First Four games tip off with two thrillers
Jamarius Burton made a go-ahead jumper with 10 seconds left, and Pittsburgh edged Mississippi State 60-59 in a back-andforth First Four game Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio, that featured 21 lead changes — the 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 threepoint try from the corner with two seconds remaining, and D.J. Jeffries’ tip-in attempt was off target just before the buzzer.
Nelly Cummings led Pittsburgh with 15 points. Greg Elliott scored 13 and Blake Hinson added 12 as the Panthers (23-11) won an NCAA tournament game for the first time since 2014.
Pittsburgh slotted into the Midwest Region as the 11th seed and advanced to face No. 6 Iowa State on Friday in Greensboro, N.C.
A layup by Tolu Smith gave Mississippi State (21-13) a 59-58 advantage with 32 seconds left, but Pittsburgh — after a three-minute scoring drought — grabbed the lead back on Burton’s short jumper.
Texas A&M Corpus Christi 75, Southeast Missouri State 71: Isaac Mushila had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and the Islanders (24-10) held off the Redhawks (19-17) to earn the first NCAA tournament win in program history.
Texas A&M Corpus
Christi went four for four at the free-throw line in the final 15 seconds to ice the game and advance to play top-seeded Alabama in the South Region.
Southeast Missouri State (19-17) erased a 10point deficit and tied it at 64 when Chris Harris made two free throws with 3:07 left.
UCLA’s Clark up for defensive award
UCLA guard Jaylen Clark is one of four finalists for the Naismith defensive player of the year.
Clark led the Pac-12 in steals per game (2.6) for the Bruins, who have the conference’s No. 1-ranked scoring defense, giving up 60.3 points per game.
His single-season total in steals (78) is tied for third with former Bruins guard Darren Collison from the 2006-07 season. Clark, who is out for the season with a lower-leg injury, finished 17 steals shy of tying the Bruins’
single-season mark (95) held by guard Jordan Adams (2013-14).
Northwestern’s Chase Audige, Rutgers’ Caleb McConnell and Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner are the other finalists.
NIT
at Michigan 90, Toledo 80: Kobe Bufkin scored 23 points, and the Wolverines (18-15) beat the Rockets (27-8) in the first round.
at Alabama Birmingham 88, Southern Mississippi 60: KJ Buffen scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to help the Blazers (26-9) beat the Golden Eagles (25-8).
Hofstra 88, at Rutgers 86 (OT): Tyler Thomas scored 25 points, including a goahead jumper with 9.3 seconds left in overtime, and Hofstra (25-9) defeated topseeded Rutgers (19-15).
at Liberty 62, Villanova 57: Darius McGhee sank five threes and scored 26 points to lead the Flames (27-8) past the Wildcats (17-17).
at Colorado 65, Seton Hall 64: Ethan Wright scored a season-high 18 points, and the Buffaloes survived a last-second shot.
More awards
Purdue center Zach Edey, Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, Kansas forward Jalen Wilson, Houston guard Marcus Sasser and Alabama forward Brandon Miller were selected first-team Associated Press All-Americans.
The 7-foot-4, 305-pound Edey appeared on all 58 ballots as a first-team selection from AP top 25 poll voters as the only unanimous pick.
The selections of Edey and Jackson-Davis came a year after the Big Ten had three first-team picks. And it gave the league seven through the last three seasons.