NCAA tournament roundup

WEST REGION

• Austin Reaves scored 23points, Brady Manek added 19and Oklahoma slipped by ninth-seeded Missouri to win 72-68.

The eighth-seeded Sooners (1610) are on to the second round for fourth time in the last six tournaments and will likely face No. 1 Gonzaga on March 22 in the West Region. The unbeaten Zags faced 16-seeded Norfolk State later March 20.

The Sooners pulled out to an eight-point lead with 1:08left behind Reaves’ free-throw shooting, but Dru Smith made two 3-pointers in the final minute to keep the pressure on and pull Missouri within 70-67with 46.7left. Smith led the Tigers (16-10) with 20 points.

Reaves missed a jumper and Missouri got a possession to tie with 17seconds to go, but the Tigers never managed to get off a 3-pointer. They fumbled the ball around to waste a few seconds and then Oklahoma’s Elijah Harkless fouled Drew Buggs on the hand as he dribbled, putting him at the line with 2.1seconds left. Buggs made the first and missed the second on purpose. Jalen Hill grabbed the rebound for the Sooners, was fouled and made one more free throw to wrap it up a quintessential 8-9game between the former Big 12rivals. The lead changed nine times and never reached double digits for either team.

• Creighton’s Christian Bishop is not a good free-throw shooter. You never would have known it when he went to the line with 16 seconds left for a one-and-one with the BlueJays down a point to UC Santa Barbara at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The 57% shooter barely touched the rim while sinking two shots to give fifth-seeded Creighton the lead, and the Bluejays hung on to beat the 12th-seeded Gauchos, 63-62.

“It felt really good to step up to the line and hit those two big free throws,” Bishop said. “I’ve been practicing every day so it’s nice to see the hard work pay off.”

The last three weeks for Creighton (21-8) have been have been anything but ordinary since Coach Greg McDermott made a racially insensitive remark in the locker room to his players after a game. He received a one-game suspension and returned for the Big East Tournament last week. “We’ve been through a lot and the reason we’ve been through a lot is on me,” McDermott said.

• Evan Mobley had 17points and 11rebounds, and No. 6seed Southern California used smothering defense to earn a 72-56 victory over Drake.

Mobley, a 7-foot freshman forward and AP second-team All-American expected to be a lottery pick if he declares for the draft, made 7of 15field goals and blocked three shots.

Evan’s older brother, sophomore forward Isaiah Mobley, scored 15 points to make it a family affair for the Trojans.

“We both had great games, I feel like,” Evan Mobley said. “Both pretty big numbers. We’re going to cherish this win, but we can’t dwell on it too long because we’ve got other games coming up.”

• David McCormack gave thirdseeded Kansas a spark when the big man returned from his COVID-19quarantine in time to practice for its NCAA Tournament opener.

When the first round game against Eastern Washington began, McCormack gave the Jayhawks much more than a boost of energy.

Put on the ropes early by Tanner Groves and the Big Sky champs, McCormack responded by piling up 22points and nine rebounds in 25minutes of work to help slow-starting Kansas rally from a 10-point second-half deficit and beat the No. 14seed Eagles, 93-84.

“David brought us energy from the time he arrived yesterday,” said Marcus Garrett, one of his closest friends, who fought through foul trouble to add 20points. “He was just happy to be with us, happy to be back on the court.”

• Iowa got 24points from Luka Garza and avoided the early NCAA Tournament exit that befell other high seeds with an 86-74victory over Grand Canyon.

Ohio State, Purdue and Tennessee were all bounced from the tournament on a wild opening day of upsets, but the second-seeded Hawkeyes (22-8) used a strong shooting display to advance. Iowa shot the Antelopes and their boisterous fans back to the desert, hitting 54% from the floor while going 10 of 22 from behind the arc.

Joe Wieskamp added 16points to help lead the Hawkeyes into the next round March 22against Oregon, which advanced after Virginia Commonwealth became the first team to bow out of the bracket due to a positive COVID-19test. GCU chartered two planes from Phoenix for the Havocs, the school’s purple-clad student section, and they spent the game dancing and cheering in one end of Indiana Farmer’s Coliseum — socially distanced, of course.

EAST REGION

• Juwan Howard loved playing in the NCAA Tournament. Sharing that experience with his players was pretty sweet, too. Howard got the win in his first NCAA tourney game since taking over at Michigan, guiding Mike Smith and the top-seeded Wolverines to an 82-66victory over Texas Southern.

