Middle Tennessee does it again, takes down Minnesota
No.12 Blue Raiders coast to upset victory
MILWAUKEE » Reggie Upshaw scored 19 points, Giddy Potts added 15 and Middle Tennessee took down another Big Ten team in the NCAA Tournament, beating Minnesota 81-72 on Thursday.
Twelfth-seeded Middle Tennessee proved it was no one-year wonder after upsetting Michigan State as a No. 15 seed last March.
The Blue Raiders (31-4) instead played like seasoned NCAA veterans with the way they held off the Gophers’ comeback attempt from a 17-point deficit in front of a loud and large contingent of Minnesota fans.
Upshaw responded with seven straight points, including a 3-pointer and a reverse layup during a 7-3 run to help give Middle Tennessee a 10-point lead with 3:40 left.
Coach Kermit Davis’ club will move on to face No. 4 seed Butler in the second round on Saturday.
A season of redemption came to an end for fifthseeded Minnesota (24-10), which bounced back from an eight-win season in 201516 to return to the NCAAs.
Amir Coffey had 17 points to lead Minnesota, while Dupree McBrayer added 16.
But the Gophers got in trouble after 6-foot-10 center Reggie Lynch, the Big Ten defensive player of the year, went to the bench with foul trouble.
The athletic Blue Raiders attacked the lane with Lynch sidelined, then held on after Minnesota charged back from the double-digit deficit. It was an upset by seeding only since Middle Tennessee has proven it can keep up with any team.
Trailing 37-31 at halftime, Minnesota was still in relatively good shape given that Lynch played just 9 minutes because of foul trouble. The Gophers had just two first-half turnovers, but shot 38 percent from the field (10 of 26) in the period.
EAST REGION
VIRGINIA 76, UNC WILMINGTON 71 » London Perrantes scored 24 points, Marial Shayok added a careerhigh 23 off the bench and No. 5 seed Virginia rallied from 15 points down to beat 13th-seeded UNC Wilmington 76-71 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
Perrantes scored 19 points in the second half as the Cavaliers (23-10) got their slow-paced offense going. His biggest bucket was a driving bank shot with 1:37 remaining, which put the Cavs up 71-66.
UNCW (29-6) wouldn’t go away, though. Chris Flemmings drained a 3-pointer from the elbow and then Devontae Cacok hit a layup to make it 73-71 with less than a minute to play. But Shayok answered on the other end, banking in a runner that gave the Cavs some breathing room in the closing seconds.
Virginia advanced past the first round for the fourth consecutive year and won as a No. 5 seed for the first time in four tries. The Cavs can thank Perrantes and Shayok for making it happen. FLORIDA 80, EAST TENNESSEE STATE 65 » Devin Robinson tied his career-high with 24 points, Kasey Hill added 14 and No. 4 seed Florida used a second-half surge to beat 13th-seeded East Tennessee State 8065 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
Robinson, an NBA prospect who had been relatively quiet late in the season, scored his most points in nearly two months. He made 10 of 17 shots and chipped in seven rebounds. The speedy Hill reached double figures for the fourth consecutive game. He also added six rebounds and five assists for his most complete game in a month.
Kevarrius Hayes, filling in for injured center John Egbunu, finished with seven points, seven rebounds and six steals. He broke the school record for steals in an NCAA Tournament game.
WEST REGION
NORTHWESTERN 68, VANDERBILT 66 » What was he thinking?
Northwestern got its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, 68-66 over Vanderbilt, after Commodores guard Matthew Fisher-Davis inexplicably grabbed Wildcats guard Bryant McIntosh on purpose, sending McIntosh to the free throw line for the go-ahead points with 15 seconds left.
Riley LaChance made a layup with 18 seconds remaining in Thursday’s game to put the ninthseeded Commodores up by one after trailing by as many as 15.
But seconds after the inbounds pass, Fisher-Davis reached out and grabbed McIntosh while he was in the backcourt. That put eighth-seeded Northwestern in the double bonus, and McIntosh went to the line and calmly swished the free throws with 15 seconds left.
LaChance missed a 3 on the next possession and eighth-seeded Northwestern (24-11) got another free throw.
Fisher-Davis heaved a desperation shot at the buzzer, but it missed, and he sunk his head and reached down to his shoes in despair. NOTRE DAME 60, PRINCETON 58» Bonzie Colson scored 18 points and Notre Dame survived a first-round NCAA Tournament scare by pulling out a 60-58 win over Princeton.
The West Region’s 12thseeded Tigers had a chance to pull ahead on their final possession, but Devin Cannady missed an open 3-pointer just before the final horn. Notre Dame’s Steve Vasturia pulled down the rebound and was fouled.
The Fighting Irish (269) nearly squandered an 11-point second half lead. Guard Matt Farrell scored 16 points, but missed the front end of a one-and-one with Notre Dame up 59-58.
Spencer Weisz led the Tigers with 15 points. The Ivy League champion Tigers (23-7) had a 19-game winning streak going into the NCAA Tournament. GONZAGA 66, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 46 » Jordan Mathews scored 16 points to help Gonzaga slowly pull away from South Dakota State for a 66-46 victory and avoid the first 1 vs. 16 upset in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
It looked possible for a while.
The Jackrabbits (18-17), champions of the Summit League, led for the first 17 minutes of Thursday’s game in the West region and stayed in range for most of the game.
They did it without a breakout game from Mike Daum. The nation’s secondleading scorer finished 7 for 16 from the floor with 17 points — more than eight below his average.
Daum did a nice job on Gonzaga’s 7-foot-1 center, Przemek Karnowski, holding him to four points over the first 32 minutes.
But Karnowski, who finished with 10 points, scored three straight buckets for the Bulldogs (33-1) to help them expand the lead to 20 with 5 minutes left, and it was over. WEST VIRGINIA 86, BUCKNELL 80 » Nathan Adrian had 12 points and 10 rebounds, leading West Virginia to an 86-80 win over Bucknell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Tarik Phillip scored 16 points for the West Region’s fourth-seeded Mountaineers, who struggled at times with the outsideshooting Bison. West Virginia (27-9) avoided a repeat of last year’s first-round meltdown when the thirdseeded Mountaineers lost to Stephen F. Austin.
This win sets up a meeting against the region’s fifth-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who hung on for a 60-58 win over Princeton earlier on Thursday.
Kimbal Mackenzie made 5 of 7 3-point attempts and led the Patriot Leaguechampion Bison with 23 points. Bucknell (26-9) entered the tournament having won six straight and 14 of 16.
MIDWEST REGION
BUTLER 76, WINTHROP 64 » Avery Woodson scored 18 points and tied a career high with six 3-pointers in his NCAA Tournament debut to lead Butler to a 7664 win over Winthrop on Thursday.
Woodson, a graduate transfer from Memphis, hit five 3s in the first half to help the fourth-seeded Bulldogs build a 14-point halftime lead.
A 12-2 run in the middle of the second half gave Butler a 60-43 lead with less than 8 minutes left and put the game out of reach for the 13th-seeded Eagles.
Xavier Cooks had 23 points to lead Big South champion Winthrop (26-7).
Butler (24-8) looked comfortable all afternoon at the Bradley Center, the home of Big East rival Marquette. The last time the Bulldogs played in Milwaukee, Woodson scored 17 points in a 68-65 victory over Marquette last month.
One more win in Milwaukee and Butler could advance to their fifth Sweet 16 since 2003.