Buffalo stuns Arizona; Loyola-Chicago ousts Miami
Buffalo and Loyola of Chicago authored the biggest stunners during the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
The 13th-seeded Bulls hammered No. 4 Arizona as Wes Clark delivered 25 points and Jeremy Harris added 23 to lead Buffalo's 89-68 rout of the Pac-12 Tournament champs at Boise. CJ Massinburg had 19 points and Buffalo shredded Arizona's defense at a 55-percent clip for the program's first NCAA Tournament win.
Arizona went 2 for 18 from 3-point range, while the Bulls knocked down 15 of 30.
The Bulls now prepare to take on Kentucky in Saturday's South Regional action at Boise.
The Wildcats avoided an upset as Kevin Knox provided 25 points in a 78-73 win against Davidson. Kentucky won despite going 0-for-6 from beyond the arc, ending a nation-best streak of 1.047 games with at least one 3-pointer.
Loyola pulled off an early stunner as Donte Ingram nailed a long 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left to give the 11th-seeded Ramblers a 64-62 victory over No. 6 Miami in the South Regional at Dallas. Ingram's game-winner came after Lonnie Walker IV missed a free throw that would have put the Hurricanes ahead by three with nine seconds left.
Clayton Custer hit a tying 3 in the final 2 minutes and led Loyola with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Ingram had 13 points for Loyola, which will take on Tennessee on Saturday.
The Volunteers rolled to a 73-47 rout of Wright State as Admiral Schofield contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds. Lamonte Turner had 19 points and a career-high nine assists for Tennessee.
Rhode Island and Duke were the winners in the NCAA Midwest Regionals at Pittsburgh.
E.C. Matthews hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:54 left in overtime and finished with 16 points as the seventh-seeded Rams beat No. 10 Oklahoma, 83-78. Fatts Russell hit three clutch 3s and scored 15 points to help Rhode Island withstand Trae Young's 28 points for the Sooners.
Marvin Bagley III poured in 22 points to go with seven rebounds as the No. 2 Blue Devils thumped 15th seed Iona, 89-67. Grayson Allen scored 16 points and added a game-high nine assists for the Blue Devils, while teammate Trevon Duval finished with 19 points and eight assists.
Kansas and Seton Hall have advanced to the second round of the Midwest Regional in Wichita and will square off on Saturday.
Devonte Graham delivered a game-high 29 points and Lagerald Vick chipped in 14 as the top-ranked Jayhawks coasted to a 76-60 victory against Penn. Kansas trailed the Ivy League champs by 10 before going on a 19-2 run late in the first half.
Khadeen Carrington scored 26 points and Desi Rodriguez added 20 in guiding the No. 8 Pirates to a 94-83 win against North Carolina State. Myles Powell added 19 points and Angel Delgado scored 13 to help Seton Hall stay in front the entire game.
Fourth seed Gonzaga barely advanced to the second round of the West Region in Boise, where the Bulldogs are joined by No. 5 Ohio State.
Zach Norvell's 15-point performance included the go-ahead, 3-pointer with 20.8 seconds left in the Zags' 68-64 triumph over UNC Greensboro. Gonzaga blew a 12-point, second-half lead and trailed 64-62 with 1:48 remaining before scoring the final six points to earn a meeting with Ohio State on Saturday.
Kam Williams made a tiebreaking four-point play with 1:36 left and added three free throws to push the Buckeyes past South Dakota State, 81-73. Keita (KEE'-tuh) Bates-Diop (DEE'-ahp) had 24 points and 12 rebounds for OSU, which scored 16 straight points midway through the second half to go up by 13.
Third seed Texas Tech struggled before earning a meeting against Florida in the second round of the East Regional Saturday in Dallas.
Keenan Evans scored 19 of his 23 points after halftime to push the Red Raiders past Stephen F. Austin, 70-60. The Lumberjacks took a 39-31 lead early in the second half before Evans led Tech's rally.
St. Bonaventure's postseason run is over after Egor Koulechov scored 20 points to carry the Gators past the Bonnnies, 77-62. Jalen Hudson scored 16 points and Chris Chiozza had 11 assists for Florida, which scored 15 straight after falling behind 22-21.
It will be top seed Villanova against No. 9 Alabama in the second round of the East Regional Saturday at Pittsburgh.
Jalen Brunson contributed 16 points and the Wildcats nailed 14 3-pointers in an 87-61 thrashing of Radford. Mikal Bridges had 13 points for the Wildcats, who shot 75 percent while building a 69-37 near the midway mark of the second half.
The Crimson Tide gained its first NCAA Tournament win in a dozen years as Collin Sexton scored 21 of his team-high 24 points after halftime of an 86-83 squeaker against Virginia Tech. John Petty chipped in 20 points while draining six of his eight 3-point attempts.
The second round of the West Regional at Wichita will have Houston facing Michigan on Saturday.
Rob Gray capped his 39-point eruption by hitting a scooping layup with 1.1 seconds left to send the sixth-seeded Cougars to a 67-65 triumph over San Diego State. Trey Kell's off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer was no good, giving Houston its first NCAA tourney win since 1984.
The Wolverines were able to grind out a 61-47 win over Mongtana behind Charles Matthews' 20 points and 11 rebounds. Michigan trailed by 10 in the opening minutes before the Big Ten Tournament champs forged a 31-28 lead.