Michigan holds off Okie State

INDIANAPOLIS—Derrick Walton Jr. scored 26 points and Michigan made 16 3-pointers Friday to hold off Oklahoma State 92-91 in the first round of the Midwest Regional.

The seventh-seeded Wolverines (25-11) set a school record for 3s in an NCAA Tournament game. They have won six straight—five since a frightening plane mishap on the way to last week’s Big Ten Tournament.

Juwan Evans scored 23 points to lead the 10th-seeded Cowboys (20-13), who finished the season with four consecutive losses.

It looked like that streak might end Friday after Oklahoma State opened the second half on a 12-5 run to take a 52-46 lead.

But Michigan charged back with a relentless 3-point barrage, taking a 62-61 lead on Walton’s 3 with 12:26 left making three more 3s in a 14-4 run that made it 76-68.

The Cowboys never led again.

D.J. Wilson had 19 points and four

blocks for the Wolverines. Zak Irvin and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman each had 16.

Jeffrey Carroll had 19 points for Oklahoma State while Phil

Forte added 12 points and Leyton Hammonds had 10. RHODE ISLAND 84, CREIGHTON 72

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Jeff Dowtin scored a career-high 23 points with a perfect day at the free-throw line, upstart Rhode Island answered every threat and the Rams ran right into the next round of the NCAA Tournament by stunning cold-shooting No. 6 seed Creighton an opener of the Midwest Region.

Kuran Iverson scored 17 points and Hassan Martin had 12 points and eight rebounds as 11th-seeded Rhode Island (25-9) earned its ninth straight victory. The program won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since advancing to the Elite Eight and losing to Stanford in 1998.

Ronnie Harrell Jr. scored a careerhigh 15 points in Creighton’s 40-percent shooting day. OREGON 93, IONA 77

SACRAMENTO, Calif.— With star big man Chris Boucher cheering in a bulky knee brace from the sidelines, Tyler Dorsey scored 24 points to lead four players in double figures, and No. 3 seed Oregon beat 14th-seeded Iona in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region.

The Ducks (30-5) showed they have depth and sheer athleticism to make a special March run, just as coach Dana Altman hoped this week when he challenged role players to make larger contributions in shot-blocker

Boucher’s absence.

Iona star Jordan Washington gave his team a huge scare when he went down hard under Oregon’s basket, screaming in pain and grabbing his lower left leg with 1:12 to go before halftime. But the senior forward returned to start the second half and finished with 22 points on 10-for-16 shooting and 11 rebounds in his final college game for the Gaels (22-13). LOUISVILLE 78, JACKSONVILLE STATE 63

INDIANAPOLIS—Mangok Mathiang scored 18 points and Deng Adel added 16 Friday to help second-seeded Louisville pull away from Jacksonville State in the first round of the Midwest Regional.

The Cardinals (25-8) have won five straight opening round games. Louisville was making its first postseason appearance since 2015 after sitting out last year because of a oneyear, school-imposed postseason ban for alleged recruiting violations.

Norbertas Giga scored 30 points for 15th-seeded Jacksonville State (20-15), which was one of a record five teams making their first tourney appearance.

And it was a bigger challenge than most expected.

But after trailing for the first 13 minutes, the Cardinals finally took the lead with an 8-2 late in the first half. It closed the half on a 9-4 spurt then opened the second half on 10-2 run to make it 48-33. Louisville led by double digits most of the rest of the game. KANSAS 100, UC DAVIS 62

TULSA, Okla.—Frank Mason III scored 22 points and had eight assists as top-seeded Kansas won its opening game of the NCAA Tournament for an 11th straight year with a victory over UC Davis.

Freshman Josh Jackson, making his return after a one-game suspension

for an accumulation of embarrassing incidents, added 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting for the Jayhawks (29-5).

The win ensures top seeds will remain perfect since the tournament expanded, with the schools now 132-0 against No. 16 seeds.

Five players finished in double figures for Kansas, with Svi Mykhailiuk and Devonte’ Graham adding 16 points each and Landen Lucas 13.

Chima Moneke scored 20 points to lead the 16th-seeded Aggies (2313), who were in their first NCAA Tournament. Brynton Lemar added 17 and Siler Schneider 10 in the loss. WICHITA STATE 64, DAYTON 58

INDIANAPOLIS—Wichita State’s high-flying offense didn’t get off the ground until the closing minutes, when the Shockers played like the more tournament-experienced team and pulled away to a victory over Dayton.

