No. 5 UConn Upset by No. 12 New Mexico State in 1st Round of March Madness

The UConn Huskies became the latest No. 5 seed to fall, suffering a 70-63 upset loss to the No. 12 New Mexico State Aggies in the first round of the men's NCAA tournament on Thursday.

Junior guard Teddy Allen poured in a game-high 37 points to lead the way for the Aggies, who improved to 27-6 this season.

UConn, which finishes the year at 23-10, joins Iowa as the No. 5 seeds to go down on Thursday.

New Mexico State blitzed UConn early, putting together a 17-6 run over the final 6:15 of the first half to take a 32-22 lead heading into halftime. The Aggies led by as many as 14 early in the second half before the Huskies clawed their way back into the game.

UConn managed to tie the game a couple times but never took the lead. The Huskies evened things up for the first time at 52-52, but Clayton Henry answered with a three-pointer. The game was tied again at 58-58 with just over two minutes left, but Allen drilled a triple on the ensuing possession to put New Mexico State in front for good.

Allen carried the Aggies on his back Thursday as no other player on the team scored in double figures. But New Mexico State was boosted by an efficient performance from beyond the arc, shooting 11-of-17 (64.7 percent). Allen was also the only player on the team to get to the free-throw line, shooting a perfect 13-of-13.

R.J. Cole led UConn with 20 points in the loss. Adama Sanogo was the only other player to reach double digits with 10 points. The Huskies struggled with their outside shot, connecting on just 7-of-23 three-point attempts (30.4 percent).