Kansas, Duke open with easy victories
Loyola of Chicago upsets 6th-seeded Miami on 3-point field goal at buzzer
Devonte Graham ignited sluggish Kansas midway through the first half, pouring in 29 points and lifting the top-seeded Jayhawks to a tough, grind-it-out 76-60 victory over No. 16 Pennsylvania in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
Lagerald Vick added 14 points for the Jayhawks (287), who trailed the Ivy League champs by 10 in the early stages before going on a 19-2 run late in the first half to take control.
Graham, perhaps atoning for a miserable performance in last year’s tournament loss to Oregon, also had six rebounds and six assists as the Jayhawks cruised into a second-round matchup with eighth-seeded Seton Hall or No. 9 seed North Carolina State in the loaded Midwest Region.
A.J. Brodeur had 14 points to lead the Quakers (24-9), but he was just 6 of 16 from the field and committed five turnovers. He was also 1 of 5 from the foul line, where Penn was 5 of 14 as a team.
The Jayhawks played most of the way without 7-footer Udoka Azubuike, who hurt a ligament in his left knee in practice last week. The sophomore center three minutes, all in the first half, and clearly
struggled to move around while wearing a bulky brace on his leg.
Malik Newman, the MVP of last week’s Big 12 Tournament, and Svi Mykhailiuk also scored 10 points apiece for Kansas, which won its 12th consecutive NCAA opener. Duke 89, Iona 67
PITTSBURGH » Marvin Bagley III dominated in his NCAA Tournament debut, pouring in 22 points to go with seven rebounds.
The Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year made 10 of 14 shots in 32 minutes, grabbed seven rebounds and knocked down his lone 3-point attempt as the second-seeded Blue Devils overwhelmed the 15th-seeded Gaels.
Grayson Allen scored 16 points and added a gamehigh nine assists for Duke (27-7), Trevon Duval finished with 19 points and eight assists and Gary Trent Jr. had 16 points and six rebounds as the deeper, more talented Blue Devils withstood an early push from Iona (20-14) to win going away. Tennessee 73, Wright St. 47
DALLAS » Admiral Schofield had 15 points and 12 rebounds as Tennessee advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Lamonte Turner had 19 points and a career-high nine assists for Tennessee (26-8), SEC co-champions in the regular season after being picked in the preseason to finish 13th in the 14-team league. Grant Williams added 14 points and nine rebounds. Gonzaga 68, UNC G’boro 64
BOISE, IDAHO » Zach Norvell Jr. hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 20.8 seconds left to help Gonzaga escape a major scare in the West Region.
The fourth-seeded Bulldogs (31-4) trailed 64-62 with 1:48 left after squandering a 12-point lead they took early in the second half.
Josh Perkins tied the game at 64, and after Greensboro’s Francis Alonso forced up a miss, Gonzaga got the rebound and worked the ball to Norvell, a redshirt freshman, who spotted up from the right elbow and made the 3 for the lead. Ohio St. 81, S. Dakota St. 73
BOISE, IDAHO » Kam Williams made a tiebreaking four-point play with 1:36 left, then added a trio of free throws after being fouled on another 3-point attempt, lifting Ohio State to victory in the West Region.
Fifth-seeded Ohio State (25-8) built a 13-point lead by reeling off 16 straight points midway through the second half of a game that featured 71 combined 3-pointers. South Dakota State made a late run at the Buckeyes, scoring 10 straight points to tie it at
70-all.
Williams answered — by being fouled on a pair of 3-pointers. He finished off the four-point play for a 7470 lead and made all three free throws on the second, making it 77-70 with 64 seconds left.
Keita Bates-Diop had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Buckeyes. Loyola-Chi. 64, Miami 62
DALLAS » Donte Ingram hit a long 3-pointer just before the buzzer, lifting Loyola-Chicago to a thrilling win over Miami in its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 33 years.
Ingram’s shot from well above the key — from the edge of the March Madness logo that spans midcourt, in fact — came after Lonnie Walker IV missed a free throw with a chance to give the Hurricanes a three-point lead with 9 seconds remaining.
The 11th-seeded Ramblers (29-5) matched the school record for wins from their 1963 national championship team in their first NCAA trip since losing to Patrick Ewing and Georgetown in the Sweet 16 in 1985. Clayton Custer hit a tying 3 in the final 2 minutes and led Loyola with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from long range. Ingram was 3 of 8 from 3 and finished with 13. Rhode Island 83, Oklahoma 78
PITTSBURGH » E.C. Matthews hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime and one more that sealed it to help Rhode Island hold off dynamic scorer Trae Young and beat Oklahoma 83-78 Thursday in the Midwest Regional.
The seventh-seeded Rams (26-7) won a game in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.
The 10th-seeded Sooners (18-14) late-season fade ended with a thud when Young failed to carry them as he had so many times this season. The phenomenal freshman led the nation with averages of 27.4 points and 8.8 assists. He scored 28 points on 9 of 18 shooting with six turnovers. Seton Hall 94, NC State 83
WICHITA, KAN. » Khadeen Carrington scored 26 points, Desi Rodriguez added 20 and eighthseeded Seton Hall beat North Carolina State in a foul-filled first-round matchup.
Myles Powell added 19 points and Angel Delgado scored 13 for the Pirates (22-11), who led the entire way a year after a late meltdown cost them an early exit against Arkansas.
Allerik Freeman hit six 3-pointers and had 36 points to lead the No. 9 seed Wolfpack (21-12), who returned to the tournament under first-year coach Kevin Keatts for the first time in three years. Torin Dorn added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Lennard Freeman contributed 13 points.