Darnell Sallins
March 2, 2025, 12:45AM
One of the greatest postseason events has officially begun as the men's NCAA Tournament got under way on Thursday. 16 games in the Round of 64 in a non-stop action from noon until 1AM Friday morning. Close games. Blowouts. Upsets. It all took place on Day One of March Madness.
Jamiya Neal sends Creighton over Louisville
The opening game of the 2025 men' NCAA Tournament was the eight-nine matchup of Louisville vs. Creighton in the South Region. Jamiya Neal led the Bluejays to an 89-75 win inside Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. A career-high for Neal with 29 points on 11 for 16 shooting and had 12 rebounds, and six assists.
Two Upsets of Mid-Majors over Majors
One of the great things about March Madness is the upsets that happen when a mid-major bounces a major program out early. Well, it didn't take long for that to happen. First, the Midwest Region as No. 12 seed McNeese bounced the Clemson Tigers from the ACC right out of the Tournament. In the most shocking first half performance, the Cowboys held the Tigers to only 13 points in the first 20 minutes of play. Clemson would put on a much better second half performance with 54 points, but McNeese was still able to leave Amica Mutual Pavilion with the 69-67 win providing the faithful 12-5 upset. Brandon Murray for McNeese came off the bench and scored 21 points on 10 for 18 shooting to lead the Cowboys.
That wasn't the only upset of the day. The Missouri Valley Champs and No. 11 seed Drake took down No. 6 seed Missouri from the SEC in the evening session on Thursday in the West Region. The Bulldogs built a 15-point lead before the Tigers came roaring back into the game. The lead was cut down to one at 4:28 mark of the second half before the Bulldogs put the finishing touches to the 11-6 upset. The Drake Bulldogs outscored Missouri 15-6 the rest of the way. Bennett Stirtz scored 21 points to lead Drake.
Midwest Region Statements
The biggest statements came from the Midwest Region on Day One. Top seed Houston dispatched SIU Edwardsville in ten and half minutes of gameplay. The Houston Cougars went up by 20 around the 9:30 mark and never looked back to a 78-40 win. That's the top seed handling business per usual.
However, there were other statements sent in games that wasn't expected to be one-sided on top of McNeese upset win. One being the No. 8 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs. In the typical 8-9 matchup, they are close contested games. Well, not for the Georgia Bulldogs from the SEC. The Gonzaga Bulldogs came out with a sense of urgency that the Georgia Bulldogs failed to match and compete. Gonzaga scored 13 straight points before Georgia put any points on the board. From that point forward Gonzaga would dismantle Georgia to an 89-68 win.
Then there's UCLA. The Bruins routed no. 10 seed Utah State in Rupp Arena. The Bruins took a 12-point lead into halftime as they held the Aggies to 27 points, but the was just the beginning. The defense of the Bruins continued to suffocate the Aggies in the second half. The Bruins outscored the Aggies 33-20 in the second half winning 25 points. UCLA held Utah State to 30% shooting from the field and 12.9% from three-point.
Day One Results
Afternoon Session
9. Creighton 89-8. Louisville 75 (South Region)
13. High Point 63-4. Purdue 75 (Midwest Region)
14. Montana 66-3. Wisconsin 85 (East Region)
16. SIU Edwardsville 40-1. Houston 78 (Midwest Region)
16. Alabama State 63-1. Auburn 83 (South Region)
12. McNeese 69-5. Clemson 67 (Midwest Region)
11. VCU 71-6. BYU 80 (East Region)
9. Georgia 68-8. Gonzaga 89 (Midwest Region)
Evening Session
15. Wofford 62-2. Tennessee 77 (Midwest Region)
10. Arkansas 79-7. Kansas 72 (West Region)
13. Yale 71-4. Texas A&M 80 (South Region)
11. Drake 67-6. Missouri 57 (West Region)
10. Utah State 47-7. UCLA 72 (Midwest Region)
15. Omaha 3-2. St. John's 83 (West Region)
12. UC San Diego 65-5. Michigan 68 (South Region)
14. UNC Wilmington 72-3. Texas Tech 82 (West Region)