Men's NCAA tournament live tracker: Purdue powers past McNeese; Arkansas and St. John's vying for Sweet 16 berth
After two jam-packed days of college basketball, it’s time to start the second round. The field has been cut in half, the contenders have emerged — and we get to do it all again today.
The schedule is headlined by Arkansas vs. St. John’s, a matchup of two Hall of Fame coaches in Rick Pitino and John Calipari, in the afternoon. Elsewhere, the Houston Cougars take on the red-hot Gonzaga Bulldogs.
We’ve got you covered with all the action right here, featuring updates from writers at every site and analysis on what each final result means.
Jump to: Live updates | Results and analysis
Saturday’s schedule (all tips ET):
(5) Michigan Wolverines vs. (4) Texas A&M Aggies, 5:15 p.m. (CBS)
(11) Drake Bulldogs vs. (3) Texas Tech Red Raiders, 6:10 p.m. (TNT)
(9) Creighton Bluejays vs. (1) Auburn Tigers, 7:10 p.m. (TBS)
(6) BYU Cougars vs. (3) Wisconsin Badgers, 7:45 p.m. (CBS)
(8) Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. (1) Houston Cougars, 8:40 p.m. (TNT)
(7) UCLA Bruins vs. (2) Tennessee Volunteers, 9:40 p.m. (TBS)
SATURDAY RESULTS
Final: Purdue beat McNeese 76-62
How Purdue won: Purdue played with the pedigree of a team that was in the national championship game a year ago in its convincing 76-62 victory over McNeese State. Led by junior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn (22 points, 15 rebounds) and All-American guard Braden Smith’s steady hand in the face of pressure, the Boilermakers started fast by opening a 17-6 lead in making an early statement that they weren’t overlooking the Cinderella-story Cowboys, who had dominated No. 5 Clemson in the first round. Purdue trailed just once, 3-2, in a game that had a “been-there, done-that” feel to it. A signature moment came when Smith dove to keep the ball in play in the first half, directly in front of the Purdue bench. It was an all-out effort from the leader who was willing his team into the Sweet 16 in the Midwest Region, where they will play in Indianapolis, about 65 miles from campus in West Lafayette. — Mike Reiss
