March Madness: Arizona State routs Nevada to advance into stacked NCAA West

Arizona State piled on 53 first-half points on their way to a 98-73 rout of Nevada to secure their passage into the stacked West Regional of the NCAA tournament.

Sun Devils guard D.J. Horne top scored with 20 points, shooting four-of-five from three-point range, while Desmond Cambridge Jr added 17 points with six assists on Wednesday.

Arizona shot at 63.6 per cent from the field in an outstanding offensive display, winning their No.1 First Four round game to set up a first-round clash with No.6 seed NCU on Friday.

The Sun Devils finished with the highest points total in a First Four game, with head coach Bobby Hurley calling it a "complete performance".

"You want to be playing this way at this time of year," Hurley said. "That’s what it’s all about.

"I truly believe that our schedule and the games we’ve been in, especially late in the season, prepares you for these types of games and it was across the board, just everyone contributed. Our defense was outstanding in the first half."

NCAA Tournament Wins Hit Different #ForksUp /// #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/3cRopCa7Ht

— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) March 16, 2023

Fairleigh Dickinson triumphed 84-61 over Texas Southern in their First Four round game, with the No.16 progressing to face East Regional No.1 seed Purdue.

Forward Ansley Almonor scored a game-high 23 points on five-of-eight three-point shooting with eight rebounds for the Knights.

John Walker III was impressive for the Tigers with 22 points on nine-of-17 shooting from the field, with four rebounds.

FINAL | ???'? ???? ??? ?????! The Knights are still dancing and will face #1 Purdue on Friday in the First Round of the NCAA tournament!#reigKNIGHTed | @MarchMadnessMBB pic.twitter.com/KssxKt0Gft

— FDU Men's Basketball (@FDUKnightsMBB) March 16, 2023