The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Oregon's Couisnard drops 40 in upset of his former school
Jermaine Couisnard scored a career-high 40 points to haunt South Carolina — his former school — while leading Oregon to an 87-73 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region on Thursday in Pittsburgh.
Couisnard, who spent three years at South Carolina before transferring in part because of a coaching change following the 2022 season, made five 3-pointers and made 14 of 22 from the field to pace the 11thseeded Ducks in the upset over the sixth-seeded Gamecocks.
Oregon (24-11) advanced to Saturday’s second-round matchup with No. 3 seed Creighton, a 77-60 winner over No. 14 seed Akron in the first of four games at PPG Paints Arena.
The Creighton-oregon matchup will have a family feel, as it will reunite Ducks coach Dana Altman and Creighton, where he spent 16 years and built the Nebraska school into one of the nation’s best mid-major programs.
Altman has done OK for himself while coaching out West as well. The Ducks improved to 8-0 in firstround NCAA Tournament games under him.
Oregon center N’faly Dante added 23 points, some of them coming on some backboard-shaking dunks.
DUQUESNE 71, BYU 67 >> As his players celebrated around him after springing the first big upset of the NCAA Tournament, Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot joked that they had refused to let their retiring coach reach “the promised land” with their down-to-the-wire win over BYU. Dae Dae Grant scored 19 points, including four clinching free throws in the final 10 seconds, and the No. 11 seed Dukes held on after blowing a 14-point lead to upset the sixthseeded Cougars in an East Regional in Omaha.
Jakub Necas added 12 points and Jimmy Clark III had 11 for Duquesne (2511), which won four games in four days in the Atlantic 10 tourney just to qualify for their first dance in 47 years. The Dukes, who
now have their first win on the NCAA stage since 1969. will play third-seeded Illinois on Saturday.
“I’m trying to retire,” Dambrot, 65, said, “but if we keep winning games, they’re going to make me an old man.”
MICHIGAN STATE 69, MISSISSIPPI STATE 51 >> Coach Tom Izzo won his 20th firstround game in the NCAA Tournament as the ninthseeded Spartans, behind 19 points from Tyson Walker, eliminated the eighthseeded Bulldogs in a West Regional opener.
Michigan State (2014) advanced to face topseeded North Carolina on Saturday. Izzo is making his 26th straight NCAA Tournament appearance — an NCAA Division I record for a coach at one school.
CREIGHTON 77, AKRON 60 >> Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 23 points and Trey Alexander had 19 as the Bluejays opened with a win over the Zips in the Midwest Region.
The third-seeded Creighton (24-9) got all they could handle in the first half from 14th-seeded Akron (24-11). Creighton advanced to a second-round Saturday matchup with Oregon.
NORTH CAROLINA 90, WAGNER 62 >> Armando Bacot had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and the top-seeded Tar Heels never trailed in beating 16th-seeded Wagner in a West Regional opener. Jae’lyn Withers had 16 points and 10 boards as North Carolina (28-7) advanced to play Michigan State on Saturday.
85, MOREHEAD
STATE 69 >> Marcus Domask had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists -- the NCAA Tournament’s first tripledouble since 2019 -- and Terrence Shannon scored 26 points as the No. 3 seeded Illini won an East Regional opener in Omaha. Illinois (27-8) will play Duquesne on Saturday. It was the first triple-double in the NCAA tourney since Ja Morant did it and the 10th ever.
DAYTON 63, NEVADA 60 >> Daron Holmes II and the seventh-seeded Flyers staged a huge March Madness rally, closing with a 24-4 run to erase a 17-point deficit and stund the 10th-seeded Wolf Pack in a West Region game.
Holmes, the Atlantic 10 player of the year, finished with 18 points, including a three-point play with 2:01 remaining that gave Dayton its first lead since the first half. The Flyers (257) trailed 56-39 with 7:36 remaining but responded with a 17-0 run. Dayton will face No. 2 seed Arizona on Saturday.
Wednesday First Four COLORADO 60, BOISE STATE 53 >>
Tristan da Silva scored 20 points and the Buffaloes won their first NCAA Tournament game in three years late on Wednesday night in Dayton. KJ Simpson had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Colorado (25-10), which advanced as a No. 10 seed to play seventh-seeded Florida today in Indianapolis.
Boise State (23-11) dropped to 0-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. GRAMBLING STATE 88, MONTANA
STATE 81, OT >> Jimel Cofer scored all 19 of his points in the second half and overtime as the Tigers rallied from a 14-point deficit for their first NCAA Tournament win in program history. Grambling State (21-14) advances as the No. 16 seed in the Midwest Region to play today against No. 1 seeded Purdue.
Women’s First Four VANDERBILT 72, COLUMBIA 68 >>
Iyanna Moore scored 22 points, Sacha Washington had 16 points and 15 rebounds, and the Commodores celebrated their return to the NCAA Tournament with a win in a battle of 12-seeds. Vanderbilt (23-9), in its 28th NCAA Tournament but first since 2014, advance to play today against fifth-seeded Baylor.
PRESBYTERIAN 49, SACRED HEART 42 >>
Mara Neira made sure Presbyterian’s first NCAA Tournament game was memorable, scoring 14 points, including two free throws with 26.1 seconds left, as the Blue Hose beat Sacred Heart.
Presbyterian (21-14) earned a rematch today with top-ranked South Carolina. The Gamecocks won that Dec. 16 game 99-29.
Men’s NIT Highlights 84, PRINCETON 77
UNLV
>> Rob Whaley Jr. had 21 points and nine rebounds and Keylan Boone had 18 points and 11 rebounds as the Rebels (20-12) won a first-round game late on Wednesday night.
CINCINNATI 73, SAN FRANCISCO 72, OT >>
Simas Lukosius capped his 28-point night with a game-winning 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds remaining to lift the Bearcats (21-14).
INDIANA STATE 101, SMU 92 >>
Jayson Kent scored 35 points on 11-of-12 shooting and had nine rebounds for the Sycamores. Ryan Conwell added 25 points for Indiana State (29-6).
VCU 70, VILLANOVA 61 >> Joe Bamisile had 17 points off of the bench for the Rams (23-13).
OTHER WEDNESDAY NIT RESULTS >> Wake Forest 87, Appalachian State 76; Seton Hall 75, Saint Joseph’s 72, Bradley 74, Loyola Chicago 62.