team capable of making another deep run in March as it beat UAB.

Edwards, who played three years at Texas Tech before transferring to Houston, made six 3-pointers — the last an exclamation point in the final minute — and controlled the fast tempo.

Houston (30-5) made it to the Final Four a year ago but doesn’t have a single starter left from that squad. The Cougars have won 10 of 11 — nine by double digits.

Jordan “Jelly” Walker finished with 17 points on 6-of-18 shooting to lead UAB (27-8).

Arizona 87, Wright State 70

Christian Koloko scored 17 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and keyed a big second-half surge for top-seeded Arizona, which beat Wright State.

Bennedict Mathurin scored 18 points and Dalen Terry had 16 for the Wildcats (32-3). Arizona won its seventh straight game and earned its first NCAA Tournament win since beating Saint Mary’s in the second round in 2017. First-year coach Tommy Lloyd, a longtime assistant at Gonzaga, has Arizona in the NCAAs for the first time since 2018.

Arizona advanced to face the winner of the nightcap between No. 8 Seton Hall and No. 9 TCU.

Grant Basile scored 21 points and Trey Calvin had 16 for Wright State (22-14).

East Region

Purdue 78, Yale 56

Jaden Ivey raced his way to 22 points and Zach Edey controlled the action inside, helping Purdue overpower Yale.

Ivey, one of the fastest players in college basketball, went 3 for 6 from 3-point range and 7 for 9 at the free-throw line in 27 minutes. The 7-foot-4 Edey made the most of his size advantage against the Ivy League champion Bulldogs, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes.

No. 3 seed Purdue (28-7) won its NCAA opener for the fourth time in its last five tournaments. Next up is Texas in the second round on Sunday.

Azar Swain scored 18 points on 8-for-19 shooting for Yale (19-12), which had won 11 of 13.

Texas 81, Virginia Tech 73

Andrew Jones scored 21 points, Marcus Carr beat the halftime buzzer with a shot from well beyond halfcourt to put Texas ahead for good, and the Longhorns beat Virginia Tech.

The sixth-seeded Longhorns (22-11) won their first tournament game since 2014.

Texas built on the momentum from Carr's improbable basket and led by 17 with 5 1/2 minutes left.

Carr had 15 points and Timmy Allen added 14. Texas went 10 of 19 from 3-point range while ending a five-game tournament losing streak.

Sean Padulla scored 19 points for Virginia Tech (23-13) with 13 coming in the last 4 1/2 minutes.

Midwest Region

Wisconsin 67, Colgate 60

All-America guard Johnny Davis scored 25 points and sparked a second-half comeback as Wisconsin withstood Colgate’s 3-point assault.

The third-seeded Badgers (25-7) snapped Colgate’s 15-game winning streak. They'll play No. 11 Iowa State in Sunday's second round.

Davis had Wisconsin’s last 14 points and showed he’s all the way back from the injured left ankle that knocked the Big Ten player of the year out of the Badgers’ regular-season finale.

After shooting 3 of 11 in the first half, Davis caught fire when the Badgers needed him. They trailed by as many as five in the second half before going on a 10-0 run and holding Colgate scoreless for more than seven minutes.

Tyler Wahl added 15 points and nine rebounds for Wisconsin. Nelly Cummings scored 20 points and Tucker Richardson had 15 for Colgate (23-12), which shot 10 of 22 from 3-point range.

Auburn 80, Jacksonville State 61

Freshman Jabari Smith had 20 points and 14 rebounds as second-seeded Auburn pulled away from Jacksonville State late in the first half.

Walker Kessler, Smith’s partner in the paint, finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks. The Tigers (28-5) won their 10th straight NCAA opener and will face Miami on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.

K.D. Johnson ended his shooting slump — he was 0-for-14 in a Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinal loss to Texas A&M — and had 10 points and a couple of 3s during a 17-3 run that put the Tigers in control.

Jalen Gibbs hit four 3s and led the Gamecocks (21-11) with 20 points.