Texas A&M pulls upset over North Carolina
Reigning national champion North Carolina sputtered to the worst NCAA Tournament loss of Roy Williams’ career on Sunday night, overpowered in its home state by Texas A&M, 86-65.
It’s the second straight year the titleholder has been bounced from March Madness before the Sweet 16.
T.J. Starks scored 21 points and the No. 7 seed Aggies (2212) manhandled the secondseeded Tar Heels. They dominated the glass. They used their size to control the paint and block shots. And they pounced when UNC’s small-ball lineup couldn’t make an outside shot.
“We had a certain togetherness today,” said the 6-foot-10 Tyler Davis, who had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Aggies. “We didn’t have the fastest start, but we were together the whole time.”
Another 6-10 forward, Robert Williams, finished with 13 rebounds, helping the Aggies take a 50-36 edge while shooting 52 per cent - including 10 of 24 from 3-point range.
Joel Berry II scored 21 points in his final game for the second-seeded Tar Heels (2611), who were trying to reach their third straight Final Four. But they ended up falling to 34-2 in NCAA games in their home state, the only other loss coming in 1979.
“It’s the most inadequate feeling I’ve ever felt,” Williams said. “I feel it all the time, last game of the year, but I think I felt it more today than any other time. I’m not ashamed to say I love these kids.”
The Tar Heels shot just 33 per cent, including 6 of 31 (.194) on 3-pointers after entering the game shooting nearly 37 per cent from behind the arc.
It came on the same court where, two nights earlier, UMBC made history by becoming the first 16-seed to beat a 1 when the Retrievers upset top overall seed Virginia. And as with that game, the upstart dispatched the favourite with surprising ease.
Syracuse 55, Michigan State 53
DETROIT - The last team selected for the field of 68 is going to the round of 16.
Tyus Battle had 17 points and Toronto’s Oshae Brissett of scored 15, lifting 11thseeded Syracuse to a 55-53 win over third-seeded Michigan State on Sunday and into the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.
Cassius Winston missed an opportunity to win the game for the Spartans with a shot from about 45 feet just before the buzzer. The Spartans, flummoxed by Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, didn’t make a basket in the last 5:41.
The Orange (23-13) forced the Spartans (30-5) to settle for 3-pointers all afternoon and it worked brilliantly for Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim against Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.
The Spartans took a school record 37 shots beyond the arc, making just eight of them.
Syracuse has won three straight since being sent to Dayton for the First Four as what the selection committee chairman acknowledged was the final team to receive an at-large bid.
Miles Bridges missed a 3 with a chance to tie with 11 seconds left and teammate Joshua Langford missed a putback, but Syracuse turned the ball over with 7.9 seconds left.
The Orange fouled intentionally to avoid giving up a game-tying 3 twice in the closing seconds and the Spartans made two pairs of free throws to pull within a point both times.
Paschal Chukwu connected on one free throw with 2.4 seconds left and the miss gave Michigan State a chance to win in dramatic fashion, but Winston couldn’t make a long shot to be hailed in his hometown.