Jayhawks avoid upset; Wolverines beat Vols
Remy Martin scored 20 points, Ochai Agbaji put Kansas ahead for good with his first basket early in the second half, and the Jayhawks held off Creighton 79-72 on Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas, to advance to the Sweet 16.
Martin hadn’t led Kansas (30-6), the top seed in the Midwest Region, in scoring all season as the fifth-year senior transfer from Arizona State battled a sore knee, but he’s done it in both NCAA Tournament games.
The shorthanded Bluejays (23-12) stayed close with an uncharacteristically hot showing from 3-point range. One of the worst teams in the country from beyond the arc, ninth-seeded Creighton went 12 of 28.
The biggest came from freshman Trey Alexander, who swished an off-balance heave from well behind the line as the shot clock was about to expire. Keyshawn Feazell’s bucket soon after got Creighton within one in the final two minutes.
The Bluejays had a chance to go ahead in the final minute, but Alexander’s errant pass went off Alex O’Connell’s hands, leading to a breakaway dunk for Agbaji, who scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half.
Arthur Kaluma scored 24, going 4 of 10 from long range for the Bluejays.
Creighton, which reached the Sweet 16 last year, had just six players in its rotation after losing 7-footer Ryan Kalkbrenner to an injury late in OT of a win over San Diego State on Thursday.
Michigan 76, Tennessee 68: Eli Brooks put Michigan ahead for good with a three-point play and delivered four critical points in the final minute, and the 11th-seeded Wolverines booked the most surprising of their five straight trips to the Sweet 16 with the upset in Indianapolis.
Brooks finished with 23 points, including a looping, improvised hook shot and two free throws as the Wolverines (19-14) put away the Vols, the No. 3 seed in the South Region, who had a six-point lead with 8 ½ minutes left but then went four minutes without scoring.
Big man Hunter Dickinson had 27 points and two of his 10 rebounds in the closing seconds for the Wolverines, whose five straight Sweet 16 appearances are the most in Division I. Gonzaga is the only other team to make it four straight times.
Wisconsin 67, Colgate 60: All-American guard Johnny Davis scored 25 points and sparked a second-half comeback as Wisconsin withstood Colgate’s 3-point assault and won Friday night in Milwaukee.
The Badgers (25-7), seeded third in the East Region, snapped Colgate’s 15-game winning streak and advanced to a second-round game Sunday against No. 11 seed Iowa State (21-12). The Cyclones defeated LSU 59-54 on Friday.
Davis had Wisconsin’s last 14 points and showed he’s all the way back from the injured ankle that knocked the Big Ten player of the year out of the Badgers’ regular-season finale. Davis returned for the Big Ten Tournament but shot 3 of 19 in a quarterfinal loss to Michigan State.
TCU 69, Seton Hall 42: Mike Miles Jr. scored 21 points and ninth-seeded TCU got its first NCAA Tournament victory in 35 years, cruising Friday night in San Diego.
TCU’s last tournament win was in 1987 against Marshall, when coach Jamie Dixon was a senior at his alma mater. They haven’t had many opportunities since: This was their third appearance since 1988 and second in Dixon’s six seasons.
The Horned Frogs (21-12) will take on the South Region’s top seed, Arizona, on Sunday in the second round.