Ohio 62, Virginia 58
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Virginia’s unusual title defense ended with another upset loss in the NCAA Tournament, falling to Jason Preston and Ohio. Some familiar problems showed up again for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, who struggled to score during a stretch in the second half and shot 35% from the field for the game. Ben Vander Plas and Jason Preston delivered for Ohio after leading the Bobcats to the Mid-American Tournament title. Vander Plas scored eight of his game-high 17 points during an 18-4 second-half run that erased a 38-31 deficit and gave the Bobcats a 49-42 lead. Ohio (17-7) never trailed again.
Kansas 93, Eastern Washington 84
INDIANAPOLIS – David McCormack returned from his COVID-19-caused hiatus just in time to rescue No. 3 seed Kansas.
Creighton guard Marcus Zegarowski shoots against UC Santa Barbara forward Amadou Sow (12) on Saturday.
One day after rejoining the Jayhawks in Indianapolis, the bruising big man piled up 22 points and nine rebounds, helping slow-starting Kansas (21-8) rally from a 10-point second-half deficit and beat No. 14 seed Eastern Washington (16-8) on Saturday in Indianapolis to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Ochai Agbaji scored 21 points, Marcus Garrett fought foul trouble to add 20 and Dajuan Harris Jr. had 13 for the Jayhawks, who advanced to play sixthseeded Southern California for a spot in
the Sweet 16. Tanner Groves scored a career-high 35 points and younger brother Jacob Groves had 23 points for the Eagles, whose third trip to the NCAA Tournament ended just as quickly as the first two – though not without putting up a fight.
USC 72, Drake 56
INDIANAPOLIS – Evan Mobley had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 6 seed Southern California used smothering defense to eliminate Drake.
Mobley, a 7-foot freshman forward and AP second-team All-American expected to be a lottery pick if he declares for the draft, made 7 of 15 field goals and blocked three shots.
Isaiah Mobley scored 15 points and Drew Peterson added 14 for USC (23-7), which advanced to play No. 3 seed Kansas in the second round on Monday.
Iowa 86, Grand Canyon 74
INDIANAPOLIS – Iowa got 24 points from Luka Garza and avoided the early NCAA Tournament exit that befell other high seeds with a victory over Grand Canyon.
Ohio State, Purdue and Tennessee were all bounced from the tournament on a wild opening day of upsets, but the second-seeded Hawkeyes (22-8) used a strong shooting display to advance.
Iowa shot the Antelopes and their boisterous fans back to the desert, hitting 54% from the floor while going 10 of 22 from behind the arc.
Oklahoma 72, Missouri 68
INDIANAPOLIS – Austin Reaves scored 23 points, Brady Manek added 19 and Oklahoma slipped by ninth-seeded Missouri.
The eighth-seeded Sooners (16-10) are on to the second round for fourth time in the last six tournaments and will likely face No. 1 Gonzaga on Monday in the West Region. The unbeaten Zags faced 16-seeded Norfolk State later Saturday night.
The Sooners pulled out to an eightpoint lead with 1:08 left behind Reaves’ free-throw shooting, but Dru Smith made two 3-pointers in the final minute to keep the pressure on and pull Missouri within 70-67 with 46.7 left.
VCU-Oregon canceled
VCU has been pulled from the NCAA Tournament because of COVID-19 protocols. The NCAA says the 10th-seeded Rams’ first-round game Saturday against Oregon has been declared a nocontest.
The seventh-seeded Ducks will advance to the second round without playing. The announcement came a little more than three hours before the teams were set to play.