The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
NCAA Tournament roundup
• Mitch Henderson’s victory leap that punctuated Princeton’s famed upset over UCLA in 1996 has become an iconic moment. There is a picture of the joyous jump at the school’s practice facility that serves as a constant reminder of what’s possible.
Now Henderson’s current players have authored one of their own.
Ryan Langborg lifted Princeton to its first lead with 2:03 to play and the Tigers used a late-game run to earn their first NCAA Tournament win in 25years, topping No. 2seed Arizona, 59-55.
“Pretty surreal feeling,” guard Matt Allocco said. “To beat a great team like that on this stage is a pretty special feeling. But also I can’t say I’m surprised. This team has been so good all year, so gritty. On paper, it’s going to look like a big upset. But we believe in each other and we think we’re a really good team. When we’re at our best, then I think we can beat anybody in the country.” The 15th-seeded Tigers (22-9) scored the final nine points, holding the Pac-12 Tournament champion scoreless over the final 4:43.
Tosan Evbuomwan scored 15 points in Princeton’s first tournament victory since beating UNLV in 1998when Henderson was a player for the Tigers. Henderson also played on the 1996team that beat defending champion UCLA in the school’s final tournament under coach Pete Carril, who died in August. This victory fittingly came in Sacramento, where Carril spent time as an NBA assistant after retiring as Tigers coach.
“He would be very proud of the group,” Henderson said. “He wouldn’t want any attention to be brought other than what these guys did. They played to win. We knew we had to keep the game low possessions.” Princeton advanced to play seventh-seeded Missouri in the second round of the South Region. The Tigers beat Utah State 76-65.
Azuolas Tubelis scored 21 points for the Wildcats (28-7), who haven’t won a tournament game in consecutive years since 2014-15.
It marked the third straight year and 11th time overall that a No. 15seed won a first-round game. Arizona is the only school to be on the wrong end of one of those upsets twice, also losing to Steve Nash and Santa Clara in 1993.
“If you want to be a great player, you want to be a great coach, we all got to learn from this,’” Coach Tommy Lloyd said. “We got to go back and figure out what happened and understand the value of being up 10 to 12 points with 10 minutes to go, putting the hammer on people, not letting people get back in the game.”
• JP Pegues made a 3-pointer with 2.4seconds remaining, and No. 13seed Furman completed a rally from a 12-point second-half deficit to hand fourth-seeded Virginia another first-round NCAA Tournament loss, 68-67.
Making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 43years, the Paladins (28-7) advanced to the second round in the South Region, where they will play either fifth-seeded San Diego State or 12th-seeded Charleston on Saturday.
“All year we’ve been saying that this team just knows how to win . ... It’s an unbelievable moment,” Furman coach Bob Richey said.
“This game is — interesting might be the word I’d use,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “You feel like, we got it, we got it, and then all of a sudden in a moment’s notice, it changes at the end. That’s tough.” Furman earned its first tournament berth since 1980by beating Chattanooga for the Southern Conference title, capping a season-long quest to redeem itself after losing the league’s automatic berth to the Mocs in overtime on a 35-foot buzzer-beater last year. “I couldn’t help but go back when I saw the shot in the air to a year ago. It’s just a reminder, like we said it all year, count on joy, and you don’t know timing of things . ... This team has persevered, and they did it today,” Richey said. “It’s a microcosm of what they learned, and they just keep reliving the lesson and keep finding ways.”
In the aftermath of last year’s disappointment, Jalen Slawson and his best friend, Mike Bothwell, both decided to return for their fifth seasons with the Paladins. Slawson took over the game when Bothwell fouled out with just over six minutes remaining, scoring nine consecutive points to turn a 54-48deficit into Furman’s first lead of the game, 57-54, with 5:02 to go. Slawson, the Southern Conference player of the year, finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
“I told Mike that we weren’t going to let today be his last time putting a jersey on, and I know if roles were reversed, the same thing would have happened,” Slawson said. “It didn’t have to just be me. But the game was up there for the taking, and these guys told me they believed in me and told me I was being a little bit passive, told me to be a little bit more aggressive.”
