Arkansas ousts defending champ Kansas
Kansas’ national title defense ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday when Arkansas’ Ricky Council IV made five free throws in the closing seconds and the eighthseeded Razorbacks beat the No. 1 seed Jayhawks 72-71.
Davonte Davis scored 25 points and Council added 21 as Arkansas rallied from a 12-point secondhalf deficit. Kansas, playing without ailing coach Bill Self, became the second top seed not to escape the tournament’s first weekend after Purdue lost on Friday night to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson.
Arkansas (22-13) and coach Eric Musselman return to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year. The Razorbacks will play either Saint Mary’s or Uconn in the West Region semifinals in Las Vegas on Thursday.
Musselman and his players rushed to a group of fans sitting courtside after the final buzzer. The 58-year-old coach ripped his polo shirt off, waved it over his head and shouted with joy.
“That’s such an unbelievable win for our program,” Musselman said. “I keep telling people that we’re getting better. Not many teams can get better this time of year. I’ve never been prouder of a team like tonight.”
Blake Peters made five 3-pointers in the second half and Princeton shocked another power conference team to reach the regional semifinals for the first time in 56 years by beating Missouri.
The No. 15 seeded Princeton (23-8) followed up a first-round win over Pac-12 tournament champion Arizona by dominating 10th seeded Missouri (25-10) of the SEC from the start.
The Ivy League school known for giving powerhouses scares and occasionally pulling off upsets a generation ago has reached the round of 16 for the first time since 1967 when only 23 teams even made the tournament.
Princeton will play the winner of Sunday’s game between Baylor and Creighton in the Sweet 16 in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday night.
The Tigers will be the second Ivy League school to make the Sweet 16 in the past 43 tournaments, joining Cornell in 2010. TENNESSEE 65, DUKE 52
Olivier Nkamhoua tied his career high with 27 points, including 13 straight for Tennessee during a decisive span in the second half, and the fourth-seeded Volunteers beat Duke to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.
San Diego State had little trouble ending the run of March Madness darling Furman, getting 16 points from Micah Parrish to pace a balanced scoring attack.
Marcus Sasser looked just fine, scoring 22 points, and top-seeded Houston stifled local favorite Auburn in the second half for an 81-64 victory in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night.
Dylan Disu had a season-high 28 points on 14for-20 shooting, steadying Texas down the stretch after a late Penn State surge and leading the Longhorns to their first regional in 15 years with a victory in the second round.
Maddy Siegrist became the fifth women’s player in NCAA history to score 1,000 points in a season and the first-team AP All-american had 35 points to lead Villanova into the NCAA Tournament’s second round with a win over Cleveland State.
Aaliyah Edwards scored a career-high 28 points, Dorka Juhasz added a double-double and Uconn routed Vermont, giving the Huskies a 29th straight win in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Juhasz scored 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, the Hungarian’s 13th double-double this season for the sixth-ranked Huskies.
Ja’mee Asberry scored 26 points, including three key foul shots in the final minute, and Baylor overcame
Deja Kelly had a goahead three-point play with 2 seconds left and North Carolina hung on for a win over St. John’s.
Frida Formann scored 21 points and Colorado unleashed a torrid 3-point shooting display to roll past Middle Tennessee.
Colorado (24-8) will be in the second round for the first time since 2013.
Anastasiia Boldyreva’s 16 points, Savannah Wheeler’s 15 points and Kseniya Malashka’s 13 points led Middle Tennessee (28-5), which had won 10 in a row.
Hailey Van Lith scored 13 points over the final five minutes, including five in a row in the final 16 seconds, and Louisville held off Drake’s frantic upset bid.