March Madness 2025: The Best and Worst from Day 2

Allow me to be the millionth person to say that at least these second round games look like they’re going to be awesome.

They need to be. Round one did not deliver at the level all of us are used to.

It was still wonderful. It’s impossible for 32 games in two days not to be. Just not wonderful enough to clear the high bar we have set for the two days so many people refer to as the best two on the sports calendar.

Let’s recap Friday.

The 3 Best March Madness Games Of Day 2

1. (7) Saint Mary’s 59, (10) Vanderbilt 56 (East)

Things seemed bleak for Saint Mary’s when, trailing by 12 early in the second half, West Coast Conference Player of the Year Augustas Marciulionis was forced to the bench after picking up his fourth foul.

Thankfully sophomore guard Jordan Ross, who averages just 8.3 ppg, was able to recognize the potential for a March moment and rose to the occasion.

Ross scored 10 of his 15 points with Marciulionis on the bench to help the Gaels mount a rally. By the time Marciulionis was able to check back into the game, the score was tied. The senior from Lithuania promptly hit a couple of huge shots down the stretch, and then Saint Mary’s survived a pair of potential game-tying shots from Vandy in the game’s final moments.

Thanks in large part to Saint Mary’s superior size and physicality, Vanderbilt shot just 34 percent from the field in the second half and missed a ton of shots right at the rim. The Gaels finished the afternoon with six blocked shots.

Saint Mary’s is now one win away from its first Sweet 16 trip in 15 years. To get there, they’ll have to beat Alabama in what should be the biggest battle of contrasting styles in this year’s tournament. The Gaels allow just 60 points per game. Alabama averages 90. The Gaels play at the 360th-fastest pace in the country. Alabama plays at the fastest.

Randy Bennett vs. Nate Oats ought to be a hell of a chess match.

2. (9) Baylor 75, (8) Mississippi State 72 (East)

The first game of the day to tip gave us hope that Friday was going to be loaded with bangers.

Freshman sensation V.J. Edgecombe made a flurry of late buckets and a pair of free-throws in the closing seconds to help Baylor avoid blowing an 11-point second half lead and advance to the second round for the sixth consecutive tournament.

Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard scored 26 points, but did not get the ball in the closing seconds for a shot to send the game to overtime. That distinction instead went to Claudell Harris Jr., and it did not go well.

For Mississippi State, this was their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance after making the Big Dance just once between 2010 and 2022. That’s likely little consolation for a fan base desperate to advance in March Madness for the first time since 2008.

3. (2) Alabama 90, (15) Robert Morris 81 (East)

There were four games that could have been slotted in this spot. All four had the potential to give us a great finish with a handful of minutes remaining in the second half, but unfortunately none of the four could deliver.

We’re going with this one because in a year where pretty much every 13-16 seed got absolutely slaughtered, this was the closest we got to feeling like we might get an all-time March Madness upset.

Robert Morris, a 22.5-point underdog, took its first lead of the game with just over seven minutes to play. As the entire sports world began to take notice, All-American Mark Sears and veteran Grant Nelson stepped their games up to ensure the Crimson Tide wouldn’t be making the wrong type of history.

The officiating also flipped on a dime and guaranteed that we wouldn’t get a satisfying finish, but we’re going to get to that.

This was a year where a massive tease was unfortunately about as good as it got in round one.

The 5 Teams That Won It The Best

1. Arizona

Arizona hit 12-of-25 from three and threw down nine dunks, turning what looked on paper like it could be one of the more entertaining matchups of the first round into an absolute laugher.

In a story that was consistent throughout the day on Friday, the power conference favorite used its superior size to overwhelm its underdog opponent from start to finish. Arizona out-rebounded Akron by 31 (53-22) and held a 48-20 scoring advantage in the paint. The Wildcats also blocked nine shots.

The most impressive part about this win for Arizona was how thoroughly it dominated the second half. The Wildcats have had a troubling trend this season of giving away large leads and allowing things to get way too close for comfort in the closing moments. That was never an issue in this one, as the Cats won the opening frame by 10 points and the second half by 18.

They’ll face old Pac-12 rival Oregon in the final game of the second round to tip-off on Sunday.

