NCAA WRAPUP

WINNERS AND LOSERS FROM FRIDAY IN THE THE NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT IN AND AROUND INDIANAPOLIS.

MIDWEST REGION Illinois 78 Drexel 49 Kofi Cockburn muscled his way to 18 points and the Illini (236) cruised past 16th-seeded Drexel (12-8) in their first NCAA tournament game as a No. 1 seed in 16 years. Drexel never had a chance at containing the 7-foot, 285-pound Cockburn, who was 8 for 11 from the field. Oregon State 70 Tennessee 56 Roman Silva scored 16 points and 12th-seeded Oregon State (18-12) took advantage of No. 5 Tennessee’s icy perimeter shooting. The 7-foot-1 Silva bulled his way through the Volunteers (18-9) to help the Beavers build a 14-point halftime lead. Houston 87 Cleveland State 56 Quentin Grimes scored 18 points and coach Kelvin Sampson tied John Wooden on the career victories list as the second-seeded Cougars (253) beat No. 15 Cleveland State (19-8). Guard DeJon Jarreau injured his hip 41 seconds into the game and did not return. West Virginia Morehead State late As a No. 3 seed, the Mountaineers earmed their highest tournament seed since 2016. Opponent Morehead State had won 19 of 20, but was 0-3 vs. Power Five conference teams, having lost to Kentucky, Ohio State and Clemson — all by at least 15 points. Loyola (Chicago) 71 Georgia Tech 60 With key pieces from the 2018 Final Four team leading the way, the eighth-seeded Ramblers (25-4) marked a triumphant return to college basketball’s biggest stage. Georgia Tech (17-9), without ACC player of the year Moses Wright in the paint, were outrebounded, 30-17. Oklahoma State 69 Liberty 60 Cade Cunningham scored 15 points — nine straight in the final minutes — to lead the fourth-seeded Cowboys (21-8) past Liberty (23-6), the No. 13 seed. It was Oklahoma State’s first tournament win since 2009. Avery Anderson III led the Cowboys with 21 points. Clemson Rutgers late Rutgers made the tournament for the first time since 1991 and sixth time in school history. Easily forgotten in its NCAA drought is the fact that the Scarlet Knights once were a Final Four team, reaching the national semifinals in 1976 before losing to Michigan. San Diego State Syracuse late Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim entered the first-round game with a 23-5 record in the opening round since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 — a 70.7 winning percentage. That said, the Orange were 3-point underdogs vs. the No. 6-seeded Aztecs.