Oregon State picked last,nowintoElite8
INDIANAPOLIS >> Picked to finish dead last in the Pac12, Oregon State instead might be the last one standing.
Led by unflappable guard Ethan Thompson, whose 20 points included a pair of clinching foul shots with 35 seconds left, the No. 12 seed Beavers and their brilliant defense shut down eighthseeded Loyola Chicago in a 65-58 victory on Saturday that sent their long-suffering program into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
It’s Oregon State’s first regional final since 1982 — one that was later vacated by the NCAA — and sets up a showdown with secondseeded Houston or No. 10 seed Syracuse on Monday night for a spot in its first Final Four since 1963.
“They just want to keep riding the wave,” said Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle, whose hungry bunch of underdogs have matched Missouri in 2002 as the lowestseeded teams to advance past the Sweet 16.
BAYLOR 62, VILLANOVA 51 >> Top-seeded Baylor overcame some frigid outside shooting to move into the Elite Eight, getting 16 points from Adam Flagler in a victory over Villanova and its amoeba-like defense.
The Bears (25-2) came in as the nation’s leading 3-point team, shooting 41.5%, but made only 3 of 19 in this one, unable to find room or get into a comfort zone against fifth-seeded Villanova’s mix of 2-3 zone and man. Davion Mitchell, a 46% shooter from 3 this season, went 0 for 3 in a 14-point night.
Baylor, which started the season 18-0 and won its first-ever Big 12 regular-season title, is one win from the Final Four for the first time since 2012. The
Bears will play the winner of Saturday night’s game between Arkansas and Oral Roberts.
Women
UCONN 92, IOWA 72 >> Christyn Williams scored 27 points and Paige Bueckers added 18 to lead No. 1 UConn to a win over fifthseeded Iowa in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCA A Tournament.
The game featured a matchup of two extremely talented freshmen in Bueckers and Iowa’s Caitlyn Clark. The friends had taken the women’s basketball world by storm this season.
Bueckers became the third freshman to earn All-America honors. Clark led the nation in scoring and came into the regional semifinals averaging 29 points in the tournament.
They didn’t disappoint. BAYLOR 78, MICHIGAN 75 (OT) >> NaLyssa Smith scored 24 points on a perfect shooting game and Queen Egbo made two big plays in the final seconds of overtime, helping No. 2 Baylor beat No. 6 Michigan.