Bill Walton forever.

2. Maryland

It was a big day for the 4-seeds.

The “Crab Five” didn’t just prevent Grand Canyon from winning a game in the tournament for a second straight year, they humiliated the ‘Lopes by 32 points, the largest margin of victory in Maryland’s lengthy NCAA Tournament history.

The only thing dramatic about this one was the postgame press conference, where head coach Kevin Willard surprised everyone by saying that athletic director Damon Evans was “probably going to SMU.”

Evans was announced as SMU’s new athletic director just a couple of hours later.

3. Oregon

The final game of the first round to tip-off was a blowout from start to finish as Oregon avoided becoming the third No. 5 seed to fall thanks to an 81-52 smacking of Liberty.

The Ducks used their superior size to open up an early 18-2 advantage and never looked back. They limited Liberty to 32.8 percent shooting from the field and an 8-for-37 (21.6 percent) day from beyond the arc. Zach Cleveland (10 points) was the only Flames player to hit double figures.

4. New Mexico

It was mostly a day of domination by the top seeds, and even the highest-seeded team to advance on Friday (12th-seeded Colorado State) was technically a betting favorite.

The largest point-spread upset the day gave us was from New Mexico, which tipped off as a 4-point underdog against 7th-seeded Marquette.

Mountain West Player of the Year Donovan Dent had just six points at halftime, but came alive in the game’s most crucial moments to lead the Lobos to their first NCAA Tournament win since 2012 and their first win as a lower seed since 1999.

New Mexico is now one win away from its first appearance in a regional semifinal since 1974 and its first ever trip to the Sweet 16 in the expanded tournament era. One of the sport’s most passionate fan bases is desperate to see it happen.

5. Iowa State

A 14-0 run late in the first half helped the Cyclones put to bed any notion of an upset by Lipscomb, a team widely considered to be the strongest of this year’s 14-seeds.

Iowa State utilized its massive size advantage throughout the contest, holding Lipscomb to its lowest point total of the season. The Bisons, a team extremely reliant on three-point success even against teams their own size, connected on just 8-of-28 from beyond the arc.

Shooting 58.3 percent from the field as a team, Iowa State dominated despite being without the services of second-leading scorer Keshon Gilbert, who is dealing with a groin injury. Tamin Lipsey, who missed the Big 12 tournament because of his own groin injury, returned to the lineup and scored 10 points.

The 5 Biggest Disappointments

1. Memphis

Unraveling late in NCAA Tournament games has become a troubling trend for Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers, who are now 1-3 in NCAA tournament games under his direction. Those three losses have come by a combined 13 points.

Memphis led by five at halftime, but seemed to panic unnecessarily once Colorado State’s outside shots began falling after the break. Star guard P.J. Haggerty seemed especially jittery, missing several layups and forced jumpers Once the Rams took the lead at the 13:48 mark, they never trailed again.

2. Marquette

The only other team to lose to a double-digit seed on Friday has to have a spot here.

The Golden Eagles entered February with a sparkling 18-3 overall record and tied for first place with a 9-1 mark in Big East play. They would end up losing eight of their last 13 games.

Despite a bevy of regular season accomplishments, Marquette is now 3-4 in the NCAA Tournament with zero wins over single-digit seeds under head coach Shaka Smart.

3. Liberty

Last game of the first round to tip-off and you couldn’t even give us a sliver of hope that you’re contest might be one worth staying up for? Couldn’t even keep it within 30?

People who enjoy sleeping in March may have been thankful, but the sickos will never forgive you.

4. North Carolina

The comeback was exciting and appreciated, but how many games do you have to lose after trailing by 18-24 points do you need to lose before figuring out that getting down by 18-24 points is not a recipe for success? Apparently the answer is 14.

5. Troy

We could have gone with any of the teen seeds here, but we’ll make an example out of Troy, which couldn’t hit anything from the outside in its 76-57 loss to third-seeded Kentucky. The Trojans went 8-for-32 from deep and never really made things interesting during a time of the day where the American public was desperate for at least a hint of a brewing upset.

