March Madness live bracket updates: Houston’s Marcus Sasser returns
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The madness is fully underway.
The first full day of the men’s NCAA Tournament began Thursday with some dramatic upsets, with No. 13 seed Furman scoring the day’s first upset when the Paladins shocked No. 4 Virginia. Then, No. 15 Princeton busted brackets everywhere by upending No. 2 Arizona after trailing most of the game – and marking the third straight year a No. 15 seed advanced to the second round.
We are halfway through the first day of the first round, with games like No. 1 Houston vs. No. 16 Northern Kentucky and No. 2 UCLA against No. 15 North Carolina-Asheville highlighting a night slate that won’t stop until around midnight Eastern.
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Final: No. 7 Northwestern 75, No. 10 Boise State 67
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Boise State was able to close the Wildcats’ lead to four before Northwestern pulled away for a 75-67 win.
Boo Buie scored a game-high 22 points, five rebounds and five assists. Chase Audige also exploded for the Wildcats, scoring 13 of his 20 points in the second half to finish the Broncos off.
Boise State’s Marcus Shaver Jr. returned in the second half with a taped ankle and a noticeable limp after leaving the first half early with a twisted right ankle. Max Rice led the Broncos with 17 points, four rebounds, four assists, with Chibuzo Agbo adding 12 points and Shaver recording 10. But the Broncos weren’t able to generate enough offense to get past Northwestern, who led the entirety of the game.
Marcus Sasser returns to Houston lineup
Houston got a win before the Cougars even tipped off in the 2023 NCAA Tournament: Marcus Sasser is back.
Sasser is the Cougars’ leading scorer at 17.1 points, and also chips in 3.2 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game. The AAC player of the year, he got hurt late in the first half of Houston’s conference tournament semifinal, slipping on the floor and hurting his groin. He did not play in the AAC tournament championship, which Houston lost 75-65 to Memphis. Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said earlier this week that Sasser would be a game-time decision Thursday.
In a potent offense — all five Cougar starters average 9 points or more — Sasser is the key. A 6-foot-2, 195-pound combo guard, he is UH’s first first-team All-American since Hakeem Olajuwon and a likely second round pick in the 2023 NBA draft.
– Lindsay Schnell
Final: No. 5 Duke 74, No. 12 Oral Roberts 51
Jon Scheyer’s first NCAA Tournament win as head coach at Duke was a breeze.
The No. 5 Blue Devils jumped out to a 15-0 lead and never looked back as they cruised past Oral Roberts and into the second round. Jeremy Roach led the way with a game-high 23 points.
Duke dominated the boards, finishing with a 47-32 advantage. Highly-touted freshman Dereck…
Read More: March Madness live bracket updates: Houston’s Marcus Sasser returns 2023-03-17 01:07:30