NCAA tourney opens with upsets, drama
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Two wins by No. 14 seeds. Two sons winning games for their father-coaches. The team nobody thought belonged in the field winning a game. The Big 12 starting 0-3.
Just another opening day of the NCAA Tournament.
UAB 60, Iowa St. 59
William Lee scored the last four points for the 14th-seeded Blazers in their upset win Thursday.
The Blazers (20-15) came in as one of the youngest teams in the field and with nobody having played in this tournament before. They wound up winning the program's first NCAA game since 2005.
The third-seeded Cyclones (25-9) couldn't hold onto a 55-51 lead with 3:13 left as the Blazers outscored Iowa State 9-4 down the stretch.
Robert Brown had 21 points and Lee finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers who dominated the boards 52-37, including 19 on the offensive glass.
Morris finished with 15 points for the Cyclones, who were making a school-record fourth straight tournament appearance.
UCLA 60, SMU 59
Bryce Alford made four 3-pointers in the final 3:40, his last on a rare goaltending call with 13 seconds remaining, to push 11th-seeded UCLA to the upset.
All of Alford's points came on nine long-range shots but his last attempt was the most debated as his shot from the left side was hit by SMU's Yanick Moreira before it reached the rim. Officials awarded Alford, the son of coach Steve Alford, the basket, to the disbelief of SMU players and coach Larry Brown.
The sixth-seeded Mustangs (27-7) had two shots to win in the final seconds, but Nic Moore missed a 3-pointer and then a 2-point attempt that sent the Bruins (21-13) into a wild celebration.
Norman Powell added 19 points for UCLA, the team many felt didn't even belong in the field of 68.
Moore had 24 points, including six 3s.
Georgetown 84, Eastern Washington 74
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 25 points, Mikael Hopkins had 10 points and nine rebounds, and fourth-seeded Georgetown avoided another NCAA Tournament upset by beating No. 13 seed Eastern Washington.
The Hoyas (22-10) had lost four of their last five tournament games - all to teams seeded 10th or worse - and fell behind by seven in the first half to the 3-point happy Eagles. But Georgetown got its groove back with its own long-range touch, going ahead by 23 early in the second half and holding off Eastern Washington's late rally.
The Hoyas will face fifth-seeded Utah on Saturday in the round of 32.
National-scoring leader Tyler Harvey finished with 27 points, and Venky Jois had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Eagles (26-9).
Utah 57, Stephen F. Austin 50
Jakob Poeltl had 18 points and eight rebounds, and fifth-seeded Utah opened its first NCAA Tournament appearance in six years by holding off Stephen F. Austin.
The high-scoring Lumberjacks were a trendy pick in brackets across the country, but the Utes used their stout defense to hold the Southland Conference Tournament champions well under their season average of 79.5 points. Ty Charles led 12th-seeded Stephen F. Austin (29-5) with 14 points.
Jordan Loveridge added 12 points for Utah (25-8), which will play the winner of the late game between No. 4 seed Georgetown and 13th-seeded Eastern Washington.
Utah had not won a tournament game since 2005.
Stephen F. Austin pulled off an opening-day upset last year as a No. 12 seed, ousting VCU 77-75 in overtime.
Kentucky 79, Hampton 56
Karl-Anthony Towns bounced back from a mini-slump with 21 points and 11 rebounds, Andrew Harrison added 14 points and No. 1 Kentucky rolled past 16th-seeded Hampton.
Limited by foul trouble the past two games, the 6-foot-11 Towns was forceful all night in helping the unbeaten Wildcats (35-0) to the site's most lopsided outcome of the day after three one-point finishes at the KFC Yum! Center.
Hampton's Quinton Chievous shook off an ankle injury sustained in Tuesday's First Four upset of Manhattan to score 22 points with 10 rebounds, but the Pirates (17-18) were no match for Kentucky after the first 10 minutes and trailed by as many as 35 with 12:43 left.
