No. 12s Little Rock, Yale pull off big upsets
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Ivy League has produced its share of surprise winners in the NCAA Tournament. It can add Yale to that list of bracket spoilers.
Makai Mason had a career-high 31 points, including six of Yale’s final nine points, and the No. 12 seed Bulldogs held on to upset No. 5 seed Baylor 79-75 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
And it was just the first of two victories by No. 12 seeds. Arkansas-Little Rock stunned Purdue in the evening, with an out-of-nowhere comeback that led to a double-overtime win. Josh Hagins sent the game into overtime with a shot from the edge of the midcourt logo. The 6-foot-1 senior finished with 31 points, including six in the second overtime.
The 12th-seeded Trojans (30-4), trailed 65-52 with 3:33 to go in regulation, and then went on a 12-0 run to make it a game. Trailing by three on the final possession, Hagins tried to find space, then stepped back and launched from 30 feet to tie it.
Yale (23-6), meanwhile, earned its first NCAA Tournament victory in its first appearance since 1962.
“This was bigger than us, and we wanted to do it for all the Yale faithful out there,” said senior Justin Sears. “”It’s great right now. I don’t think it’s really hit us how big this is yet.”
Afterward, the Bulldogs celebrated like a team that had been waiting 54 years to play in the big dance.
When the final horn sounded, coach James Jones walked across the floor with his arms raised. Stopping in front a cheering throng of Yale fans, he slammed both hands down on the scorer’s table before again lifting his arms high.
Since Cornell made a Cinderella run to the Sweet 16 in 2010, Ivy League teams have gone 4-3 in firstround games. That Cornell team, coincidentally, was also a No. 12 seed. The Bulldogs advance to face fourthseeded Duke on Saturday. Sears added 18 points. Brandon Sherrod finished with 10.
“The guys in this locker room have known,” said Yale guard Nick Victor. “People outside, they always thought we couldn’t win this one. We knew from the start that we could do this.”
Among the other results: Duke, the No. 4 seed in the West, beat UNC-Wilmington 93-85 and will face Yale next; No. 1 Virginia routed Hampton 81-45 in the Midwest, while No. 3 Iowa State beat Iona 94-81 and No. 9 Butler downed Texas Tech 71-61: Kansas, the top seed in the South, rolled over Austin Peay 105-79, while No. 9 Connecticut came back from an11-point deficit to outlast Colorado 74-67.