No. 13 Yale stuns 4th-seeded Auburn for 2nd win in NCAA tournament history

John Poulakidas scored 28 points, Samson Aletan made a key block during a wild scramble in the final seconds, and 13th-seeded Yale rallied in the final five minutes to take down No. 4 seed Auburn 78-76 in the first round of the NCAA men’s tournament on Friday in Spokane, Wash.

For the second straight year, the Ivy League Tournament champion took down one of the pre-tournament favorites — busting plenty of March Madness brackets once again.

Last year it was Princeton toppling Arizona. This time, it was Yale’s turn.

The Bulldogs (23-9) won an NCAA Tournament game for just the second time in school history, rallying from a 10-point deficit midway through the second half. After the final seconds ticked off, the players celebrated on the scorer’s table in front of their fans.

Yale will face No. 5 seed San Diego State in the second round on Sunday. For the second straight year, a No. 13 seed will try to take down San Diego State in the second round. Last year Furman fell short in its attempt to knock off the Aztecs.

Colorado takes down Florida

KJ Simpson capped a wild second half with a baseline jumper that hit the rim five times before rattling in with one second left to lead No. 10 Colorado to a dramatic 102-100 win over No. 7 Florida.

Walter Clayton Jr. scored a game-high 33 points and hit the backboard on a desperation miss at the final buzzer as Florida (24-12) ended its season in heartbreak after erasing a 13-point deficit in the final 4:28. Montreal’s Tyrese Samuel scored 11 points while collecting six rebounds and five assists in the loss.

The two teams combined for 112 points in the second half and combined to shoot 17-of-35 from three-point range on the day.

UConn steamrolls Stetson

Donovan Clingan scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half for top-seeded UConn, which began the defence of its national championship with a wire-to-wire 91-52 win over No. 16 Stetson in an East Regional first-round game.

Cam Spencer had 15 points, including 13 in the first half, for UConn (32-3), which will oppose No. 9 Northwestern in a second-round game Sunday. The Wildcats beat Florida Atlantic 77-65 in overtime earlier in the day.

“We really don’t think about what happened last year,” Clingan said. “We’re really just trying to achieve a new goal this year with this team.”

Stephon Castle (14 points), Tristen Newton (13 points, eight assists) and Alex Karaban (12 points) all scored in double figures for the Huskies, whose win was the second-most lopsided NCAA Tournament win in school history behind a 103-47 victory over Chattanooga in a first-round game in 2009.

WATCH l Canadian NCAA athletes blocked from big endorsement deals:

Canadian NCAA athletes blocked from big endorsement deals

Unlike their American counterparts, Canadian NCAA athletes — including basketball star Zach Edey — aren’t allowed to make money off of their name, image and likeness in the United States because of visa restrictions. That means they’re missing out on some potentially big paycheques.

LeDee powers San Diego State past UAB

Jaedon LeDee recorded 32 points and eight rebounds to lead San Diego State to a 69-65 victory over UAB in East Region first-round play Friday at Spokane, Wash.

Efrem “Butta” Johnson made five three-pointers and scored 19 points for the 12th-seeded Blazers (23-12). However, Johnson missed a tying three-point attempt with eight seconds remaining before Reese Waters split two free throws with 3.5 seconds left to seal it for San Diego State.

Eric Gaines added 14 points and Yaxel Lendeborg had 11 points and seven rebounds before fouling out for UAB.

Clemson rolls past New Mexico

New Mexico’s brilliant four-game, four-day run to the Mountain West tournament title last week didn’t transfer to its first-round game in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament.

Sixth-seeded Clemson got a game-high 21 points from Chase Hunter on Friday and led by as many as 23 points in the second half of a 77-56 rout of the 11th-seeded Lobos.

First-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference pick PJ Hall scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half as the Tigers (22-11) advanced to a second-round matchup Sunday against third-seeded Baylor, which brushed off No. 14 Colgate 92-67.

Iah Schieffelin added 16 points and 12 rebounds as Clemson punished New Mexico in the paint, outscoring it there 38-28.

Jaelen House scored 12 points for the Lobos (26-10) before fouling out with 6:27 remaining in the game. Nelly Joseph worked hard inside for 14 points and 12 rebounds but New Mexico never found any sort of rhythm, connecting on just 29.7 percent of its field-goal attempts and going 3 of 23 on three-pointers.