The chaos of March Madness continues on Friday with another full slate of first-round games.
Duke freshman sensation Cooper Flagg is cleared to play and make his NCAA tournament debut after missing a couple of games with an ankle injury. And two-time defending champion UConn is also in action as a No. 8 seed facing No. 9 Oklahoma.
But of course, we’re always on the lookout for an unexpected upset.
Here’s how Friday’s schedule will unfold (all times Eastern, scroll for live updates):
Friday’s schedule of games, how to watch
No. 9 Baylor 75, No. 8 Mississippi State 72
No. 2 Alabama 90, No. 15 Robert Morris 81
No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 14 Lipscomb (TNT)
No. 5 Memphis vs. No. 12 Colorado State (TBS)
2:50 p.m.: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s (CBS)
3:15 p.m.: No. 7 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt (TruTV)
4:05 p.m.: No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 North Carolina (TNT)
4:35 p.m.: No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Grand Canyon (TBS)
6:50 p.m.: No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Norfolk State (TNT)
7:10 p.m.: No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Troy (CBS)
7:25 p.m.: No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 New Mexico (TBS)
7:35 p.m.: No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 13 Akron (TruTV)
9:25 p.m.: No. 8 UConn vs. No. 9 Oklahoma (TNT)
9:45 p.m.: No. 6 Illinois vs. No. 11 Xavier (CBS)
10 p.m.: No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Bryant (TBS)
10:10 p.m.: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 Liberty (TruTV)
Follow along below for live reaction, highlights and more from Yahoo Sports:
Live47 updates
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 12:01 PM PDT
Final: Alabama 90, Robert Morris 81
Well, it was anything but comfortable for a No. 2 seed’s opening round game. Robert Morris gave the Tide a real scare and led at a few points in the second half before Alabama pulled away for a win.
Senior guard Mark Sears led the way for Alabama with 22 points and 10 assists, but it was Grant Nelson who provided the spark off the bench when the Tide needed it most. He was forced into action when things got dicey in the second half and came through with some clutch late plays.
Alabama advances to play the winner of St. Mary’s and Vanderbilt.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:54 AM PDT
Memphis takes a 36-31 lead into the half
The Tigers finished strong after a slow start and are up 5 at halftime.
Dain Dainja leads all players with 15 points and 3 blocks. Colby Rogers is right behind him on Memphis with 12 first-half points.
The Tigers are outrebounding CSU 22-12 and outshooting the Rams from the field 50% to 37.9%.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:52 AM PDT
Iowa State rolling in 2nd half
The Cyclones are comfortable and having some fun now. Cade Kelderman just pulled up from well beyond the 3-point line to bury a triple and give Iowa State a big lead on Lipscomb.
They’re now up 25 with 13 minutes left in the game.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:49 AM PDT
Bama up double digits
Barring a miraculous late rally, the dream is over for Robert Morris. The Tide have found some momentum with Mark Sears and Grant Nelson leading the way in the second half and it’s a 12-point game with under 2 minutes left.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:43 AM PDT
Mississippi State may have some regrets
When Mississippi State looks back at its 75-72 first-round loss to Baylor, the Bulldogs are going to rue that someone besides Josh Hubbard attempted the potential game-tying 3-point shot.
Hubbard is Mississippi State’s leading scorer and best 3-point shooter this season. He led the Bulldogs with 26 points on Friday. And yet down 3 in the final seconds, it was Claudell Harris Jr. who took a dribble handoff and let it fly from the left wing.
Harris missed … badly. Now Mississippi State may be left with some regrets.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:41 AM PDT
Alabama takes 9-point lead
When things got difficult for the Crimson Tide, they turned to veteran guard Mark Sears and mustachioed big man Grant Nelson. They’ve both delivered. Nate Oats had hoped to rest Nelson after he tweaked his knee in the SEC tournament, but he’s been forced into action today with how the game has played out.