Notre Dame 69, Northeastern 65
Zach Auguste scored 25 points, Jerian Grant added 17 and Notre Dame dodged a scare trying to erase its futile NCAA Tournament history.
The third-seeded Fighting Irish (30-5) returned to the tournament after a one-year absence. They have traditionally struggled in the tournament under coach Mike Brey. They made only one Sweet 16 since 2001.
Scott Eatherton had 18 points and David Walker had 15 for 14th-seeded Northeastern (23-12) which gave the Irish fits and threatened to keep Notre Dame's March malaise going.
With a chance to tie it at 67-all with less than 10 seconds left, Quincy Ford lost control of the ball - and the Huskies lost their chance at pulling off the shocker.
Auguste, who made 10 of 14 shots, sealed it with two free throws.
Butler 56, Texas 48
Kellen Dunham scored 20 points, including a pivotal 3-pointer with 1:18 to play, to lift sixth-seeded Butler (23-10).
The Longhorns (20-14) added to a miserable day for the vaunted Big 12. Texas joined Baylor and Iowa State, both No. 3 seeds, as early tournament exits.
Jonathan Holmes led the Longhorns with 15 points and Isaiah Taylor added 14 but Texas shot just 34 percent from the field and turned it over 15 times while failing to make it beyond the first weekend of the NCAAs for the seventh straight year.
A pullup jumper by Taylor drew Texas within 44-43 with 2:42 to play but the Longhorns never got closer. Dunham knocked down a free throw and then hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to make it 48-43.
Cincinnati 66, Purdue 65, OT
Troy Caupain got Cincinnati to overtime with his buzzer-beating layup, then Coreontae DeBerry helped the eighth-seeded Bearcats beat No. 9 seed Purdue.
The Bearcats trailed by seven with 48.5 seconds left in regulation and forced overtime with a 10-3 run. Caupain's driving layup banked off the glass, rolled around and hit the glass again - staying on the back rim for a moment - before falling through. That sent the Bearcats celebrating while officials reviewed the play to make sure Caupain did beat the buzzer.
In overtime, DeBerry scored four of his 13 points helping Cincinnati take a lead it wouldn't lose again.
Vince Edwards' would-be tying 3 hit off the rim at the buzzer for the Boilermakers (21-13).
The Bearcats (23-10) will play No. 1 Kentucky on Saturday in the Midwest Region.
North Carolina 67, Harvard 65
Justin Jackson hit a tying jumper in the final minute and then had a fast-break dunk to help fourth-seeded North Carolina edge 13th-seeded Harvard.
The Tar Heels (25-11) wasted a 16-point, second-half lead and briefly trailed before Jackson came to the rescue.
Siyani Chambers' four-point play put Harvard ahead 65-63 with 1:15 remaining. It was the only lead of the game for the Ivy League champions.
Jackson finished with 14 points and Marcus Paige had 10.
Chambers misfired on a pair of 3-pointers in the closing seconds, and the Crimson's final chance for victory - Wesley Saunders' shot from beyond the arc - bounced off the back of the rim.
Saunders led Harvard (22-8) with 26 points.
Arkansas 56, Wofford 53
Michael Qualls scored 20 points, Southeastern Conference player of the year Bobby Portis added 15 points and 13 rebounds, and fifth-seeded Arkansas held off No. 12 seed Wofford.
The Razorbacks (27-8) escaped a back-and-forth game that featured 18 lead changes, 10 ties and neither team ahead by more than five points. Arkansas advanced to play North Carolina.
Arkansas at times looked as though it might become the latest No. 5 seed to get upset in the NCAAs, but Wofford (28-7) missed three 3-pointers in the final minute-plus, helping the Razorbacks hang on.
Spencer Collins led the Terriers with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Georgia St. 57, Baylor 56
R.J. Hunter kept firing away, eventually lifting Georgia State over Baylor and knocking his father right off his seat.
Hunter's 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds remaining capped a comeback from a 12-point deficit and lifted the 14th-seeded Panthers over the third-seeded Bears.
