UCLA, Oregon St. show Pac-12 power
Johnny Juzang scored 17 points and 11th-seeded UCLA carefully brushed off pesky Abilene Christian 67-47 on Monday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to become the fifth team to go from First Four to Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
The Bruins (20-9) will be making 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 advanced past the regional semifinals, when the Rams went to the Final Four.
The Bruins were far from spectacular, but their size and athleticism combined with solid execution were more than enough to keep the 14th-seeded Wildcats from springing another upset.
Abilene Christian (24-5) pulled off one of the most surprising victories in a tournament filled with them, beating third-seeded Texas for the school’s first Division I NCAA victory Saturday.
Creighton’s long wait over: Marcus Zegarowski scored 20 points to help Creighton beat Ohio 72-58 at Hinkle Fieldhouse, 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 upset.
That lead grew to 21 points in the opening minutes of the second half, and the Bluejays never let the 13th-seeded Bobcats (17-8) get closer than nine from there.
The last time Creighton made it to the regional semifinals, it was 1974 and the tournament field had 25 teams.
Now the Bluejays — who survived a close call against UC Santa Barbara in the first round — are advancing to the second weekend, where No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga awaits.
Dwight Wilson III scored 12 points to lead Ohio, the Mid-American Conference champion that opened the tournament by bouncing 2019 champion Virginia on Saturday night. But Ohio struggled to knock down shots nearly the entire way, shooting just 32%.
Beavers still dancing: Ethan Thompson scored 26 points and No. 12 seed Oregon State neutralized Oklahoma State and star freshman Cade Cunningham, rolling to an 80-70 upset in the second round Sunday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Maurice Calloo, who transferred from Oklahoma State, scored 15 points and Jarod Lucas also had 15 for the Beavers, who advanced to play No. 8 seed Loyola in a Midwest Region Sweet 16 matchup that few could have predicted. Loyola overmatched No. 1 seed Illinois.
Cunningham, a first-team All-American and possible top NBA draft pick, scored 24 points for Oklahoma State (21-9), but the fourth-seeded Cowboys wasted possessions down the stretch by failing to get him the ball.
Oregon State (19-12) was picked to finish last in the Pac 12 and had to win the conference tournament just to make the NCAA field.