Men's NCAA Tournament 2025: Saturday's Round 2 Winners and Losers

After an opening slate loaded with chalky results, the second round tipped off Saturday and started to bring the upsets.

Purdue bounced McNeese, but Arkansas and Michigan took out favored St. John's and Texas A&M, respectively. Those two results have set the stage for an exciting night around March Madness.

The remainder of the slate included a pair of No. 1 seeds in action, along with a clash between high-octane offenses in BYU and Wisconsin.

This piece will be updated during Saturday's action.

Winner: Trey Kaufman-Renn

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Not only did Purdue avoid a letdown opposite No. 13 Yale—one of the more popular upset picks—the Boilermakers rolled No. 12 McNeese.

As a team, they held a double-digit lead on McNeese for the last 33 minutes of the 76-62 victory. Purdue simply controlled the whole game.

In particular, though, Trey Kaufman-Renn did.

The junior forward scored or assisted on four of Purdue's first five buckets to spark the Boilers' hot start in their 76-62 victory. He put up 22 points, 15 rebounds and three assists, notching the first 20-15 stat line of his career.

Kaufman-Renn's production will be absolutely vital to Purdue's level of success in the Sweet 16 and potentially beyond.

Loser: Long-Range Shots in Providence

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Johnell Davis

We will discuss the result in a moment, don't worry about that.

But, whew, my friends, the perimeter was incredibly unkind to both Arkansas and St. John's in this second-round matchup. Both sides of the court apparently had an umbrella covering the rim.

Arkansas managed a 2-of-19 mark on the perimeter, and St. John's connected only two of its 22 three-point attempts.

In short: Yikes.

Fortunately for Arkansas, one team had to win. But it certainly was not a great showing from beyond the arc in Rhode Island.

Winner: Arkansas' Defense

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Billy Richmond III

In the opening round, all 16 top-four seeds advanced. However, it didn't take long on Saturday for the first departure.

Arkansas leaned on a tremendous effort from its defense to outlast St. John's, which shot a horrendous 21-of-75 on the afternoon.

Sure, the St. John's offense had struggled this season. As much as that was clearly the Red Storm's weaker unit, though, this contest was a credit to the Razorbacks. They contested just about everything all game.

If that brand of defense shows up again—particularly on the perimeter—Arkansas will be a thorn for Texas Tech.

Loser: Texas A&M's Late Slide

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Just before the 13-minute mark of the second half, Texas A&M held a 60-50 lead on Michigan. Even at the under-8 timeout, it was 70-66 in A&M's favor.

From that point on, however, the Aggies' offense disappeared.

Michigan rattled off nine straight points, then followed two A&M free throws with six more to take a commanding 85-72 advantage.

By that point, it was highly unlikely the Aggies—who entered 331st in three-point percentage—were facing an insurmountable deficit. They misfired on six straight threes down the stretch as Michigan pulled away to a 91-79 win.

Texas A&M's biggest weakness flared at the worst moment.

Winner: Auburn's Second Half

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Entering the break, Creighton owned a 37-35 edge thanks to a sizzling 9-of-14 clip from long distance.

On one hand, that was merely a reflection of Creighton's known offensive upside. On the other, you could say Auburn trailing by just two points despite that three-point efficiency was a promising sign for the Tigers.

And, in fact, it was.

Chad Baker-Mazara keyed the surge for Auburn with 12 points in the first seven minutes of the second half. As the shots stopped falling for Creighton, the top-seeded Tigers separated and sustained a double-digit lead on their way to a very respectable 82-70 win against a good Big East team.

Auburn is now headed to its first Sweet 16 since 2019, ending a three-tourney streak of falling in the first or second round.

Loser: Wisconsin's Bench

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John Tonje poured in 37 points. John Blackwell added 21, and two more Wisconsin starters hit double figures.

But the bench—well, it had a horrible night.

Carter Gilmore mustered three points at the bitter end, providing the only scoring from the Badgers' reserve group. Kamari McGee and Xavier Amos otherwise each missed the three shots they attempted.

To make matters worse, Wisconsin's bench technical led to a pair of BYU free throws and a layup. While that alone did not cost the Badgers the game, the four-point swing obviously mattered in a 91-89 result.

Wisconsin's string of NCAA tournament losses—five straight exits in the first or second round—continued in another frustrating way.

Winner: Houston. Just Houston.

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Gonzaga was a No. 8 seed, yes.

Gonzaga was also not a typical No. 8 seed.

Boasting the second-most points per game in the country, the Zags entered the tilt against Houston aiming for a 10th straight trip to the Sweet 16. In a "down" season, Gonzaga won the West Coast Conference tournament.

Houston clawed its way to an 81-76 victory as veteran guard LJ Cryer matched his career high with 30 points. Led by Joseph Tugler and J'Wan Roberts, the Coogs pulled down 13 offensive rebounds to Gonzaga's five—which turned into 20 second-chance points for UH and only six for the Zags.

Houston survived. Houston advanced. And in such a difficult second-round matchup, that's really the most important takeaway.