Michigan holds off Oklahoma St., 92-91

INDIANAPOLIS >> Derrick Walton Jr. scored 26 points and Michigan made 16 3-pointers Friday to hold off Oklahoma State 92-91 in the first round of the Midwest Regional.

The seventh-seeded Wolverines (25-11) set a school record for 3s in an NCAA Tournament game. They have won six straight — five since a frightening plane mishap on the way to last week’s Big Ten Tournament.

Juwan Evans scored 23 points to lead the 10thseeded Cowboys (20-13), who finished the season with four consecutive losses.

It looked like that streak might end Friday after Oklahoma State opened the second half on a 12-5 run to take a 52-46 lead.

But Michigan charged back with a relentless 3-point barrage, taking a 62-61 lead on Walton’s 3 with 12:26 left making three more 3s in a 14-4 run that made it 76-68.

The Cowboys never led again.

D.J. Wilson had 19 points and four blocks for the Wolverines. Zak Irvin and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman each had 16.

Jeffrey Carroll had 19 points for Oklahoma State while Phil Forte added 12 points and Leyton Hammonds had 10. RHODE ISLAND 84, CREIGHTON 72 >> Jeff Dowtin scored a career-high 23 points with a perfect day at the free-throw line, upstart Rhode Island answered every threat and the Rams ran right into the next round of the NCAA Tournament by stunning coldshooting No. 6 seed Creighton 84-72 on Friday in an opener of the Midwest Region.

Kuran Iverson scored 17 points and Hassan Martin had 12 points and eight rebounds as 11th-seeded Rhode Island (25-9) earned its ninth straight victory. The program won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since advancing to the Elite Eight and losing to Stanford in 1998.

Ronnie Harrell Jr. scored a career-high 15 points in Creighton’s 40-percent shooting day. OREGON 93, IONA 77 >> With star big man Chris Boucher cheering in a bulky knee brace from the sidelines, Tyler Dorsey scored 24 points to lead four players in double figures, and No. 3 seed Oregon beat 14thseeded Iona 93-77 in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region.

The Ducks (30-5) showed they have depth and sheer athleticism to make a special March run, just as coach Dana Altman hoped this week when he challenged role players to make larger contributions in shot-blocker Boucher’s absence.

Iona star Jordan Washington gave his team a huge scare when he went down hard under Oregon’s basket, screaming in pain and grabbing his lower left leg with 1:12 to go before halftime. But the senior forward returned to start the second half and finished with 22 points on 10for-16 shooting and 11 rebounds in his final college game for the Gaels (22-13). LOUISVILLE 78, JACKSONVILLE STATE 63 >> Mangok Mathiang scored 18 points and Deng Adel added 16 Friday to help secondseeded Louisville pull away from Jacksonville State 7863 in the first round of the Midwest Regional.

The Cardinals (25-8) have won five straight opening round games. Louisville was making its first postseason appearance since 2015 after sitting out last year because of a oneyear, school-imposed postseason ban for alleged recruiting violations.

Norbertas Giga scored 30 points for 15th-seeded Jacksonville State (20-15), which was one of a record five teams making their first tourney appearance.

And it was a bigger challenge than most expected.

SOUTH REGION

ARKANSAS 77, SETON HALL 71>> Jaylen Barford hit the go-ahead layup with 57.8 seconds left to help Arkansas hold off Seton Hall 77-71 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Barford had 12 of his 20 points after halftime for the Razorbacks (26-9), the No. 8 seed in the South Region. That included his layup off Khadeen Carrington’s turnover at the other end, pushing Arkansas ahead for good as the Razorbacks scored the game’s final seven points.

The 6-foot-3 junior also came through with a pair of free throws with 18.3 seconds left following a whistle in which officials reviewed Desi Rodriguez’s foul to stop the clock and changed it to a flagrant foul. NORTH CAROLINA 103, TEXAS SOUTHERN 64 >> Justin Jackson broke out of a shooting slump with 21 points to help top-seeded North Carolina roll past Texas Southern 103-64 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s South Region.

The Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year had made just 20 of 60 shots (33 percent) and 7 of 31 3-pointers (23 percent) in his last four games. But he had 19 points by halftime in this one, helping the Tar Heels (28-7) quickly eliminate any chance of an unprecedented upset.

Jackson, a 6-foot-8 junior, finished 8 of 13 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range with seven rebounds.

Isaiah Hicks added 17 points and Kennedy Meeks had 13 for the Tar Heels, who are a No. 1 regional seed for an NCAA-record 16th time.

EAST REGION

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 66, SMU 65 >> Elijah Stewart hit a late 3-pointer for No. 11 seed Southern California as the Trojans upset sixth seeded SMU 66-65 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

SMU’s Shake Milton missed a floater at the buzzer.

Stewart had 22 points for the Trojans (26-9). Bennie Boatright and Chimezie Metu each added 14 for USC, which advances to play Baylor in the second round of the East region on Sunday.

USC also rallied from a big deficit in the second half in its First Four win over Providence.

Semi Ojeleye had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Sterling Brown had 17 points for SMU (305), which had won 16 straight.

SMU was in the NCAA Tournament after being banned from postseason play a year ago for multiple violations, including academic fraud and unethical conduct. BAYLOR 91, NEW MEXICO STATE 73 >> Al Freeman came off the bench to score 21 points, and No. 3 seed Baylor defeated No. 14 seed New Mexico State 9173 in the first round of the NCAA’s East Regional.

Jo Lual-Acuil scored 16 points and Johnathan Motley added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears (26-7), who were upset in the first round by Georgia State and Yale the previous two years.