2023 NCAA Tournament, First Four scores: Arizona State routs Nevada, will face TCU in first round

Live coverage of the First Four action as teams battle for entry into the first round of the NCAA Tournament

Arizona State began its NCAA Tournament run with a statement victory on Wednesday night in the First Four as the Sun Devils throttled Nevada 98-73 in a battle of No. 11 seeds. With the win, the Sun Devils advance to play No. 6 seed TCU on Friday in the first round of the Big Dance. 

ASU jumped out to a 53-26 halftime lead behind a stunning 67.7% shooting mark. The Sun Devils committed just one turnover in the first half and only allowed two 2-pointers against a Nevada squad that was outscored 24-4 in the paint before the break. The Wolf Pack rallied to salvage some dignity in the second half but couldn't overcome the massive halftime deficit.

The other First Four game on Wednesday also ended up as a blowout with Fairleigh Dickinson throttled Texas Southern 84-61. The No. 16 seed Knights got 23 points from Ansley Almonor and hit 27 of 31 free throws against the cold-shooting Tigers. Texas Southern made just of 1 of 17 attempts from 3-point range while FDU made 11 of 27. With the win FDU advances to play No. 1 seed Purdue on Friday.

On Tuesday, as the March Madness festivities got underway, No. 16 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and No. 11 seed Pitt played their way into the main bracket with wins in the first slate of First Four games. The Islanders and Panthers defeated Southeast Missouri State and Mississippi State, respectively, in close-shave wins.

The No. 16 seeded Islanders came to the First Four last year but were sent home before advancing. They took advantage of their opportunity this year by defeating the Redhawks 75-71 in a near wire-to-wire win to notch their first NCAA Tournament win in school history. 

No. 11 seed Pitt survived a back-and-forth affair with the Bulldogs in a 60-59 win in a game that featured numerous lead changes, nine ties and a tug-of-war down to the end. Pitt's Jamarius Burton made a bucket in the final 10 seconds to seal the win for the Panthers.

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First Four schedule, scores

Wednesday, March 15

• (16) Fairleigh Dickinson 84, (16) Texas Southern 61 -- Recap 
• (11) Arizona State 98, (11) Nevada 73 -- Recap

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Tuesday, March 14

• (16) Texas A&M Corpus-Christi 75, (16) Southeast Missouri State 71 -- Recap
• (11) Pittsburgh 60, (11) Mississippi State 59 -- Recap 

CBS Sports was with you the entire way updating this story with the latest from every First Four game on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

[Mar 15, 2023 at 11:21 pm ET · David Cobb]

Arizona State rolls

Final: Arizona State 98, Nevada 73

The Sun Devils made 11 of 21 attempts from 3-point range as six different players connected on at least one shot from beyond the arc. ASU lead 53-26 at halftime and that was plenty of cushion. It was an impressive performance for the Sun Devils, who shot 67.7% from the floor in the first half and briefly grew the lead to 30 points early in the second half. ASU will play No. 6 seed TCU in the first round on Friday.

[Mar 15, 2023 at 10:55 pm ET · David Cobb]

Nevada hanging in

Arizona State 73, Nevada 53

Nevada has outscored Arizona State 27-20 midway through the second half, but it still trails by 20 because of how horrendous it was defensively in the first half. It would take something remarkable for Nevada at this point. 

[Mar 15, 2023 at 10:08 pm ET · David Cobb]

Beatdown in Dayton

Half: Arizona State 53, Nevada 26

Arizona State is systematically destroying Nevada. Barring some sort of miracle, the Sun Devils will be advancing to play No. 6 seed TCU on Friday. They shot 67.7% from the floor in the first half and limited Nevada to just two makes from inside the arc. ASU committed just one turnover and took a 10-0 edge in points off turnovers.

[Mar 15, 2023 at 9:37 pm ET · David Cobb]

Strong start for ASU

Arizona State 25, Nevada 15

Arizona State starts a blistering 11 of 15 from the field and has an early 6-0 edge in turnovers. Nevada is 5 of 7 from 3-point range, otherwise this thing would be a 20-point edge for ASU. Fast start offensively. Feels like many twists and turns lie ahead in this one.

[Mar 15, 2023 at 9:11 pm ET · David Cobb]

Arizona State vs. Nevada prediction

Arizona State opened as a 2-point favorite, and its margin has ticked down to a single point ahead of Wednesday's tip, but I'm not ready to buy in to the Wolfpack in this spot. They had a great start to the season but slumped to the finish, culminating with three losses in three borderline must-win games as they flirted with the bubble. ASU is a fiesty bunch under Bobby Hurley, who I'll give the slight edge to here. Pick: Arizona State -1 (Kyle Boone)

[Mar 15, 2023 at 8:45 pm ET · David Cobb]

Fairleigh Dickinson advances

Final: Fairleigh Dickinson 84, Texas Southern 61

Fairleigh Dickinson made 11 of 27 attempts from 3-point range and held Texas Southern to just 1 of 17 shooting from beyond the arc. The Knights also made 27 of 31 free-throw attempts. They will play Purdue on Friday, which will be a fun matchup considering that FDU is the nation's smallest team and that Purdue has 7-foot-4 Zach Edey.

