Zoned out: ’Cuse stuns Spartans
The last team selected for the field of 68 is going to the round of 16.
Tyus Battle had 17 points and Oshae Brissett scored 15, lifting 11th-seeded Syracuse to a 55-53 win over third-seeded Michigan State on Sunday in Detroit and into the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.
Cassius Winston missed an opportunity to win the game for the Spartans with a shot from about 45 feet just before the buzzer. The Spartans, flummoxed by Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, didn’t make a basket in the last 5:41.
The Orange (23-13) forced the Spartans (30-5) to settle for 3-pointers all afternoon and it worked brilliantly for Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim against Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.
The Spartans took a school record 37 shots beyond the arc, making just eight of them.
“No one plays zone like we do,” Brissett said. “We’re always moving, and we challenge every shot, so teams never get easy looks against us.”
Syracuse has won three straight since being sent to Dayton for the First Four as what the selection committee chairman acknowledged was the final team to receive an at-large bid.
Miles Bridges missed a 3 with a chance to tie with 11 seconds left and teammate Joshua Langford missed a putback, but Syracuse turned the ball over with 7.9 seconds left.
The Orange fouled intentionally to avoid giving up a game-tying 3 twice in the closing seconds and the Spartans made two pairs of free throws to pull within a point both times.
“We’re always going to foul in those situations and it’s always worked for us,” Boeheim said. “I’ve seen too many guys when the guy makes a 3 and it goes into overtime.”
Texas A&M 86, North Carolina 65
T.J. Starks scored 21 points and Texas A&M overpowered North Carolina inside, upsetting the reigning national champions in Charlotte, N.C., to mark the second straight year a title holder missed the Sweet 16.
The seventh-seeded Aggies (22-12) did everything they had to do to hand the Tar Heels (26-11) a rare loss in a home-state NCAA game. They dominated the glass. They used their size to control the paint and block shots. And they pounced when UNC’s small-ball lineup couldn’t make an outside shot.
Robert Williams finished with 13 rebounds, helping the Aggies take a 50-36 edge while shooting 52 percent – including 10 of 24 from 3-point range.
Joel Berry II scored 21 points in his final game for the second-seeded Tar Heels, who were trying to reach their third straight Final Four. But they ended up falling to 34-2 in NCAA games in their home state, the only other loss coming in 1979.
The Tar Heels shot just 33 percent, including 6 of 31 (.194) on 3-pointers after entering the game shooting nearly 37 percent from behind the arc.
Purdue 76, Butler 73
Dakota Mathias sank a 3-pointer with 14.2 seconds left and second-seeded Purdue (30-6), minus star center Isaac Haas, held off 10th-seeded Butler (21-14) in Detroit to reach the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.
The Boilermakers led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but Butler cut the deficit to two and had the ball in the final minute. Kalen Martin missed a 3-pointer, and the shot by Mathias at the other end made it 76-71.
Martin scored with 2.1 seconds remaining, and P.J. Thompson missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving Butler another chance. The Bulldogs called a timeout with 1.8 seconds left, and Kamar Baldwin’s shot from near midcourt hit the rim – although it may have been waved off on a review even if it had gone in.
Vincent Edwards scored 20 points despite early foul trouble for Purdue, and Matt Haarms filled in capably for the injured Haas. The Boilermakers set a school record for victories in a season and are in the regional semifinals for the fourth time under coach Matt Painter. Purdue faces third-seeded Texas Tech on Friday in Boston.
Nevada 75, Cincinnati 73
Seventh-seeded Nevada (29-7) rallied from a 22-point deficit in Nashville, Tenn., to beat No. 2 seed Cincinnati (31-5) and make its first Sweet 16 since 2004.
Josh Hall hit a short jumper with 9.1 seconds left to give Nevada its only lead of the game at 75-73, and Cincinnati couldn’t get a shot off before the clock expired sending the Wolf Pack celebrating and hugging on the court.
Nevada trailed by 14 in the second half of their first-round game when they forced overtime and beat Texas.
Cincinnati was the highest remaining seed left in the South Region after a string of upsets, and now the Bearcats are the latest to go down.