5 Day 2 Cheers

1. The Big Ten

Before this year, there had never been an NCAA Tournament where a single conference produced eight different teams that won at least one game. The Big Ten and the SEC have now both accomplished this feat in 2025.

The SEC did it with an 8-6 mark. The Big Ten did it with zero losses.

The Big Ten didn’t just produce the best first round conference record in March Madness history, they did it while covering the spread in all eight games. In fact, Michigan’s three-point win over UC San Diego on Thursday was the only one of the eight games that was remotely close.

In all, four Big Ten teams won games by 20 points or more in the first round. That’s more 20+ wins than the league has produced in any of the last nine total tournaments.

Can one of these eight get over the hump and finally get the league its first national title since 2000? That’s going to be a taller hill to climb.

2. Kevin Harlan saving the day

No hesitation on the “deflected by me.” A true pro’s pro.

3. The 1-seeds

One of the narratives for the last couple of months is that this could be one of the strongest crop of top seeds we’ve ever seen in March. That certainly appeared to be the case through the tournament’s first round.

Duke won by 44 points on Friday, and Florida won by 26 in a game it felt like it could have won by 76.

In total, the four No. 1 seeds won their first round games by a combined margin of 128 pts. That’s the sixth-highest margin for the quartet of top seeds in tournament history.

4. Waffle House

If you have to make an early exit from the dance, at least be the team that gets to go home to the area that has the most Waffle Houses per capita in the country.

5. The Pitinos

With St. John’s rolling on Thursday and New Mexico pulling the upset on Friday, we now have a father/son coaching duo both advancing in the same NCAA Tournament for the first time ever.

Number of teams coached by a Pitino in the second round: 2.

Number of ACC teams in the second round: 1.

Tom Izzo is the only one who doesn’t think this is cool.

BONUS CHEER: Conspiracy theorists

This might be more of an “incompetency theory,” but for the last handful of years, many college basketball fans have pointed out that the official NCAA Tournament ball seems to be over-inflated and too bouncy. There are a number of compilation videos out there showcasing typically sure-handed guards losing control of the ball and having it bounce over their heads in transition.

The recent shooting numbers in the tournament would also back this up.

Deflate the damn balls and get people with conflicts of interests off the damn Selection Committee.

5 Day 2 Jeers

1. The complete and utter lack of drama from potential “Cinderellas”

Everyone has already pivoted to “actually, this is going to make the rest of the tournament better” and I get it, but come on.

The only thing we have close to a “Cinderella story” in this tournament is a McNeese State team with a coach and a handful of players we already know are headed to NC State the moment their run ends. That’s not exactly “Bryce Drew winning it at the buzzer for his dad and little ole Valpo from Northern Indiana.”

Teams seeded 13-16 went an imperfect 0-16 in this year’s tournament, and hardly any of them even gave us a split-second where it seemed like they might be capable of pulling off a stunner. Their average margin of defeat in these 16 games was a whopping 22.6 points.

The next two days and the two weeks that follow it had better be stellar.

2. The officiating down the stretch of Alabama/Robert Morris

With 7:10 to play in the second half, Robert Morris’ Josh Omojafo scored a driving layup to put 15th-seeded Robert Morris ahead of second-seeded Alabama, 65-64. The entire sports world did the proverbial “sit up in your chair at attention” move to lock into what seemed like it might be the first signature moment of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

The Colonials were then promptly whistled for fouls on five consecutive Alabama offensive possessions, allowing the Crimson Tide to go on a 10-1 run and essentially put the contest away. Overall, Robert Morris was called for 13 fouls over the final six minutes and 41 seconds of game time.

While five of those came in the final moments where Robert Morris was looking to extend the game, and a couple of them before that seemed warranted, the biggest whistles and the biggest moments certainly seemed to be dubious at best.

The viewing public certainly took notice.

Rational thought says that Alabama probably wins the game without a friendly whistle down the stretch, but it certainly would have been more fun to find that out for ourselves.

3. The ACC

We looked the other way a day ago and instead directed our wrath at the Mountain West. The league promptly responded with big wins from Colorado State and New Mexico, marking the first time since 2010 that it’s sending multiple teams to the second round.

