The Elite Eight is starting to shape up, with the first four entrants — Alabama, Florida, Duke and Texas Tech — punching their tickets on Thursday night.
After the intensity of the NCAA Tournament started to ramp up throughout the second round, the first two games of the second weekend provided far less intrigue by comparison. The later slate turned the heat back up, though, with both contests being within five points with under 10 seconds to play — and with the nightcap providing the first overtime game of the tournament.
Three-point records were shattered. Two teams hit the 100-point mark. Another reeled off the second-biggest comeback in Sweet 16 history. We had overtime in March.
What started with two relative blowouts turned into one of the better nights of the tournament.
With both the East and West regions in action Thursday, we begin our rundown in Newark, where the Crimson Tide had a record-setting night from beyond the arc.
More Heat Check CBB:
Alabama 113, BYU 88
If you’re going to open the Sweet 16 with a 25-point drubbing, you might as well do it in style.
Alabama, the East No. 2 seed, flattened No. 6 BYU with a constant 3-point barrage, firing off 51 attempts and knocking down a frankly ridiculous 25 of them. Both marks are new NCAA Tournament records. The Crimson Tide’s 113 points were the most in a tournament game since 2008 (North Carolina).
The Tide taking — and making — more 3-pointers than any other March Madness team could be equally described as a fever dream and a best-case scenario for Nate Oats, whose hyperfocus on efficiency is well documented. (They were 10-of-15 on 2-pointers for good measure.)
Star guard Mark Sears led the attack, knocking down 10 of his 16 threes and recording game highs with 34 points and eight assists. Backup Aden Holloway had 23, including six 3-pointers of his own. Chris Youngblood added another five to account for most of his 19 points. Freshmen Labaron Philon and Aidan Sherrell combined to go 4-for-5 from deep, with the 6-10 Sherrell making both of his attempts.
Alabama is damn near impossible to beat when Sears is shooting like this
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) March 27, 2025
It was an embarrassment of riches for fans of the long ball, and it was simply too much for the Cougars to match. Richie Saunders went out on his shield with 25 points and four steals for the Cougars; however, unfortunately for the Provo faithful, Egor Demin and Trevin Knell shot a combined 3-for-17 on 3-pointers as part of BYU’s 20% night from distance.
But even without the shooting woes, BYU was always going to struggle against this version of Alabama. When the Tide are playing fast and free like this, it’s going to be tough for anyone to keep up with them. —Andy Dieckhoff
Florida 87, Maryland 71
Few teams looked more impressive down the stretch of the season than Florida. The Gators won 12 of their final 13 games with an average margin of victory of 14.8 points. In the best league in the country, they made blowouts look routine. Their effort on the offensive glass, breakneck pace and deep rotation wore down on opponents, culminating with their first No. 1 seed since 2014.
Thus, Florida’s shaky first half against Maryland was confounding — even more so after its second-round win against UConn, where it looked out of sorts for most of the contest. For the first 20 minutes against the Terps, it was much of the same. The Gators coughed up the ball 13 times, leading to 12 Maryland points as they clung to a two-point lead at the intermission. (For context, they’ve turned the ball over more than 13 times in an entire game just six times this season.)
Nevertheless, Florida returned to form, opening the second half on a 15-6 run. Veteran guard Alijah Martin continued his stellar March, chipping in 11 of his 14 points after the break.
ALIJAH MARTIN ARE YOU SERIOUS??? @stopscammin101 pic.twitter.com/UyTchC0adH
— InAllKindsOfWeather.com (@AllKindsWeather) March 28, 2025
But the biggest storyline for Florida might be the health of star big man Alex Condon. The Aussie reaggravated an ankle injury that held him out of three games in February, which limited him to just 15 minutes. The good news for the Gators is that sophomore Thomas Haugh can fill in capably. On offense, he has good touch around the basket and can replicate some of Condon’s passing from the top of the key and the high post. But the loss of Condon’s defensive presence could spell trouble for the Gators. —Riley Davis
Duke 100, Arizona 93
With 13 minutes remaining in the second half, this game appeared to be yet another Duke blowout. Pat Ngongba’s hook shot put the Blue Devils up 19 — a microcosm of the evening and, truthfully, the season. Duke, once more, was rolling, as it received contributions from its entire rotation and played its usual brand of stifling defense.
However, Caleb Love and Arizona wouldn’t go out quietly. Soon after the Ngongba bucket, the polarizing super senior poured in 15 straight points (35 for the game) to position the Cats within striking distance. The scoring run harkened memories of Love’s 2022 tournament as a member of North Carolina, where unconscious nights against UCLA and Duke propelled the Tar Heels to the championship game.
Behind Love’s hot shooting, Arizona trimmed the deficit to five with just under two minutes remaining. But ultimately, Cooper Flagg’s heroics proved too much to overcome (30 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three blocks).
Duke's Cooper Flagg becomes the first player to ever record 30+ points, 7+ assists, and 3+ blocks in an NCAA Tournament game.
— Lukas Harkins (@hardwiredsports) March 28, 2025
It is the first 25p/5r/5a/3b game in the Big Dance since Dwyane Wade in the 2003 Elite Eight. pic.twitter.com/TCiIPZqJyQ
The freshman sensation had his way against the Wildcat defense all night. A buzzer beater punctuated his 18th point in the first stanza, while he turned facilitator after the break. A steady diet of pick-and-roll lobs to Khaman Maluach spurred the Blue Devils to a 9-for-9 start to the second half. And while Arizona put real pressure on them late, Flagg and Kon Knueppel’s free throws down the stretch squashed any comeback hopes. —Riley Davis
Texas Tech 85, Arkansas 83 (OT)
After trailing by as many as 16 points, Texas Tech looked like it was on its way out of the tournament at the hands of John Calipari’s 10th-seeded Arkansas team. Then, Red Raider junior Darrion Williams capped off a 16-3 run with a late game-tying 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.
The fun didn’t stop there. Arkansas and Texas Tech traded haymakers for the first four and half minutes before crunch time truly kicked in. After DJ Wagner tied it for the Hogs with an acrobatic layup with 34.6 seconds left, Williams got the late call once again — and once again, Williams delivered. He twisted into the lane and hit the go-ahead bucket, and Wagner was unable to answer on the other end for Arkansas.
DARRION WILLIAMS WINS IT FOR TEXAS TECH!
— Heat Check CBB (@HeatCheckCBB) March 28, 2025
The Red Raiders pull off a 16-point comeback! pic.twitter.com/pdKzvkw36T
It was the second-largest comeback in Sweet 16 history, and it put Texas Tech into the Elite Eight to face Florida. The Red Raiders ought to arrive at Saturday’s West region final with incredible confidence after pulling off one of the most improbable wins that March has ever seen, in addition to some other developments in the early game.
As noted above, Florida struggled in the first half against Maryland, and Alex Condon picked up an ankle tweak. Expect another big workload for Texas Tech’s JT Toppin, who is averaging 19.0 points on 69% shooting to go with 10.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks through three games in the NCAA Tournament. The 6-9 sophomore had 20 points, nine boards and five swats against Arkansas, and he made some big buckets down the stretch. A big night from Toppin — irrespective of Condon’s health — is probably a prerequisite if Texas Tech is going to knock off the West’s No. 1 in San Francisco. —Andy Dieckhoff