Ingram’s long 3-pointer lifts No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago
Donte Ingram hit a 3-pointer from the March Madness logo just before the buzzer, lifting 11th- seeded Loyola- Chicago over Miami 64- 62 in a Thursday thriller at the NCAA Tournament.
“Well, it’s pretty simple to know why we call it March Madness,” said Hurricanes coach JimLarranaga, left holding his head in stunned disbelief after Ingram’s shot.
In 2006, Larranaga took 11th- seeed George Mason to the Final Four. This time, it was Loyola’s turn to celebrate after making its first tournament appearance in 33 years.
The long shot from well beyond the key came with just a split-second left, and was set up by a pass from Marques Townes. It happened after LonnieWalker IV missed a free throw with a chance to give Miami a three-point lead with 9 seconds remaining.
The Ramblers (29- 5) matched the school record for wins from their 1963 national championship team. They advanced to face third-seeded Tennessee on Saturday.
In other South Regional openers: KENTUCKY 78, DAVIDSON 73
» The fifth- seeded Wildcats advanced despite not making a 3-pointer, snapping a nation-best streak of 1,047 games with a 3 that began in 1988. Kentucky went 0 for 6 from behind the line and didn’t even try one over the final 8:46 but still advanced to face 13thseeded Buffalo, which upset Arizona.
Kevin Knox led theWildcats (25-10) with 25 points, as they pulled away after 12th-seeded Davidson tied things at 54 with 8:01 remaining. TENNESSEE 73, WRIGHT STATE 47 » Admiral Schofield had 15 points and 12 for the third-seeded Volunteers (26-8), SEC co-champions in the regular season after being picked in the preseason to finish 13th in the 14-team league.
WEST REGIONAL
GONZAGA 68, UNC GREENSBORO 64 » Zach Norvell Jr. hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 20.8 seconds left as the fourth- seeded Bulldogs (31- 4) avoided being upset after squandering a 12-point second half lead and trailing 64- 62 with 1:48 left.
Gonzaga, in its 20th straight NCAA tournament, won its first game of March Madness for the 10th year in a row. OHIO STATE 81, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 73 » Kam Williams made a tiebreaking four-point play with 1:36 left, then added a trio of free throws after being fouled on another 3-point attempt.
The fifth- seeded Buckeyes (25-8) built a 13-point lead by reeling off 16 straight points midway through the second half.
Ohio State advanced to play Gonzaga. The teams met in November and the Zags romped 86-59. HOUSTON 67, SAN DIEGO STATE 65 » Rob Gray scored 39 points, including a wind- milling layup that just trickled over the rim with 1.1 seconds left that lifted the sixthseeded Cougars (27-7) to their first tournament win since 1984.
Trey Kell’s off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer was no good for 11th- seeded San Diego State (22-11). MICHIGAN 61, MONTANA 47
» Charles Matthews had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the third-seeded Wolverines chugged into a matchup with sixth-seeded Houston.
Michigan (29- 7) methodically drew away over a long period of the second half when No. 14 seedMon- tana (25-8) failed to score.
MIDWEST REGIONAL
DUKE 89, IONA 67 » Marvin Bagley III scored 22 points and second- seeded Duke dominated from start-tofinish over No. 15 Iona.
The Blue Devils (27-7) will play Rhode Island in the Midwest Regional on Saturday.
Duke never left any doubt and is it starts it quest to win its first national championship since 2015. They led by 17 points late in the first half and got every Blue Devil played a role. KANSAS 76, PENN 60 » Devonte Graham ignited a sluggish Kansas offense midway through the first half, pouring in 29 points to lit the top- seeded Jayhawks (28-7), who trailed the No. 16 Ivy League champs by 10 in the early stages before going on a 19-2 run late in the first half to take control.
Graham also had six rebounds and six assists as the Jayhawks cruised into a second-round matchup with eighth-seeded Seton Hall.
• Kansas expects to have injured big man Udoka Azubuike for more regular minutes on Saturday. The 7-footer played only three minutes and played wearing a hefty brace on his left knee, where he strained a ligament in practice last week. RHODE ISLAND 83, OKLAHOMA 78 » The seventhseeded Rams held off Oklahoma star Trae Young and the 10th-seeded Sooners in overtime.
E.C. Matthews led the Rams (26-7) with 16 points, including a 3-pointer with 31 seconds left in the extra period that gave Rhode Island the cushion it needed to move on. Freshman guard Fatts Russell scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half for the Rams.
Young, the nation’s lead- ing scorer, led the Sooners (18-14) with 28 points and seven assists but also finished with six turnovers. The freshman took and missed a pair of deep 3-pointers with the Sooners holding the lead early in overtime. SETON HALL 94, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 83 » Khadeen Carrington scored 26 points and Desi Rodriguez added 20 for the eighthseeded Pirates (22-11), who led the entire way a year after a late meltdown cost them against Arkansas.
Allerik Freeman hit six 3-pointers and had 36 points to lead No. 9 seed North Carolina State (2112).
EAST REGIONAL
VILLANOVA 87, RADFORD 61 » Jalen Brunson scored 16 points and the top-seeded Wildcats (31- 4) played to near-perfection for the first 30 minutes and led 44-23 at halftime.
The Highlanders (2313) posed no threat at becoming the first 16 seed to ever knock off a No. 1 in the tournament. FLORIDA 77, ST. BONAVENTURE 62 » Egor Koulechov scored 20 points to help end t Bnnies’ postseason run two days after their first NCAA Tournament victory in 48 years.
The sixth-seeded Gators (21-12) will face Texas Tech on Saturday. ALABAMA86, VIRGINIATECH 83 » John Petty scored 20 points and hit a late 3-pointer that helped give the No. 9 Crimson Tide (2015) just enough breathing to hang on and advance to play top-seeded Villanova on Saturday. TEXAS TECH 70, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN60 » Keenan Evans scored 19 of his 23 points after halftime and thirdseeded Red Raiders (25-9) closed the game on a 13-2 run. Evans drove for a layup with 3:58 left, putting Texas Tech ahead to stay.