Sharp of Canada made seven 3-pointers to help No. 1 Houston defeat Texas A&M.

On Sunday in Indianapolis, during the second round of the NCAA Tournament, eighth-seeded Utah State was pummeled 106-67 by No. 1 seed Purdue, led by Zach Edey, who finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds.

Purdue’s offensive display was particularly spectacular.

Purdue (31-7) surpassed the school record most victories in a single season with the addition of 18 points and 8 boards from Trey Kaufman-Renn. After the Boilermakers shot 65.2% from the field in the second half and pulled the starters, Fletcher Loyer scored 15 points and Braden Smith had all six of his assists.

Moreover, Purdue broke the school record for most points scored in a March Madness match. Next up in the Midwest Region semifinals in Detroit is Gonzaga, ranked sixth.

Great Osodor, the Mountain West Player of the Year, led Utah State with 14 points and six rebounds. The Aggies (28-7) lost the rebounding battle 49–26, but they were still determined to make it to the program’s first regional semifinal since 1970.

This time, Zach Edey’s outstanding performance in Indianapolis, which is only 60 miles southeast of campus, was the main factor.

The all-time leader in scoring and rebounds for Purdue appears to be determined to build on his reputation after an ugly first-round loss to 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson last year.

With a victory, Purdue would make its first appearance in the Elite Eight since 2019, the year it lost in overtime to Virginia, the eventual national champion. The Cavaliers had been the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed, UMBC.

Sharp’s Canda shoots out the lights in Houston.

Canada Top-seeded Houston defeated ninth-seeded Texas A&M 100-95 on Sunday night to go to the Sweet 16 back in Texas. Emanuel Sharp opened overtime with a 3-pointer that put Houston ahead to stay.

In the last two minutes of regulation, the Aggies mounted a furious comeback to outscore Houston 17–5, forcing overtime. After making his eleventh 3-pointer of the year to beat the buzzer, Andersson Garcia was surrounded by his teammates.

After his three, Sharp fouled out, ending with thirty points. To begin and end the extra session, his teammates defeated Texas A&M 7-1.

With Houston’s victory (32-4), all eight first- and second-seeded teams have now progressed to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time since the NCAA Tournament’s seeding began in 1979. In 2019, 2009, 1995, and 1989, the top eight seeds also made it farther.

The Cougars will play in the South Region semifinals on Friday in Dallas against Duke, who defeated James Madison 93-55. Houston will be making its 16th Sweet 16 appearance overall and its fifth consecutive.

Under head coach Buzz Williams, Texas A&M (21-15) was attempting to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018. This was the team’s second consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Aggies were 6-1 in March before turning back into the offensively inconsistent squad that had trouble most of the season.

For Houston, Jamal Shead scored 21 points and disheveled 10 assists. Among the four Cougars who fouled out was him.

In their inaugural conference season, the Cougars added to the agony of the Southeastern Conference, thus representing the Big 12 in one sense. Out of the eight teams representing the SEC in this tournament, only Tennessee made it to the Sweet 16.

In addition, J’Wan Roberts scored 13 points despite a knee injury, while L.J. Cryer scored 20.

The Aggies defeated Nebraska, and Taylor was having a field day with seven 3-pointers, a career high. The guard went 5-of-25 from the field for 21 points, including 3 of 13 from beyond the arc, after missing his first 7 shots.

With 27 points, Tyrece Radford made up for his absence from the December match against Houston. Garcia scored twelve, while Manny Obaseki contributed fifteen before fouling out.

Following a quick first half, Houston led 43–38.

UConn, the reigning champion, returns to the Sweet 16
On Sunday night in New York, Donovan Clingan, Tristen Newton, and the number one seed UConn defeated an undermanned Northwestern squad 75-58 to advance to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 round.

With 20 points, 10 assists from Newton, and 14 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 blocks from Clingan, the Huskies (33-3) led from start to finish and made history by being the first reigning national champions to advance to the regional semifinals since Duke in 2016.

San Diego State defeats Yale The Aztecs won in Spokane, Washington, by a score of 26 points to 9 rebounds from Jaedon LeDee, who also scored 9 rebounds.

San Diego State (26–10), led by as many as 31 points, featured a season-best 13 3-pointers (in 27 attempts) from Darrion Trammell, who scored 18 points and drained four 3-pointers.

Yale (23–10) was led by Bez Mbeng with 12 points and Matt Knowling with 11. Just nine points on two of nine shots was all John Poulakidas could muster for the Bulldogs in the first half. In a game that saw Yale defeat fourth-seeded Auburn 78-76, he scored a scorching 28 points.

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