Oregon storms past Iona, 93-77
With injured big man Chris Boucher cheering in a bulky knee brace from the sideline, Tyler Dorsey scored 24 points to lead four Oregon players in double figures, and the No. 3-seeded Ducks beat 14th-seeded Iona, 93-77, Friday in an NCAA tournament Midwest Regional first-round game at Sacramento.
The Ducks (30-5) showed they have the depth and athleticism to make a March run, just as Coach Dana Altman hoped this week when he challenged role players to make larger contributions in the absence of shot-blocker Boucher, who suffered a torn knee ligament last week in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Conference tournament. Oregon lost to Arizona in the Pac-12 final, after those teams shared the regularseason title.
Iona star Jordan Washington had 22 points and 11 rebounds in his final game for the Gaels (22-13).
Kansas 100, UC Davis 62: Frank Mason III scored 22 points and had eight assists at Tulsa, Okla., as the topseeded Jayhawks (29-5) won their NCAA opener for the 11th straight year. Kansas’ win ensured that top seeds remained perfect since the tournament’s expansion to 64 teams, with those schools now 132-0 against No. 16 seeds. Chima Moneke had 20 points for the Aggies (23-13), who were in their first NCAA tournament.
Rhode Island 84, Creighton 72: Jeff Dowtin scored a career-high 23 points, going 10 for 10 at the free-throw line, and the 11th-seeded Rams (25-9) took down the sixth-seeded Bluejays (25-1) at Sacramento. Rhode Island earned its ninth straight victory and won an NCAA tournament game for the first time since advancing to the Elite Eight in 1998.
Michigan 92, Oklahoma State 91: Derrick Walton Jr. scored 26 points and the Wolverines (25-11) made 16 three-pointers to hold off the Cowboys (20-13) at Indianapolis. Michigan, which set a school record for threes in an NCAA tournament game, has won six straight — five since a frightening plane mishap on the way to last week’s Big Ten tournament. The 10th-seeded Cowboys never led again after Michigan went ahead 62-61 with 12:26 to play, but stayed close to the end.
Louisville 78, Jacksonville State 63: Mangok Mathiang scored 18 points, and the second-seeded Cardinals (25-8) pulled away at Indianapolis in their first tournament game since 2015 after sitting out last year because of a school-imposed postseason ban for alleged recruiting violations. Norbertas Giga scored 30 for the Gamecocks (20-15) in their first NCAA appearance.
Michigan State 78, Miami 58: Nick Ward scored 19 points to help the Spartans (20-14) atone for last season’s early NCAA disappointment. Michigan State fell behind by 12 points in the early going before going on a 20-2 first-half run to blitz past the stunned Hurricanes (21-12) at Tulsa.