Florida holds off spunky Virginia Tech
Colin Castleton scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Tre Mann hit a step-back 3-pointer with 23 seconds left in overtime and seventh-seeded Florida held off No. 10 seed Virginia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Florida was cheered on by Keyontae Johnson, who has supported and inspired his teammates from the bench since his return from a scary medical episode. Johnson collapsed on the court during a game in December and was forced to sit out the rest of the season.
Castleton was dominant on the inside and Mann showed up with a pair of key 3-pointers late for the Gators (15-9).
Mann hit a 3 with 2:49 left in regulation, a shot that became huge as Virginia Tech rallied in the closing seconds and forced overtime on Nahiem Alleyne’s 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left. Mann’s second big 3-pointer gave the Gators a 74-70 lead and proved enough after Cordell Pemsel’s missed jumper with 10 seconds left.
Mann, an all-SEC performer, finished with 14 points. Scottie Lewis added
15 for the Gators.
Alleyne was brilliant for the Hokies (15-7) through regulation but was held to just one basket in overtime. He finished with 30 points and scored the final 12 of regulation for Virginia Tech.
BAYLOR 79, HARTFORD 55 >> MaCio Teague scored 22 points and top-seeded Baylor shook off a slow-asmolasses start to roll past 16th-seeded Hartford.
Baylor opened its March Madness run at the same stadium the Final Four will take place in during the first week of April. The Bears (23-2) will next face either North Carolina or
Wisconsin.
ARKANSAS 85, COLGATE 68 >>
Justin Smith had 29 points and 13 rebounds, and Arkansas shut down highscoring Colgate.
The 14th-seeded Raiders (14-2) had upset pickers out of their seats early with a slew of 3-pointers and a 16-2 run to go up by 14. The No. 3 Razorbacks (23-6) restored some bracket order with a 19-0 run spanning halftime and scored 10 straight points late to pull away. Arkansas advanced to face sixth-seeded Texas Tech in the second round. TEXAS TECH 65, UTAH STATE 53>> Mac McClung scored 16 points in his first NCAA
Tournament game and Kyler Edwards added 12 to help sixth-seeded Texas Tech pull away from 11thseeded Utah State.
The Red Raiders (18-10) snapped a two-game losing streak and made new memories in the tournament after their most recent appearance, a loss to Virginia in the 2019 national championship game.
Midwest
ILLINOIS 78, DREXEL 49 >> Kofi Cockburn muscled his way to 18 points and Illinois cruised past 16thseeded Drexel in the Illini’s first game as a No. 1 seed in 16 years.
Illinois (23-6) will face eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago in the second round of the Midwest Region on Sunday.
LOYOLA CHICAGO 71, GEORGIA TECH 60 >> Lucas Williamson scored 21 points in a dynamic performance by the defensive whiz, AllAmerica forward Cameron Krutwig added 10, and eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago beat No. 9 seed Georgia Tech.
OREGON STATE 70, TENNESSEE 56 >> Roman Silva scored 16 points and 12thseeded Oregon State took advantage of Tennessee’s icy perimeter shooting to beat the fifth-seeded Vols.