Big Ten lands three players on the AP All-America first team

Keegan Murray has given Iowa a first-team Associated Press All-American for the third straight year, and Kofi Cockburn has made it two in a row for Illinois — not bad for a couple programs that haven't had a whole lot of them.

The Fighting Illini never had a first-team pick until Ayo Dosunmu made it last season when Cockburn, the bruising forward from Kingston, Jamaica, was voted to the second team. And the Hawkeyes had not had a first-team selection since the 1952 season until Luka Garza, last year's AP player of the year, made his second consecutive appearance in the five-man team.

Throw in Wisconsin's Johnny Davis and the Big Ten was well represented Tuesday on the AP's first team, which also included Kentucky big man Oscar Tshiebwe — this year's player of the year favorite — and Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji, the Big 12 player of the year.

“I've had to learn from a lot of guys last year just what it takes to be great at this level,” said Murray, a sophomore guard who is fourth nationally in scoring at 23.6 points per game for the Hawkeyes, who won the Big Ten Tournament title.

All the first-team picks have their teams positioned to make a postseason run.

Davis is the Badgers' third first-team All-American, joining Alando Tucker in 2007 and Frank Kaminsky in 2015, while Tshiebwe is the first for Kentucky since Tyler Ulis in 2016. Agbaji gives the Jayhawks a first-team pick for the third time in six years after Frank Mason in 2017 and Devonte Graham in 2018.

First Four games

Bryson Etienne scored 21 points and the Cowboys beat the Islanders (23-12) on Tuesday night in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament

in Dayton, Ohio.

Texas Southern earned its third NCAA Tournament win in five seasons and will play top-seeded Kansas in the Midwest first round.

PJ Henry hit a go-ahead free throw to highlight a 7-0 run in which Texas Southern (19-12) took the lead and never surrendered.

Trayce Jackson-Davis had 29 points and nine rebounds, Jordan Geromino scored 15 points and the Hoosiers defeated the Cowboys in a First Four game.

Indiana (21-13) earned an at-large bid, getting back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016 in its first season under coach Mike Woodson. The Hoosiers move on as the 12th seed in the East and will face fifth-seeded Saint Mary's on Thursday.

Hunter Maldonado paced Wyoming (25-9) with 21 points but turned the ball over 10 times. The Cowboys had 19 turnovers leading to 17 Indiana points.