With Selection Sunday just days away, the Madness is nearly upon us. Men’s college basketball conference tournaments are now in full swing and most of the nation’s top teams will be in action on Thursday.
The day started with a scary moment in Duke’s ACC opener against Georgia Tech. Projected No. 1 NBA Draft pick Cooper Flagg sprained his ankle and needed to be helped off the court just before halftime. The Blue Devils held on for a nervy win, but coach Jon Scheyer was noncommittal on Flagg’s status moving forward.
Later on Thursday, two-time defending national champion UConn returns to Madison Square Garden to try to remind everybody why the Huskies are so dangerous in March.
This week may just be a prelude to the Big Dance, but there’s a crush of worthwhile action to tune in for in the power conferences and beyond. (Scroll for live updates.)
Thursday’s best games:
ACC
No. 1 Duke 78, No. 8 Georgia Tech 70
No. 5 UNC 68, No. 4 Wake Forest 59
Big 12
No. 4 BYU 96, No. 5 Iowa State 92
No. 2 Texas Tech vs. No. 7 Baylor, 7 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN2
No. 3 Arizona vs. No. 6 Kansas, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN2
SEC
No. 8 Ole Miss 83, No. 9 Arkansas 80
No. 5 Texas A&M vs. No. 13 Texas, 3:30 p.m. | SEC Network
No. 6 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Oklahoma, 9:30 p.m. | SEC Network
Big East
No. 5 Marquette 89, No. 4 Xavier 87
No. 3 UConn vs. No. 6 Villanova, 9:30 p.m. | FS1
Big Ten
No. 8 Oregon 72, No. 9 Indiana 59
No. 5 Wisconsin 70, No. 13 Northwestern 63
Best of the rest
Boise State vs. San Diego State, 5:30 p.m. ET | CBSS
UNLV at Utah State, 11:30 p.m. ET | CBSS
Live36 updates
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 5:17 PM EDT
Texas fighting for its tourney life
The Longhorns likely need a win to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive. Texas A&M would love to knock its rival out of the field. High stakes SEC tournament action getting tense.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 5:01 PM EDT
Final: UNC 68, Wake Forest 59
North Carolina is also a bubble team, but it helped its case massively with a win here combined with Xavier’s loss earlier. Next up for the Tar Heels? A date with No. 1 Duke in the ACC semifinals tomorrow.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 4:59 PM EDT
UNC feeling good
The Tar Heels are in good shape late in their ACC quarterfinal matchup with Wake Forest, thanks to a big game from RJ Davis.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 4:57 PM EDT
Meaningless buzzer-beater results in painful bad beat
If you had Marquette to cover the 2.5-point spread, we’re sorry 😢
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 4:43 PM EDT
Final: Marquette 89, Xavier 87
Marquette holds off Xavier in the Big East quarterfinals. It’s a costly loss for Xavier, which is squarely on the bubble. Did the Musketeers just cost themselves an NCAA tourney trip?
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 4:26 PM EDT
Marquette-Xavier setting up for wild finish
It’s been close the whole way through. Marquette has the upper hand going into the under-4 timeout.
Xavier is a bubble team that desperately needs a win here. Buckle up.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 4:05 PM EDT
From DEEP to beat the halftime buzzer
New Mexico’s Donovan Dent banked it in from 30 feet at the first-half buzzer in Mountain West tourney action vs. San Jose State.
No. 1 seed Lobos lead 32-23 at the break.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 3:35 PM EDT
Coach Cal, Arkansas ousted from SEC tourney
The Hogs fought valiantly to get back into their second-round game against the Rebels, but they ultimately came up short after two missed free throws in the waning seconds and then the 3-pointer by Pedulla.
Coach Cal’s team will have a nervous few days as the Hogs are firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 3:30 PM EDT
Ole Miss buzzer-beater buries Arkansas!
The Rebels got a rebound on a missed free throw with 7.9 seconds left in a tie game and guard Sean Pedulla drilled the game-winning 3:
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 2:51 PM EDT
Cooper Flagg injury update
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said Flagg suffered an ankle sprain and that X-rays were negative. He did not say when Flagg would play again, only that they will determine his status going forward after they see how bad the swelling gets in his foot.
More on Flagg’s injury right here
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 2:43 PM EDT
Final: BYU 96, Iowa State 92
The Cougars’ torrid run continues. That’s their ninth consecutive win and advances them to the Big 12 semifinals, where they’ll play the winner of Colorado vs. Houston.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 2:32 PM EDT
BYU-Iowa State heating up
Meanwhile, we have a shootout between Iowa State and BYU. The Cyclones are projected to be a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament while the Cougars are likely looking at a No. 5 seed.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 2:28 PM EDT
Rick Pitino, St. John’s nab easy win
The Red Storm are as hot as any team in the country as we near March Madness. They’ve only lost one game in 2025 and rolled right through Butler in their Big East tournament opener.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 2:21 PM EDT
Duke’s narrow win costs bettors
Per John Ewing of BetMGM, Duke was the most-bet team on Thursday as a 23.5-point favorite. The Blue Devils won by eight after Cooper Flagg’s first-half injury.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 2:09 PM EDT
Final: Duke 78, Georgia Tech 70
The Blue Devils got more than they bargained for in their ACC tournament opener, but they survived and will face the winner of Wake Forest-North Carolina on Friday.
The bigger question is the severity of Cooper Flagg’s ankle injury and how long he’ll be out.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 1:54 PM EDT
Scoreboard update
As Duke-GT winds down, here’s a look at other notable live games ongoing:
St. John’s 74, Butler 51
Oregon 61, Indiana 54
Iowa State 68, BYU 61
Ole Miss 42, Arkansas 34
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 1:48 PM EDT
Duke’s lead hits double digits
The Blue Devils are firing on all cylinders now. After an alley-oop from Kon Knueppel to Khaman Maluach, Isaiah Evans drilled a 3-pointer to push Duke’s lead to double digits.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 1:39 PM EDT
Duke in control under 10-minute mark
The Yellow Jackets stopped the bleeding and are still hanging in there after Duke’s blitz out of the break.
The Blue Devils are shooting the ball much better in the second half after missing their first 13 3-point attempts and going 36.7% from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 1:13 PM EDT
Duke surges out of the halftime break
Meanwhile, in on-court action, the Blue Devils scored the first 12 points out of the locker room and have taken the lead early in the second half. Kon Knueppel and Sion James hit 3s as Duke is finally finding the mark from deep.
That’s one way to respond after losing your star player.
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