• Alabama buried Texas A&MCorpus Christi under an early 3-point onslaught, launching the NCAA Tournament’s top seed to a 96-75first-round romp even with star freshman Brandon Miller going scoreless. The Crimson Tide (30-5) set aside their off-court distractions and buried 10first-half 3s in a predictably easy win over the 16th-seeded Islanders (2411) at Legacy Arena, less than an hour from campus. Miller, the 6-foot-9All-American who has been beset by questions about his presence at the scene of a fatal shooting, sat out the final 14minutes and missed all five field goal attempts while dealing with a groin injury. His previous low was eight points against Houston on Dec. 10.
“We’re making shots at a pretty high level,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “It’s nice to put up 96without Brandon scoring any of them. He’s been nursing a groin injury. We want to play him limited minutes and were able to keep him under 20.”
• In a game that began before lunchtime, Maryland sleepwalked through the first 10 minutes of its NCAA Tournament opener.
Coach Kevin Willard wasn’t concerned.
He knew there was still time for a wake-up call.
Julian Reese and Maryland topped West Virginia, 67-65, after Kedrian Johnson missed a final heave at the buzzer, sending the eighth-seeded Terrapins into the second round of the South Region. Maryland (22-12) trailed by 12early on, but West Virginia didn’t really take advantage of the Terrapins having more turnovers (six) than points (four). “I look at everything in a positive way,” said Willard, in his first season at Maryland after leading Seton Hall to the Big Dance. “I figured if that’s the best they can do, we’re in pretty good shape.”
• Matt Bradley’s last NCAA Tournament game essentially ended with him bobbling the ball out of bounds, a costly turnover against Creighton in an overtime loss last year. There was zero chance he was going to do it again. Bradley scored 17points and made play after play down the stretch, including hitting two free throws in the final minute, and No. 5seed San Diego State held on to beat 12th-seeded College of Charleston, 63-57. The victory was a measure of redemption for Bradley, whose mistake last year proved costly in the three-point loss.
“I’m just thinking positive things,” said Bradley, who insisted he had no flashbacks to the gaffe. “I’m looking at the bench and everybody trusts me now. Nobody side-eying. I think I have full trust in my teammates and in my coaches on making that free throw, so it felt really good.”
The senior provided pivotal plays in this one, helping the Aztecs (28-6) win their first game in the Big Dance since 2015. They ended a four-game losing streak in the tournament and snapped an 11-game skid for the Mountain West Conference.
• Missouri used a second-half scoring spurt from Kobe Brown to win its first NCAA Tournament game in 13years, beating Utah State, 76-65. Brown hit three 3-pointers in a span of just over three minutes to fuel a 13-2 run that turned a two-point deficit into a 62-53 lead.
“He’s our MVP. I can tell you that,” Coach Dennis Gates said. “Ultimately when he started making some shots in that second half, he immediately made eye contact. He said he’s here. I said, ‘Yes, you are. We can see.’”
The seventh-seeded Tigers (25-9) held on from there, stopping a six-game tournament skid with their first win since beating Clemson in the first round in 2010.
WEST REGION
• Jalen Wilson had 20 points and seven rebounds for No. 1 seed and defending national champion Kansas, which allowed absent and recovering Coach Bill Self to rest a bit more comfortably during a 9668 victory over Howard. Self is recovering from a heart procedure.
“He wished us good luck and told us to go out and do what we do,” Wilson said. Gradey Dick had 19points and 11rebounds in the freshman’s first NCAA Tournament game, his first career double-double. K.J. Adams Jr. scored 13points and Dajuan Harris Jr. added 11points, seven assists and four steals for the Jayhawks (28-7), who will play No. 8seed Arkansas in the second round March 18.
• Ricky Council IV scored 18 points and Arkansas survived some anxious moments in the second half against an Illinois team that wouldn’t go away, holding on to beat the Illini, 73-63.
Devo Davis had 16 points for the eighth-seeded Razorbacks, who used relentless defense and rebounding to build big leads but couldn’t get comfortable until the final minute. Arkansas (21-13) faces top-seeded Kansas on March 18in the second round of the West Region.
• The Northwestern-Boise State game was not completed in time for this edition.
• The UCLA-UNC Asheville game was not completed in time for this edition.
EAST REGION
• The Duke-Oral Roberts game was not completed in time for this edition.
• The Tennesee-Louisiana game was not completed in time for this edition.
MIDWEST REGION
• The Iowa-Auburn game was not completed in time for this edition.
• The Houston-Northern Kentucky game was not completed in time for this edition.
• The Texas A&M-Penn State game was not completed in time for this edition.
• The Texas-Colgate game was not completed in time for this edition.