Keenan Evans, Texas Tech to Sweet 16 after win over Florida
more than experience, grit and a double-digit dream DALLAS — Keenan to knock these Evans keeps making big kids from plays, extending Texas Kentucky Tech’s season — and his out of the time with second-year NCAA Tournament. head coach Chris Beard.
They have another Namely, it’ll game with the Red Raiders take someone to slow down headed to the NCAA Tournament’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Sweet 16 for the and his fellow freshmen, first time since 2005. who are zeroing in on the
Evans, who treats every finer points of the John game like senior night and Calipari Hoop School at doesn’t want to be done, precisely the right time. scored 22 points Kentucky put an end and hit a tiebreaking to any upset talk on its watch Saturday, getting 27 3-pointer points, six rebounds and with 2 ½ six assists from GilgeousAlexander minutes left in a 95-75 pullaway as third-seeded from scrappy, veteran Texas Tech 13th-seeded Buffalo. beat Florida 69-66 on Saturday Gilgeous-Alexander night. went 10 for 12 and made
While the next loss will both of his 3-point attempts end All-Big 12 guard Evans’ to send fifth-seeded Kentucky career, high-flying (26-10) to the Sweet freshman Zhaire Smith is 16 for the second straight just getting started. season.
Smith had 18 points, “We are inexperienced nine rebounds and seven and all that stuff,” Calipari assists, and was on the receiving said. “But I’ve got good end of an alley-oop players.” pass from Evans with 29 Coming into the day, the seconds left for a punctuating basketball world was still dunk to send the Red reverberating from Maryland-Baltimore Raiders (26-9) to Boston County’s 16 for a matchup against Purdue vs. 1 stunner over Virginia or Butler next Friday the night before. Villanova night. and Duke both rolled early;
“He has no ceiling,” Evans the evening slate started said of Smith. with Kentucky, and the
Chris Chiozza did go Wildcats, with their allfreshman the length of the court for starting lineup, a Florida layup with 25 trailed only once: 2-0. seconds left before Evans “We hear about those lost the ball when trying upsets,” said Wenyen Gabriel, to fight through a doubleteam one of Kentucky’s after the inbound rare sophomores, who finished pass. with 16 points and 12
The Gators gathered the rebounds. “It just tells us ball after a wild scramble. to lock in some more, and Egor Koulechov and KeVaughn focus.” Allen both had It wasn’t a runaway until 3-point attempts in the final the last 7 minutes. 10 seconds that came Buffalo (27-9), which up short. got here with a 21-point
Florida (21-13) fell short blowout over Arizona, of the Sweet 16 — and the twice trimmed a doubledigit Elite Eight — for the first lead to five midway time in their last six NCAA through the second half. Tournament appearances. Gilgeous-Alexander answered The last time they didn’t both times — once even make it to the Sweet with a 3-pointer to extend 16 was in 2010, when the the lead to eight, then SEC team lost a first-round again a few minutes later game to BYU. with a three-point play
Jalen Hudson led thirdyear that started a 12-2 run and coach Mike White’s put the game away. Gators with 23 points. Koulechov ”We didn’t have an answer had 12 and Chiozza, for him,” Bulls coach their All-SEC point guard, Nate Oats said. “He was a had 11. major problem for us defensively.”
Texas Tech quickly erased a five-point deficit midway through the second half with nine straight points. Evans scored nine of those, and Smith — wo had a 360-spin alley-oop dunk from Evans in the tourney opener Thursday — delivered a follow-up slam.
Evans drove the baseline for a reverse layup put the Red Raiders up 51-50. After Smith’s slam, Evans had a nifty spin move for a jumper and then added a threepoint play after that.
Jarrett Culver, the hometown freshman for Texas Tech, had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Texas Tech hasn’t been to the Sweet 16 since Beard was an assistant coach for Bobby Knight. But this is only the third NCAA appearance since for the Red Raiders.
KENTUCKY 95, BUFFALO 75
BOISE, Idaho — It’ll take
GONZAGA 90, OHIO STATE 84
BOISE, Idaho — Zach Norvell Jr. pulled up for 3-pointers, drove fearlessly to the rim and bulled his way into the trees to snare rebounds.
A spectator during Gonzaga’s Final Four run a year ago, the confident, extroverted freshman could be the ticket for a return trip.
Norvell had 28 points, hit six 3-pointers and grabbed 12 rebounds, leading Gonzaga back into the Sweet 16 with a 90-84 victory over Ohio State in the West Region on Saturday night.
“I call him our spiritual leader; he gets us going every practice, even the ones they don’t want to be at,” said Gonzaga coach Mark Few, who brought back his celebratory headstand in the locker room. “He’s just a fiery guy with some swag from Chicago and we need that.”
