The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Michigan holds on at end
Derrick Walton Jr. stuck to the plan Friday.
He kept running the Michigan offense against an aggressive Oklahoma State defense and eventually things fell into place.
Walton scored 26 points and had 11 assists as the Wolverines made a school record 16 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game, getting past Oklahoma State 92-91 in the first round of the Midwest Regional in Indianapolis.
“We haven’t played a team that got up into us in a minute. It’s hard to simulate that in practice,” Walton said. “In the second half, I settled down. I wanted to make the right play consistently.”
Coach John Beilein had no complaints.
Seventh-seeded Michigan needed every point it could muster in a game that ended with a parade to the free-throw line, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer and a foe that refused to go away.
The difference: Poise and emotion, the same components that helped Michigan (25-11) overcome last week’s harrowing plane mishap to sweep four games in four days at the Big Ten Tournament.
Early Friday, the Wolverines looked out of sync and out of sorts. But rather than change the game plan, Walton followed the script, steadied his team and the shots started going.
While Michigan made only five shots inside the arc in the second half, it went 11 of 15 from 3-point range.
Michigan erased a six-point second-half deficit with a run of four 3s, the last from Walton with 12:28 to go to take a 62-61 lead. They made three more in another flurry to take a 76-68 lead.
But the Cowboys cut the deficit to two twice in the final 8 seconds, until the Wolverines closed it out at the free-throw line.
Rhode Island 84, Creighton 72: Jeff Dowtin scored a careerhigh 23 points with a perfect day at the free-throw line, while upstart Rhode Island answered every threat and toppled cold-shooting No. 6 seed Creighton 84-72 in Sacramento, Calif.
Kuran Iverson scored 17 points 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 career-high 15 points in Creighton’s 40 percent shooting day. URI also held off the Bluejays (25-10) by making 28 of 31 free throws, with Dowtin hitting all 10 from the line.
Kansas 100, UC Davis 62: 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 100-62 victory over UC Davis in Tulsa, Okla.
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.
Chima Moneke scored 20 points to lead the 16th-seeded Aggies (2313), who were in their first NCAA Tournament.
Oregon 93, Iona 77: With star big man Chris Boucher cheering in a bulky knee brace, Tyler Dorsey scored 24 points to lead four players in double figures as No. 3 seed Oregon beat 14th-seeded Iona 93-77 in Sacramento.
The Ducks (30-5) showed they have depth and sheer athleticism to make a March run, after coach Dana Altman challenged role players to make larger contributions in shot-blocker Boucher’s absence.
Iona star Jordan Washington gave his team a scare when he went down hard under Oregon’s basket, screaming in pain and grabbing his lower left leg just before halftime. But he returned to start the second half and finished with 22 points for the Gaels (22-13).