Even with Duke’s 44-point blowout of Mount St. Mary’s, the ACC needs a jeer here.

North Carolina exited the tournament on Friday afternoon by losing in the same fashion that it seemed to approximately 57 times during the regular season. The Tar Heels fell behind Ole Miss by 22 points in the first half, made a ferocious second half comeback, and then just when it seemed like they were poised to get all the way over the hump, they ran out of gas and lost by seven.

The defeat, coupled with Thursday’s upset losses by Louisville and Clemson, means that after just one full round of the NCAA Tournament, Duke is the only squad from the ACC left standing. That’s history right there.

Yikes.

Keep calm, Will Wade and Ryan Odom are coming?

4. Xavier. Lipscomb. And Xavier Lipscomb.

Xavier saw its season end with an 86-73 loss to Illinois.

Lipscomb saw its season end with an 82-55 loss to Iowa State.

Xavier Lipscomb, a senior guard for Mount St. Mary’s, saw his season end with a 93-49 loss to Duke.

That’s three losses by a combined 84 points.

A all-time bad day for the trio.

5. Colorado State “Ram Man” not actually being Colorado State “Ram Man”

But in my heart, it was so real.

The suspected “Ram Man” later confirmed on Twitter that he was not, in fact, the Ram Kid.

I demand a Ram Kid spotting on Sunday or the whole tournament needs to be brought to a halt.

You have 24 hours.

All Day-2 Team

Amarion Dickerson, Robert Morris

Dickerson did everything he could (besides make a few more threes) to help the Colonials pull off a potential stunner against Alabama. He scored 25 points, grabbed nine rebounds and recorded three steals and a pair of blocks.

Otega Oweh, Kentucky

Oweh flirted with a triple-double in Kentucky’s win over Troy, scoring 20 points, grabbing eight rounds and handing out six assists.

Sean Pedulla, Ole Miss

One of the most clutch players in college basketball scored 20 points and once again came up huge when his team needed him the most.

David Joplin, Marquette

Joplin hit six threes and scored a day-high 28 points in a losing effort for the Golden Eagles.

Dailyn Swain, Xavier

Yet another player who had a monster performance in a losing effort. Swain scored 27 points to go with eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in Xavier’s 86-73 loss to Illinois.

5 Best Day 2 Dunks

Decent day of dunks. Nothing incredible. Nothing terrible.

1. Jaden Akins, Michigan State

Coen Carr isn’t the only Spartan who can get up.

2. Amari Williams, Kentucky

3. Carter Bryant, Arizona

4. Alijah Martin, Florida

5. Riley Kugel, Mississippi State

5 Best Day 2 Images

1. The champs ain’t dead yet.

Photo by Grant Halverson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

2. How close did Carolina come to pulling off a monster comeback against Ole Miss?

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

3. Fallen Tigers.

Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images

4. Dancin’ Ducks.

Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images

5. A Fort Collins icon

Photo by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

5 Notable Quotes From Day 2

1. “If that wasn’t their best, then they’re real, real good.” —Xavier head coach Sean Miller after his team’s loss to Illinois

2. “These have been the best few weeks of my life and I hope we have many, many more of them.” —Silas Lind, son of Mount St. Mary’s head coach Donny Lind

3. “From the moment I step foot on campus in the summer, I basically asked him, ‘Hey, can I follow you? Hey, can I do everything that you do?’ I’m fortunate enough for him to accept me at such an early time and share with me all the knowledge he’d learned over the years. I’ve learned how to be a better leader. I’ve learned how to be a more confident basketball player. I’ve learned a whole lot from R.J. I’m real fortunate.” —North Carolina’s Seth Trimble on what he learned from teammate R.J. Davis

4. “This is a very nervous day for me, not because of Arkansas but because my son’s playing tonight.” —Rick Pitino on trying to stay focused on both his son’s New Mexico team and his own team’s second round game against Arkansas

5. “My head is ringing right now. I just wanted to come out there and be there for my guys, bloody or not.” —Bryant forward Earl Timberlake, who was badly bloodied in the first half against Michigan State

Full Saturday schedule for 2025 men’s NCAA tournament

We’re still just getting started.