Marching on
Baylor tops Villanova
Oregon State is headed to its first Elite Eight since 1982 with a win over Loyola Chicago
Ethan Thompson scored 20 points, including a pair of clinching foul shots with 35 seconds left, and No. 12 seed Oregon State kept its dream March going with a 6558 victory over eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
Warith Alatishe added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Beavers (20-12), who were picked to finish last in the Pac-12 but ran roughshod through the conference tournament and have kept on winning on college basketball’s biggest stage.
They’re headed for their first Elite Eight since 1982 — one that was later vacated by the NCAA — and will play second-seeded Houston or No. 10 seed Syracuse on Monday night for a spot in the Beavers’ first Final Four since 1963.
Not even the fervent prayers of Sister Jean could help Loyola (26-4) deal with the constantly changing defenses that Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle rolled out. The Ramblers, who played with such poise and perfection in toppling top-seeded Illinois, wound up shooting 33% from the field and 5 of 23 from beyond the arc.
All-America forward Cameron Krutwig led Loyola with 14 points. Lucas Williamson and Braden Norris added 10 apiece, though both of them missed 3-pointers in the closing minutes as Loyola tried to mount a comeback.
It was the first meeting between the teams since Dec. 31, 1927, when Loyola won 31-19 in Chicago — and Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the Ramblers’ beloved 101-year-old chaplain, was still a schoolgirl.
For most of Saturday, it looked as if 31 points would be plenty.
Oregon State turned it over twice before getting off a shot, went nearly 6 1/2 minutes before making its first field goal and at one point was 1 of 8 with four turnovers. Then the Ramblers, who failed to take advantage of their defense, proceeded to miss 11 consecutive shots as Oregon State flip-flopped between man-to-man and zone defenses.
The Beavers wound up shutting out Loyola the last 5:48 to take a 24-16 halftime lead, the lowestscoring first half of the entire tournament. Krutwig was 3 of 5 from the field; the rest of the Ramblers were 1 of 18.
Baylor 62, Villanova 51
Top-seeded Baylor overcame some frigid outside shooting Saturday to move into the Elite Eight, getting 16 points from Adam Flagler in a 62-51 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.
This game changed midway through the second half when Baylor all but abandoned what is normally its go-to shot — the 3. The Bears took a six-point lead with a 14-2 run during which not a single point came from outside the arc.
The Bears played some defense, too. Constantly harassing Villanova shooters who’d carved out space in the first half, Baylor held Villanova to 37.5% shooting in the second and 0 for 9 from 3. Jay Wright’s team scored 10 points over the final 11 minutes.
The Wildcats (18-7) got 16 points from Jermaine Samuels, but only three from Caleb Daniels on 1-for-11 shooting.