Not rusty: Oregon soars past Iowa into Sweet 16
Chris Duarte scored 23 points and Oregon showed no signs of rust after a long layoff, beating No. 2 seed Iowa 9580 on Monday to reach the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the past five NCAA Tournaments.
The seventh-seeded Ducks (21-6) were put in an unprecedented spot, advancing to the West Region’s second round without playing a game. Virginia Commonwealth’s multiple positive COVID-19 tests took care of that, leaving Oregon with a nine-day break since losing in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals.
Oregon’s offense hummed like it was fresh off the line once the ball went up.
The Ducks shot 56% and hit 11 3-pointers. L.J. Figueroa made five 3s while scoring 21 points and Will Richardson added 19 points.
The Hawkeyes (22-9) fell one game short of the Sweet 16 for the fourth time under Fran McCaffrey. Luka Garza played
like a two-time All-American, capping his stellar college career with 36 points and nine rebounds. Joe Wieskamp added 17 points. UCLA 67, ABILENE CHRISTIAN 47 » Johnny Juzang scored 17 points and 11th-seeded UCLA carefully brushed off pesky Abilene Christian to become the fifth team to go from First Four to Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
The Bruins (20-9) play in their first regional semifinal appearance since 2017 — and their first with second-year
coach Mick Cronin.
UCLA started its tournament Thursday by rallying to beat Michigan State in overtime and is the first team to rise from First Four to the round of 16 since Syracuse in 2018. VCU in 2011 is the only First Four team to advance past the regional semifinals, when the Rams went to the Final Four.
CREIGHTON 72, OHIO 58 » Marcus Zegarowski scored 20 points to help Creighton beat Ohio, securing the program’s first trip to the round of 16 in 47 years.
Damien Jefferson added 15 points for the Bluejays (22-8), the fifth seed in the West Region. They had a cold opening few minutes before the offense — and Zegarowski in particular — got rolling with a strong performance that built a double-digit lead by halftime against an upstart trying to spring a second straight tournament upset.
MICHIGAN 86, LSU 78 » Topseeded Michigan salvaged the Big Ten’s best hope for NCAA Tournament glory, getting 21 points each from Chaundee Brown and Eli Brooks in a roller-coaster victory over talent-rich LSU.
FLORIDA STATE 71, COLORADO 53 » Anthony Polite scored a career-high 22 points and No. 4 seed Florida State pulled away in the second half to beat Colorado and advance to the Sweet 16 for the third straight NCAA Tournament.
ALABAMA 96, MARYLAND 77 » Jaden Shackelford and Alabama stuck with what got them to the NCAA Tournament, torching Maryland with 3-point shooting.