With Ron Hunter working the sideline in a rolling chair less than a week after tearing his left Achilles tendon celebrating Georgia State winning the Sun Belt Conference championship, R.J. shrugged off a poor shooting performance to come through when his team needed him most.
Baylor (24-10), which got 18 points and 15 rebounds from reserve Taurean Prince, did not score after going up 56-44 on two free throws with 2:54 remaining.
The junior guard's steal and layup trimmed Baylor's lead to 56-53, and he drained an NBA-range 3 for the win after the Bears' Kenny Chery missed the front end of a 1-and-1 that could have put the game away for the Bears.
Hunter finished with 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
Xavier 76, Mississippi 57
Matt Stainbrook scored 20 points and Dee Davis added 17 for the sixth-seeded Musketeers.
The 6-foot-10 Stainbrook took advantage of his size in the post, making 8 of 10 shots in the paint and adding nine rebounds and five assists. Davis hit 4 of 9 shots from 3-point range for Xavier (22-13).
Mississippi's guard tandem of Stefan Moody and Jarvis Summers finished a combined 5 of 26 from the field. Moody led the Rebels (21-13) with 14 points.
The Rebels exerted significant energy in overcoming a 17-point deficit to beat BYU in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, about 43 hours earlier.
Ole Miss missed 18 of its first 27 shots, with most of those by Moody and Summers.
Arizona 93, Texas Southern 72
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 23 points, 16 in the first half, along with 10 rebounds for second-seeded Arizona.
Pac-12 freshman of the year Stanley Johnson added 22 points for the balanced Wildcats (32-3), who led by as many as 27 points.
Madarious Gibbs had 15 points for 15th-seeded Texas Southern (22-13), which won an automatic bid as the winner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament.
Brandon Ashley added 14 points for Arizona, which won its 12th straight.
Texas Southern was making its second straight appearance in the tournament.
Ohio St. 75, VCU 72, OT
D'Angelo Russell scored 28 points and rallied 10th-seeded Ohio State from an early 12-point deficit for the overtime win.
Russell regrouped from a blow that sent blood streaming down the left side of his face near the end of regulation. He made 10 of 20 shots, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range, and added six rebounds, two steals and two blocks to bring the Buckeyes (24-10) back in both halves and overtime.
Amir Williams added 13 points, and Jae'Sean Tate scored 12 to help Ohio State avoid a second straight one-and-done showing in the tournament.
Melvin Johnson had 17 points for the seventh-seeded Rams (26-10).
N.C. State 66, LSU 65
PITTSBURGH (AP) - BeeJay Anya's hook shot rolled around and in with a second to play, lifting North Carolina State to a stunning victory over LSU.
The eighth-seeded Wolfpack (21-13) trailed by as many as 16 points but rallied to earn a date with top-seeded Villanova in the round of 32 on Saturday.
Cat Barber led N.C. State with 17 points, but Anya came up with the biggest play of the game. Trevor Lacey tried to work for a shot with the clock winding down before giving up and feeding Anya nearby. The burly sophomore got off a left-handed hook in the lane and it bounced in.
Tim Quarterman scored 17 points, but the ninth-seeded Tigers (22-11) collapsed late. LSU missed its last 12 field goals and six crucial free throws in the final 4 minutes.
Villanova 93, Lafayette 52
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Villanova flexed its top-seeded muscle in thumping Lafayette, showing why President Barack Obama picked the Wildcats to reach the NCAA Tournament title game.
Thirty years after stunning the basketball world with an improbable national championship, the Wildcats (33-2) are going to try it this time around as a prohibitive favorite to reach the Final Four.
Dylan Ennis scored 16 points and helped the Wildcats win their 16th straight game.
The Big East champion Wildcats shot close to 70 percent for most of the game as they cruised to a lead of more than 30 points.
Dan Trist led the Patriot League champion Leopards (20-13) with 18 points.