Under fire: Cowboys withstand the Flames
Cade Cunningham vowed to lead Oklahoma State to a strong run through the NCAA Tournament. The freshman All-American didn’t have an explosive debut, but did just enough to lead the Cowboys to a 69-60 victory over Liberty on Friday night in a Midwest Region first round game.
Cunningham scored 15 points — nine straight in the final minutes — to lead No. 4 seed Oklahoma State to its first NCAA Tournament win since 2009. Avery Anderson III led the Cowboys with 21 points.
Cunningham before the tournament began said he planned to emulate Carmelo Anthony, who in 2003 led Syracuse to the national title as a freshman. But the Big 12 Conference player of the year struggled for most his debut until his late surge gave OSU (21-8) breathing room against the stubborn Flames (23-6).
Arkansas shuts down Colgate: Justin Smith had 29 points and 13 rebounds, and Arkansas shut down high-scoring Colgate to open the NCAA Tournament with an 85-68 win on Friday.
The 14th-seeded Raiders (14-2) had upset pickers out of their seats early in the South Region opener with a slew of 3-pointers and a 16-2 run to go up 14. The third-seeded Razorbacks (23-6) restored some bracket order with a 19-0 run spanning halftime.
Texas Tech has big surge in second half: Mac McClung scored 16 points in his first career NCAA Tournament game and Kyler Edwards added 12 to help sixth-seeded Texas Tech pull away from 11th-seeded Utah State 65-53 on Friday.
Baylor on cruise control: MaCio Teague scored 22 points and the top-seeded Baylor shook off a slow-as-molasses start Friday to roll to a 79-55 victory over No. 16 Hartford in the NCAA Tournament.
Loyola holds off Georgia Tech: With key pieces of their Final Four team leading the way, Loyola marked a triumphant return to college basketball’s biggest stage Friday with a 71-60 victory over No. 9 seed Georgia Tech at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Lucas Williamson scored 21 points in a dynamic performance by the defensive whiz, Buddy Norris added 16 points and All-America forward Cameron Krutwig had 10 for the Ramblers.
Illini leave no doubt: Kofi Cockburn muscled his way to 18 points and Illinois cruised past 16th-seeded Drexel 78-49 in the Illini’s first NCAA Tournament game as a No. 1 seed in 16 years.
Wisconsin routs UNC: North Carolina coach Roy Williams lost his first opening-round NCAA Tournament game in 30 tries as ninth-seeded Wisconsin blew out his eighth-seeded Tar Heels 85-62 on Friday night. Brad Davison scored 29 points for the Badgers, who drained 13 of 27 3-pointers.
Houston has no problem: Quentin Grimes scored 18 points and Houston coach Kelvin Sampson tied John Wooden on the career victories list as the Cougars beat 15th-seeded Cleveland State 87-56 in the NCAA Tournament on Friday night. Sampson earned his 664th win, No. 38 all-time, in his first game at Assembly Hall since resigning as Indiana’s coach in February 2008.