March Madness: Gonzaga, Kansas avoid 1st-round upsets
Check your brackets as NCAA men's tournament is underway
Here is a roundup of Thursday's action from the NCAA men's basketball tournament. All times ET.
EAST REGIONAL
- Villanova 87, Radford 61
- Texas Tech 70, Stephen F. Austin 60
- Alabama 86, Virginia Tech 83
- Florida 77, St. Bonaventure 62
SOUTH REGIONAL
- Tennessee 73, Wright State 47
- Loyola of Chicago 64, Miami 62
- Kentucky 78, Davidson 73
- Buffalo 89, Arizona 68
MIDWEST REGIONAL
- Rhode Island 83, Oklahoma 78, OT
- Duke 89, Iona 67
- Kansas 76, Pennsylvania 60
- Seton Hall 94, N.C. State 83
WEST REGIONAL
- Gonzaga 68, UNC Greensboro 64
- Ohio State 81, South Dakota State 73
- Houston 67, San Diego State 65
- Michigan 61, Montana 47
WEST
Michigan plods past Montana
Charles Matthews had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Michigan locked down on defense and the third-seeded Wolverines beat Montana 61-47 in a plodding first-round NCAA Tournament game Thursday night.
Michigan (29-7) trailed by 10 in the opening minutes, struggled to get into rhythm until late in the first half, and never really went on a big run to seize control of the game.
Instead, coach John Beilein's team methodically drew away over a long period of the second half when No. 14 seed Montana (25-8) failed to score, and chugged into a matchup with sixth-seeded Houston — a last-second winner over San Diego State — in the second round of the West Region.
Houston outlasts San Diego State
Rob Gray drove for a wind-milling layup that just trickled over the rim with 1.1 seconds left, and Trey Kell's off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer was no good, giving No. 6 seed Houston a 67-65 victory over 11th-seeded San Diego State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
Devin Watson had just tied the game for the Aztecs with a turnaround 3-pointer, his second in a matter of seconds, when Gray dribbled up floor with 29 seconds left. He allowed the clock to tick down to six seconds before crossing over, scooting under two defenders and scooping up his shot.
The layup gave him 39 points and the Cougars (27-7) their first tournament win since 1984.
Gonzaga gets by UNC Greensboro
Fourth-seeded Gonzaga's Zach Norvell Jr. hit a three-pointer with 22 seconds left to break a tie with UNC Greensboro, lifting the Zags to a 68-64 first-round win and avoiding an embarrassing NCAA Tournament exit for a team that made the final last year.
UNC Greensboro made its run midway through the second half as it pushed Gonzaga to the brink of elimination.
Ohio State proves bracket experts wrong
Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann gave a special shoutout after his fifth-seeded Buckeyes beat No. 12 seed South Dakota State 81-73, saying his players were motivated by bracketeers saying they would lose.
Holtmann said in a post-game TV interview Thursday that he gets the hoopla over upsets and his team may have fed into it with some mixed results.
But fans weren't fading the Buckeyes nearly as much as he thinks — more than three-fourths picked Ohio State to win in the first round, better backing than fellow No. 5 seed Clemson.
The upset many fans called was Loyola of Chicago, which beat Miami on a last-second 3-pointer to reward 36 per cent of the brackets filled out on ESPN and Yahoo.
MIDWEST
Graham saves Kansas from humiliation
Senior guard Devonte' Graham scored 29 points with 6 rebounds and 6 assists as top-seeded Kansas downed stubborn Penn 76-60 on Thursday at Wichita, Kan.
Graham, a consensus first-team All-American after earning Big 12 Player of the Year honours, was instrumental at preventing the Jayhawks from becoming the first No. 1 seed ever to lose to a No. 16 in the tournament.
Rhode Island outlasts Oklahoma
Rhode Island is into the round of 32 for the second straight season.
The seventh-seeded Rams held off Oklahoma star Trae Young and the 10th-seeded Sooners 83-78 in overtime.
E.C. Matthews led the Rams (26-7) with 16 points, including a 3-pointer with 31 seconds left in the extra period that gave Rhode Island the cushion it needed to move on. Freshman guard Fatts Russell scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half for the Rams.
Young, the nation's leading scorer, led the Sooners (18-14) with 28 points and seven assists but also finished with six turnovers.
Bagley leads Duke past Iona
Marvin Bagley III dominated in his NCAA Tournament debut, pouring in 22 points to go with seven rebounds as Duke rolled by Iona 89-67 on Thursday.
The Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year made 10 of 14 shots in 32 minutes, grabbed seven rebounds and knocked down his lone 3-point attempt as the second-seeded Blue Devils overwhelmed the 15th-seeded Gaels.
Grayson Allen scored 16 points and added a game-high nine assists for Duke (27-7), Trevon Duval finished with 19 points and eight assists and Gary Trent Jr. had 16 points and six rebounds as the deeper, more talented Blue Devils withstood an early push from Iona (20-14) to win going away.
Duke will play seventh-seeded Rhode Island (26-7) on Saturday.
Seton Hall holds off NC State
Khadeen Carrington had 26 points and Desi Rodriguez added 20 off the bench to lead the No. 8-seed Seton Hall Pirates to a 94-83 win over the ninth-seeded NC State Wolfpack on Thursday.
