Gonzaga rocks Jayhawks to advance
SALT LAKE CITY — And to think, some folks said they might not even make it to the NCAA tournament.
The Gonzaga men’s basketball team laughed that off as easily as the Bulldogs swatted away the exhausted Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday, rolling 89-68 in a second-round matchup to return to the Sweet 16 for the nationleading ninth straight time.
Led by Anton Watson’s 21 points, Gonzaga (27-7) — the Midwest Region’s No. 5 seed — was nearly as good over the second half of this game as it has been over the second half of the season. The Bulldogs scored 15 straight points early in the half to turn this one into a runaway on an afternoon when basically everyone in a navy jersey was a star.
They improved to 16-2 since Jan. 18, with the only two losses coming to Saint Mary’s, the team that beat Gonzaga for the West Coast Conference title but was eliminated from the NCAA bracket in the first round Friday night.
“Late December, it was looking like maybe it wasn’t going to happen,” said coach Mark Few, his hair still damp from the dousing he received in the locker room after Saturday’s win. “But I’ll give credit. These guys stayed coachable. We figured it out.”
Once Few dries off, he and the Bulldogs, who are in their 25th straight NCAA tournament, will load up for their routine trip to the second weekend of March Madness to play the winner of Sunday’s game between No. 1 seed Purdue (30-4) and No 8 seed Utah State (28-6).
Gonzaga made its first five 3-pointers of the second half, not missing from long range until 1:30 remained and the game had long entered extended garbage time. The Bulldogs shot 60% from the floor and 53% from 3-point range. Ben Gregg still managed to stand out as he went 6-for-6 and finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Big man Graham Ike also had 15 and nine, going toe to toe with Hunter Dickinson, who finished with a quiet 15 points for fourthseeded Kansas (23-11).
Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard blew off a rough shooting night (1-for-6) and finished with 12 assists to become the program’s career leader in that category.
Kansas was gassed, facing an early start after an emotional, close victory over Samford late Thursday night.
The tired legs played into a painfully familiar scene for the Jayhawks, who have struggled with depth, shooting, consistency and injuries this year. Their leading scorer this season, Kevin McCullar Jr., was out for the tournament with a knee injury.
During Gonzaga’s 15-0 run, the Jayhawks missed 10 straight shots. The Bulldogs eventually extended the run to 32-4, and Kansas shot 2-for-23 during that stretch.
SOUTH REGION › N.C. State 79, Oakland 73 (OT)
PITTSBURGH — D.J. Burns Jr. scored 24 points, including a go-ahead putback that ignited a 9-0 run in overtime, and 11thseeded North Carolina State beat 14th-seeded Oakland to keep a magical March going for the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament champion.
Powered by their versatile 6-foot-9, 275-pound forward, the Wolfpack (24-14) advanced to the NCAA’s Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015 by finally pulling away from 3-point specialist Jack Gohlke and the Golden Grizzlies (24-12) in the extra period.
N.C. State will next face either second-seeded Marquette (26-9) or 10th-seeded Colorado (26-10), with those teams meeting in a second-round game Sunday.
Michael O’Connell had 12 points for the Wolfpack, D.J. Horne and Casey Morsell added 11 apiece, and Jayden Taylor came off the bench in overtime to hit a 3-pointer that put N.C. State ahead by five.
Oakland, which ousted thirdseeded Kentucky on Thursday, just missed becoming the first No. 14 seed to reach the Sweet 16 since the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1997.
WEST REGION › North Carolina 86, Michigan State 69
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — R.J. Davis scored 20 points to help North Carolina beat Michigan State, pushing the Tar Heels (29-7) into the Sweet 16 while keeping them unbeaten in March Madness against Spartans coach Tom Izzo, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Harrison Ingram made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points for the West Region’s top seed, which continued its NCAA success in its home state. North Carolina ran off 17 straight points during a 23-3 run over the last eight minutes of the first half to erase a 12-point deficit, then continued answering every push by the ninth-seeded Spartans (20-15) after halftime.
The Tar Heels improved to 5-0 in the tournament against Izzo, including victories in the 2005 Final Four and 2009 title game. And now they move on to the regional semifinals in Los Angeles, where they will face either 12th-seeded Grand Canyon (30-4) or No. 4 seed Alabama (22-11), with those teams playing a second-round game Sunday.
North Carolina also got a strong showing inside from Armando Bacot (18 points), who got into the paint to score, draw fouls or kick out against oncoming double teams. Ingram was on the receiving end of some of those, shooting 5-for-7 on 3-pointers to go with seven rebounds.
Tyson Walker scored 24 points for the Spartans.
› Arizona 78, Dayton 68 SALT LAKE CITY — Caleb Love scored 19 points and second-seeded Arizona reached the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons, beating No. 7 seed Dayton in the second round.
The Wildcats (27-8), who also reached a regional semifinal in 2022 in coach Tommy Lloyd’s first season, will face either the West Region’s No. 6 seed, Clemson (22-11), or third-seeded Baylor (24-10). Those teams play Sunday in the second round.
Keshad Johnson and Pelle Larsson each had 13 points and seven rebounds for Arizona. Larsson also had six assists, and Jaden Bradley scored 12 points off the bench. The Wildcats shot 53% from the field and made eight 3-pointers.
DaRon Holmes II had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Flyers (25-8), who were denied what would have been their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2014. Koby Brea added 14 points and Kobe Elvis scored 13 for Dayton, which trailed by 17 points in the first half but stayed within striking distance nearly to the end.
EAST REGION › Iowa State 67, Washington State 56
OMAHA, Neb. — Tamin Lipsey scored 15 points, Iowa State cranked up the secondhalf pressure against Washington State, and the second-seeded Cyclones (29-7) marched into their seventh Sweet 16 with a victory over the seventh-seeded Cougars (25-10).
Curtis Jones added 14 points, and Keshon Gilbert and Milan Momcilovic had 10 apiece for the Cyclones, who made it to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years. They will play Illinois in the East Region semifinals on Thursday night in Boston.
Jaylen Wells scored 20 points and Myles Rice had 13 for the Cougars, who were sent back to the Palouse still searching for their first Sweet 16 appearance since Tony Bennett was on the sideline as their coach back in 2008.
› Illinois 89, Duquesne 63
OMAHA, Neb. — Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 30 points, Marcus Domask added 22, and No. 3 seed Illinois (28-8) made fast work of 11th-seeded Duquesne (25-12) to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005.
Illinois hadn’t made it through the first weekend of the NCAA tourney in eight previous appearances, a maddening run of frustration the Fighting Illini ended in resounding fashion.
Duquesne, which came in on a nine-game winning streak, had its first tournament appearance since 1977 end with its worst loss of the season that sent 65-yearold coach Keith Dambrot into retirement.
Jimmy Clark III scored 14 points and Fousseyni Drame had 13 for Duquesne.
The Dukes, who had scored fewer than 70 points in 21 of their previous 36 games, had said they would have to slow down an Illinois team averaging better than 84 per game to have a chance.
The Illini led 50-26 at halftime and by 32 points midway through the second half.
Dambrot ends his career with a 529-305 record in 26 seasons, including 441-269 at Division I schools Duquesne, Central Michigan and Akron.