Houston 63, Northern Kentucky 52 - Box Score
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Top-seeded Houston shook off Northern Kentucky for a 63-52 victory to open the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.

The 16th-seeded Norse trailed by only three at halftime and made it 36-all with under 16 minutes to go against the Cougars (32-3). But Houston (32-3) pulled away behind 16 points from Jarace Walker, advancing to face ninth-seeded Auburn on Saturday.

The Norse’s upset bid went down in a hail of clankers, the Horizon League champions shooting just 27.5% from the field (19 of 69) — including a horrendous 5 of 34 from 3-point range — to ruin any chance of becoming the next UMBC.

The Retrievers remain the only 16th seed in NCAA history to knock off a No. 1 seed, shocking Virginia in 2018.

Auburn knocked off No. 8 seed Iowa 83-75 and will have another de facto home game in the second round, playing just a two-hour drive from its campus.

The Cougars struggled offensively against Northern Kentucky’s matchup zone, which was unlike any defense they had seen this season. Houston led just 30-27 at halftime and finished well under its 75-point average coming into the game.