The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Tar Heels upset by Texas A&M
SOUTH REGIONAL
NO. 7 NEVADA 75, NO.
2 CINCINNATI 73 — At Knoxville, Tenn., Josh Hall converted an offensive rebound for the tie-breaking basket with 9.1 seconds left as Nevada erased a 22-point deficit in the final 11 minutes.
Nevada’s stirring comeback — the second-largest in tournament history — came just two days after the seventh-seeded Wolf Pack (28-7) rallied from 14 points down to beat Texas 87-83 for its first NCAA victory since 2007.
The Wolf Pack (28-7) move on to an all-upstart South Region semifinal matchup with 11th-seeded Loyola-Chicago (30-5) on Thursday night.
“Nothing feels better than this,” Nevada coach Eric Musselman said. “Nothing. Sweet 16!”
NO. 9 KANSAS STATE
50, NO. 16 UMBC 43: At
Charlotte, N.C., Barry Brown scored 18 points, and Kansas State ended UMBC's brief, but historic run in the NCAA Tournament .
UMBC became the first 16 seed to beat a No. 1, destroying top-ranked Virginia 74-54 on Friday night. After pulling off the biggest upset in college basketball history, the Retrievers ran out of magic against the Wildcats.
As UMBC coach Ryan Odom emptied his bench with 9.4 seconds left, the crowd gave the Retrievers a standing ovation.
The Wildcats (24-11) move on to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010 when they lost in the Elite Eight to Butler. They will face Kentucky on Thursday night.
MIDWEST REGIONAL
NO. 11 SYRACUSE 55, NO. 3 MICHIGAN
STATE 53: At Detroit, the last team selected for the field of 68 is going to the round of 16.
Tyus Battle had 17 points and Oshae Brissett scored
15, lifting the Orange (23-13) into the Sweet 16.
NO. 5 CLEMSON 84,
NO. 4 AUBURN 53: At San Diego, Gabe DeVoe scored 22 points and Elijah Thomas had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Clemson (25-9) , which closed the first half with a 25-4 run that helped it beat coldshooting Auburn (26-8).
In a matchup between Southern schools better known for football, Clemson proved far more adept on the hardwood than Auburn.
The blowout win put Clemson into the Sweet 16 for the fourth time overall and the first since 1997, earning it a spot against Kansas in the regional semifinal.
Auburn, which played this season under the cloud of a federal investigation into corruption in college basketball, finished 26-8.
WEST REGION
TEXAS A&M 86, NORTH CAROLINA 65: At Charlotte, N.C., T.J. Starks scored 21 points and the Aggies overpowered North Carolina inside, upsetting the reigning national champions to mark the second straight year a title holder missed the Sweet 16.
The seventh-seeded Aggies (22-12) did everything they had to do to hand the Tar Heels a rare loss in a home-state NCAA game. They dominated the glass. They used their size to control the paint and block shots. And they pounced when UNC’s small-ball lineup couldn’t make an outside shot.
Robert Williams finished with 13 rebounds, helping the Aggies take a 50-36 edge while shooting 52 percent — including 10 of 24 from 3-point range.
Joel Berry II scored 21 points in his final game for the second-seeded Tar Heels (26-11), who were trying to reach their third straight Final Four. But they ended up falling to 34-2 in NCAA games in their home state, the only other loss coming in 1979.
EAST REGION
NO. 2 PURDUE 76, NO. 10 BUTLER 73: At Detroit, Dakota Mathias sank a 3-pointer with 14.2 seconds left and the Boilermakers, minus star center Isaac Haas, reached the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.
The Boilermakers (30-6) led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but Butler (21-14) cut the deficit to two and had the ball in the final minute. Kelan Martin missed a 3-pointer, and the shot by Mathias at the other end made it 76-71.