March Madness 2025: Day 1 Kicks Off with Exciting First-Round Action
March Madness is finally here, and the excitement is palpable as the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball tournament tips off. With Day 1 underway, fans are in for more than 12 hours of thrilling hoops action. Whether you’re glued to your screen watching all 16 first-round games or refreshing score pages, this guide will keep you updated with all the major highlights, results, and reactions from ESPN writers stationed across the country.
As the tournament unfolds, here’s a quick look at some of the key matchups scheduled for tonight:
- (10) Utah State vs. (7) UCLA, 9:25 p.m. (TNT)
- (15) Omaha vs. (2) St. John’s, 9:45 p.m. (CBS)
- (12) UCSD vs. (5) Michigan, 10 p.m. (TBS)
- (14) UNCW vs. (3) Texas Tech, 10:10 p.m. (truTV)
Day 1 Results
Most recent games listed first.
Gonzaga vs. Georgia
Final: Gonzaga beats Georgia, 89-68
How Gonzaga won: Operating from the less familiar role of tournament sleeper, Gonzaga still has the look of a team that has been here before. The 8-seed Bulldogs turned 13 turnovers into 25 points and blitzed Georgia from deep, finishing 12-of-20 from 3-point range to secure an intriguing second-round date with No. 1 seed Houston. Sixth-year guard Khalif Battle led the shooting barrage with four triples, part of a game-high 24-point performance to go with eight rebounds. A 20-point, 12-rebound effort from Georgia freshman Asa Newell provides only a sliver of solace for Mike White’s Bulldogs, who missed 21 of their 26 3-point attempts in the program’s first tournament game in a decade. One more note on Gonzaga: Ryan Nembhard’s eight assists on the day take his assist tally to 333 on the year, drawing the senior guard level with Avery Johnson (Southern, 1986-87) for fifth all-time among the NCAA’s single-season assist leaders. — Eli Lederman
BYU vs. VCU
Final: BYU beats VCU, 80-71
How BYU won: As VCU head coach Ryan Odom had warned, BYU was indeed a team of flurries. The Cougars closed out the first half on a 12-2 run before opening the second half with a 13-6 push on the way to a first-round win in Denver. By the time Odom called a timeout three minutes and 15 seconds into the second half, the Cougars had built a 52-34 lead, and the Rams did not narrow the gap to less than 10 points until Zeb Jackson hit a 3-pointer to make it 75-66 with 55 seconds to play. The BYU backcourt — Egor Demin and Richie Saunders — combined for 31 points as the Cougars shot 50% from the field, with Fousseyni Traore adding 13. The Rams did have four players with at least 10 points, led by Jackson’s 23. — Jeff Legwold
McNeese vs. Clemson
Final: McNeese beats Clemson, 69-67
How McNeese won: McNeese head coach Will Wade noted the difference between his team entering this year’s tournament compared to last year, saying he felt the 12th-seeded Cowboys were “more about business” after simply being happy to be there last year. They took care of their business in impressive fashion against fifth-seeded Clemson, posting a 69-67 win that wasn’t as close as the score indicates. The Cowboys, who won their first tournament game in school history, broke open a 6-6 tie early to take a 31-13 lead at the half before holding off a Tigers surge as things got unexpectedly interesting in the final two minutes. Brandon Murray scored a team-high 21 points off the bench, while Quadir Copeland added 16 and Christian Shumate had 13 points and 11 rebounds. — Mike Reiss
Auburn vs. Alabama State
Final: Auburn beats Alabama State, 83-63
How Auburn won: The key to any good upset is the underdog putting constant and meaningful pressure on the favorite, but that didn’t happen here, as things ended up being pretty comfortable for 1-seed Auburn. Tigers senior guard Miles Kelly led all players with 23 points, with eight of his made buckets coming from behind the 3-point line. The Hornets were on the verge of taking the lead in the first half but couldn’t hit the necessary free throws — that was their best punch, and Auburn ultimately responded by closing the half on a 9-0 run. It was a spirited effort from the 16-seed SWAC champs, but it’s going to take more than that to beat the top overall seed. The win sets up a very intriguing matchup against 9-seed Creighton; the Bluejays showed they have the offensive firepower to really test the Tigers in the win over Louisville earlier today. — Ben Baby
Houston vs. SIU Edwardsville
Final: Houston beats SIUE, 78-40
How Houston won: Houston gets off to an ideal start to its third consecutive tournament as a 1-seed. A searing first-half shooting performance (61.3%) lifted the Cougars to a 28-point halftime lead and meant they never had less than a double-digit lead in the final 34 minutes of action, cruising to the program’s second-largest victory in an NCAA tournament game. Junior guard Milos Uzan dropped 16 points to lead four scorers in double figures for the Cougars, who advance to Saturday’s second round, where they will face the winner of No. 8 Gonzaga and No. 9 Georgia.
How J’Wan Roberts played: Roberts, who missed Houston’s previous two games after rolling his right ankle in the team’s Big 12 Tournament opener, logged 20 minutes and totaled six points with three rebounds in his first action since March 13 while wearing only a soft brace on his injured ankle. That bodes well for the fifth-year senior and Cougars moving forward. — Eli Lederman
Wisconsin vs. Montana
Final: Wisconsin beats Montana, 85-66
How Wisconsin won: The drumbeat of Wisconsin’s size and earnestness on offense was too much for the upstart Grizzlies. The Badgers had two 7-footers — Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter — in the starting lineup around the Big Ten’s fifth-leading scorer, John Tonje. The Grizzlies tried to counter with their four-guard lineup, with the 6-foot-8 Te’Jon Sawyer often the only Montana player on the floor over 6-5. And while Montana cut the lead to four points twice early in the second half, the Badgers kept grinding away on ruthlessly efficient 55.4% shooting. John Blackwell led U-W with 19 points as Crowl finished with 18 and Tonje with 15. The Badgers blocked six shots and outrebounded Montana 40-29. — Jeff Legwold
Purdue vs. High Point
Final: Purdue beats High Point, 75-63
How Purdue won: High Point played the role of the pesky underdog well, keeping things close in the second half. But in the end, Purdue wore the Panthers down with junior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn (21 points, 8 rebounds) and junior guard Braden Smith (18 points, 6 assists) leading the charge. The decisive stat that tells the story: Purdue had a 45-24 rebounding edge. High Point’s last lead was at the 12:19 mark of the first half (14-13), and while the Panthers cut it to three with just less than eight minutes in regulation, they couldn’t get over the hump. — Mike Reiss
Creighton vs. Louisville
Final: Creighton beats Louisville, 89-75
How Creighton won: In what was essentially a road game, 9-seeded Creighton beat 8-seeded Louisville in a first-round matchup that wasn’t close again after the middle of the first half. Creighton senior guard Jamiya Neal scored a game-high 29 points with some massive buckets late that helped stifle Louisville’s momentum. This draw is a mixed bag for top-seeded Auburn if it beats Alabama State, but the Bluejays showed they have the firepower to truly challenge the Tigers. — Ben Baby
Originally Written by: ESPN
