Hunter, Clemson hold on, down Baylor
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Chase Hunter had 20 points and six assists as No. 6 seed Clemson held off third-seeded Baylor for a 72-64 victory a the West Region second-round game Sunday.
The Tigers (23-11) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in coach Brad Brownell’s 14 seasons. They also made it in 2018, when they lost to Kansas in the third round.
“This was a big win for us,”
Brownell said. “Baylor’s obviously a very talented, well-coached team. So for us to play the way we did, I thought our defense was outstanding throughout. And that was a big key in both of our wins here in Memphis.”
Rayj Dennis scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half for the 14thranked Bears (24-11), who lost in the NCAA Tournament’s second round for a third straight year.
Clemson went up 61-46 on Ian Schieffelin’s layup with 6:41 left. Baylor responded with a 16-3 run, capped by Ja’kobe Walter’s threepoint play with 2:19 to go, and trailed 64-62.
West
■ No. 4 Alabama 72, No. 12 Grand Canyon 61: At Spokane, Wash., Mark Sears had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the 19th-ranked Crimson Tide (23-11), who erased a 58-55 deficit with a 7-0 run and didn’t trail again. Tyon Grant-foster scored 29 points — but none in the final 4:40 — for the Antelopes (31-4), who shot 32.1 percent while missing 18 of 20 3-point tries. Alabama freshman Mouhamed Dioubate scored all nine of his points in the final 5½ minutes.
South
■ No. 2 Marquette 81, No. 10 Colorado 77: At Indianapolis, Tyler Kolek had 21 points and 11 assists for the eighth-ranked Golden Eagles (279), who shot 61.8 percent but didn’t shake the Buffaloes (26-11) until the closing seconds. K.J. Simpson scored 20 points and Tristan da Silva 17 for Colorado, which trailed by 11 at halftime before going up 55-54 five minutes after intermission. Down 79-77, the Buffaloes had to foul three times before putting David Joplin at the line with 7.4 seconds to go. He hit both free throws.
■ No. 4 Duke 93, No. 12 James Madison 55: At New York, Jared Mccain scored 22 of his 30 points in the first half for the 13th-ranked Blue Devils (26-8) and set a program record for an NCAA Tournament game with eight 3-pointers. Duke shot 52.4 percent and held the Dukes (32-4) to 38.0 percent while halting their 14game win streak. JMU trailed 47-25 at halftime.
East
■ No. 1 Connecticut 75, No. 9 Northwestern 58: At New York, Tristen Newton had 20 points and 10 assists for the top-ranked Huskies (33-3), who shot 53.7 percent, didn’t trail and became the first defending national champions to reach the Sweet 16 since Duke in 2016. The Wildcats (22-12) shot 37.3 percent and trailed by as many as 30 points.
■ No. 5 San Diego State 85,
No. 13 Yale 57: At Spokane, Wash., Jaedon Ledee had 26 points and nine rebounds for the 24th-ranked Aztecs (26-10), who scored the first 10 points, led by 24 at halftime and shot 52.7 percent. The Bulldogs (23-10) shot 37.0 percent and were outrebounded 39-25. SDSU earned a rematch with No. 1 Connecticut, the team that beat the Aztecs in last season’s title game.
Midwest
■ No. 1 Purdue 106, No. 8 Utah State 67: At Indianapolis, Zach
Edey had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the third-ranked Boilermakers (31-7), who shot 55.9 percent and set a single-season program record for victories. The 20th-ranked Aggies (28-7) were outrebounded 49-26 and denied the program’s first regional semifinal berth since 1970.