Kyan Evans made a career-high six 3-pointers and scored 23 points to lead No. 12 seed Colorado State past fifth-seeded Memphis 78-70 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament West Region on Friday in Seattle.

Nique Clifford, the Mountain West Tournament MVP, had his quietest scoring night in a month, finishing with 14 points, eight on free throws. He added eight rebounds and six assists for the Rams (26-9), who extended their winning streak to 11 games and advanced to face Maryland in the second round on Sunday.

This 12-over-5 result was no shocker, with Colorado State a 2 1/2-point favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

Dain Dainja had 22 points and 12 rebounds for Memphis (29-7), ending the season with his third straight double-double.

Maryland 81, Grand Canyon 49: Julian Reese had 18 points and nine rebounds, and fourth-seeded Maryland pounded No. 13 seed Grand Canyon. Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 16 points for the Terrapins (26-8). Tyon Grant-Foster led Grand Canyon (26-8) with 23 points.

Drake 67, Missouri 57: Bennett Stirtz scored 21 points and No. 11 seed Drake (31-3), a team relying heavily on Division II transfers, held on after blowing most of a 15-point lead to beat sixth-seeded Missouri on Thursday night in Wichita, Kan. Caleb Grill had 14 points for Missouri (22-12).

Texas Tech 82, UNC Wilmington 72: Kerwin Walton scored a career-high 27 points and No. 3 seed Texas Tech (26-8) set an NCAA Tournament record with 46 3-point attempts to beat No. 14 seed UNC Wilmington on Thursday night.

St. John’s 83, Omaha 53: Rick Pitino returned to Providence and picked up a March Madness victory with yet another school, coaching St. John’s past Omaha on Thursday and into a second-round matchup with longtime nemesis John Calipari. RJ Luis Jr. had 22 points and eight rebounds for the second-seeded Red Storm.

South region

Mississippi 71, North Carolina 64: Sean Pedulla made a critical 3-pointer with 52.8 seconds left, and Mississippi held off hard-charging North Carolina in Milwaukee after the Rebels squandered most of a 22-point lead in the second half. The Rebels (23-11) are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. They hadn’t won an NCAA tourney game since beating BYU 94-90 in the First Four in 2015.

Iowa State 82, Lipscomb 55: Milan Momcilovic scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half, and third-seeded Iowa State routed Lipscomb in Milwaukee. Curtis Jones had 17 points as Iowa State bounced (25-9) back nicely after dropping four of seven going into the tourney. Jacob Ognacevic, the player of the year in the Atlantic Sun, led Lipscomb with 18 points.

Michigan 68, UC San Diego 65: Vladislav Goldin and Michigan proved a bit too much for UC San Diego when the Russian center scored 14 points Thursday night and the fifth-seeded Wolverines overcame Tyler McGhie’s 25 points to escape in Denver. McGhie’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer with 7-footer Danny Wolf in his face hit the back iron.

Midwest region

UCLA 72, Utah State 47: Skyy Clark and Eric Dailey Jr. each scored 14 points and No. 7 seed UCLA routed 10th-seeded Utah State 72-47 on Thursday night in Lexington, Ky. to reach the second round for the fourth time in five seasons. Mason Falslev scored 17 points and Deyton Albury had 12 for Utah State (26-8).