Princeton uses late run to stun Arizona
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ryan Langborg lifted Princeton to its first lead with 2:03 to play and the Tigers used a late-game run to earn their first NCAA Tournament win in 25 years, topping No. 2 seed Arizona 59-55 on Thursday.
The 15th-seeded Tigers (22-9) scored the final nine points, holding the Pac-12 Tournament champion scoreless over the final 4:43.
Tosan Evbuomwan scored 15 points in Princeton’s first tournament victory since beating UNLV in 1998 when current coach Mitch Henderson was a player for the Tigers.
Princeton advanced to play seventh-seeded Missouri in the second round of the South Region.
Azuolas Tubelis scored 22 points for the Wildcats (28-7), who haven’t won a tournament game in consecutive years since 2014-15.
It marked the third straight year and 11th time overall that a No. 15 seed won a firstround game.
MISSOURI 76, UTAH STATE 65
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Missouri used a second-half scoring spurt from Kobe Brown to win its first NCAA
Tournament game in 13 years, beating Utah State.
Brown hit three 3-pointers in a span of just over three minutes to fuel a 13-2 run that turned a two-point deficit into a 62-53 lead.
The seventh-seeded Tigers (25-9) held on from there, stopping a six-game tournament skid with their first win since beating Clemson in the first round in 2010. Missouri advanced to play 15th-seeded Princeton.
FURMAN 68, VIRGINIA 67
ORLANDO, Fla. — JP Pegues made a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining, and No. 13 seed Furman completed a rally from a 12-point second-half deficit to hand fourth-seeded Virginia another first-round loss.
Making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 43 years, the Paladins (28-7) advanced to the second round in the South Region, where they will play fifth-seeded San Diego State on Saturday.
Furman earned its first tournament berth since 1980 by beating Chattanooga for the Southern Conference title, capping a season-long quest to redeem itself after losing the league’s automatic berth to the
Mocs on a 35-foot buzz- er-beater in last year’s Southern final.
SAN DIEGO STATE 63, CHARLESTON 57
ORLANDO, Fla. — Matt Bradley scored 17 points, including two free throws in the final minute, and No. 5 seed San Diego State held on to beat 12th-seeded Charleston.
The Aztecs (28-6) won their first game in the Big Dance since 2015 — ending a four-game losing streak — and snapped an 11-game skid for the Mountain West Conference.
The Cougars (31-4) lost for the first time in six weeks and have not won an NCAA Tournament game since 1997.
San Diego State advanced to face 13thseeded Furman on Saturday.
MARYLAND 67, WEST VIRGINIA 65
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Maryland overcame a sluggish start and a final heave at the buzzer by Kedrian Johnson to beat West Virginia.
Johnson led all scorers with 27 points, but his potential winner bounced off the side of the rim as the horn sounded, allowing the eighth-seeded Terrapins (22-12) to advance.
Maryland, led by Julian Reese with 17 points and nine rebounds, meets top-seeded Alabama in the South Region today..
ALABAMA 96, TEXAS A&M-CC 75
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama buried Texas A&M-Corpus Christi under an early 3-point onslaught, and the NCAA Tournament’s top seed won easily even with star freshman Brandon Miller going scoreless.
The Crimson Tide (305) set aside their offcourt distractions and buried 10 first-half 3s in a predictably easy win over the 16th-seeded Islanders (24-11) at Legacy Arena, less than an hour from campus.
Miller, the All-American who has been beset by questions about his presence at the scene of a fatal shooting, sat out the final 14 minutes and missed all five field goal attempts.
WEST REGION KANSAS 96, HOWARD 68
DES MOINES, IOWA — Jalen Wilson had 20 points and seven rebounds for No. 1 seed and defending national champion Kansas, which allowed absent and recovering coach Bill Self to rest during an easy victory over Howard.
Self is still recovering from a recent heart procedure.
Gradey Dick had 19 points and 11 rebounds in the freshman’s first NCAA Tournament game. K.J. Adams Jr. scored 13 points and Dajuan Harris Jr. added 11 points for the Jayhawks (28-7), who will play Arkansas in the second round on Saturday.
ARKANSAS 73, ILLINOIS 63
DES MOINES, Iowa — Ricky Council IV scored 18 points and Arkansas survived some anxious moments in the second half against an Illinois team that wouldn’t go away.
Devo Davis had 16 points for the eighthseeded Razorbacks, who used relentless defense and rebounding to build big leads but couldn’t get comfortable until the final minute. Arkansas (21-13) faces top-seeded Kansas on Saturday.
NORTHWESTERN 75, BOISE STATE 67
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Boo Buie scored 22 points to lead Northwestern past Boise State in the Wildcats’ second appearance ever in the NCAA Tournament.
The seventh-seeded Wildcats (22-11) previously made it to the Big Dance in 2017, and just like that time, they made sure they wouldn’t be one-and-done.
UCLA 86, UNC ASHEVILE 53
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 points and UCLA raced out to a fast start and never looked back against UNC Asheville.
The second-seeded Bruins (30-5) scored the first 14 points of the game and rolled from there. Amari Bailey also scored 17 points and David Singleton had 11. UCLA advanced to play seventh-seeded Northwestern.
EAST REGION DUKE 74, ORAL ROBERTS 51
ORLANDO, Fla. — Jeremy Roach matched his career high with 23 points, and No. 5 seed Duke beat Oral Roberts in the school’s first NCAA Tournament game since Jon Scheyer took over as the Blue Devils’ coach.
Dariq Whitehead added 13 points for the Blue Devils (27-8), winners of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Roach also scored 23 in the ACC title game victory over Virginia.
TENNESSEE 58, LA.-LAFAYETTE 55
ORLANDO, Fla. — Tyreke Key scored 12 points, Jahmai Mashack added 11 and Tennessee survived a late scare to hold off Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (268) whittled an 18-point deficit to three in the final minute — creating some tense moments and a couple technical fouls — but the Volunteers (24-10) closed it out by forcing tough shots and making just enough free throws.
MIDWEST REGION HOUSTON 63, N. KENTUCKY 52
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — With All-American Marcus Sasser watching from the bench, topseeded Houston shook off Northern Kentucky.
Chants of “NKU!” and “Overrated!” filled Legacy Arena as the 16thseeded Norse trailed by only three at halftime and made it 36-all with under 16 minutes to go against the Cougars (323).
AUBURN 83, IOWA 75
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Johni Broome had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots, and Auburn beat Iowa.
The ninth-seeded Tigers (21-12) made 11 of 12 free throws over the final four minutes to lock up a second-round matchup with No. 1 seed Houston.
TEXAS 81, COLGATE 61
DES MOINES, Iowa — Sir’Jabari Rice scored 23 points and No. 2 seed Texas shut down sharpshooting Colgate.
Rice made five of his seven 3-pointers in the first half, helping the Longhorns get off to a fast start. Marcus Carr finished with 17 points and Dylan Disu had 17 points and nine rebounds.
PENN STATE 76, TEXAS A&M 59
DES MOINES, Iowa — Andrew Funk made 8 of 10 3-pointers and scored 27 points as Penn State beat Texas A&M for its first NCAA Tournament victory in 22 years.