March Madness live updates, scores: No. 1 Duke takes on No. 9 TCU; Michigan State, Michigan bound for Sweet 16

It’s been a little big sluggish for the Cougars on offense (7 of 22 from the field) but they’re leading anyway thanks to 10 early offensive rebounds.

Houston 17, Texas A&M 13, midway though 1st half

Duke didn’t hit a shot in the last 4:48 of the half but it still leads thanks largely to the free throw line (13 of 14).

We are underway with the South regional matchup between No. 2 Houston and No. 10 Texas A&M!

TCU got two shots and the ball after Cameron Boozer was called for a flagrant 1 for this play. Good call?

Isaiah Evans has 13 points to lead the Blue Devils, who have opened up a 31-23 lead over TCU late in the 1st half.

The Blue Devils are 8 of 14 from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range. TCU is doing its best to keep up, but Duke leads 27-22 at the under-8 stoppage.

The culprit? Six turnovers.

The Duke big man quickly got on the board once he entered the game, though he was only in for a quick 3-minute burst.

TCU leads 15-14 at the under-12 timeout.

Both teams are off to a strong start. Duke and TCU are tied 7-7 at the first media timeout. Patrick Ngongba has entered the game for the first time just 4 minutes in.

Duke is happy to have its big man back as the Blue Devils look to play a lot better than they did against Siena. We’d guess that Ngongba will play 15-20 minutes given that he was using a scooter to walk from the Duke bus to the locker room before the game.

Duke had a surprisingly tough time taking out No. 16 Siena in the first round. Will the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed be more prepared today? Tip-off is just minutes away.

The Cyclones appear likely to be without their starting forward after Jefferson rolled his ankle early in the team’s first-round win on Friday.

Iowa State faces No. 7 Kentucky on Sunday.

More on Jefferson’s status

Fears’ 16-assist game is a new program record for a single NCAA tournament game, passing Magic Johnson’s 14 in 1978, though assists were an unofficial record in those days.

Coen Carr’s 21 points and 10 rebounds leads the way for the Spartans, who led almost wire to wire while keeping the shorthanded Louisville offense at bay. MSU’s Jeremy Fears put up 12 points and 16 assists.

The Spartans advance to the Sweet 16 for the third time in the last four years.

The Spartans appear to be advancing here as they lead 73-62 with 1 minute to play.

Coen Carr is trying to deliver the finishing blow for the Spartans. He’s up to 19 points and 10 rebounds as MSU leads 66-56 with 4:23 to play.

The Spartans lead by the same amount they did at halftime: 5 points. They haven’t been able to pull away despite leading almost the entire game so far. Can Louisville make a late push?

Michigan State 55, Louisville 50 | 7:59 to play

The big man is reportedly playing on a minutes restriction for the Blue Devils later today against TCU.

Here’s more on his status

The 3s are starting to fall and these teams are going back-and-forth now. But the trend of MSU maintaining a small lead continues. Spartans up 54-47 with 10:17 to play.