[Mar 15, 2023 at 8:34 pm ET · David Cobb]

Coming down the stretch

FDU 71, Texas Southern 53

Zytarious Mortle finally hits Texas Southern's first 3-pointer of the game with 4:54 remaining, but it's going to take a wild finish for Texas Southern to have a shot. FDU is shooting two free throws every time it gets fouled, which has taken some of the teeth out of the Tigers' press. FDU is 27 of 31 from the line thus far.

[Mar 15, 2023 at 8:10 pm ET · David Cobb]

FDU clinging to lead

FDU 54, Texas Southern 40

The scoring has come to a halt in the second half, and Texas Southern is still clinging to a 14-point edge at the u12 timeout. Texas Southern is up to 0 for 12 from beyond the arc, but the Knights are leaving the door open by failing to build the lead. One saving grace for Texas Southern is that it will be at the free-throw line after every FDU foul from here on out. Could become a steady source of offense.

[Mar 15, 2023 at 7:28 pm ET · David Cobb]

FDU dominating

Half: FDU 45, Texas Southern 29

Fairleigh Dickinson made 7 of 15 attempt from 3-point range in the first half as all five starters scored between 7 and 9 points. By contrast, Texas Southern went 0 for 8 from deep. FDU was outscored 26-10 in the paint, but it didn't matter as they just kept raining 3-pointers. The Knights also did a good job of getting to the free-throw line, making 10 of 11 tries vs. just 1 of 2 for Texas Southern.

[Mar 15, 2023 at 7:01 pm ET · David Cobb]

Fairleigh Dickinson up

FDU 20, Texas Southern 15

With 11:35 left in the first half, Fairleigh Dickinson is up 20-15 behind a 4 of 9 start from beyond the arc. Texas Southern is putting its size advantage to use, though, and leads 7-2 in second-chance points. Contrast in styles on display. Don't be surprised if Texas Southern makes major adjustments coming out of the u12 media timeout now that the nerves have settled.

[Mar 15, 2023 at 6:34 pm ET · David Cobb]

Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Texas Southern

We are just minutes away from tip in tonight's first First Four game in Dayton, Ohio. The winner will take on Purdue. If Fairleigh Dickinson advances, the smallest team in the nation will be taking on 7-foot-4 Zach Edey. Here's the low-down on how one of the tiniest teams of the modern era turned things around from a 4-win season to make the Big Dance.

[Mar 15, 2023 at 12:04 am ET · Marcus Nelson]

Final: Pitt 60, Mississippi State 59

[Mar 14, 2023 at 11:17 pm ET · Kyle Boone]

At the under-8 media timeout, Mississippi State leads Pitt, 50-49. There's been 16 total lead changes and both teams have gone cold in the second half. MSU 0-for-3 from 3 in the second half; Pitt 0-for-1. Both teams finding success within the arc and attacking. 

[Mar 14, 2023 at 11:08 pm ET · Kyle Boone]

First game of the night came down to a free throw shooting contest. 

Second game on pace to be exactly that, too. Not a pretty one.

[Mar 14, 2023 at 10:57 pm ET · Kyle Boone]

Lot of back and forthing in this second half. Sixteen total lead changes as Mississippi State and Pitt are tied in the 11 vs. 11 game of the First Four.

[Mar 14, 2023 at 8:45 pm ET · Kyle Boone]

Texas A&M-CC has been in control all game -- and leading for all but 23 seconds -- but SEMO has tied this game at 64 with 3:03 remaining in regulation.

Buckle up!

[Mar 14, 2023 at 8:20 pm ET · Kyle Boone]

Big second half so far for Ross Williams of A&M-CC. He has eight of his 13 in the second to go with an assist and a rebound. Leading the Islanders today in scoring. 

[Mar 14, 2023 at 8:19 pm ET · Kyle Boone]

This has been a fun second half. SEMO keeping things at arm's reach despite leading for only a fleeting moment in the second half. It's been within a few possessions for almost the entire second half, but Texas A&M-CC still holding narrow lead for now.

[Mar 14, 2023 at 7:47 pm ET · Kyle Boone]

HALFTIME: Texas A&M-CC 33, SEMO 27

We're at halftime of the first game of this year's First Four in Dayton, Ohio, where Texas A&M-CC has a six-point lead going into the second half. A&M-CC led for more than 18 of the first 20 minutes of action but SEMO kept things tight and cut it to two possessions before the buzzer. Big first half for SEMO's Adam Larson, who had nine points. A&M-CC's Isaac Mushila leading the team with nine points of his own. 

[Mar 14, 2023 at 6:44 pm ET · Kyle Boone]

The ball is tipped.

Texas A&M-CC is on the board first to open up the NCAA Tournament. It's a 2-0 advantage to kick off this year's March Madness. 

Meanwhile, SEMO has missed three free throws to open the game. 

[Mar 14, 2023 at 5:32 pm ET · Kyle Boone]

Welcome to the NCAA Tournament

Good evening everyone and WELCOME to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. This year's March Madness officially begins in earnest this evening with First Four action from Dayton, Ohio, as No. 16 seed SE Missouri State takes on No. 16 seed Texas A&M-CC -- with the winner advancing to face No. 1 seed Alabama in Round 1 in the South Region.

Here's how our experts are picking the opening game this evening straight up and against the spread.

Tip off is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET on truTV.