A redshirt last season, Norvell averaged 12.3 points to help Gonzaga sweep the WCC regularseason and tournament titles.
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard has elevated his game on the sport’s biggest stage, hitting a late tiebreaking 3-pointer against UNC-Greensboro in the opening round to help the Zags advance.
The player known as “Snacks” — all he wanted was candy and chocolate as a kid — made 6 of 11 from the arc against Ohio State to lead Gonzaga (324) into the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season — two wins from a second straight Final Four.
“I always have confidence on the offensive end, but helping the guys on the boards was big,” said Norvell, who shot 8 of 18 overall.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a big early lead, withstood a second-half Ohio State charge and made the big plays down the stretch to earn a spot in the West Region semifinals against the Xavier-Florida State winner in Los Angeles.
Rui Hachimura added 25 for Gonzaga.
The resilient-all-season Buckeyes (25-9) rallied from an abysmal start and an 11-point halftime deficit to take a brief second-half lead before Gonzaga went on an 11-0 run to snatch it back.
Keita Bates-Diop had 28 points and Kam Williams 19 for Ohio State.
“They are really good and could make another Final Four run,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann.
Ohio State and Gonzaga met four months ago in the PK80 Invitational.
It did not go well for the Buckeyes.
The Zags shredded Ohio State’s defense while shooting 59 percent and held the Buckeyes to 35 percent in an 86-59 thrashing.
The Buckeyes said they are a better team now. Their record reflects it, too: 25 wins, a second-place finish in the rough-andtumble Big Ten Conference and a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015.
The Zags looked a little rusty in their opening 68-64 win over UNC-Greensboro. They looked more like the team that blew out BYU in the WCC title game early against the Buckeyes.
Gonzaga scored the game’s first 15 points while hitting six of nine shots and blocking two of Ohio State’s. The Buckeyes had three of their first seven shots roll off the rim early and didn’t score until Jae’Sean Tate hit a 3-pointer at 14:18
Ohio State righted itself on offense, but struggled to slow the zigging Zags, who made 18 of 31 shots to lead 44-33 at halftime.
“We weren’t locked in on defense and just tried to stay calm,” Bates-Diop said. “I’m proud of how we fought back.”
The Buckeyes got even more shots to fall coming out of halftime and forced a rash of Gonzaga turnovers during a 12-2 run to go up 58-54.
Gonzaga answered with an 11-0 run, going up 73-67 on Hachimura’s 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer — a run that propelled them back to the Sweet 16.
VILLANOVA 81, ALABAMA 58
PITTSBURGH — Mikal Bridges scored 23 points, helping No. 1 seed Villanova to an impressive victory.
The Wildcats (32-4) are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since they won the 2016 national championship. Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Phil Booth — and yes, The Big Ragu — look every bit the favorite to make it two in three years. Villanova plays Friday in Boston against the Marshall-West Virginia winner.
Collin Sexton led Alabama (20-16) with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. The star guard has to decide if he’ll join the ranks of the one-and-done freshman.
KANSAS 83, SETON HALL 79
WICHITA, Kan. — Malik Newman scored 28 points, Udoka Azubuike stood toe-to-toe with Seton Hall’s bruising Angel Delgado, and No. 1 seed Kansas advanced to its third consecutive Sweet 16.
Svi Mykhailiuk added 16 points and Lagerald Vick had 13 for the Jayhawks (29-7), who converted on every crucial play down the stretch to advance to the semifinals of the Midwest Region.
They’ll take on the winner of Sunday’s game between Auburn and Clemson in Omaha, Nebraska.
Delgado finished with 24 points and 23 rebounds in a virtuoso effort for the No. 8 seed Pirates (22-11), who snapped a four-game NCAA Tournament skid in the opening round.
Khadeen Carrington finished with 28 points, many of them on 3-pointers in the closing minutes, and Myles Powell added 14 as the pair of guards tried in vain to keep Seton Hall alive.
DUKE 87, RHODE ISLAND 62
PITTSBURGH — Marvin Bagley had 22 points and nine rebounds, leading Duke to its 26th trip to the Sweet 16.
It was Mike Krzyzewski’s 1,099th victory, breaking a tie with late Tennessee women’s coach Pat Summitt for the most wins by a basketball coach in NCAA history.
Duke shot 57 percent (29 of 51) from the floor and finished with 20 assists. The Blue Devils (28-7) will play either Michigan State or Syracuse in the Midwest Region semifinals in Omaha, Nebraska next Friday.
E.C. Matthews led Rhode Island (26-8) with 21 points but the Rams looked confounded at times by Duke’s much improved zone defense. A weakness during a mini-swoon in late January, the Blue Devils are no longer treating defense like a chore they’re forced to complete before getting the ball back in their hands.