Arizona tops Dayton, books spot in Sweet 16

SALT LAKE CITY — Caleb Love scored 19 points as secondseeded Arizona reached the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons, beating No. 7 seed Dayton 78-68 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

The Wildcats (27-8), who also reached a regional semifinal in 2022 in coach Tommy Lloyd’s first season, will face either the West Region’s No. 6 seed, Clemson, or third-seeded Baylor in Los Angeles on Thursday night.

Keshad Johnson and Pelle Larsson each had 13 points and seven rebounds for Arizona. Larsson also had six assists, and Jaden Bradley scored 12 points off the bench. The Wildcats shot 53% from the field and made eight 3-pointers.

DaRon Holmes II had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Flyers (25-8), who were denied their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2014. Koby Brea added 14 points for Dayton, which trailed by 17 points in the first half but stayed within striking distance nearly to the end.

GRAND CANYON 75 SAINT MARY’S 66

Tyon Grant-Foster scored 22 points as the 12th-seeded Antelopes joined the list of teams to win an NCAA Tournament game by knocking off the fifthseeded Gaels on Friday night in Spokane, Wash.

ALABAMA 109 CHARLESTON 96

In Spokane, Wash., Mark Sears led the highest-scoring offense in the country with 30 points as the No. 4 seed Crimson Tide had no problem making shots in their tournament opener, racing past the 13thseeded Cougars on Friday night.

Midwest

PURDUE 78, GRAMBLING ST. 50

In Indianapolis, Zach Edey had the first 30-point, 20-rebound game in the tournament since 1995, delivering on his promise to end the discussion about first-round March Madness exits by leading the topseeded Boilermakers past the 16th-seeded Tigers on Friday night.

UTAH STATE 88, TCU 72

Isaac Johnson scored 19 points, including 12 straight early in the second half, as the eighth-seeded Aggies shot 55% to pull away and beat the No. 9 seed Horned Frogs on Friday night in Indianapolis, ending a 10-game tournament losing streak.

South

HOUSTON 86, LONGWOOD 46

L.J. Cryer and Damian Dunn scored 17 points each as the top-seeded Cougars built a quick double-digit lead and pounded the No. 16 seed Lancers in the first round in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday night.

JAMES MADISON 72 WISCONSIN 61

Terrence Edwards Jr. scored 14 points as the Dukes pulled off the first 12-5 upset of the tournament by beating the Badgers on Friday night in New York.

COLORADO 102, FLORIDA 100

In Indianapolis, KJ Simpson rattled in a tiebreaking jumper from the baseline with 2 seconds left as the 10th-seeded Buffaloes beat the seventhseeded Gators in a thriller on Friday in the tournament’s opening round.

DUKE 64, VERMONT 47

Jared McCain and Mark Mitchell each had 15 points as the No. 4 seed Blue Devils opened with an uneven performance Friday night in New

York before finally pulling away from the Catamounts.

East

YALE 78, AUBURN 76

John Poulakidas scored 28 points and Samson Aletan made a key block during a wild scramble in the final seconds as the 13th-seeded Bulldogs rallied in the final five minutes to take down the fourth-seeded Tigers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Spokane,

Wash., on Friday.