MIDWEST REGIONAL
12th-seeded Beavers upset the Volunteers
Oregon State played up the underdog role all season and is now the latest No. 12 seed to win an opening-round NCAA tournament game.
Roman Silva scored 16 points and the Beavers took advantage of Tennessee’s icy perimeter shooting to beat the fifth-seeded Volunteers 70-56.
Oregon State (18-12) became the first Pac-10/12 school to win the conference tournament after being picked to finish last. The Beavers are the 51st 12th seed to take down a fifth seed since the tournament bracket expanded in 1985.
“We know there was some doubt and we had to ignore all that,” Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said. “We never threw in the towel, we never doubted ourselves, we just do what we do.”
The 7-foot-1 Silva bulled his way through the Volunteers for an eight-for-eight night after struggling in the Pac-12 tournament. Oregon State hit seven threes in the second half to win its first NCAA tournament game since reaching the 1982 Elite Eight.
Loyola Chicago 71, Georgia Tech 60:
Lucas Williamson scored 21 points in a dynamic performance by the defensive whiz, All-America forward Cameron Krutwig added 10, and the Ramblers (25-4) knocked off the Yellow Jackets (17-9) to mark a triumphant return to the NCAA tournament.
The surprise national semifinalist in 2018, the Ramblers were relegated to the NIT the following year and missed out on the tournament — along with everyone else — when it was canceled due to COVID-19 last season.
Illinois 78, Drexel 49:
Kofi Cockburn muscled his way to 18 points and the Illini (23-6) cruised past the Dragons (12-8) in Illinois’ first game as a No. 1 seed in 16 years.
Drexel never really had chance at containing the 7foot, 285-pound Cockburn, who was eight for 11 from the field. All-American Ayo Dosunmu finished with 17 points for Illinois.
Oklahoma State 69, Liberty 60:
Cade Cunningham vowed to lead the Cowboys (21-8) to a strong run through the tournament.
The freshman All-American didn’t have an explosive debut but did just enough to lead his team past the Flames (23-6).
Cunningham scored 15 points — nine straight in the final minutes — to lead No. 4 seed Oklahoma State to its first NCAA tournament win since 2009. Avery Anderson III led the Cowboys with 21 points.
Houston 87, Cleveland State 56:
In Bloomington, Ind., Quentin Grimes scored 18 points and Houston coach Kelvin Sampson tied John Wooden on the career victories list as the Cougars (25-3) beat the Vikings (19-9).
Sampson earned his 664th win, No. 38 all-time, in his first game at Assembly Hall since resigning as Indiana’s coach in February 2008.
Tramon Mark added 15 points and Marcus Sasser finished with 14 for Houston.
Rutgers 60, Clemson 56:
Geo Baker scored 13 points, including the decisive layup with 10 seconds left, and the 10th-seeded Scarlet Knights (16-11) toppled the seventhseeded Tigers (16-8).
Jacob Young and Caleb McConnell added 13 points apiece and Ron Harper Jr. added 10 points. Aamir Sims led Clemson with 15 points but was held in check for most of the second half.
Clyde Trapp had 12 of his 14 points after halftime, but the Tigers failed to make a shot the final four minutes.
Syracuse 78, San Diego State 62:
The No. 11 seed Orange held the sixth-seeded Aztecs (23-5) without a field goal for nearly a quarter of the game, sweet-shooting Buddy Boeheim hit seven threepointers and finished with 30 points, and Syracuse (17-9) cruised.
West Virginia 84, Morehead State 67:
Miles McBride scored 18 of his 30 points after halftime to help the Mountaineers (19-9) pull away, giving coach Bob Huggins his 900th career victory.