Texas A&M-CC earns first NCAA tourney win
Isaac Mushila had 15 points and 12 rebounds as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi held off Southeast Missouri State 75-71 on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio to earn the first NCAA Tournament win in program history.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi went 3-for-4 at the free-throw line in the final 15 seconds to ice the game and advance to play topseeded Alabama in the South Region.
The 16th-seeded Islanders, winners of the Southland Conference, returned to the First Four for a second straight season and led for all but 23 seconds in the opening game of this NCAA tourney.
The Redhawks erased a 10-point deficit and tied it at 64 when Chris Harris made both free throws with 3:07 left.
Trevian Tennyson scooped in a layup off the glass to give Texas A&M-Corpus Christi a 72-69 lead with 22 seconds left, but Phillip Russell drove for a layup on the other end to bring the Redhawks within one.
Jalen Jackson made two foul shots with 14 seconds remaining to extend the lead to 7471, and Russell came up short on a good look at a three-pointer with 1.5 seconds to go.
Pittsburgh 60, Mississippi St. 59
Jamarius Burton made a go-ahead jumper with 10 seconds left and the Panthers edged the Bulldogs in a back-and-forth First Four game that featured 21 lead changes — most in the NCAA Tournament in five years.
Mississippi State had a great chance to win at the end, but Shakeel Moore missed a wide-open three-pointer from the corner with two seconds remaining and D.J. Jeffries’ tip-in attempt was off target just before the buzzer.
The Panthers won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2014. They slotted into the Midwest Region as the 11th seed and advanced to face No. 6 Iowa State on Friday in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Purdue’s Edey tops All-America team
Purdue’s Zach Edey and Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis have given the Big Ten Conference a third straight year with multiple first-team Associated Press AllAmerica picks in men’s basketball, while Kansas has had a second straight firstteamer in Jalen Wilson.
The 7-4, 305-pound Edey appeared on all 58 ballots as a first-team selection from AP Top 25 voters as the lone unanimous pick in results released Tuesday.
Houston’s Marcus Sasser and Alabama’s Brandon Miller joined Edey and Wilson on the first team in representing each of the NCAA tournament’s No. 1 seeds.
Buie, Shannon Jr. earn honors
Northwestern senior guard Boo Buie and Illinois senior guard Terrence Shannon Jr. were named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association District V All-District Team.
Shannon also was selected to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District second team for District 7, which covers the Big Ten conference.
This and that
Former Notre Dame guard J.J. Starling, one of the top transfers this spring, told ESPN he has committed to play at Syracuse next season.
Alabama assistant coach Charlie Henry reportedly agree to a four-year deal to become the next head coach at Georgia Southern.