No. 12 seeds prevail: Oregon knocks off Wisconsin 72-54; Liberty tops Mississippi State 80-76.
Oregon was SAN stumbling toward the end of a disappointing season until a strong turnaround led the Ducks to the Pac-12 title and an NCAA Tournament bid.
Oregon is not looking to slow down any time soon.
Payton Pritchard scored 19 points, Kenny Wooten protected the rim with four blocks and 12thseeded Oregon extended its surprising March run by beating No. 5 seed Wisconsin 72-54 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“It showed everybody today, it wasn’t a fluke,” Pritchard said. “We’re here to play. We’re here to win it.”
The Ducks won four games in four days last week just to make the NCAAs then followed it with an impressive victory over a higher-seeded opponent. Oregon advanced to play No. 13 seed UC Irvine (31-5) on Sunday in the second round of the South Region.
Louis King added 17 points, Paul White scored all 14 points of his points in the second half and Wooten had nine points, six rebounds and the tone-setting blocks to give the Ducks their ninth straight win.
“To see them come like this and have so much fun, that’s why we coach, just to see guys get together and have fun and play their tails off,” coach Dana Altman said. “That’s what they’re doing right now.”
Virginia 71, Gardner-Webb 56.
No. 1 seed Virginia rallied from 14 points down Friday to beat No. 16 seed Gardner-Webb and avert another first-round exit as a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Cavaliers trailed 30-16 with 6:42 left in the first half of the South Region opener but rallied and cut the Runnin’ Bulldogs lead to six at halftime.
Virginia (30-3) then opened the second half with a 25-5 run to put to rest any thoughts of an upset.
Tennessee 77, Colgate 70.
COLUMBUS, OHIO» Admiral Schofield had 19 points and No. 2 seed Tennessee held off a second-half rally by No. 15 seed Colgate in the opening round.
Jordan Bone added 16 and Jordan Bowden 14 for Tennessee.
The Raiders erased most of Tennessee’s 42-30 halftime lead with an 11-2 run, tied the score midway through the second half, and kept the game close after that.
Oklahoma 95, Mississippi 72.
Rashard Odomes and Christian James scored 20 points apiece, Kristian Doolittle had 19 points and matched a career-high with 15 rebounds and No. 9 seed Oklahoma blitzed Mississippi with a season high in points in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Sooners scored on eight of their first nine possessions for a 12-0 lead and led by 17 at halftime.
Iowa 79, Cincinnati 72.
OHIO» Luka Garza scored 20 points, Jordan Bohannon made a three-point play during Iowa’s closing surge as the 10th-seeded Hawkeyes rallied past No. 7 seed Cincinnati in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Hawkeyes got their first NCAA Tournament win in four years despite what amounted to a home crowd for the Bearcats, who couldn’t overcome a subpar game by Jarron Cumberland. He was 3 of 9 from beyond the arc and finished with 18 points.
UC Irvine 70, Kansas State 64.
SAN JOSE, CALIF.» UC Irvine got back-to-back 3-pointers from Evan Leonard to spark the deciding run in an upset over Kansas State, the Anteaters’ first NCAA Tournament victory in school history.
Leonard and Max Hazzard each scored 19 points to send UC Irvine (31-5) into the second round of the South Region.
One year after making a run to the Elite Eight, the fourth-seeded Wildcats (25-9) had a short stay in the tournament as they struggled to decipher the Anteaters zone defense and missed star forward Dean Wade, who was sidelined by a foot injury.