Arkansas ekes past ORU

No. 12 Oregon State KOs Loyola-Chicago

INDIANAPOLIS — Davonte Davis hit a short jumper with 2.9 seconds left as Arkansas advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in 26 years with a 72-70 win over Oral Roberts in the South Region semifinals Saturday night.

Early on, bad shots and even worse defense put Arkansas in a 12-point hole against the 15thseeded Golden Eagles.

Eric Musselman’s Razorbacks (25-6) then got their swagger back, turning defensive stops into early offense opportunities and offensive rebounds into points.

It came down to one final shot and Davis made it, sending Arkansas to the Elite Eight for the first time since the Nolan Richardson “40 Minutes of Hell” days.

Next up for the Razorbacks is top-seeded Baylor.

The let-it-fly Golden Eagles (1811) let history slip through their grasp.

Within reach of becoming the first No. 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight, Oral Roberts stumbled with a series of turnovers and missed shots.

Midwest OREGON STATE 65, LOYOLA CHICAGO 58:

Also in Indianapolis, Ethan Thompson scored 20 points, including a pair of clinching foul shots with 35 seconds left, and No. 12 seed Oregon State kept its dream March going, beating eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago.

Warith Alatishe added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Beavers (20-12), who were picked to finish last in the Pac12 but ran roughshod through the conference tournament and have kept on winning on college basketball’s biggest stage.

They’re headed for their first Elite Eight since 1982.

Not even the fervent prayers of Sister Jean could help Loyola (26-4) deal with the constantly changing defenses OSU coach Wayne Tinkle rolled out. The Ramblers wound up shooting 33% from the field.

HOUSTON 62, SYRACUSE 46:

In Indianapolis, Quentin Grimes scored 14 points while Houston’s defense locked down on surging Buddy Boeheim, helping the Cougars beat Syracuse in the other Midwest regional semifinal.

Justin Gorham had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the secondseeded Cougars, who pushed through to their first trip to a regional final in 37 years, earning a matchup with Oregon State for a spot in the Final Four.

Houston (27-3) came in holding opponents to a nationallow 37.3% shooting, and then harassed Syracuse (18-10) into just 28% (14 for 50).

NIT semifinals

In Frisco, Texas, Landers Nolley II scored a career-high 27 points with seven of Memphis’ season-high 14 made 3-pointers, and the Tigers advanced to their first NIT championship game since winning the title in 2002 with a 90-67 win over Colorado State on Saturday.

Nolley scored 24 of his points after halftime, after Lester Quinones made three 3s in a 22-2 run in the first half that put the Tigers (19-8) ahead to stay. CSU is 20-7.

■ In the second semifinal, Iverson Molinar scored 25 points and D.J. Stewart Jr. had 23, with the guards combining for nine 3-pointers, as Mississippi State (18-14) led throughout to beat Louisiana Tech (23-8) by 84-62 and reach its first NIT championship game.

Note

UTAH: Craig Smith, who quickly turned Utah State into one of the nation’s best midmajor programs, was hired Saturday as Utah’s basketball coach.

The Utes said Smith will replace Larry Krystkowiak, who was fired this month.

Smith led the the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament twice in three years. Utah State won the Mountain West Conference tournament title in 2020, but didn’t get a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic.

USU won the MWC tournament again this season and won 20 games before losing 65-53 to Texas Tech in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.