Simpson shines for Colorado as Buffs top Gators

KJ Simpson rattled in a tiebreaking jumper from the baseline with 2 seconds left, and 10th-seeded Colorado beat seventh-seeded Florida in a 102-100 thriller on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Simpson finished with 23 points as the Buffaloes (26-10) and Gators (24-12) put on the most impressive offensive display of this year’s March Madness. Colorado extended its single-season school record for wins two days after beating Boise State in the First Four. The Buffs advance in the South Region to face secondseeded Marquette on Sunday.

Walter Clayton Jr. scored the last 16 points for Florida, including a 3-pointer that tied the game at 100-all with 9 seconds left. He finished with a career-high 33 points, but his half-court heave at the buzzer didn’t hit the rim, and Colorado moved on to the second round for the third time since 1998.

The Buffs’ astonishing offensive totals: 34 of 54 (63%) from the field, 6 of 10 on 3-pointers and 28 of 33 (84.8%) on free throws. The Gators made five more 3s (11 of 25) and shot 51.5% overall (35 of 68) to keep pace.

Marquette 87, Western Kentucky 69:

Kam Jones scored 28 points and Tyler Kolek made a successful return from an oblique injury, helping No. 2 seed Marquette rally for an 87-69 victory over No. 15 seed Western Kentucky.

East Region San Diego State 69, UAB 65:

Jaedon LeDee dominated inside on the way to 32 points, Lamont Butler added 15 and San Diego State held off 12th-seeded UAB 69-65 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. A year after marching to the national title game, also as a No. 5 seed, the Aztecs saw a 12-point second-half lead disappear before putting together a late surge on the strength of their star 6-foot-9 forward.

Northwestern 77, FAU 65 (OT):

Ryan Langborg scored 12 of his career-high 27 points in overtime, and ninth-seeded Northwestern put away No. 8 seed Florida Atlantic 77-65 in the first round Friday.

UConn 91, Stetson 52:

Donovan Clingan scored 19 points and Cam Spencer added 15 as top-seeded UConn began defense of its national championship by cruising past 16th-seeded Stetson 91-52 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The top-ranked Huskies (32-3) will face ninth-seeded Northwestern on Sunday in the second round of the East Region at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

West Region Clemson 77, New Mexico 56:

Chase Hunter scored 21 points and sixth-seeded Clemson ended No. 11 seed New Mexico’s hopes of repeating the Mountain West’s run in the NCAA Tournament, beating the Lobos 77-56 on Friday.

Baylor 92, Colgate 67:

Jalen Bridges scored 23 points, Ja’Kobe Walter added 19 and third-seeded Baylor coasted past 14th-seeded Colgate 92-67 on Friday.