The 10th-seeded Shockers (31-4) won their 16th in a row—the second-longest streak in school history— by clamping down on defense and swatting away shots down the stretch. Wichita State blocked eight shots and held the seventh-seeded Flyers (24-8) to a season-low 31 percent from the field.

Zach Brown’s 3-pointer put Wichita State up 51-45 with 5:38 left, the biggest lead by either team up to that point, and Dayton never threatened again. Landry Shamet had 13 points.

Dayton had the experienced lineup, playing in its fourth straight NCAA Tournament with three senior starters. Point guard Scoochie Smith had 25 points. NORTH CAROLINA 103, TEXAS SOUTHERN 64

GREENVILLE, S.C.—Justin Jackson broke out of a shooting slump with 21 points to help top-seeded North Carolina roll past Texas Southern

in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s South Region.

The Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year had made just 20 of 60 shots (33 percent) and 7 of 31 3-pointers (23 percent) in his last four games. But he had 19 points by halftime in this one, helping the Tar Heels (28-7) quickly eliminate any chance of an unprecedented upset.

Jackson, a 6-foot-8 junior, finished 8 of 13 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range with seven rebounds.

Isaiah Hicks added 17 points and Kennedy Meeks had 13 for the Tar Heels, who are a No. 1 regional seed for an NCAA-record 16th time.

Kevin Scott scored 19 points to lead the 16th-seeded Tigers (23-12), the champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. KANSAS STATE 75, CINCINNATI 61

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Troy

Caupain scored 23 points, Kyle Washington added 16 and defensive-minded Cincinnati shot it way past Kansas State in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament.

Cincinnati (30-5) was knocked out the first round a year ago and No. 6 seeds were 0-3 before the Bearcats took the floor, with Maryland, Creighton and SMU all losing to No. 11 seeds.

The Bearcats took care of their business and the No. 6 jinx with an impressive shooting display, shooting 62 percent. Cincinnati is known for its defense and did that, too, preventing Kansas State (21-14) from making much of a run after building a 17-point lead.

The Bearcats now move on to play the winner between No. 3 seed UCLA and No. 14 Kent State on Sunday.

Wesley Iwundu led Kansas State with 19 points. DUKE 87, TROY 65

GREENVILLE, S.C.—Grayson Allen had 21 points off five 3-pointers,

Jayson Tatum had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and second-seeded Duke continued its perfect postseason with a victory over Troy in the NCAA Tournament to start the East Region.

The Blue Devils (29-7) became the first team to win four games on the way to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament crown last week. They kept up that pace in blowing past the 15th-seeded Trojans (22-15).

Thursday, March 16 FLORIDA STATE 86,

FLORIDA GULF COAST 80

ORLANDO, Fla.—Dwayne Bacon scored 25 points and Jonathan Isaac added 17 points and 10 rebounds to help the third-seeded Florida State Seminoles hold off No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Seminoles (26-8), making their first appearance since 2012 in the NCAAs, advanced on in the West Region.

The Eagles (26-8) saw their tournament hopes end in the first round for the second straight year. But FGCU made it interesting in the waning moments as the Seminoles let a sizeable lead slip away because of missed free throws and untimely fouls.

Isaac and Xavier Rathan-Mayes made enough plays down the stretch to not allow the lead to slip completely away. ARIZONA 100, NORTH DAKOTA 82

SALT LAKE CITY—Freshman Lauri Markkanen scored 20 points as No. 1-seeded Arizona cruised to victory over No. 15 North Dakota in the first round of the NCAA’s West Regional.

Arizona used a 13-1 run early in the first half to take 24-13 lead and never looked back. The Wildcats (31-4) led 53-37 at halftime thanks to a dominant 16-point half from Markkanen and a

61.1 shooting percentage in the first 20 minutes.

Allonzo Trier continued his late-season success and had a highlight tomahawk dunk to push the lead to 44-27. He finished with 18. BUTLER 76, WINTHROP 64

MILWAUKEE—Avery Woodson scored 18 points and tied a career high with six 3-pointers in his NCAA Tournament debut to lead Butler to a win over Winthrop.

