Alabama uses late run to hold off Pitino, Iona

The rest of Rick Pitino’s designer suits will stay on the hangers, thanks to a blitz of baskets by Alabama that pried open a tight game Saturday and gave the Crimson Tide a 68-55 win over Pitino’s underdogs from Iona.

Herb Jones led Alabama with 20 points, including a steal and layup that highlighted an 11-0 run and gave Alabama breathing room at

54-46 after the teams seesawed with the lead through much of the second half.

But this was never easy for the second-seeded Crimson Tide

(25-6).

In the end, the Gales got beat by a deeper, more athletic team that wore them down. Alabama is in the tournament with its best seeding in history, on the strength of its first SEC Tournament title in 30 years.

Michigan cruises: Mike Smith scored 18 points and Hunter Dickinson added 16 to lead the top-seeded Wolverines to an 82-66 victory over Texas Southern on Saturday.

Wolverines won without Isaiah Livers, who is out with a foot injury. Livers wore a shirt with #NotNCAAProperty written on it.

The hashtag is part of a social media effort to raise awareness about inequities in college sports.

Michigan coach Juwan Howard, himself a prominent former college player, did not seem to have noticed the shirt when he spoke to reporters after the Wolverines’ win.

“Honestly, I did not pay attention to his shirt,” Howard said. “I was so locked in to the game prep, Texas Southern, I didn’t pay attention to his T-shirt.”

LSU overcomes slow start: Freshman Cameron Thomas scored 27 points in another impressive performance and his LSU teammates provided the rebounding muscle, leading the eighth-seeded Tigers past ninth-seeded St. Bonaventure 76-61 on Saturday and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

LSU (19-9) can reach its second straight Sweet 16 if it beats Michigan, the top seed in the Midwest Region.

Buffs stampede Hoyas: Chances are, you can fit Colorado’s entire NCAA Tournament history on the back of an old Patrick Ewing jersey. And now, Ewing is part of that history, too.

The Buffaloes used an early

3-point barrage to parlay their highest seeding ever at March Madness into a first-round win Saturday over one of the biggest names in the game. It was a 96-73 thumping of Georgetown, the program Ewing starred for in the

1980s and now coaches.

Led by Jabari Walker’s 5-for-5 shooting clinic from 3-point range, the fifth-seeded Buffs (23-8) made

16 3-pointers and shot 64% from long range.

“We’re a dangerous team. A lot of teams can’t run with us, because there are so many skill sets we have,” Walker said. “It’s really hard to beat us, I believe.”

Creighton survives a scare: Christian Bishop made both ends of a one-and-one with 16 seconds left to give fifth-seeded Creighton the lead, and the Bluejays hung on to beat 12th-seeded UC Santa Barbara 63-62 on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Mobley leads USC: Evan Mobley had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 6 seed USC used smothering defense in a 72-56 victory over Drake on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.