Carolina squared: Heels, USC romp

MEMPHIS — Joel Berry II scored 26 points and Justin Jackson added 24 as top-seeded North Carolina moved to the Elite Eight with a 92-80 victory over Butler in the NCAA South Region on Friday night.

Luke Maye recorded his first career double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, helping fuel a quick start for Carolina (307). The Tar Heels never let their lead get under double digits in the second half.

Andrew Chrabascz led the fourth-seeded Bulldogs

(25-9) with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Kelan Martin finished with

16 points for Butler, which struggled shooting early and did not recover.

Carolina, which reached the Elite Eight for the 27th time, will face the winner of Friday’s second game between UCLA and Kentucky. The Tar Heels connected on

54.4 percent of their shots, while Butler was at 43.5 percent.

South Carolina 70 Baylor 50

NEW YORK — Sindarius Thornwell scored 24 points and seventh-seeded South Carolina cruised past third-seeded Baylor in the East Regional semifinals, the Bears’ worst NCAA-tournament loss.

The Gamecocks (25-10) were in control from the middle of the first half on, mixing defenses and hustling all over the Madison Square Garden court to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time.

South Carolina will meet the winner of the Wisconsin-Florida game on Sunday with a trip to the Final Four at stake.

DJ Dozier and Chris Silva had 12 points each and Duane Notice added 11 for the Gamecocks.

NCAA women Notre Dame 99 Ohio State 76

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Arike Ogunbowale had a career-high 32 points, Lindsay Allen added 16 and Notre Dame easily beat Ohio State in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

Playing five days after losing star forward Brianna Turner to a season-ending left knee injury, the top-seeded Irish posted their third-highest output this season while also scoring the most points against the Buckeyes. Ogunbowale seemed almost unstoppable in making 11 of 22 from the field to top her previous high by two points.

Besides Allen, the Irish got 14 points and a career-high nine rebounds from freshman forward Erin Boley, a Kentucky native who started in Turner’s place. The Irish tied one season best with 12 three-pointers on a season-high 24 attempts and made 19 of 20 free throws for a thorough win.

Mississippi State 75 Washington 64

OKLAHOMA CITY Teaira McCowan scored 20 of her career-high 26 points in the fourth quarter, and Mississippi State defeated Washington to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time.

McCowan, a 6-foot-7 sophomore center who entered the game averaging just over eight points per game, made 9 of 10 field goals in the final 10 minutes. She scored 11 points in the first 2:33 of the fourth quarter to turn a two-point deficit into a seven-point lead for the second-seeded Bulldogs (32-4).

Plum scored 29 points and Chantel Osahor added

17 points and 11 rebounds in their final games for third-seeded Washington,

(29-6) which reached the Final Four last season.

Mississippi State led 3829 at halftime. Plum exploded for 10 points in the third quarter, and the defense picked up to help Washington take a 50-48 lead into the fourth quarter before McCowan took over.

Oklahoma State boosts aide to head coach

Oklahoma State promoted assistant Mike Boynton to head coach less than a week after Brad Underwood left for Illinois.

Oklahoma State announced the decision in a news release on Friday.

Boynton, 35, helped engineer Oklahoma State’s run to the NCAA tournament this season. He was an assistant for Underwood for three years at Stephen F. Austin and helped the Lumberjacks win 89 games.

“At the end of the day, we view coaching from the same perspective,” athletic director Mike Holder said in a statement. “All of the qualities that I value resonate in him. He said one thing that really stuck with me, that coaching is about leadership and family, and I agree with that wholeheartedly. I know I’m proud to have him as the leader of our basketball program, and think once people get to know him they’ll feel the same way.”

Boynton might have a depleted roster. All-Big 12 point guard Jawun Evans has announced he is entering his name in the NBA draft. The team’s No. 2 scorer, Jeffrey Carroll, announced Friday he will enter his name but won’t hire an agent for now, meaning he could return.

Carroll, a second-team all-conference pick, made his announcement on the school’s website.