The Tide are up 9 points with just under 3 minutes left in the game.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:39 AM PDT
CSU Rams not going away against Memphis
Despite Memphis coming back from an early deficit, Colorado State keeps finding answers to keep the game close.
The Rams are down 31-28 with under 4 minutes to play in the first half, despite being outshot from the field 54.2% to 44%. CSU does have the advantage from distance with a 41.7% to 28.6% edge from 3-point range.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:37 AM PDT
Final: Baylor 75, MSU 72
The Bears hold on for the win after a furious rally by the Bulldogs in the final minutes of the game comes up just short.
Robert Wright led the Bears with 19 points, but four different players had 12 or more. Josh Hubbard led MSU with 26 points in the losing effort.
The Bears advance and will likely play No. 1 Duke in the second round on Sunday.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:27 AM PDT
Robert Morris takes lead!
The Colonials have taken the lead for the first time all game! We have a good one coming down the wire in the East region.
Game is on TruTV.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:25 AM PDT
Robert Morris down 1!
The Colonials are within a single point with less than 8 minutes left in the game
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:25 AM PDT
Colorado State pulls to an early lead, but Memphis claws right back
We’ve got a close game brewing between No. 5 Memphis and No. 12 Colorado State. Early in the first half, the Rams pulled to a six-point lead over the Tigers.
But Memphis is coming right back, with some rebounds and defensive plays giving the Tigers a chance to make this an even game. With a little over ten minutes left in the first half, the two teams are trading leads. Will one team pull away before halftime?
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:23 AM PDT
Memphis turns it around after a slow start
After falling behind 15-9, the Tigers have clawed back to take a 16-15 lead with Dain Dainja helping keep the Rams at bay.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:21 AM PDT
Alabama turns to Grant Nelson
It’s telling that Alabama is turning to Grant Nelson for the first time today here. Nate Oats had hoped to rest Nelson after he tweaked his knee in the SEC tournament, but there’s no tomorrow to rest the standout forward for if the Tide can’t escape Robert Morris.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:17 AM PDT
Baylor-MSU finish inbound!
The Bulldogs have cut it to a one-possession game with less than 2 minutes remaining. That game is on CBS.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:14 AM PDT
Halftime: Iowa State 40, Lipscomb 24
Iowa State outscored Lipscomb 25-8 after the Bisons led 16-15. The Cyclones are 18-of-30 from the field while Lipscomb is shooting just 9-of-25 and have seven turnovers.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:14 AM PDT
Robert Morris hanging with Alabama
We’re nearing the midway point in the second half and the Colonials are still staying within striking distance. It’s a 4-point game with 11 minutes left.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:11 AM PDT
Baylor up 7 with 4 minutes left
The Bears are hanging on to their cushion as the game creeps into the final minutes. Four different Baylor players are in double digits now.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:08 AM PDT
Memphis-CSU is underway
Penny Hardaway’s Tigers are actually underdogs in their 5-12 matchup with Colorado State. They’re missing star guard Tyrese Hunter in this one.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:06 AM PDT
Milan Momcilovic already has 17 points for Iowa State
Lipscomb has no answer for Milan Momcilovic. He’s 7-of-9 from the field as Iowa State has jumped out to a 37-21 lead with 2:44 to go before halftime.
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Fri, March 21, 2025 at 11:04 AM PDT
A Baylor-Duke second-round matchup would be intriguing
A potential Baylor-Duke second-round matchup would produce a few intriguing storylines.
That would pit Jeremy Roach against his former team. Roach was a four-year starter at Duke but transferred last offseason in hopes of returning to his natural point guard position.
That would also pit Baylor freshman Rob Wright against former high school teammate Cooper Flagg. They were two of the stars of the Montverde Academy team that went undefeated last year and won the high school national title.
Then there’s the NBA component. Flagg is the presumptive No. 1 overall pick. Balor’s VJ Edgecombe might be the second-best draft prospect in this NCAA tournament.
