Top-seed Alabama masters Maryland
Miller, Quinerly lift Crimson Tide to the Sweet 16
Brandon Miller heated up and so did Alabama, which avoided the fate of two other top NCAA Tournament seeds and brushed aside Maryland 73-51 Saturday night in Birmingham, Alabama, behind a dominant second half.
The Crimson Tide (31-5) advanced to its second Sweet 16 in the past three tournaments and ninth overall. Alabama will face fifth-seeded San Diego State in a regional semifinal.
Alabama and Miller got off to a slow start, but the All-America freshman and top NBA prospect wound up with 19 points after going scoreless in the first-round game. Miller is nursing a groin injury and missed his first nine shots of the tournament.
Jahvon Quinerly scored 22 points on the one-year anniversary of his left knee injury in a second-round loss to Notre Dame.
Julian Reese had 14 points for Maryland (22-13) before fouling out. Jahmir Young scored 12.
Houston 81, Auburn 64: Also in Birmingham, Marcus Sasser looked just fine, scoring 22 points, and top-seeded Houston stifled Auburn in the second half.
The Cougars (33-3) overcame a 10-point halftime deficit. Essentially shutting down the lane, Houston played with the desperation of a national championship contender that wasn’t ready to suffer the same fate as Purdue and Kansas — No. 1s that already were sent home.
Led by Tramon Mark with 26 points, Houston advanced to face either Indiana or Miami in the Midwest Region semifinals in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday.
Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams each scored 14 points to lead the Tigers (21-13), who were doomed by a stretch of more than 10 minutes without a field goal and finished just 4 of 24 from the field in the second half.
Texas 71, Penn State 66: Dylan Disu had a season-high 28 points on 14-for-20 shooting and steadied Texas down the stretch as the Longhorns beat Penn State to reach their first Sweet 16 in 15 years.
The second-seeded Longhorns (28-8) made just one of 13 shots from 3-point land, so Disu turned it into a mid-range game. He went 5 for 5 over the final 4 minutes and finished with 10 rebounds.
Sir’Jabari Rice scored 13 points for Texas, which will play Xavier on Friday in the regional semifinals.
Camren Wynter had 16 points for the 10th-seeded Nittany Lions (23-14), who were coming off their first NCAA Tournament victory in 20 years. Second-team All-American Jalen Pickett had 11 points and 10 rebounds with seven turnovers. Former Princess Anne High guard Kanye Clary had two points and an assist in eight minutes.
UCLA 68, Northwestern 63: Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 24 points in Sacramento, California, and UCLA withstood a second-half push from Northwestern to get back to the Sweet 16.
The second-seeded Bruins (31-5) turned up the defensive intensity late, holding the seventh-seeded Wildcats to 1-for12 shooting during a key lategame stretch.
UCLA’s David Singleton went down in extreme pain with a right leg injury with 20.3 seconds remaining. He stayed down on the court for a few minutes before getting helped off by teammates and going straight to the locker room. There was no immediate word on the extent of the injury.
The Bruins will play either Gonzaga or TCU in the West Region semifinals in Las Vegas on Thursday night.
Boo Buie scored 18 points to lead Northwestern (22-12), Matthew Nicholson added 17, and former William & Mary guard Chase Audige scored all 16 of his points in the second half.