Winners and losers from Friday at NCAA Tournament

After an action-packed slate of NCAA Tournament games, CBS Sports released its winners and losers from Friday’s madness. There were several close calls for many of the teams who advanced, including Illinois, Miami, and Michigan State.

After 15-seeded Saint Peter’s upset Kentucky in the round of 64 Thursday, there were no upsets of that magnitude Friday. No. 1 seed Arizona and two seeds Auburn, Duke and Villanova all won their games with relative ease. They’ll each look to carry that momentum into the second round, where the matchups will only get tougher.

Below is the list of winners and losers from Friday’s NCAA Tournament, according to CBS Sports.

NCAA Tournament winners and losers from Friday

Winners: Texas, TCU snap tournament losing streaks

The Longhorns claimed their first NCAA Tournament win since 2014 with an 81-73 defeat of Virginia Tech. That is a huge win for first-year head coach Chris Beard after Texas failed to win a single tournament game in Shaka Smart’s six-year tenure. Guard Andrew Jones led the team with 21 points (5-7 3-PT), while Marcus Carr nailed a half-court shot to close the first half. Texas moves on to face three-seeded Purdue in the second round at 8:40 p.m. ET Sunday.

Another Big 12 team, TCU, snapped a much longer NCAA Tournament losing streak. The Horned Frogs defeated Seton Hall by a score of 69-42 to claim their first victory since 1987 behind 21 points from sophomore guard Mike Miles.

Winner: Tyrese Hunter; Loser: LSU begins coaching search

Iowa State guard Tyrese Hunter notched a career-high 23 points in the Cyclones’ 59-54 victory against LSU. The freshman delivered two 3-pointers during the final two minutes, including the final dagger with 20 seconds left. First-year ISU coach TJ Otzelberger will look to continue his team’s Cinderella run Saturday against Wisconsin.

After falling to the Cyclones in the first round, the Tigers now set up to find a replacement for Will Wade. LSU parted ways with Wade just days before the NCAA Tournament after the NCAA provided a notice of allegations to the program. They enter the offseason with the bad taste of a first-round exit and much uncertainty surrounding the future of their program.

Winner: College hoops fans get primetime Sunday matchup

With both Duke and Michigan State winning in the round of 64, that sets up a Sunday second round matchup between two of college basketball’s blue bloods. Adding to the drama of the matchup is the fact that this is the final season for legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who had led the Blue Devils since 1980. Spartans coach Tom Izzo, a legend in his own right, is just 3-12 all-time against Krzyzewski.

Winner: Notre Dame’s Cormac Ryan; Loser: Alabama falls apart

Hunter wasn’t the only player with a career-high Friday, as Notre Dame guard Cormac Ryan scored 29 points in the Fighting Irish’s 78-64 victory against Alabama. For Crimson Tide, it was an extremely disappointing finish to the season. Guard Jahvon Quinerly injured his knee in the first half, causing him to miss the rest of the game and taking the fight out of the team.

Winners: Auburn bounces back following SEC Tournament, Miami escapes USC

There were many questions surrounding the Tigers entering the NCAA Tournament after they were upset by eight-seeded Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament. They put all those to rest with a convincing 80-61 victory against Jacksonville State.

The Miami Hurricanes nearly blew a double-digit lead in the second half against USC, but were saved by a late foul call. With the game on the line, guard Charlie Moore calmly knocked in two free throws to advance his team to the next round.

Auburn and Miami will face each other at 7:45 p.m. ET Sunday for a trip to the Sweet Sixteen.

Winner: Ohio State avenges last year’s loss

After Ohio State was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by 15-seed Oral Roberts in 2021, the Buckeyes made sure that wouldn’t happen a second time around. They secured a 54-41 win against NCAA darling Loyal-Chicago behind a strong all-around defensive effort. They face a much more difficult task in the second round against No. 2 seed Villanova at 2:40 p.m. ET Sunday.

For the full list of winners and losers from Friday’s NCAA Tournament, click here.