March 22nd, 2025 โ NCAA Tournament Second Round Breakdown
Eight games. Eight paths to the Sweet 16. Letโs break down what really happened beneath the box scores.
(4) Purdue 76, (12) McNeese State 62
McNeese came in with momentum and belief, but Purdue had something more dangerous: structure, shot discipline, and cold execution. Zach Edey was a constant gravitational force inside, drawing doubles, opening corners. McNeese tried to speed things up, but Purdue throttled tempo and made the Cowboys play chess instead of streetball. Will Wadeโs magic ran out, and the Boilermakers advance with clean hands and a bloodless second half.
(10) Arkansas 75, (2) St. John’s 66
The Razorbacks didnโt just win โ they exposed the seams. St. Johnโs leaned too heavily on RJ Luis Jr., and when the shots didnโt fall (3-for-17), the offense unraveled. Rick Pitino benched his star down the stretch โ not for punishment, but for survival. Meanwhile, Arkansas got contributions across the board. This wasnโt just an upset โ it was a coaching clinic in composure versus chaos.
(5) Michigan 91, (4) Texas A&M 79
Roddy Gayle Jr. flipped the script in the second half. Michigan was flat early, but once Gayle got downhill, A&M had no answer. He scored 21 of his 26 after halftime โ slicing up closeouts, getting to the line, and knocking down daggers. Michiganโs ball-screen reads were elite, and they exposed A&Mโs drop coverage repeatedly. The Wolverines flipped the gameโs rhythm, and A&M never adjusted.
(3) Texas Tech 82, (11) Drake 68
You donโt beat Texas Tech by finesse. You have to match their physicality. Drake had shooting โ and early pace โ but once the Red Raiders tightened the screws, it was over. Every screen became a trap. Every cut became a war. Tech suffocated Drakeโs perimeter game and controlled the glass. It wasnโt sexy, but it was surgical. A defensive clinic disguised as a basketball game.
(1) Auburn 85, (9) Creighton 70
Auburn is peaking at the right time. This was less about Creighton failing and more about Auburn suffocating them with size, spacing, and energy. The Tigers punished every switch, owned the paint, and doubled off weak shooters without getting burned. You could feel Creighton running out of ideas by the 10-minute mark of the second half. Auburnโs backcourt ran the show โ poised, efficient, lethal.
(3) Wisconsin 78, (6) BYU 71
This was classic Wisconsin โ calculated pace, sharp execution, and patience when BYU surged. Chucky Hepburn and Tyler Wahl made timely plays, but it was Wisconsinโs ability to flatten BYUโs drive-and-kick game that told the story. They closed out with discipline and kept shooters out of rhythm. BYU kept it close, but you never felt like Wisconsin lost control. They donโt beat themselves โ and they didnโt today.
(1) Houston 81, (8) Gonzaga 76
This one was a war. Gonzaga matched Houstonโs intensity โ for most of it. But in the end, L.J. Cryer took over. A career-high 30 points and a series of tough, contested jumpers down the stretch. Houston’s defense was relentless โ hands in passing lanes, rotations on a string. Mark Fewโs squad ran their stuff, but every bucket was earned. Houston outlasted them with depth, grit, and cold-blooded execution. Gonzagaโs Sweet 16 streak ends โ and you could feel it slipping as Cryer hit that final dagger.
(2) Tennessee 79, (7) UCLA 74
This felt like a Final Four-level game tucked into the second round. UCLA pushed tempo and played through their wings, but Tennesseeโs interior presence and mid-range dominance carried them. Zakai Zeigler was the heartbeat โ controlling pace, hitting clutch jumpers, and turning UCLAโs guards into reactive defenders. The Volsโ physicality wore UCLA down in the final five minutes. It was tough, smart basketball. And it was enough.
Joseph Angel | Chief NCAA Tournament Analyst for TheNSR Network
