It’s the final step toward the NCAA tournament, and four men’s and four women’s teams are set to play their way into March Madness on Wednesday night.
The action began Tuesday, as No. 16 Alabama State and No. 11 North Carolina advanced to the first round of the tournament. Wednesday night, eight teams are in action, with No. 16 seeds Mount St. Mary’s and American, and No. 11 seeds Xavier and Texas battling it out on the men’s side, and No. 11 seeds Iowa State and Princeton, and No. 16 seeds UC San Diego and Southern going head to head on the women’s side.
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How to watch the women’s First Four
Follow along below with Yahoo Sports for all the First Four live updates, highlights, reaction and more.
Live63 updates
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 8:09 PM PDT
FINAL: Southern 68, UC San Diego 56
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 8:08 PM PDT
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 8:04 PM PDT
Women’s First Four: Sumayah Sugapong makes costly turnover
Sumayah Sugapong stepped out of bounds driving the baseline and making a pass to Sabrina Ma for a 3-pointer. That was a costly turnover with UC San Diego having an opportunity to cut Southern’s lead to six or five.
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 8:04 PM PDT
Men’s Final Four: This game is tied
Xavier reels off an 8-1 run and this game is tied after a Jerome Hunter 3-pointer. This place is rocking.
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 8:00 PM PDT
Women’s First Four: Sabrina Ma’s 3 cuts Southern’s lead to 62-54
UC San Diego isn’t finished just yet. Sabrina Ma nailed a 3-pointer after a timeout, cutting Southern’s lead to 62-54 with 1:12 remaining.
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 7:58 PM PDT
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 7:56 PM PDT
Men’s Final Four: Texas’ Kadin Shedrick down after low blow
Texas starter Kadin Schredick takes a leg to a sensitive area. Play is stopped and officials review for a flagrant foul, but the contact is ruled incidental. Play on.
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 7:49 PM PDT
Women’s First Four: UC San Diego down by 9 with less than 5 minutes remaining.
Kayanna Spriggs gets a layup to cut the Southern lead to 57-48 as a TV timeout is taken with 4:26 remaining. If UC San Diego is going to make a run at this, it’s probably time to do it.
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 7:48 PM PDT
Men’s First Four: More foul trouble for Xavier
Musketeers leading scorer Zach Freemantle just picked up his third foul with 12:45 left, with his team down by seven. He’s subbing out.
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 7:44 PM PDT
Women’s First Four: UC San Diego hitting 3s
Just as Southern boosted its lead back up to 13 points, Parker Montgomery sinks a 3 to keep UC San Diego in the game.
Sumayah Sugapong follows that up with another 3-pointer on the Tritons’ next possession.
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 7:41 PM PDT
Men’s First Four: Texas punches back
And now a 7-1 run for the Longhorns to push their lead back to double-digits.
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 7:38 PM PDT
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 7:38 PM PDT
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 7:36 PM PDT
Men’s First Four: Xavier opens second half on a run
The Musketeers have the de facto home crowd back in it after outscoring the Longhorns 7-3 in the first three minutes of the second half.
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 7:36 PM PDT
Women’s First Four: Southern leads UC San Diego 49-40 after 3rd quarter
UC San Diego scored the last seven points of the third quarter to cut Southern’s lead to seven points. Sumayah Sugapong scored 10 points in the frame for the Tritons.
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 7:32 PM PDT
Men’s First Four: Xavier-Texas back in action
Xavier begins the second half with a turnover and we are again underway.
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 7:30 PM PDT
Women’s First Four: Southern ends UC San Diego’s 8-0 run
Southern appears to have regained control of the game, scoring five points to stop UC San Diego’s 8-0 run. Soniyah Reed was fouled shooting a 3 and made all three free throws. Aniya Gourdine followed with a basket to put the Jaguars back up by 16.
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 7:18 PM PDT
Women’s First Four: UC San Diego making a run
UC San Diego is off to a 13-4 start to begin the second half, fueled by two consecutive 3-pointers by Sumayah Sugapong. She’s scored the Tritons’ last eight points, while Parker Montgomery added five.
Southern coach Carlos Funchess calls timeout at the 5:54 mark.
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 7:13 PM PDT
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Wed, March 19, 2025 at 7:11 PM PDT
HALFTIME: Texas 47, Xavier 39
Tramon Mark hits a jumper at the buzzer to finish the half for Texas on a strong note. Xavier made it a bit more interesting late but has plenty of ground to make up. Mark leads all scorers with 11 points and Tre Johnson has 10.
