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 on Friday.

“Whatever Kyan was feeling tonight, I just want to feel that one time,” Colorado State coach Niko Medved said.

Nique Clifford, the Mountain West Tournament MVP, had his quietest scoring night in a month, finishing with 14 points, eight on free throws. But he added eight rebounds and six assists for the Rams (26-9), who extended their winning streak to 11 games and advanced to the second round of the tournament for the first time since 2013. Colorado State will face either Maryland or Grand Canyon on Sunday.

This 12-over-5 result was no shocker, with Colorado State a 2 1/2-point favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Coach Penny Hardaway’s Tigers (29-7) were not at full strength, with veteran guard and third-leading scorer Tyrese Hunter sidelined by a left foot injury.

Dain Dainja had 22 points and 12 rebounds for Memphis, ending the season with his third straight double-double. PJ Haggerty, the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, finished with 18 points, as did Colby Rogers.

“It’s not how we wanted it to end,” Hardaway said. “We had an opportunity to do some special things, and just couldn’t get it done.”

Jalen Lake pitched in with 14 points for Colorado State and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson scored 12.

The Rams took control to start the second half. Seven players scored in the first eight minutes as Colorado State turned a five-point deficit into a six-point lead.

“Just when I don’t think this group can give us more, they find another gear, and guys step up,” Medved said.

Clifford, who made just two field goals in the first 27 minutes, hit a turnaround jumper with 13:38 left to give the Rams a 52-50 advantage. The next time down the court, he found Bowen Born for an open layup to make it 54-50. The Tigers did not get within one possession the rest of the day.

“Maybe not my best shooting night, but I was just trying to find ways to do other things to impact the game when I’m not shooting well,” Clifford said.

iowa state 82, lipscomb 55 >> Milan Momcilovic scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half, and third-seeded Iowa State routed Lipscomb.

Curtis Jones had 17 points as Iowa State bounced back nicely after dropping four of seven going into the tourney. Joshua Jefferson finished with 10 points and eight assists.

Next up for the Cyclones (25-9) in the South Region is the winner of Mississippi versus North Carolina.

Momcilovic, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Pewaukee, Wisconsin, made four 3-pointers and grabbed five rebounds.

Jacob Ognacevic, the player of the year in the Atlantic Sun, led Lipscomb with 18 points. Gyasi Powell added 11.

Healthy again after being sidelined with a hand injury earlier in the season, Momcilovic took over in the first half. He scored 12 points in a 14-0 run that helped the Cyclones race to a 40-24 halftime lead.

Iowa State’s size advantage bothered Lipscomb for much of the afternoon. It was the lowest scoring game of the season for the 14th-seeded Bisons (25-10).

Duke 93, Mount St. Mary’s 49 >> Tyrese Proctor had 19 points and freshman star Cooper Flagg returned from an ankle injury as No. 1 seed Duke beat Mount St. Mary’s.

Flagg had 14 points and seven boards for the Blue Devils (32-3), the East bracket headliner opening a push for a sixth national title roughly a half-hour’s drive from its Durham campus.

The 18-year-old Flagg — a top NBA prospect and unanimous Associated Press first-team All-American — missed the last two games of Duke’s run to the ACC Tournament title after rolling his left ankle in the quarterfinals against Georgia Tech. He looked comfortable in this one, including when he finished an and-1 drive that left him on his back in the opening flurry and later when he cut backdoor to take Patrick Ngongba’s feed and dunk it home.

Arlandus Keyes scored 15 points for the 16th-seeded Mountaineers (23-13), the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champs who beat American in Wednesday’s First Four.

ALABAMA 90, ROBERT MORRIS 81 >> All-America guard Mark Sears scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half and second-seeded Alabama pulled away late to escape 15th-seeded Robert Morris.

The Colonials gave the Crimson Tide (27-8) all they could handle and even took their first lead at 65-64 on a layup by Josh Omojafo to bring the Rocket Arena crowd to its feet.

Robert Morris (26-9) came in as a 22-1/2 point underdog, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, yet spent most of the afternoon threatening to author the first true bracket-buster of the tournament after a relatively quiet opening day on Thursday.

Amarion Dickerson led the Colonials with 25 points.

baylor 75, mississippi state 72 >> Robert Wright scored 19 points, V.J. Edgecombe added 16 and No. 9 Baylor squeaked past No. 8 Mississippi State.

Langston Love added 15 points and Norchad Omier had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Bears (20-14), who led by 11 points in the second half but had to hold off the Bulldogs in the final seconds — and even tenths of seconds.

Josh Hubbard had 26 points to lead the Bulldogs (21-13), who were seeking their first March Madness victory since 2008.

mississippi 71, north carolina 64 >> Sean Pedulla made a critical 3-pointer with 52.8 seconds left, and Mississippi topped North Carolina after the Rebels squandered most of a 22-point lead in the second half.

Ole Miss (23-11), the No. 6 seed in the South Region are making their first tournament appearance since 2019 and will now chase its first Sweet 16 berth since 2001.

RJ Davis finished with 15 points to lead North Carolina (23-14).

arizona 93, akron 65 >> Jaden Bradley, Trey Townsend and Caleb Love hit 3-pointers within the first two minutes, and No. 4 seed Arizona easily dismissed 13th-seeded Akron.

Bradley finished with 19 points, Townsend had 16 points and Carter Bryant scored 12 for the Wildcats (23-12), who reached the second round of March Madness for the third time in coach Tommy Lloyd’s four seasons.

Arizona shot 12 of 25 from 3-point range and threw down nine dunks. The Wildcats will face either Oregon or Liberty in the East Region on Sunday.

Tavari Johnson and Nate Johnson each scored 13 points for the Zips (28-7).

maryland 81, Grand Canyon 49 >> Julian Reese had 18 points and nine rebounds, and fourth-seeded Maryland pounded No. 13 seed Grand Canyon.

Led by a hardworking group of starters nicknamed the “Crab Five,” the Terps overwhelmed the Lopes. Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 16 points for the Terrapins (26-8).

Tyon Grant-Foster led Grand Canyon (26-8) with 23 points.

florida 95, norfolk state 69 >> First-team All-American Walter Clayton Jr. scored 23 points and Florida defeated Norfolk State, ensuring all four No. 1 seeds made it out of the first round.

Alijah Martin added 17 points for the Gators (31-4), who built a 32-point lead in the first half en route to their seventh straight win.

Christian Ings scored 16 points to pace 16th-seeded Norfolk State (24-11).

kentucky 76, troy 57 >> Otega Oweh scored 20 points, Andrew Carr had 13 as third-seeded Kentucky beat Troy.

Oweh added eight assists and six rebounds, and Amari Williams grabbed 13 boards for Kentucky (23-11).

Myles Rigsby scored 14 points for the Trojans (23-11), champions of the Sun Belt Conference.

new mexico 75, Marquette 66 >> Donovan Dent scored 21 points and No. 10 seed New Mexico took control late in the second half to defeat seventh-seeded Marquette.

Richard Pitino joined his father in the second round after New Mexico (27-7) snapped a four-game NCAA Tournament losing streak and won its first game since 2012.

David Joplin led Marquette (23-11) with 28 points.