NCAA madness under way
Tournament starts with scare for top seed Virginia
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — No. 1 seed Virginia rallied from 14 points down Friday to beat No. 16 seed Gardner-Webb 71-56, averting another first-round exit as a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Cavaliers trailed 30-16 with 6:42 left in the first half of the South Region opener but rallied and cut the Runnin’ Bulldogs (23-12) lead to six at halftime.
Virginia (30-3) then opened the second half with a 25-5 run to put to rest any thoughts of an upset. The Cavaliers used their trademark stifling defense to force 11 Gardner-Webb turnovers in the first 12 minutes after the break.
De’Andre Hunter led the Cavaliers with 23 points and Mamadi Diakite added 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting and nine rebounds.
Jose Perez scored 19 points for Gardner-Webb, which was playing in its first NCAA Tournament.
Last year the Cavaliers were the top seed in the tournament and lost by 20 to No. 16 seed Maryland Baltimore County.
Continued from page B1 TENNESSEE 77, COLGATE 70
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Admiral Schofield had 19 points and No. 2 seed Tennessee held off a second-half rally by No. 15 seed Colgate in the opening round.
Jordan Bone added 16 and Jordan Bowden 14 for Tennessee (305).
The Raiders (24-11) erased most of Tennessee’s 42-30 halftime lead with an 11-2 run, tied the score midway through the second half, and kept the game close after that.
Schofield hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Tennessee a cushion with 45 seconds left.
Jordan Burns had 32 points for Colgate, which played much of the game without leading scorer Rapolas Ivanauskas because of eye problems.
BUFFALO 91, ARIZONA ST.74
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Jeremy Harris and Nick Perkins each scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds to help lead No. 6 seed Buffalo past No. 11 Arizona State in the West Region.
CJ Massinburg had 18 points and six rebounds for Buffalo (323), which won its 13th straight game.
Zylan Cheatham scored 22 points and had eight rebounds before fouling out with 2:06 remaining for Arizona State (23-11). Romello White and Luguentz Dort each added 12 points.
Arizona State trailed 44-31 at halftime and pulled within nine early in the second half before Buffalo’s 7-0 run pushed its lead to 16 with 16:13 remaining. The Bulls’ advantage never fell below 14 the rest of the way.
UC IRVINE 70, KANSAS STATE 64
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — UC Irvine got back-to-back 3-pointers from Evan Leonard to spark the deciding run in an upset over Kansas State, the Anteaters’ first NCAA Tournament victory in school history.
Leonard and Max Hazzard each scored 19 points to send UC Irvine (31-5) into the second round of the South Region.
One year after making a run to the Elite Eight, the fourth-seeded Wildcats (25-9) had a short stay in the tournament as they struggled to decipher the Anteaters zone defense and missed star forward Dean Wade, who was sidelined by a foot injury.
Kamau Stokes led Kansas State with 18 points.
TEXAS TECH 72, NORTH
ERN KENTUCKY 57 TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Jarrett Culver had 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to help No. 3 seed Texas Tech shake off a slow start against No. 14 seed Northern Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Tariq Owens scored 12 points and Davide Moretti had 10 for Texas Tech (27-6).
Northern Kentucky (26-9) got 23 points from Tyler Sharpe and 11 from Dantez Walton while giving the Red Raiders everything they could handle in the West Region. OKLAHOMA 95, MISSISSIPPI 72 COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Rashard Odomes and Christian James scored 20 points apiece, Kristian Doolittle had 19 points and matched a career-high with 15 rebounds and No. 9 seed Oklahoma blitzed Mississippi with a season high in points in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Sooners (20-13) scored on eight of their first nine possessions for a 12-0 lead and led by 17 at halftime.
The Rebels (20-13) had looked like a tired team for more than a month, and eight days off didn’t appear to help. Terrence Davis led Ole Miss with 17 points.
IOWA 79, CINCINNATI 72 COLUMBUS, Ohio ( AP) — Luka Garza scored 20 points, Jordan Bohannon made a three-point play during Iowa’s closing surge as the 10th-seeded Hawkeyes rallied past No. 7 seed Cincinnati in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Hawkeyes (23-11) got their first NCAA Tournament win in four years despite what amounted to a home crowd for the Bearcats, who couldn’t overcome a subpar game by Jarron Cumberland. He was 3 of 9 from beyond the arc and finished with 18 points.
Point guard Justin Jenifer scored a career-high 19 points for Cincinnati (28-7), which hasn’t made it past the opening weekend for seven straight years.
OREGON 72, WISCONSIN 54
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored 19 points, Kenny Wooten protected the rim with four blocks and 12th-seeded Oregon extended its surprising March run by beating No. 5 seed Wisconsin 72-54 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Ducks (24-12) won four games in four days to win the Pac12 tournament last week just to make the NCAAs then followed it with an impressive victory over a higher-seeded opponent. Oregon advanced to play No. 13 seed UC Irvine (31-5) on Sunday in the second round of the South Region.
Louis King added 17 points, Paul White scored all 14 points of his points in the second half and Wooten had nine points, six rebounds and the tone-setting blocks to give the Ducks their ninth straight win.
Ethan Happ and Khalil Iverson each scored 14 points to lead the Badgers (23-11).