College basketball highlights: Arizona State, Fairleigh Dickinson get blowout wins

Updated Mar 15, 2023 7:36 pm ET

The First Round of the men's 2023 NCAA Basketball Tournament continued on Wednesday night. Fairleigh Dickinson began the night by handling Texas Southern, 84-61, to claim a No. 16 seed. It will now face No. 1 Purdue. 

Later, Arizona State dominated Nevada, 98-73, to claim a No. 11 seed. It will now face No. 6 TCU.

The First Four Round kicked off on Tuesday, as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi won the first battle of the 16 seeds, holding off Southeast Missouri State's late comeback to win 75-71. It'll now take on No. 1 overall seed Alabama in the opening round.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh and Mississippi State traded the lead 21 times before the Panthers held on to win 60-59 in the battle of the 11 seeds. Pittsburgh will now go up against 6-seed Iowa State in the Midwest.

Here are the top moments from Wednesday's action!

[View the full bracket here]

FINAL: Arizona State 98, Nevada 73

Annnd we're off!

Nevada struck first just 15 seconds into the game, as big man Will Baker made a 3-pointer.

ASU starts hot

The Sun Devils hit the ground running on offense, going on a 13-0 run after Nevada's opening bucket. 

A pretty Euro step from Frankie Collins and Warren Washington finding DJ Horne underneath for the open bucket forced a Nevada timeout.

Making it happen

Jamiya Neal and the Sun Devils were feeling it in the first half, exhibited by him creating and draining a step-back 3-pointer.

I'll be taking that

Neal picked off Nevada's Trey Pettigrew's pass and hammered it home on the other end of the floor.

Double denial

Alonzo Gaffney blocked Nick Davidson's dunk attempt and then also denied his shot out of the post. It was that kind of half for Nevada.

Arizona State led 53-26 at halftime.

We resume

Arizona State began the second half the same way Nevada began the first half: hitting a 3-pointer mere seconds into the half. This one came from Horne and extended the Sun Devils' lead to 30 points.

Yes, he made this

The Sun Devils stabilized themselves after a 13-2 run by the Wolf Pack. Furthermore, Arizona State's Desmond Cambridge drained this absurd, behind-the-basket jumper.

Climbing the ladder

Gaffney threw it up, and Devan Cambridge threw it down.

FINAL: Fairleigh Dickinson 84, Texas Southern 61

Fairly quick start

Fairleigh Dickinson made a pair of 3-pointers and four buckets on the whole, getting out to a quick 10-2 lead. Sean Moore's 3-pointer, as shown below, forced a Texas Southern timeout.

Moore scoring

A few minutes after forcing a timeout, Moore converted an and-one for Fairleigh Dickinson.

Getting back in it

Texas Southern got off to a slow start but began to pick up steam before the third TV timeout, as Davon Barnes got a steal, ran the fastbreak and found Joirdon Karl Nicholas for the slam. The bucket cut Fairleigh Dickinson's lead to five points.

Momentum halted

The Knights regained control thanks to an 8-0 run and ended the first half on a 19-6 run, taking a 45-29 lead into the halftime break. Grant Singleton's long ball, shown below, was Fairleigh Dickinson's seventh 3-pointer of the first half. Texas Southern made zero 3-pointers in the first half.

More 3s

Nicholas kept the 3-ball party going for Fairleigh Dickinson on the other side of the halftime break.

Slick bucket

Demetre Roberts made a sharp, step back jumper, pushing the Knights' lead back up to 16.

Still fighting

Texas Southern struggled to manufacture offense and limit Fairleigh Dickinson from behind the arc, but Jordan Gilliam's contested bucket pulled the Knights to within 10.

They can't miss!

Despite Texas Southern's best efforts, Fairleigh Dickinson never let them back in the game, specifically due to the 3-ball. Ansley Almonor's 3-pointer, as shown below, was one of 11 Knights buckets from said distance.

Pittsburgh 60, Mississippi State 59

Opening from downtown

Shakeel Moore made the 3-pointer in rhythm to get things going in the second game of the evening and give Mississippi State the lead to start.

3s everywhere!

Both teams traded some 3-pointers in the early minutes, combining to hit four 3-pointers in less than two minutes. The 3-point barrage gave Mississippi State an early 14-8 lead.

Make the 3 and the foul!

Greg Elliott made the tough 3-pointer and was fouled in the process to give Pitt a five-point lead after trailing early.

Air McNair with the block

Will McNair elevated to stuff Guillermo Diaz Graham's dunk attempt and keep Mississippi State's lead at three.

Taking the lead into the break

Nelly Cummings slipped past the screen to drain the 3-pointer from straight away to give Pitt a one-point lead going into the break.

Lob it up!

Mississippi State perfectly executed its designed play, with Dashawn Davis throwing up the pass for Cameron Matthews at the right time for the alley-oop to give the Bulldogs the lead.

Up-and-under!

Cummings somehow found his way through the bigger defenders to make the tough layup and bring Pitt back within a point of the lead.

Hinson hits it from way beyond!

Blake Hinson decided to launch a 3-pointer from way downtown off the catch-and-shoot. It paid off as his 3-pointer went in to give Pitt a six-point lead. 

Tolu to take the lead!

Tolu Smith drove to the bucket and made the layup to give Mississippi State a one-point lead with 32.9 seconds left.

Burton buckets!

Jamarius Burton drove and stop to take the jumper, which went in with 14 seconds left to give Pitt the lead back. 

Big-time block!

Diaz Graham got his hand on Smith's layup attempt to keep Pitt's one-point lead with just a few seconds remaining.

Tough miss for Mississippi State

Moore got wide open on the out-of-bounds play, but his 3-pointer for the win missed and so did the ensuing putback opportunity for the Bulldogs, giving the Panthers the win as they advance to the next round. 

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 75, Southeast Missouri State 71

March Madness has begun!

The ball's been tipped and arguably the greatest time of the year is here!

A putback to get it started

De'Lazarus Keys got the offensive rebound and made the easy putback to give Texas A&M-Corpus Christi the first bucket of the tournament. 

Big man coming through!

Phillip Russell cut to the rim to receive the dish, allowing him to score an easy slam for Southeast Missouri State.

Islanders on the move

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi got the first big run of the game late in the first half, going on a 9-0 streak to get some separation before the break.

All about the hustle!

Southeast Missouri moved the ball around and got a couple of good looks, but didn't hit its jump shots. However, a pair of offensive rebounds kept the possession alive and Dylan Branson got a putback to make it a 33-27 game before the break.

CC sees its lead expand

The Islanders went on a quick 8-0 run in the middle of the second half to take a 53-43 lead, their largest lead of the game. The Islanders made three consecutive layups as they remained aggressive to expand their lead.

From the logo!

Trevian Tennyson drained the jumper from the logo to hit a key shot for the Islanders as they've struggled from deep in the second half, extending their lead to nine with the shot.

Comeback time?

Chris Harris was on fire in the second half, scoring 17 points in roughly 15 minutes to help Southeast Missouri State make it a one-point game with just under five minutes left.

Tennyson hitting the angles

Tennyson was somehow able to hit the tough layup to extend Texas A&M-CC's lead to three late. 

Holding on for the victory!

With Southeastern Missouri down by three, Russell was able to get a good look up in the final seconds with his step-back jumper. But his game-tying attempt didn't get the bounce he was looking for, allowing Texas A&M-CC to ice the game at the free-throw line and win its first NCAA Tournament game in school history.

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