The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Upsets are few on Day 2 of tourney’s first round
Rhode Island upsets Creighton and Michigan manages to hold off Oklahoma State as the first round the tournament continues.
Midwest Region
• Derrick Walton Jr. scored 26 points and Michigan made 16 3-pointers Friday to hold off Oklahoma State, 92-91, at Indianapolis. The seventh-seeded Wolverines set a school record for 3s in an NCAA Tournament game.
Juwan Evans scored 23 points to lead the 10thseeded Cowboys, 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. • 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 stunned cold-shooting No. 6 seed Creighton, 84-72, in Sacramento, Calif.
Kuran Iverson scored 17 points and Hassan Martin had 12 points and eight rebounds as 11th-seeded Rhode Island earned its ninth straight victory. • Tyler Dorsey scored 24 points to lead four players in double figures, and No. 3 seed Oregon beat 14th-seeded Iona, 93-77, in Sacramento. • Mangok Mathiang scored 18 points and Deng Adel added 16 to help secondseeded Louisville pull away from Jacksonville State, 78-63, in Indianapolis.
Louisville was making its first postseason appearance since 2015 after sitting out last year because of a one-year, school-imposed postseason ban for alleged recruiting violations.
• Wichita State’s highflying offense didn’t get off the ground until the closing minutes, when the Shockers played like the more tournament-experienced team and pulled away to a 64-58 victory over Dayton in Indianapolis.
South Region
• Jaylen Barford hit the goahead layup with 57.8 seconds left to help Arkansas hold off Seton Hall, 77-71, in Greenville, S.C.
Barford had 12 of his 20 points after halftime for the Razorbacks (26-9), the No. 8 seed. 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.
• Justin Jackson broke out of a shooting slump with 21 points to help top-seeded North Carolina roll past Texas Southern, 103-64, in Greenville, S.C.
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.
• Troy Caupain scored 23 points, Kyle Washington added 16 and defensiveminded Cincinnati shot it way past Kansas State, 7561, in Sacramento, Calif.
Cincinnati (30-5) was knocked out the first round a year ago and No. 6 seeds were 0-3 before the Bearcats took the floor, with Maryland, Creighton and SMU all losing to No. 11 seeds. The Bearcats took care of their business and the No. 6 jinx with an impressive shooting display, shooting 62 percent.
East Region
• Elijah Stewart hit a late 3-pointer for No. 11 seed Southern California as the Trojans upset sixth-seeded SMU, 66-65, in Tulsa, Okla.
SMU’s Shake Milton missed a floater at the buzzer.
• Grayson Allen had 21 points off five 3-pointers, Jayson Tatum had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and second-seeded Duke continued its perfect postseason with an 87-65 victory over Troy in Greenville, S.C.
• Al Freeman came off the bench to score 21 points, and No. 3 seed Baylor defeated No. 14 seed New Mexico State, 91-73, in Tulsa, Okla.
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.
• Frank Mason III scored 22 points and had eight assists as top-seeded Kansas won its opening game of the NCAA Tournament for an 11th straight year with a 100-62 victory over UC Davis in Tulsa, Okla.