Norvell leads Gonzaga past Buckeyes, into the Sweet 16
Zach Norvell Jr. had 28 points and Rui Hachimura added 25 for Gonzaga, which is headed back to the Sweet 16 with a 90-84 victory over Ohio State in the West Region on Saturday night.
Norvell hit the late tiebreaking 3-pointer against UNC-Greensboro in the opening round to help the fourth-seeded Bulldogs advance. The freshman made 6 of 11 from behind the arc against the Buckeyes to lead Gonzaga (32-4), which jumped out to a big early lead, withstood a secondhalf Ohio State charge and made the big plays down the stretch to earn a spot in the West Region semifinals against the winner of today’s XavierFlorida State game.
“I call him our spiritual leader; he gets us going every practice, even the ones they don’t want to be at,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said about Norvell. “He’s just a fiery guy with some swag from Chicago and we need that.”
The Buckeyes (25-9) rallied from an abysmal start and an 11-point halftime deficit to take a brief second-half lead before Gonzaga went on an 11-0 run to snatch it back.
Keita Bates-Diop had 28 points and Kam Williams 19 for Ohio State. NO. 3 MICHIGAN 64, NO. 6 HOUSTON 63 >> Wolverines freshman Jordan Poole made a 3-pointer at the buzzer after the Cougars squandered a chance to lock up a spot in the Sweet 16.
Devin Davis had a chance to seal the win, but Houston’s forward missed a pair of foul shots with 3.6 seconds left. The Wolverines (30-7) called timeout to set up a final play, and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman found Poole on the wing, and the shot hit nothing but net.
Rob Gray scored 23 points and Davis finished with 17 for the Cougars (27-8), who were trying to reach their first Sweet 16 since the last of the Phi Slama Jama teams went to the Final Four in 1984.
MIDWEST REGIONAL
NO. 2 DUKE 87, NO. 7 RHODE ISLAND 62 >> Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year Marvin Bagley had 22 points and nine rebounds, and fellow freshman Wendell Carter Jr. added 13 points to help the Blue Devils to earn the program’s 26th trip to the Sweet 16. Freshmen guards Gary Trent Jr. and Trevon Duval combined for 29 points and 11 assists for Duke (28-7).
The victory also gave Coach Mike Krzyzewski 1,098 wins to break a tie with Tennessee women’s coach Pat Summitt for the most ever by an NCAA basketball coach.
The Rams (26-8) never threatened after the opening 10 minutes, with E.C. Matthews leading Rhode Island with 23 points.
NO. 1 KANSAS 83, NO. 8 SETON HALL 79 >> Malik Newman scored 28 points to help the Jayhawks hold off the Pirates and advance to their third consecutive Sweet 16.
Svi Mykhailiuk added 16 points and Lagerald Vick had 13 for Kansas (29-7), which converted on every crucial play down the stretch to advance to the semifinals where the Jayhawks will face the winner of today’s between Auburn and Clemson.
Angel Delgado finished with 24 points and 23 rebounds for Seton Hall (22-11), and Khadeen Carrington finished with 28 points, many of them on 3-pointers in the closing minutes.
EAST REGIONAL
NO. 1 VILLANOVA 81, NO. 9 ALABAMA 58 >> Mikal Bridges scored 23 points to lead the Wildcats past the Crimson Tide and into the Sweet 16 for the first time since they won the 2016 national championship.
Villanova (32-4) next plays Friday against the winner of today’s Marshall-West Virginia game.
Alabama (20-16) got 17 points from Collin Sexton, a guard who is expected to leave for the NBA.
After a tense first half in a round that has given the program fits, the Wildcats hit their first six 3s in the second to start pulling away.
NO. 3 TEXAS TECH 69, NO. 6 FLORIDA 66 >> Keenan Evans scored 22 points and hit a tiebreaking 3-ponier with 2 minutes left to lift the Red Raiders into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005 with a victory over the Gators.
Zhaire Smith added 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and was on the receiving end of an alley-oop pass from Evans with 29 seconds left for a punctuating dunk to Texas Tech (26-10) into the next round for a matchup against Purdue or Butler.
Egor Koulechov and KeVaughn Allen missed 3-point attempts in the final 10 seconds for the Gators (21-13).
SOUTH REGIONAL
NO. 5 KENTUCKY 95, NO. 13 BUFFALO 75 >> Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting to propel the Wildcats into the Sweet 16 with their victory over the Bulls.
Kentucky (26-10) and its all-freshmen starting lineup trailed only once — at 2-0, but it wasn’t a runaway until the final seven minutes.
Buffalo (27-9), which advanced to face Kentucky with a 21-point blowout over Arizona, twice trimmed a double-digit deficit to five midway through the second half.
Gilgeous-Alexander answered both times — once with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to eight, then again a few minutes later with a three-point play that started a 12-2 run.