Allerik Freeman had a season-high 36 points and Torin Dorn added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolfpack, who lost for the third time in four games to end their season. With the win, Seton Hall advances to the second round for the first time since 2004 and the second time since Tommy Amaker led them to the Sweet 16 in 2000.
The Pirates will meet Midwest Regional No. 1-seed Kansas on Saturday with a Sweet 16 berth on the line.
EAST
Florida puts away Bonnies
Egor Koulechov scored 20 points and Florida eased past St. Bonaventure 77-62 on Thursday night, ending the Bonnies' postseason run two days after their first NCAA Tournament victory in 48 years.
Jalen Hudson scored 16 points and Chris Chiozza had 11 assists for the sixth-seeded Gators, who have reached the Elite Eight the past five times they've been in the tournament. Florida (21-12) will face Texas Tech in an East Region second-round game Saturday.
A whirlwind week finally caught up with the Bonnies (26-8), who finished at 35 percent shooting but were in the 20s when the outcome was in doubt.
Alabama edges Virginia Tech
Collin Sexton scored 21 of his team-high 24 points after halftime to lead Alabama to an 86-83 victory over Virginia Tech on Thursday night for the Crimson Tide's first NCAA Tournament win in a dozen years.
John Petty kept ninth-seeded Alabama (20-15) in it while Sexton struggled during a sluggish opening half and finished with 20 points while shooting 6 of 8 on 3-pointers. Sexton found a rhythm in the second half, including a handful of big shots over the final five minutes to give the Crimson Tide a bit of breathing room in a game that featured 10 lead changes, with no team ever being up by more than seven points.
Alabama will face top-seeded Villanova in the East Region's second round on Saturday. The Wildcats had little trouble dispatching Radford earlier Thursday.
Texas Tech survives Stephen F. Austin scare
Keenan Evans scored 19 of his 23 points after halftime and third-seeded Texas Tech surged late to top Stephen F. Austin 70-60 Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Big 12 runner-up Red Raiders (25-9) closed the game on a 13-2 run. Evans drove for a layup with 3:58 left, putting Texas Tech ahead to stay.
Evans had only four points in the first half, all on free throws while going 0 for 4 from the field. But he also ignited the highlight play of the night, chasing down an offensive rebound past midcourt and then throwing an alley-oop pass to 6-foot-5 freshman Zhaire Smith, who made a 360-degree spin in the air while completing the dunk.
Texas Tech will next play the winner of the Florida-St. Bonaventure game.
Villanova gets easy win over Radford
Jalen Brunson scored 16 points and No. 1 seed Villanova hit 14 3-pointers in an 87-61 romp over Radford on Thursday.
The Highlanders (23-13) posed no threat at becoming the first 16 seed to ever knock off a No. 1 in the tournament.
Villanova (31-4) played to near-perfection for the first 30 minutes and everyone played a role. Mikal Bridges had 13 points, Eric Paschall scored 11 and Omari Spellman had 10 points and seven rebounds.
SOUTH
Buffalo upsets Arizona for first-ever tournament win
Wes Clark scored 25 points, Jeremy Harris added 23 and No. 13 seed Buffalo pulled off the biggest upset of the NCAA Tournament's opening round, rolling over No. 4 seed Arizona 89-68 in the South Region on Thursday night.
The smaller Bulls (27-8) used their quickness to zip around the Wildcats (27-8), scoring at the rim and on kickout 3-pointers.
Defensively, Buffalo neutralized Arizona's size inside by collapsing on the paint, forcing the Wildcats to shoot from the perimeter. Arizona went 2 for 18 from beyond the 3-point arc, while the Bulls knocked down 15 of 30.
CJ Massinburg had 19 points and Buffalo shredded Arizona's defence at a 55-per cent clip for the program's first NCAA Tournament win.
Tennessee wins big over Wright State
Admiral Schofield had 15 points and 12 rebounds as third-seeded Tennessee advanced with a 73-47 win over Wright State with coach Rick Barnes back in familiar territory.
Lamonte Turner had 19 points and a career-high nine assists for Tennessee (26-8), SEC co-champions in the regular season after being picked in the pre-season to finish 13th in the 14-team league. Grant Williams added 14 points and nine rebounds.
Miami falls to Loyola Chicago
Loyola Chicago's Donte Ingram drained a 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left to help the 11th-seeded Ramblers defeat No. 6 seed Miami 64-62. Miami had one last chance, but the Hurricanes had to go the length of the court and couldn't get a shot off.
The Ramblers won the Missouri Valley Tournament to reach the NCAAs for the first time since losing to Patrick Ewing and Georgetown in the Sweet 16 in 1985. It was Loyola's 11th straight win.
Kentucky wins without 3-pointer for 1st time in 30 years
Kentucky's record streak of consecutive games with a 3-pointer has ended.
The Wildcats had it a 3 in every game since 1988, but went 0 for 6 in a 78-73 win over Davidson in the South Region.
Kentucky last went without a 3-pointer on Nov. 26, 1988, against Seton Hall in the Great Alaska Shootout, a span of 1,047 games.
The streak nearly came to an end against Missouri in February. The Wildcats were 0 of 13 from 3-point range until Wenyen Gabriel knocked one down with 2:51 left.
UNLV now has the longest streak at 1,040 straight games.