Couisnard drops 40 vs. former team, lifts Ducks to upset win

Jermaine Couisnard scored a career-high 40 points to haunt South Carolina — his former school — while leading Oregon to an 87-73 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region on Thursday in Pittsburgh.

Couisnard, who spent three years at South Carolina before transferring in part because of a coaching change following the 2022 season, made five 3-pointers and went 14 of 22 from the field to pace the 11th-seeded Ducks (24-11).

Oregon advanced to the second round to face No. 3 seed Creighton.

Oregon center N’Faly Dante added 23 points in the win.

The sixth-seeded Gamecocks had too many droughts to keep up with the Ducks, who beat Arizona last week on the way to a surprising Pac-12 tourney title.

Creighton 77, Akron 60:

Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 23 points and Trey Alexander had 19 as Creighton, which came within seconds of making the Final Four a year ago, opened this tournament with a solid victory.

The Bluejays got all they could handle in the first half from the 14th-seeded Zips.

East Region Illinois 85, Morehead State 69:

Marcus Domask posted the NCAA Tournament’s first triple-double since Ja Morant for Murray State in 2019 and Terrence Shannon scored 26 points, helping thirdseeded Illinois pull away in Omaha, Nebraska.

Domask had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in his first career triple-double, and teammate Dain Dainja scored 17 of his 21 points in the Illini’s dominant second half.

West Region UNC 90, Wagner 62:

Armando Bacot had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and No. 1 seed North Carolina rolled in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Jae’Lyn Withers had a season-high 16 points and matched his best rebounding work with 10 boards for the Tarh Heels, who missed last year’s tournament after finishing runner-up in 2022.

Arizona 85, Long Beach State 65:

The secondseeded Wildcats scored 16 straight points over a five-minute stretch to pull away in Salt Lake City.

Kylan Boswell had 20 points for Arizona, which made 13 3s — a program record for March Madness.

Michigan State Mississippi State 69, 51:

Tyson Walker scored 19 points and Spartans coach Tom Izzo picked up his 20th first-round win in the NCAA Tournament.

Michigan State improved to 20-6 in March Madness openers under the 69-year-old Izzo, who’s making his 26th straight NCAA Tournament appearance — an NCAA Division I record for a coach at one school.

Jaden Akins added 15 points and seven boards for the ninth-seeded Spartans in Charlotte.

Dayton 63, Nevada 60:

No. 7 seed Dayton closed on a 24-4 run to rally from 17 down and get past the 10th-seeded Wolf Pack in Salt Lake City.

Koby Brea made five 3s for the Flyers.