Thornwell leads way as S.C. upsets Duke
Canadian Notice chips in 17 as No. 2 Blue Devils tie season high with 18 turnovers
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Sindarius Thornwell had 24 points, Chris Silva scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half and seventh-seeded South Carolina stunned No. 2 seed Duke 88-81 on Sunday night to advance to its first Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament’s expanded bracket.
The Gamecocks (24-10) trailed by 10 points early in the second half after one of its coldest shooting stretches of the season to start. But behind Thornwell’s outside shooting and Silva’s dominance underneath, South Carolina rallied to win two NCAA games for the first time in 44 years.
The Gamecocks rushed to their fans when things were over, celebrating one of the biggest wins in program history. Next up is the East Regional at Madison Square Garden where the Gamecocks face third-seeded Baylor, an 82-78 winner over Southern Cal on Sunday.
Duke (28-9) was attempting to reach the round of 16 for the sixth time in eight seasons. But the Blue Devils could not surmount South Carolina’s stifling defence. Leading scorer Luke Kennard had his second straight subpar shooting game, finishing one of six for 11 points before fouling out.
The Blue Devils made five of their eight three-point attempts in the first half, yet only five of 19 after the break. They had tied a season high with 18 turnovers against the relentless Gamecocks attack.
Duane Notice, from Woodbridge, Ont., had 17 points for South Carolina, 14 in the second half. Silva added 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double this season.
Kentucky 65, Wichita State 62
INDIANAPOLIS — Bam Adebayo had a double-double and swatted away the final shot on Sunday as the Kentucky Wildcats won 65-62, sending the Wichita State Shockers to yet another second-round heartbreak in the South region.
Adebayo had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Kentucky (31-5), and De’Aaron Fox had 14 points against Wichita State (31-5), including a late steal and dunk.
Kansas 90, Michigan St. 70
TULSA, Okla. — Josh Jackson scored 14 of his 23 points in the second half to help Kansas pull away late and reach the Sweet 16 for a second straight year with a 90-70 victory over Michigan State on Sunday.
Frank Mason III added 20 points for the top-seeded Jayhawks (30-4), who have advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in nine of coach Bill Self ’s 14 seasons. Devonte’ Graham added 18 points and Landen Lucas had 10 for the Jayhawks, who shot 53.1 per cent (34 of 64) in the win.
Miles Bridges scored 22 points to lead Michigan State (20-15) despite leaving briefly in the first half with an injury. Nick Ward also finished in double figures with 13 points and Joshua Langford had 10 for the Spartans.
Michigan 73, Louisville 69
INDIANAPOLIS — Moe Wagner scored a career-high 26 points and spurred a furious second-half rally to send Michigan past second-seeded Louisville 73-69 on Sunday and into the Sweet 16.
The seventh-seeded Wolverines (26-11) have won seven straight — six since a plane mishap before the Big Ten Tournament. They also earned a ticket to the Midwest Regional in Kansas City, Mo. — their first since 2014.
Oregon 75, Rhode Island 72
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Tyler Dorsey hit a contested go-ahead three-pointer from the top of the arc with 38.4 seconds to play, E.C. Matthews airballed a long three in the waning moments trying to force overtime and third-seeded Oregon rallied in the second half to beat upstart No. 11 Rhode Island (25-10) by a 75-72 score Sunday.
Dorsey also tied the game with a three with 1:45 remaining before Dillon Brooks of Mississauga, Ont., took a charge on the other end for Oregon (31-5). With the season on the brink, Brooks found his stroke and scored 19 points.
North Carolina 72, Arkansas 65
GREENVILLE, S.C. — GREENVILLE, S.C. Kennedy Meeks had 16 points and a huge tip-in with 44.2 seconds left to help North Carolina avoid a huge upset, rallying to beat Arkansas 72-65.
Justin Jackson added 15 points for the Tar Heels (29-7).
UCLA 79, Cincinnati 67
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Lonzo Ball scored 19 points and ignited UCLA’s rally from a poor start with nine assists, lifting the third-seeded Bruins to a 79-67 victory over Cincinnati on Sunday in the South Regional.
Wisconsin 65, Villanova 62
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Top-seeded Villanova was bounced from the NCAA Tournament by eighth-seeded Wisconsin, which overcame foul trouble for two of its stars in the second half Saturday to upset the defending champions 65-62 in the East region.