VIRTUAL NCAA TOURNAMENT
WEST
No. 15 UC Irvine 88, No. 2 San Diego State 84, OT:
The sixth-ranked Aztecs’ dream season came to a shocking end in a game that saw SDSU recover from an early 23-point deficit only to go cold offensively at the end of regulation and then watch the Anteaters feast from the free throw line in the extra period. San Diego State (30-3), which was stunned by Utah State in the Mountain West title game 13 days earlier, came out flat and trailed 42-19 with 4:30 left in the first half. Malachi Flynn and Matt Mitchell helped fuel a furious comeback after intermission, and Trey Pulliam’s baseline jumper gave SDSU its first — and only — lead of the game, 74-72, with 2:11 left. Collin Welp responded with a jumper almost immediately, then the teams went scoreless over the final 1:56 of regulation. The Aztecs missed 8 of 12 shots from the field and didn’t get to the free throw line in overtime, while Irvine (22-11) broke the tie with a 3-pointer and then kept SDSU at bay by hitting 9 for 10 foul shots.
No. 14 Eastern Washington 73, No. 3 Seton Hall 65: The Big Sky champs had been winless in two regular-season meetings against teams ranked in the AP Top 25, but wore down the 15th-ranked Pirates down the stretch. A 15-3 run, which included a couple of heavily contested 3-pointers, gave the Eagles (24-8) a lead they’d never relinquish. Myles Powell scored 16 points to lead the Pirates (21-10) in a rough-and-tumble game that included 36 personal fouls and saw the teams combine for 85 rebounds.
No. 1 Gonzaga 92, No. 16 Prairie View A&M 76:
Joel Ayayi nearly recorded a triple-double in 27 minutes, scoring 19 points with eight rebounds and six assists as the top-seeded Zags. waltzed into the second round. Filip Petrusev added 18 points and nine rebounds for Gonzaga (322). Gerard Andrus scored 22 points for the Panthers (20-14), who were down just three before the Zags went on a 25-11 run over the final seven minutes of the first half.
No. 9 Oklahoma 87, No. 8 LSU 78: Kur Kuath came off the bench and scored all 11 of his points in a nineminute span to help the Sooners build a 14-point halftime lead, then the Big 12’s third-place team withstood a late charge by the SEC’s No. 3 squad.The Tigers (20-10) made things interesting by opening the second half on a 19-6 run, capped by Trendon Watford’s tip-in that cut the deficit to 51-50 with 15:43 left. But the Sooners (2012) answered with a 17-7 run of their own, punctuated by a pair of 3-pointers by Aldones Williams.
No.6 BYU 74, No. 11 Indiana 63: The Cougar defense kept the Hoosiers scoreless for nearly 8 ½ minutes, turning a onepoint BYU deficit into a 40-20 halftime lead and smooth sailing into the second round. Indiana (20-13) missed 13 straight field goal attempts and turned the ball over once during scoring drought. Yoeli Childs led the Cougars (25-8) with 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
No. 7 Arizona 91, No. 10 Texas Tech 78: Zeke Nnaji and Nico Mannion combined for 19 points in the first half, and the Wildcats (22-11) put a quick end to the Red Raiders’ frustrating season. Texas Tech (18-14) had a regular season that included wins over then-No. 1 Louisville and then-No. 12 West Virginia and losses by four or fewer points to four teams ranked in the top 15, but the Red Raiders ended the season on a five-game losing streak.
MIDWEST
No. 15 North Dakota State 77, No. 2 Kentucky 67: The Summit League champs slayed the SEC giant with three-point shooting and defense, holding the Wildcats to two points over the last 4:23 of the game. Kentucky shot 31.9% in the second half and was 3 of 19 from behind the arc for the game. North Dakota State made 10 three-pointers (in 23 attempts). Senior guard Jared Samuelson made all four of his attempts, the last coming with 3:09 to play and the Bison leading 69-65. It was the 13th win in the last 14 games for the North Dakota State (26-8). The only loss, 71-68 at North Dakota, was avenged by an 81-53 rout in the conference championship game and punched the Bison’s ticket to St. Louis. Kentucky finished 25-7.
No. 11 East Tennessee State 81, No. 6 Iowa 50: The Buccaneers (31-4) rode a smothering defense, particularly in the first half, and a balanced offense that saw nine players score at least six points to their 13th straight win. Iowa (20-12) missed 13 of its final 16 field goal attempts of the first half — and turned the ball over on five other possessions during the stretch — and lost for the fourth time in its final five games.
No. 3 Duke 91, No. 14 Belmont 78: Freshman center Vernon Carey had 27 points and 15 rebounds in just 26 minutes as the Blue Devils improved to 30-4 all-time in first round games. The Bruins (26-8) were outrebounded 48-29.
No. 7 Providence 76, No. 10 Arizona State 66: The wheels fell off for the Sun Devils during a six-minute scoreless stretch that saw them lose the lead for good while missing eight straight field goal attempts and turning the ball over three times. It was still a three-point game after Remy Martin’s 3-pointer with 5:55 left, but the Friars (20-12) ended the game on a 14-7 run fueled by five more Sun Devils turnovers. ASU (20-12), which knocked off Oregon a month ago, lost four of its final five.
SOUTH
No. 1 Baylor 98, No. 16 Winthrop 61: The Big South Conference champion Eagles had one shining moment, taking a 10-9 lead on a basket by Chase
Claxton five minutes into the game. Baylor punished them with a 12-2 run and scored the last 10 points of the half to lead 47-32. The Bears (27-4) play Sunday against Saint Mary’s. Winthrop finished with a 24-11 record that included a 6159road victory over Saint Mary’s in the third game of the season.
No. 2 Creighton 80, No. 15 Little Rock 71: The Sun Belt champions made 16 turnovers and missed eight free throws, but still were within four points with 1:38 to play. Creighton (25-7) put an end things by making five straight free throws.
No. 3 Michigan State 88, No. 14 Bradley 83: Xavier Tillman had 23 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks and the Spartans (23-9) needed all of it to hold off the Missouri Valley Conference tournament champs. The Braves (23-12) used a 19-7 run to close a 16-point deficit and were down 8483 after a corner three from senior Darrell Brown with 0:24 to play. But Malik Hall made a pair of free throws and, after a missed 3 that would have tied the game, Rocket Watts converted both ends of a 1-and-1 to seal the victory.
No. 6 Virginia 82, No. 11 Cincinnati 74: Coach Tony Bennett’s team broke character, running and gunning its way to a season-high for scoring while shooting 52.6%. Virginia (24-7) came into the game averaging 57 points and shooting 41.3%. Mamadi Diakite and Tomas Woldetensae led four Cavaliers in double figures with 16 points apiece. It was Virginia’s eighth straight win.
No. 7 Illinois 72, No. 10 USC 62: The Illini shot only 37%, but made 17 of 18 free throws and benefited from 18 USC turnovers. USC (22-10) trailed for all but the first two minutes of the game. Onyeka Okongwu was a one-man show for the Trojans, finishing with 19 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks. Ayo Dosunmo led Illinois (22-10) with 17 points.