Beavers feeling elite
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 with a 65-58 victory over eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
Warith Alatishe added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Beavers (20-12), who were picked to finish last in the Pac-12 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 — one that was later vacated by the NCAA — and will play Monday night for a spot in the Beavers’ first Final Four since 1963.
Not even the fervent prayers of Sister Jean could help Loyola (26-4) deal with the constantly changing defenses that Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle rolled out. The Ramblers, who played with such poise and perfection in toppling topseeded Illinois, wound up shooting 33% from the field and 5 of 23 on 3-pointers.
All-America forward Cameron Krutwig led Loyola with 14 points. Lucas Williamson and Braden Norris added 10 apiece, though both of them missed 3s in the closing minutes as Loyola tried to mount a comeback.
Baylor 62, Villanova 51 — Top-seeded Baylor overcame some frigid outside shooting Saturday to move into the Elite Eight, getting 16 points from Adam Flagler in a victory over Villanova and its versatile defense.
The Bears (25-2) came in as the nation’s leading 3-point team, shooting 41.5%, but made only 3 of 19 in this one, unable to find room or get into a comfort zone against fifth-seeded Villanova’s mix of 2-3 zone and man.
Davion Mitchell added 14 points for the Bears.
Baylor, which won its first Big 12 regular-season title, is one win from the Final Four for the first time since 2012. The Bears will play Arkansas in the South regional final.
This game changed midway through the second half when Baylor all but abandoned what is normally its go-to shot — the 3. The Bears took a six-point lead with a 14-2 run during which not a single point came from outside the arc.
The Wildcats (18-7) got 16 points from Jermaine Samuels.
Arkansas 72, Oral Roberts 70 — Davonte Davis hit a short jumper with 2.9 seconds left, and Arkansas beat Oral Roberts to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in 26 years.
The Muss Buss grinded its gears through the first half into the second, bad shots and even worse defense putting third-seeded Arkansas in a 12-point hole against the 15th-seeded Golden Eagles.
Eric Musselman’s Razorbacks (25-6) 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.
The let-it-fly Golden Eagles (18-11) let history slip through their grasp. Max Abmas did his best, scoring 25 points. His 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the front of the rim.
Women
UConn 92, Iowa 72 — Christyn Williams scored 27 points and Paige Bueckers added 18 to lead No. 1 UConn to a 92-72 win over fifthseeded Iowa on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the women’s
NCAA Tournament.
The game featured a matchup of two extremely talented freshmen in Bueckers and Iowa’s Caitlyn Clark. The friends had taken the women’s basketball world by storm this season.
Bueckers became the third freshman to earn All-America honors. Clark led the nation in scoring and came into the regional semifinals averaging 29 points in the tournament.
They didn’t disappoint. Bueckers also had nine rebounds and eight assists for UConn, which raised its record to 27-1. She had a lot more help from her teammates as Evina Westbrook just missed the 18th tripledouble in NCAA women’s tournament history, with 17 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists. Aliyyah Edwards added 18 points.
Clark, shadowed on defense by Williams on almost every possession, finished with 21 points — below her nearly 27-point a game average. She was just 7-for-21 from the field.
UConn, which was playing in its 27th straight Sweet 16, faces Baylor — which beat Michigan 78-75 in overtime — on Monday night in the River Walk regional final.