Wichita St. tops ’Cats; Iona ousted by Iowa St.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker combined for 29 points and Wichita State’s swarming defense did the rest as the 11th-seeded Shockers beat No. 6 Arizona 65-55 on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Wichita State (26-8) will play Miami (26-7), the third seed in the South Region, on Saturday.
It was evident from the outset that Wichita State’s in-your-face defense was going to be the decisive factor against Arizona (25-9). The Shockers forced 19 turnovers they converted into 22 points and snared nine steals.
Arizona’s big three of Ryan Anderson, Gabe York, and Allonzo Trier, each averaging 15 points, combined for 28 KANSAS 105, AUSTIN PEAY 79 DES MOINES, Iowa — Svi Mykhailiuk scored a career-high 23 points, Perry Ellis added 21 and top-seeded Kansas throttled Austin Peay.
Landen Lucas scored 16 points for the Jayhawks (31-4), who will face Connecticut on Saturday with a chance to return to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013. CONNECTICUT 74, COLORADO 67 DES MOINES, Iowa — Rodney Purvis, Daniel Hamilton and a stifling defense carried Connecticut back from an 11-point firsthalf deficit, giving the Huskies enough for a victory over Colorado that kept coach Kevin Ollie unbeaten in the NCAA Tournament.
Purvis scored 15 of his 19 points after halftime, Daniel Hamilton had 17 points and 10 rebounds and the No. 9 seed Huskies (25-10) advanced. MIDWEST REGION IOWA STATE 94, IONA 81
PHOTO BY AP
A.J. English led the 14th-seeded Gaels (2211) with 28 points and Jordan Washington scored 26. LITTLE ROCK 85, PURDUE 83, 2OT DENVER — Little Rock is advancing thanks to an out-of-nowhere comeback that led to a victory over Purdue.
Josh Hagins sent the game into overtime with a shot from the edge of the midcourt logo, and then into double OT with an arcing shot off glass over an outstretched defender.
The 6-foot-1 senior finished with 31 points, including six in the second overtime. VIRGINIA 81, HAMPTON 45 RALEIGH, N.C. — Anthony Gill scored 19 points for Virginia. London Perrantes had 12 points and Malcolm Brogdon finished with 11 for the top-seeded Cavaliers (28-6).
They shot 55 percent, hit 12 3-pointers and put this one well out of reach with a 20-3 run late in the first half before coach Tony Bennett collapsed and was taken to the locker room. BUTLER 71, TEXAS TECH 61 RALEIGH, N.C. — Kelan Martin scored all 11 of his points in the final 9 minutes, including consecutive 3-pointers to break a tie game and help Butler advance.
Kellen Dunham scored 23 points to lead the Bulldogs (22-10), including a critical 3 of his own with 2:26 left as the Midwest Region’s No. 9 seed pulled away in the final minutes. UTAH 80, FRESNO STATE 69 DENVER — Sophomore 7-footer Jakob Poeltl scored 16 points and pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds to help Utah., which used a blistering 20-2 run down the stretch to regain control after falling behind for the first time all night with 10:32 remaining. EAST REGION INDIANA 99, CHATTANOOGA 74 DES MOINES, Iowa — Yogi Ferrell had 20 points and a season-high 10 assists, O.G. Anunoby pitched in 14 points and No. 5 seed Indiana took charge. Thomas Bryant had 13 points and Troy Williams added 12 points and eight rebounds for Indiana.
NORTH CAROLINA 83, FLORIDA GULF COAST 67
RALEIGH, N.C. — Brice Johnson scored 18 points and No. 1 seed North Carolina needed an overwhelming second-half start to put away 16th-seed FGC.
The Tar Heels (29-6) led by just a point after a frustration-filled opening 20 minutes in which the Eagles stayed right with them. PROVIDENCE 70, USC 69 RALEIGH, N.C. — Rodney Bullock hit a layup with 1.5 seconds left to give Providence the win. Ben Bentil scored 19 points and Bullock finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds to help the ninth-seeded Friars (24-10) earn their first win in the tournament since 1997. They will face top-seeded North Carolina (29-6) on Saturday. USC (21-13) missed the front ends of two 1-and-1 in the final minute. WEST REGION DUKE 93, UNC WILMINGTON 85 PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Marshall Plumlee ditched the mask guarding his broken nose and responded by scoring a career-high 23 points to lead the defending national champs.
Plumlee had 10 of his points and two blocks as the Blue Devils stepped up the defensive pressure early in the second half to build a lead after trailing at the break.