Oregon State upsets Tennessee
12th-seeded Beavers take advantage of icy shooting by Volunteers
Oregon State played up the underdog role all season and is now the latest No. 12 seed to win an opening-round NCAA Tournament game.
Roman Silva scored 16 points and the Beavers took advantage of Tennessee’s icy perimeter shooting to beat the fifth-seeded Vols 70-56 in the Midwest Region Friday night.
Oregon State (18-12) became the first Pac-10/12 school to win the conference tournament after being picked to finish last. The Beavers are the 51st 12thseed to take down a fifth-seed since the NCAA Tournament bracket expanded in 1985.
The 7-foot-1 Silva bulled his way through the Vols for an 8-for-8 night after struggling in the Pac-12 Tournament. Oregon State hit seven 3s in the second half to win their first NCAA Tournament game since reaching the 1982 Elite Eight.
Oregon State moves on to face Oklahoma State on Sunday.
The Vols (18-9) opened their third straight NCAA Tournament short-handed.
John Fulkerson was out with a facial fracture and concussion
caused by a pair of elbows by Florida’s Omar Payne in the SEC Tournament.
Tennessee could have used the extra shooting help from its fifth-year senior — or anyone, really, as the Vols finished 5for-26 from the arc while shooting 33 percent overall.
Illinois 78, Drexel 49: Kofi Cockburn muscled his way to 18 points and Illinois cruised past 16th-seeded Drexel in the Illini’s first NCAA Tournament game as a No. 1 seed in 16 years. Illinois (23-6) will face eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago in the second round of the Midwest Regional on Sunday. Maybe that will be more of a test for the Big Ten champions. Drexel (12-8) never
really had chance at containing the 7-foot, 285-pound Cockburn, who was 8-for-11 from the field.
Loyola Chicago 71, Georgia Tech 60:
Lucas Williamson scored 21 points in a dynamic performance by the defensive whiz, All-america forward Cameron Krutwig added 10, and eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago beat No. 9 seed Georgia Tech to mark a triumphant return to the NCAA Tournament. The surprise national semifinalist in 2018, the Ramblers (25-4) were relegated to the NIT the following year and missed out on the tournament — along with everyone else — when it was canceled due to COVID-19 last season. They wasted no time getting back to their winning ways, though, and now get No. 1 seed Illinois on Sunday. After trailing 43-40 midway through the second half, Loyola heated up from beyond the arc and clamped down on defense, forcing Georgia Tech (17-9) into a series of missed shots and ugly turnovers.
Oklahoma State 69, Liberty 60:
Cade Cunningham vowed to lead Oklahoma State to a strong run through the NCAA Tournament. The freshman All-american didn’t have an explosive debut, but did just enough to lead the Cowboys to a victory over Liberty. Cunningham scored 15 points — nine straight in the final minutes — to lead No. 4 seed Oklahoma State to its first NCAA Tournament win since 2009. Avery Anderson III led the Cowboys with 21 points.
Houston 87, Cleveland State 56:
Quentin Grimes scored 18 points and Houston coach Kelvin Sampson tied John Wooden on the career victories list as the Cougars beat 15th-seeded Cleveland State. Sampson earned his 664th win, No. 38 all-time, in his first game at Assembly Hall since resigning as Indiana’s coach in February 2008. No. 2-seed Houston has won eight straight and will face 10th-seeded Rutgers in the Midwest Region’s second round on Sunday. It’s unclear if starting guard Dejon Jarreau will be available after he missed all but 41 seconds with what appeared to be a right hip injury.
Rutgers 60, Clemson 56: Geo Baker scored 13 points, including the decisive layup with 10 seconds left, and the 10th-seeded Scarlet Knights toppled No. 7 seed Clemson.
Syracuse 78, San Diego State 62: Buddy Boeheim scored 30 points and Glens Falls graduate Joseph Girard III added 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds as the No. 11 Orange jumped all over the sixthseeded Aztecs.