MARCH MADNESS Oh, how sweet it is
A pair of No. 2 seeds come off the board as Sweet 16 fills out
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – PJ Savoy made a 3-pointer with 1:08 left to give Florida State its first lead of the second half, and the Seminoles rallied from a 12-point deficit to beat top-seeded Xavier 75-70 on Sunday night in the second round of the West Region.
The Seminoles, on their way to the NCAA Tournament’s round of 16 for the first time since 2011, made Xavier the second No. 1 seed ousted in the first weekend, sending the Musketeers out along with Virginia. Now Florida State (22-11) will play fourthseeded Gonzaga on Thursday night in Los Angeles. NEVADA 75, CINCINNATI 73 KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Josh Hall converted an offensive rebound for the tiebreaking basket with 9.1 seconds left as Nevada erased a 22-point deficit in the final 11 minutes.
Nevada’s stirring comeback – the second-largest in tournament history – came just two days after the seventh-seeded Wolf Pack rallied from 14 points down to beat Texas 87-83 for its first NCAA victory since 2007.
The Wolf Pack (28-7) move on to an all-upstart South Region semifinal matchup with 11th-seeded Loyola-chicago (30-5) on Thursday night.
Cincinnati, the No. 2 seed, never trailed until Hall’s tiebreaking basket but watched its lead disintegrate as it failed to make a basket in the final 5:45.
With the game tied in the closing seconds, Hall got a rebound off a missed shot by Cody Martin. Hall made a move in the paint and then hit the winning basket. Cincinnati (31-5) never got off a shot before the buzzer. Cane Broome briefly lost control of the ball and then passed to the area of Gary Clark as the final seconds ticked away. KANSAS STATE 50, UMBC 43 CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Barry Brown scored 18 points, and Kansas State ended UMBC’S brief, but historic run in the NCAA Tournament.
Two nights after UMBC became the first 16 seed to beat a No. 1, the Retrievers ran out of magic against the Wildcats.
The Wildcats (24-11) move on to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010 when they lost in the Elite Eight to Butler. They will face Kentucky on Thursday night.
TEXAS A&M 86, NORTH CAROLINA 65 CHARLOTTE, N.C. – T.J. Starks scored 21 points and Texas A&M overpowered North Carolina inside, upsetting the reigning national Florida State guard PJ Savoy celebrates after defeating Xavier in a second-round game in the NCAA college basketball tournament in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday. Cincinnati forward Kyle Washington (24) stands on the court as the Nevada team celebrates during in a NCAA college basketball tournament game in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday.
champions to mark the second straight year a title holder missed the Sweet 16.
The seventh-seeded Aggies (22-12) did everything they had to do to hand the Tar Heels a rare loss in a homestate NCAA game. They dominated the glass. They used their size to control the paint and block shots.
PURDUE 76, BUTLER 73 DETROIT –Dakota Mathias sank a 3-pointer with 14.2 seconds left and second-seeded Purdue, minus star center Isaac Haas, held off 10th-seeded Butler to reach the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.
The Boilermakers (30-6) led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but Butler (21-14) cut the deficit to two and had the ball in the final minute. Kalen Martin missed a 3-pointer, and the shot by Mathias at the other end made it 76-71.
Martin scored with 2.1
seconds remaining, and P.J. Thompson missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving Butler another chance. The Bulldogs called a timeout with 1.8 seconds left, and Kamar Baldwin’s shot from near midcourt hit the rim – although it may have been waved off on a review even if it had gone in.
Purdue faces third-seeded Texas Tech Friday in Boston.
SYRACUSE 55, MICHIGAN STATE 53 DETROIT – Tyus Battle had 17 points and Oshae Brissett scored 15, lifting 11th-seeded Syracuse into the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.
Cassius Winston missed an opportunity to win the game for the Spartans with a shot from about 45 feet just before the buzzer. The Spartans, flummoxed by Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, didn’t make a basket in the last 5:41.
The Orange (23-13) forced
the Spartans (30-5) to settle for 3-pointers all afternoon and it worked brilliantly for Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim against Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo. CLEMSON 84, AUBURN 53 SAN DIEGO – Gabe Devoe scored 22 points and Elijah Thomas had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Clemson, which closed the first half with a 25-4 run that helped it beat cold-shooting Auburn.
In a matchup between Southern schools better known for football, the No. 5 seed Clemson Tigers proved far more adept on the hardwood than the No. 4 seed Auburn Tigers.
The blowout win put Clemson (25-9) into the Sweet 16 for the fourth time overall and the first since 1997, earning it a spot against Kansas in the regional semifinal. WEST VIRGINIA 94,
MARSHALL 71 SAN DIEGO – Jevon Carter scored 28 points, Lamont West added 18 off the bench and West Virginia overwhelmed in-state rival Marshall.
The Mountain State showdown more than 2,000 miles from home was a one-sided celebration for the fifth-seeded Mountaineers. Bigger, more physical and making fewer mistakes, the Mountaineers (26-10) took control with a 19-0 first-half run, and Carter’s three 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the second half made sure there wouldn’t be a rally coming from the 13th-seeded Thundering Herd.
West Virginia will face topseed Villanova next Friday.