SOME SURPRISES AS TEAMS ADVANCE IN NCAA TOURNEY

USC, which had to survive the NCAA Tournament’s First Four round, advanced to the Round of 32 with a 6665 victory Friday over SMU, a No. 6 seed. The Trojans, who trailed for nearly the entire game, pulled ahead for the first time in the final minutes and

For the second straight NCAA Tournament game, Southern California overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half to win.

Elijah Stewart hit a late 3-pointer as the No. 11 seed Trojans upset sixth-seeded SMU 66-65 on Friday in the East Region at Tulsa, Okla.

USC trailed SMU by 10 in the second half. The Trojans trailed Providence by 17 in the second half of their First Four game Wednesday before winning 75-71.

Stewart had 22 points for the Trojans (26-9), including the deciding 3 with 37 seconds to play.

“We ran the play before, and I was open,” he said. “And then we had the media timeout. We discussed it. We ran the same play again, and I was open, and I just let muscle memory take place.”

Bennie Boatright and Chimezie Metu each added 14 points for USC, which advanced to play third-seeded Baylor in the second round Sunday.

SMU’s Shake Milton missed a floater at the buzzer that would have won it for the Mustangs (30-5), whose 16-game winning streak ended.

“There used to be a show on TV when I was little talking about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat,” SMU coach Tim Jankovich said.

“I think it was ‘Wide World of Sports.’ I can certainly relate to that show right now.”

Semi Ojeleye had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Sterling Brown scored 17 for SMU.

Baylor 91, New Mexico State 73: Al Freeman came off the bench to score 21 points for the Bears (26-7), who suffered upset losses to Georgia State and Yale in the first round the previous two years.

Ian Baker and Braxton Huggins each scored 19 points for the 14th-seeded Aggies (28-6).

Duke 87, Troy 65: At Greenville, S.C., Grayson Allen had 21 points and hit five 3-pointers, and Jayson Tatum had 18 points and 12 rebounds for second-seeded Duke (29-7).

Jordon Varnado scored 18 for 15th-seeded Troy (22-15).

Duke, which averaged eight 3-pointers a game this season, hit 10 in the opening half in taking a 52-38 lead.

TONY GUTIERREZ ASSOCIATED PRESS SMU’s Sterling Brown (3) can only watch as USC’s Jonah Mathews (2), Jordan McLaughlin (11), De’Anthony Melton (22) and Chimezie Metu (4) celebrate their 66-65 win Friday. It was the Trojans’ second victory over SMU this season.