Woodson, a graduate transfer from Memphis, hit five 3s in the first half to help the fourth-seeded Bulldogs build a 14-point halftime lead.

A 12-2 run in the middle of the second half gave Butler a 60-43 lead with less than 8 minutes left and put the game out of reach for the 13th-seeded Eagles.

Xavier Cooks had 23 points to lead Big South champion Winthrop (26-7). MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE 81, MINNESOTA 72

MILWAUKEE—Reggie Upshaw scored 19 points, Giddy Potts added 15 and Middle Tennessee State took down another Big Ten team in the NCAA Tournament.

Twelfth-seeded Middle Tennessee proved it was no one-year wonder after upsetting Michigan State as a No. 15 seed last March.

The Blue Raiders (31-4) instead played like seasoned NCAA veterans with the way they held off the Gophers’ comeback attempt from a 17-point deficit in front of a loud and large contingent of Minnesota fans.

Upshaw responded with seven straight points, including a 3-pointer and a reverse layup during a 7-3 run to help give Middle Tennessee a 10-point lead with 3:40 left. VILLANOVA 76, MSM 56

BUFFALO, N.Y.—Donte DiVincenzo scored 21 points and NCAA Tournament top seed Villanova shook off a slow start and stumbled forward in the East region with a victory over No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary’s.

The Wildcats (32-3) weren’t themselves for much of the first half before they opened the second half with a 21-6 run to take the first step toward defending their championship. Villanova is trying to be the first back-to-back titlist since Florida in 2007.

Since the NCAA went to seeding in 1985, No. 1 seeds are 130-0 against No. 16s. The historic upset remains elusive, but for a while it looked like it could happen inside KeyBank Center. VIRGINIA 76, UNC WILMINGTON 71

ORLANDO, Fla.—London Perrantes scored 24 points, Marial Shayok added a career-high 23 off the bench and

No. 5 seed Virginia rallied from 15 points down to beat 13th-seeded UNC Wilmington in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Perrantes scored 19 points in the second half as the Cavaliers (23-10) got their slow-paced offense going. His biggest bucket was a driving bank shot with 1:37 remaining, which put the Cavs up 71-66. FLORIDA 80,

EAST TENNESSEE STATE 65 ORLANDO, Fla.—Devin Robinson tied his career-high with 24 points, Kasey Hill added 14 and No. 4 seed Florida used a second-half surge to beat 13th-seeded East Tennessee State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Robinson, an NBA prospect who had been relatively quiet late in the season, scored his most points in nearly two months. He made 10 of 17 shots and chipped in seven rebounds. The speedy Hill reached double figures for the fourth consecutive game. He also added six rebounds and five assists for his most complete game in a month.

Kevarrius Hayes, filling in for injured center John Egbunu, finished with seven points, seven rebounds and six steals. He broke the school record for steals in an NCAA Tournament game. WISCONSIN 84, VIRGINIA TECH 74

BUFFALO, N.Y.—Bronson Koenig made a school record eight 3-pointers and scored 28 points and Nigel Hayes added 16 as NCAA Tournament-tested Wisconsin advanced in the East Region with a victory over Virginia Tech.

The eighth-seeded Badgers (26-9) made all the big plays in the closing minutes to set up a meeting with top-seeded Villanova on Saturday.

The Wildcats shook off a sluggish and strange first half and downed Mount St. Mary’s 76-56.

No team understands the survive-and-advance mentality in this tourney better than Wisconsin, the only team in the country to make the Sweet 16 the past three years. PURDUE 80, VERMONT 70

MILWAUKEE—Vincent Edwards scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, and Purdue held off Vermont for its first victory in the NCAA Tournament in five years.

Caleb Swanigan added 16 points, 14 rebounds and four assists for the fourth-seeded Boilermakers (26-7), who were upset by Arkansas-Little Rock in double overtime in the first round of last year’s tournament. Dakota Mathias made three of Purdue’s nine 3-pointers and finished with 13 points. IOWA STATE 84, NEVADA 73

MILWAUKEE—Monte Morris had 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Iowa State outlasted Nevada to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.

Deonte Burton added 14 points and eight rebounds as the fifth-seeded Cyclones won for the 10th time in their last 11 games, building off their impressive run through the Big 12 Tournament. Naz Mitrou-Long and Matt Thomas had 13 points apiece.