Smith scored 18points and Hunter Dickinson added 16as Michigan rolled into the second round without Isaiah Livers, who is out with a foot injury. Eli Brooks and Brandon Johns Jr. had 11 points apiece.

Howard is back in the tournament for the first time since his stellar playing career with Michigan, including back-to-back Final Four appearances in 1992and 1993. It’s his second season in charge, but the NCAA Tournament was canceled last year because of the pandemic.

The Wolverines also had to deal with a long layoff this season because of COVID-19issues in their athletic department.

All the adversity made the March moment even more enjoyable for Howard.

“It means a lot because of what this group has dealt with since last year when we had a pause,” he said. “No one can control the virus but we’ve done a really good job of now having this opportunity to play, being disciplined throughout the process and sacrificing a lot. I’m so proud of these kids and what they’ve dealt with this year.”

• Freshman Cameron Thomas scored 27points in another impressive performance and his LSU teammates provided the rebounding muscle, leading the eighth-seeded Tigers past ninthseeded St. Bonaventure, 76-61. LSU (19-9) can reach its second straight Sweet 16if it beats Michigan, the top seed in the Midwest Region, on March 22. “We can certainly play better, but I think we’ve played a lot more physical since the Vanderbilt home game,” coach Will Wade said. “For us, it’s about getting stops and rebounding, which we did a great job of.”

• Chances are, you can fit Colorado’s entire NCAA Tournament history on the back of an old Patrick Ewing jersey. And now, Ewing is part of that history, too.

The Buffaloes used an early 3-point barrage to parlay their highest seeding ever at March Madness into a first-round win over one of the biggest names in the game. It was a 96-73thumping of Georgetown, the program Ewing starred for in the 1980s and now coaches.

Led by Jabari Walker’s 5-for-5 shooting clinic from 3-point range, the fifth-seeded Buffs (238) made 163-pointers and shot 64% from long range. “We’re a dangerous team. A lot of teams can’t run with us, because there are so many skill sets we have,” Walker said. “It’s really hard to beat us, I believe.”

• RaiQuan Gray scored 17points and No. 4seed Florida State began what it hopes will be another deep NCAA Tournament run under coach Leonard Hamilton, holding off 13th-seeded UNC Greensboro, 64-54.

The Seminoles, who reached the Elite Eight and the Sweet 16in the previous two tournaments, allowed the Spartans to hang around deep into the second half thanks to an uneven offensive performance. They will play Colorado in the second round on March 22.

Hamilton, who was rewarded earlier this month with a four-year contract extension, worked the sidelines with a ruptured Achilles tendon that he suffered before the tournament began.

“My guys depend on me,” Hamilton said. “If I’m going to ask them to work hard and challenge themselves, I’m going to have to do the same thing to some degree. To be very honest with you, I didn’t even know I had the boot on once the game started. It’s a nuisance. It’s a challenge, but there are more important things than worrying about me having a little pain.”

• Eric Ayala scored 23points and Maryland clamped down on defense down the stretch to snag a 63-54victory over No. 7UConn. The 10th-seeded Terrapins held UConn to 32% shooting to overcome the Huskies’ strong physical game. Maryland was outrebounded, 40-29, but its defense carried the Terps to a second round matchup against No. 2Alabama. Maryland (17-13) shot 51% for the game and converted 9of 18from behind the arc. The Terps built a 14-point cushion that UConn cut to 53-48 with 2:53 remaining. Ayala and Darryl Morsell each made a pair of three throws to push the lead back to nine. Hakim Hart answered another small UConn (15-8) spurt with a jumper to make it a three-possession game, and a dunk with 30 seconds left ignited a celebration on Maryland’s bench.

• Everybody knew Rick Pitino would come prepared.

That he won’t get to use any more of the eight designer suits he packed for the NCAA Tournament is only because of an Alabama team that came at Iona in waves and finally pulled away for a 6855 win to end Pitino’s dreams as a No. 15seed.

“To be honest, we thought we could win tonight,” the coach said.

Of course they did. It’s why Pitino packed for the long haul on this trip to Indianapolis, figuring it could be like so many of his other 21trips to March Madness — maybe like the time he took underdog Providence and Billy Donovan to the Final Four back in 1987 as a 6.

This time, Pitino had his worst seed ever and second-seeded Alabama (25-6) was too much. Herb Jones led the Crimson Tide with 20points, including a steal and layup that highlighted an 11-0 run and gave Alabama breathing room at 58-46with 6:36left after the teams seesawed the lead through much of the second half. “I thought their kids came ready to play,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “They’ve got some good players. Obviously, coach Pitino had them well prepared.”