NASHVILLE, Tenn. >> Miles Kelly made seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points, All-American Johni Broome added 14 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 1 seed Auburn beat 16th-seeded Alabama State 83-63 on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Coach Bruce Pearl’s Tigers (29-5) lasted one game in 2024, losing to Yale days after winning the Southeastern Conference Tournament. This time, Auburn came in having lost three of four inside the power-packed SEC with a resume still strong enough to earn the top overall seed among the four No. 1 teams.

Auburn will play No. 9 seed Creighton, an 89-75 winner over eighth-seeded Louisville, in the second round of the South Region on Saturday for a trip to the Sweet 16 in Atlanta.

Alabama State, whose lone lead was 3-0, didn’t make it easy in the first half. The Hornets fell behind 28-15 but scored the next nine points and pulled within 32-31 on a layup by Amarr Knox, the guard whose buzzer-beater gave the Hornets their victory over Saint Francis on Tuesday in the First Four. Knox had a chance to give Alabama State the lead with 1:27 left in the half, but he missed both free throws.

Knox led Alabama State with 18 points. T.J. Madlock added 11.

Houston 78, SIU Edwardsville 40 >> Milos Uzan scored 16 points, L.J. Cryer added 15 and No. 1 seed Houston was able to rest up for the rest of the NCAA Tournament while romping past No. 16 seed SIU Edwardsville in the first round of the Midwest Region.

Ja’Vier Francis added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Big 12 champs, who carry a 14-game winning streak into a second-round matchup with eighth-seeded Gonzaga or No. 9 seed Georgia. Houston (31-4) has won 26 of 27 overall.

Creighton 89, Louisville 75 >> Jamiya Neal scored a career-high 29 points and had 12 rebounds, Steven Ashworth connected from well beyond the arc on the way to 22 points, and ninth-seeded Creighton beat No. 8 seed Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Purdue 75, High Point 63 >> Trey Kaufman-Renn had 21 points and eight rebounds, and fourth-seeded Purdue held off High Point in the first round.

Wisconsin 85, Montana 66 >> Wisconsin grinded its way back into the March Madness win column, getting 19 points from John Blackwell and double-digit scoring from four others on the way to a victory over Montana.

McNeese 69 Clemson 67 >> McNeese coach Will Wade and his boombox-toting manager are moving on in March Madness after the 12th-seeded Cowboys held off late-charging No. 5 seed Clemson in the first bracket buster of the NCAA Tournament.

Byu 80, VCU 71 >> Igor Demin and Richie Saunders led BYU to a victory over VCU, giving first-year Cougars coach Kevin Young a better memory of Ball Arena than his last one.

Gonzaga 89, Georgia 68 >> Khalif Battle scored 24 points, Nolan Hickman had 18 and eighth-seeded Gonzaga routed Georgia.

Tennessee 77, Wofford 62 >> Chaz Lanier scored 29 points on 11-of-22 shooting and No. 2 seed Tennessee never trailed in a victory over Wofford that sent the Volunteers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season.