IT’S OVER FOR IONA
Pitino’s Gaels fall to Bama; UConn ousted by Maryland
INDIANAPOLIS — Everybody knew Rick Pitino would come prepared.
That he won’t get to use any more of the eight designer suits he packed for the NCAA Tournament is only because of an Alabama team that came at Iona in waves Saturday and finally pulled away for a 68-55 win to end Pitino’s dreams as a No. 15 seed.
“To be honest, we thought we could win tonight,” the coach said.
Of course they did. It’s why Pitino packed for the long haul on this trip to Indianapolis, figuring it could be like so many of his other 21 trips to March Madness — maybe like the time he took underdog Providence and Billy Donovan to the Final Four back in 1987 as a 6.
This time, Pitino had his worst seed ever and second-seeded Alabama (25-6) was too much.
Herb Jones led the Crimson Tide with 20 points, including a steal and layup that highlighted an 11-0 run and gave Alabama breathing room at 58-46 with 6:36 left after the teams seesawed the lead through much of the second half.
This is the fifth, and maybe most unlikely, program Pitino has brought to the tournament, in large part because the Gaels (12-6) went 50 days without playing a game in midseason due to COVID-19.
But they won their conference tournament as a 9 seed, and felt as if they were rolling coming into Indy.
Pitino, who has led Kentucky and Louisville to national titles, coached like he always does.
Wearing a black suit with a maroon tie that matched his team’s colors, the 68-year-old urged, cajoled, yelped and stomped his black shoes on the hardwood to grab his players’ attention.
MARYLAND 63, UCONN 54
Eric Ayala scored 23 points and Maryland clamped down on defense down the stretch to snag a over UConn.
The 10th-seeded Terrapins held UConn to 32% shooting to overcome the Huskies’ strong physical game. Maryland was outrebounded 40-29 but its defense carried the Terps to a second round matchup against No. 2 Alabama.
Maryland (17-13) shot 51% for the game and converted 9 of 18 from behind the arc. The Terps built a 14-point cushion that UConn cut to 53-48 with 2:53 remaining.
MICHIGAN 82, TEXAS SOUTHERN 66
Juwan Howard won
his
first NCAA
Tournament game since taking over at Michigan, guiding Mike Smith and the top-seeded Wolverines to victory.
Smith scored 18 points and Hunter Dickinson added 16 as Michigan rolled into the second round without Isaiah Livers, who is out with a foot injury. Eli Brooks and Brandon Johns Jr. had 11 points apiece.
Howard is back in the tournament for the first time since his stellar playing career with Michigan, including back-to-back Final Four appearances in 1992 and 1993.
LSU 76, ST. BONAVENTURE 61
Freshman Cameron Thomas scored 27 points in another impressive performance and his LSU teammates provided the rebounding muscle, leading the eighth-seeded Tigers past ninth-seeded St. Bonaventure.
LSU (19-9) can reach its second straight Sweet 16 if it beats Michigan.
Darius Days and Aundre Hyatt each had 13 points and Trendon Watford had 11.
COLORADO 96, GEORGETOWN 73
Colorado used an early 3-point barrage to parlay its highest seeding ever into a win over Georgetown and coach Patrick Ewing.
Led by freshman Jabari Walker’s 5-for5 shooting clinic from 3-point range, the fifth-seeded Buffs (23-8) made 16 3-pointers and shot 64% from long range.
Georgetown won four games in four days earlier this month to take the Big East Tournament title and make a surprise trip to the NCAA Tournament. But the Hoyas finished 13-13 on the season. Qudus Wahab led Georgetown with 20 points.
RaiQuan Gray scored 17 points and Florida State began what it hopes will be another deep run under coach Leonard Hamilton, holding off 13th-seeded UNC Greensboro.
The Seminoles, who reached the Elite Eight and the Sweet 16 in the previous two tournaments, allowed the Spartans to hang around deep into the second half thanks to an uneven offensive performance.
CREIGHTON 63, UC SANTA BARBARA 62
Christian Bishop made both ends of a one-and-one with 16 seconds left to give fifth-seeded Creighton the lead, and the Bluejays hung on to beat 12th-seeded UC Santa Barbara.
Creighton’s turbulent season, which included a one-game suspension for coach Greg McDermott after he made a racially insensitive remark in the locker room, continues Monday in the West Region when the Bluejays (21-8) face either Virginia or Ohio.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 72, DRAKE 56
Evan Mobley had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 6 seed Southern California used smothering defense to beat Drake.
Mobley, a 7-foot freshman forward and AP second-team All-American expected to be a lottery pick if he declares for the draft, made 7 of 15 field goals and blocked three shots.
KANSAS 93, EASTERN WASHINGTON 84
David McCormack returned from his COVID-19-caused hiatus just in time to rescue No. 3 seed Kansas, piling up 22 points and nine rebounds as the slow-starting Jayhawks rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to beat No. 14 seed Eastern Washington.
Ochai Agbaji scored 21 points, Marcus Garrett fought foul trouble to add 20 and Dajuan Harris Jr. had 13 for the Jayhawks/
OHIO 62, VIRGINIA 58
Virginia’s unusual title defense ended with another upset loss in the NCAA Tournament, falling to Jason Preston and Ohio.
Some familiar problems showed up again for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, who struggled to score during a key stretch in the second half and shot 35% from the field for the game. Virginia became the first No. 1 seed to drop its opening game in the NCAA Tournament when it lost to UMBC in 2018, but it used the setback as motivation in its run to the championship in 2019.
OKLAHOMA 72, MISSOURI 68
Austin Reaves scored 23 points, Brady Manek added 19 and Oklahoma slipped by ninth-seeded Missouri.
The eighth-seeded Sooners (16-10) are on to the second round for fourth time in the last six tournaments and will face No. 1 Gonzaga on Monday.
IOWA 86, GRAND CANYON 74
Iowa watched as higher seeds dropped out of the bracket in an opening day of upsets in the NCAA Tournament.
The Hawkeyes avoided joining the list with an impressive shooting night and another dominating performance from their All-American.
Luka Garza scored 24 points and Iowa cruised into the next round.
UCLA 73, BYU 62
Johnny Juzang poured in 27 points in his second big game of the NCAA Tournament, Jules Bernard provided a big second-half lift, and No. 11 seed UCLA beat sixth-seeded BYU.
Bernard finished with 16 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 13 for the Bruins.
GONZAGA 98, NORFOLK ST. 55
Corey Kispert scored 15 of his 23 points by halftime and No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga rolled in its NCAA Tournament opener.
Anton Watson had 17 points on 7-for7 shooting for the Bulldogs (27-0), who shook off a slow few opening minutes and easily handled the 16th-seeded Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions.