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NCAA Tournament mayhem continued on Saturday across the country as the beginning the second round provided more drama, upsets and the general madness of March. By night’s end, the first eight tickets to the Sweet 16 had been punched and heartache inflicted on eight teams who saw their dreams of a national title dashed in the sea of emotion brought by the Big Dance.
The Cinderella story of the day belonged to No. 15 seed Princeton, which advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in the modern era of the NCAA Tournament by shellacking No. 7 seed Missouri 78-63. Princeton is just the fourth Ivy League program to reach the regional semifinals and the first since 2010.
Thing went a little better Saturday for Missouri’s SEC rivals. First, No. 4 seed Tennessee upended No. 5 seed Duke 65-52. Then, in one of the day’s top surprises, No. 8 seed Arkansas took down reigning national champion Kansas 72-71 as the Jayhawks became the second No. 1 seed to exit during the tournament’s first weekend. Alabama avoided a similar fate by handling No. 8 seed Maryland 73-51 in the nightcap.
Before the attention turns fully to Sunday’s action, when the final Sweet 16 spots will be secured, here are a few takeaways from Saturday’s NCAA Tournament slate.
Houston roars back
In the aftermath of Kansas’ loss to Arkansas, Houston found itself in a dire predicament. The Cougars trailed No. 9 seed Auburn 41-31 at halftime in front of a pro-Auburn crowd in Birmingham, Alabama. It appeared Houston was at risk of becoming the third No. 1 seed to lose in roughly a 24-hour span.
But then the Cougars showed why they entered the NCAA Tournament as the betting favorites to win it all. Behind a 20-point outburst from Tramon Mark in the second half, Houston rallied for an 81-64 victory to reach next week’s Sweet 16. The Cougars outscored Auburn 50-23 in the second half and closed on a 9-0 run. While the offensive outburst stood out, so did the defensive effort. Auburn made just 4 of 24 shots from the field in the second half as Houston squeezed the life out of the Tigers.
No. 2 seeds survive scares
No. 2 seed UCLA jumped out to a 33-19 lead on Northwestern in the first half and looked poised to roll into the Sweet 16. But the Wildcats came all the way back to tie the game at 45 with 11:26 remaining. It was a fight until the end, but the Bruins emerged with a 68-63 win, despite a combined 29 points from Boo Buie and Chase Audige of Northwestern in the second half.
Another No. 2 seed, Texas, followed a similar script in its 71-66 win over Penn State. The Longhorns led 39-28 with 17:28 remaining before Penn State roared all the way back to take the lead with under five minutes remaining. From there, Texas clapped back with its own 10-0 run as forward Dylan Disu led the way with 28 points. It was a valiant effort from both Northwestern and Penn State, but neither Big Ten squad could quite get over the hump against their No. 2 seed foes.
ACC, Big Ten struggling
Speaking of the Big Ten, Sunday is shaping up as a huge day for the conference after its teams went 0-3 in NCAA Tournament action Saturday. No. 4 seed Indiana and No. 7 seed Michigan State are the Big Ten’s last remaining hopes of having a team playing on the second weekend of the Big Dance.
The Hoosiers take on No. 5 seed Miami while the Spartans play No. 2 seed Marquette. Prospects are similarly dire for the ACC after Duke’s loss to Tennessee on Saturday. The Hurricanes and No. 11 seed Pittsburgh are the ACC’s last remaining teams, and it’s possible the league could be entirely eliminated from the NCAA Tournament before the Sweet 16 if things go poorly on Sunday.
2023 NCAA Tournament TV schedule
All times Eastern | NCAA Tournament schedule | LIVE bracket
CBS Sports will be with you the entire way updating this story with the latest from every second-round game on Saturday. Keep it locked here for scores, analysis and highlights throughout the evening.
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