VIRTUAL NCAA TOURNAMENT
EAST
NO. 10 UTAH STATE 85, NO. 2 FLORIDA STATE 75 >> The postseason just keeps getting better for the upstart Aggies, who led from start to finish against the fourthranked Seminoles after thrilling comeback wins over No. 24 West Virginia in the first round and No. 6 San Diego State in the Big West Conference championship game. FSU (27-6), a trendy Final Four pick after an Elite Eight appearance a year ago, trailed 10-2 barely four minutes into the game and went into intermission trailing 43-28 after Neemias Queta’s buzzer beater at the end of the first half. M.J. Walker led the Seminoles with 17 points. Sam Merrill helped jump-start the Aggies (28-8) by scoring nine of his team-high 22 points in the opening eight minutes on the way to the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 1970.
NO. 1 DAYTON 83, NO. 8 COLORADO 64 >> Even a low-impact game by Obi Toppin, the lone unanimous selection on this year’s AP All-america team, couldn’t slow down the Flyers (31-2) as they returned to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2014. Toppin, coming off a 14-point, 14-rebound effort, was still good, scoring eight points with nine rebounds in 32 minutes, but Trey Landers and Ibi Watson carried the scoring load with 21 points and 20 points, respectively, for Dayton in its 22nd straight win. The Buffaloes (2212), who trailed until the closing seconds of their upset win over Florida in the first round, faced a double-digit deficit seven minutes into this one and trailed 5030 at the break.
NO. 4 MARYLAND 73, NO. 5 BUTLER 69 >> The Terrapins kept things close but trailed most of the game until Eric Ayala was fouled making a short jumper and his subsequent free throw made it 70-69 with two minutes left. Then the defense smothered Butler down the stretch to secure Maryland (26-7) its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2016. The Bulldogs (23-10) attempted 60 field goals in the game, but managed just four (making one), were out-rebounded 5-1 and turned the ball over twice in the final 120 seconds.
NO. 3 VILLANOVA 68, NO. 6 PENN STATE 65 >> Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore made back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Wildcats an 11-point lead with 5:21 left, then the Big East co-regular season champs withstood a furious — although not terribly efficient — Penn State comeback bid to get back to the Sweet 16. The Nittany Lions (22-11) missed six of their final nine field goal attempts and failed to capitalize on a 10-3 rebounding edge down the stretch but still got as close as 63-62 on Lamar Stevens’ jumper with 24 seconds remaining. Villanova (267) didn’t make a field goal over the final five minutes but sealed the win by going 5 for 6 from the line.
WEST
NO. 4 OREGON 81, NO. 5 MICHIGAN 70 >> Addison Patterson came off the bench to score 10 points in a 12-point run late in the first half, and the Wolverines, who needed a late rally to avoid a first-round upset against Yale, never recovered. The Ducks never led by less than six in the second half to reach the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. Zavier Simpson, the only Wolverine remaining from the team that lost to Oregon in the 2017 regional semifinals, scored 16 points to lead Michigan (2013). Payton Pritchard and Chris Duarte scored 18 each for Oregon (26-7), which will face the winner of the Gonzaga/oklahoma game. Miramonte High product Eddy Ionescu came off the bench and scored the final four points for the Ducks.
MIDWEST
NO. 1 KANSAS 79, NO. 8 HOUSTON 65 >> The Cougars had no answer for 7-footer Udoka Azubuike, who grabbed 16 rebounds and scored 19 points as the Jayhawks left no chance of missing the Sweet 16 for a second year in a row. Azubuike was particularly dominant early in the second half as the lead swelled to as many as 15 for Kansas (30-3). The Cougars (24-9) struggled shooting all game, as Marcus Sasser, whose 3-pointer clinched a firstround win over Marquette, and fellow guards Dejon Jarreau and Quentin Grimes combined to miss 21 of 27 attempts from the field, including a 1-for-10 performance from 3-point range.
NO. 5 AUBURN 98, NO. 4 WISCONSIN 84 >> Samir Doughty scored the first five and last four points in a 19-11 run midway through the second half that helped the Tigers create just enough distance to hold off the persistent Badgers. Auburn (27-6) had to rally past 12th-seeded Liberty to advance past the first round, and Davison’s 3-pointer gave the Badgers a 58-57 lead early in the second half. But Wisconsin (22-11) was undone by its struggles from beyond the arc the rest of the way, missing eight of its final 10 shots from 3-point range. The Tigers maintained a comfortable advantage by going 12 for 12 from the free-throw line during the same stretch.
SOUTH
NO. 5 OHIO STATE 98, NO. 4 LOUISVILLE 96 >> Despite being badly outplayed in the second half, seeing a lead that was as much as 16 at one point cut to one in the closing seconds, the Buckeyes (2310) survived to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013. Kaleb Wesson scored 20 of his 27 points in the first half and the Cardinals swarmed every time he got the ball after intermission - fouling him five times and forcing four turnovers. Jordan Nwora scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half for Louisville (25-8), which outscored OSU 62-50 over the final 20 minutes.