Defending champions Villanova bounced by Purdue in blowout

It was the most lopsided NCAA tournament loss for a defending champ in nearly three decades.

Carsen Edwards scored a career-high 42 points, and Purdue knocked defending champ Villanova out of the tournament with an 87-61 rout on Saturday.

The last time a defending champ was beaten that badly was when Loyola-Marymount ran past Michigan 149-115 in 1990.

Matt Haarms added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Boilermakers (25-9), who advanced to their third straight Sweet 16.

Eric Paschall had 19 for Villanova (26-10), which saw its quest for a third national title in the last four seasons fall short. Fellow senior Phil Booth scored 15 points, putting him over 1,500 for his career.

Edwards has battled a sore back and had been in a recent shooting slump, making just 7 of 23 shots from the field in Purdue's first-round win over Old Dominion.

He found the bottom of the net early and often against Villanova, making 12 of his 21 shots, including nine of 16 from behind the arc.

Star guard Ja Morant, Murray State crushed by Florida State

Ja Morant dazzled for a half, but the star point guard and 12th-seeded Murray State got run out of the NCAA Tournament by Florida State.

Mfiondu Kabengele of Burlington, Ont., scored 22 points, Terrance Mann added 18 points and the Seminoles slammed the Racers 90-62 Saturday to advance to the West regional semifinal.

Florida State (29-7) is in the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.

The Seminoles came into the game shooting 33.4 per cent from three — 223rd in the nation — and then hit eight of their first 11 from behind the arc. Known for their defence, the Seminoles were playing fast and getting good shots. Florida State had a 16-point lead at the half and it didn't get much better after the break.

Christ Koumadje had two easy slams off lobs, Mann tipped in his own miss and Kabengele slammed home another rebound to make it 68-46 with 13 minutes left.

Morant provided a few more highlights, most notably going right at the 7-foot-4 Koumadje and flipping in a layup while getting fouled.

Otherwise it was all Florida State. 

Vancouver forward Clarke drops 36 points in Gonzaga win

Gonzaga forward Brandon Clarke from Vancouver had five monster dunks, five blocks, matched a career-high with 36 points and enjoyed the overall kind of night that earns potential NBAers millions, while leading the top-seeded Bulldogs to an 83-71 rejection of Baylor. 

"Is 'Wow' the word you say?" teammate Josh Perkins said. "Dunking the ball, blocking shots. He just plays the right way."

Because of it, Gonzaga (32-3) is into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight time, the longest current streak in the country.

This second-round matchup in the West Region wasn't exactly a blowout, but wasn't quite a nail-biter, either. That doesn't mean it lacked entertainment.

Most of it centred on Clarke, the junior transfer from San Jose State, who started the fireworks with a windmill jam on a breakaway that gave Gonzaga an early 16-7 lead.

LSU uses layup in dying seconds to squeak into Sweet 16

Tremont Waters drove by three defenders and scooped in a banking layup with 1.6 seconds remaining to give third-seeded LSU a 69-67 victory over sixth-seeded Maryland in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

Maryland's Eric Ayala got off a final shot from midcourt, but it didn't reach the rim.

LSU players mobbed Waters under the basket. They could have done the same to Skylar Mays, who scored 16 points and hit a huge three-pointer with 40 seconds remaining that put the Tigers (28-6) up 67-64.

Jalen Smith answered on the other end, sending the packed crowd into a frenzy and prompting LSU to call timeout.

Interim coach Tony Benford called a final play for Waters, the dynamic sophomore who has been terrific all season.

Water got a pick from big man Naz Reid, drove into the lane and somehow got off the winner.

Suspended coach Will Wade could only celebrate from afar. His team is headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2006.

Wade was banished indefinitely after details emerged about him talking to a recruiting middleman about a "strong ass offer" he made to a high schooler. If true, Wade clearly violated NCAA rules.

Maryland fans had some fun with the allegations.

One fan unhappy with the refs yelled "How much did Will Wade pay you?" Others chanted "Where's your coach?" during timeouts.

Regardless, the Tigers advanced in the East without Wade and mired in controversy.

Waters finished with 12 points and five assists.

Maryland (23-11) rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half to make it a nail-biter down the stretch.

No. 2 Kentucky advances

Second-seeded Kentucky clamped down on Fletcher Magee and beat Wofford 62-56. It was Wofford's first loss in 22 games.

Reid Travis had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (29-6), who advanced to the Sweet 16.

Magee finished with eight points on 4-of-17 shooting. He missed all 12 of his shots from behind the arc.

The Terriers hit 8 of 27 from 3-point range, including 3 of 15 in the second half.

Nathan Hoover led Wofford (30-5) with 19 points and made four threes.