Top-seeded Florida downs UConn 77-75, ending Huskies’ historic NCAA tournament run
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Walter Clayton Jr. and No. 1 seed Florida ended UConn’s pursuit of a third straight national championship, with Clayton burying two key 3-pointers in the final three minutes of a scintillating 77-75 victory for the Gators in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
Clayton, a first-team All-America guard, finished with 23 points as Florida (32-4), one of the favorites for this year’s title, survived a strong challenge from coach Dan Hurley’s Huskies (24-11), who came in with modest expectations as a No. 8 seed but led for most of the second half.
Florida advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017 and will play Colorado State or Maryland in the West Region semifinals in San Francisco.
UConn was seeking to become the first team to three-peat since UCLA’s run of seven straight titles from 1967-73.
The Huskies won the 2023 title in Houston and last year in Glendale, Arizona, joining Duke (1991-92) and Florida (2006-07) as the only schools to win back-to-back since the Bruins’ run under John Wooden.
MARYLAND 72, COLORADO STATE 71
SEATTLE (AP) — Derik Queen banked in a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer, and Maryland advanced to the Sweet 16 in a thriller, beating Colorado State.
Jalen Lake drilled a rainbow 3-pointer with 6 seconds left for No. 12 seed Colorado State, which was seeking to become the lowest-seeded team to advance to a regional semifinal in this edition of March Madness, which had been light on upset or buzzer-beaters.
Queen took care of that.
Maryland coach Kevin Willard called timeout with 3.6 seconds left and got the ball to Queen, the 6-foot-10 freshman center from Baltimore, who drove to his left, elevated over two defenders and kissed it off the glass as the horn sounded. The Terrapins advanced to face the West Region’s No. 1 seed, Florida, in San Francisco.
Queen led fourth-seeded Maryland (27-8) with 17 points, Rodney Rice scored 16 and Julian Reese had 15 points and 11 rebounds as each of Maryland’s starters known as the “Crab Five” scored in double figures. Maryland’s bench totaled two points.
Nique Clifford scored 21 points for Colorado State (26-10) and Lake had 13.
EAST REGION
ARIZONA 87, OREGON 83
Caleb Love had 29 points and nine rebounds, and fourth-seeded Arizona advanced to the Sweet 16, surviving a ragged finish to beat former Pac-12 rival Oregon.
The Wildcats (24-12) will face top-seeded Duke in the East Region semifinals in Newark, New Jersey. Three years ago, Love starred for North Carolina in a Final Four victory over the Blue Devils that sent Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski into retirement.
Tobe Awaka added 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Wildcats, who had never faced the Ducks in the tournament. Arizona also made the Sweet 16 last year, losing to Clemson.
Jackson Shelstad led fifth-seeded Oregon (25-10) with 25 points and TJ Bamba had 17.
Love’s emphatic dunk with 2:37 left put Arizona in front 77-70. Oregon narrowed the gap on Keeshawn Barthelemy’s 3-pointer before Nate Bittle’s hook shot got the Ducks within 80-78 with 49.2 seconds left.
After an Arizona turnover, TJ Bamba missed a jumper for the Ducks. Jaden Bradley missed his second free throw on the other end, and Shelstad’s driving layup got the Ducks within 81-80 with 10 seconds left.
Anthony Dell’Orso and Shelstad traded free throws, keeping the Ducks within a point. Dell’Orso hit another pair, but Shelstad missed one of his in the waning seconds and the Wildcats held on.
DUKE 89, BAYLOR 66
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Tyrese Proctor made seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points to continue his recent tear, helping No. 1 seed Duke beat Baylor.
Freshman star Cooper Flagg had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Blue Devils (33-3), the headliner in the East Region and one of the favorites to win it all. They will face either Oregon or Arizona in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Newark, New Jersey.
Proctor, a junior, made 7 of 8 3-pointers — his third straight game with at least six 3s and an abrupt turnaround after going 0 for 10 in his first two Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament games. He made 9 of 10 shots overall Sunday.
Duke shot 64.4%, hit 12 3-pointers and turned it over just six times.
ALABAMA 80, SAINT MARY’S 66
CLEVELAND (AP) — Alabama thundered past Saint Mary’s, using a steady stream of alley-oop dunks to reach the Sweet 16 for a third consecutive year.
Chris Youngblood led the second-seeded Crimson Tide (27-8) with 13 points. Six players finished in double figures for Alabama, including forward Grant Nelson, who had 12 points and eight rebounds after sitting out the majority of a first-round game against Robert Morris due to a knee injury.
All-American guard Mark Sears had 12 points and three assists, including a pretty lob that Clifford Omoruyi slammed through for a reverse dunk that put the Tide up 14 with just under 8 minutes to play.
Omoruyi had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Crimson Tide, who built a double-digit lead late in the first half and never let the Gaels (29-6) get closer than eight the rest of the way.
MIDWEST REGION
KENTUCKY 84, ILLINOIS 75
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Koby Brea matched a career high with 23 points and Kentucky beat Illinois to advance beyond the NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend for the first time since they reached the Elite Eight in 2019.
Kentucky (24-11), the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region, faces No. 2 seed and Southeastern Conference rival Tennessee on Friday in Indianapolis. The Wildcats have already beaten the Volunteers twice this season.
Mark Pope, who never won an NCAA Tournament game in five seasons at BYU, broke through in his first season at Kentucky. Pope, a forward on Kentucky’s 1996 national championship team, took over when John Calipari left for Arkansas in the wake of a first-round loss to Oakland last year.
Now both Pope and Calipari are in the Sweet 16. Calipari got there when Arkansas upset St. John’s 75-66 in the West Region on Saturday.
SOUTH REGION
MISSISSIPPI 91, IOWA STATE 78
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Sean Pedulla scored 20 points, Jaemyn Brakefield had 19 and Ole Miss beat Iowa State to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history.
Mississippi (24-11) is one of seven Southeastern Conference schools still standing, the most teams any conference has sent to the Sweet 16 in one season. Ole Miss fans started chanting “SEC!” with over 5½ minutes left and the game well out of reach.
Next up for the sixth-seeded Rebels is No. 2 seed Michigan State in a South Region semifinal on Friday in Atlanta.
MICHIGAN STATE 71, NEW MEXICO 63
CLEVELAND (AP) — Jaden Akins scored 16 points, including a 3-pointer that put Michigan State ahead to stay, and coach Tom Izzo took the Spartans to the Sweet 16 for the 16th time with a victory over New Mexico.
Izzo has 58 wins in the NCAA Tournament, tied for fourth in a coaching career with John Calipari — who’s also in this year’s Sweet 16, with Arkansas — and the retired Jim Boeheim of Syracuse. The 70-year-old Hall of Famer has taken the Spartans to March Madness 27 times.
Four of those victories have come against the Pitino family. Izzo has won both of his matchups against New Mexico coach Richard Pitino and is 2-1 against his father, Rick. The elder Pitino, whose St. John’s squad was eliminated on Saturday by Calipari’s Razorbacks, flew to Cleveland and had a front-row seat opposite the Lobos’ bench.
Tre Holloman added 14 points for second-seeded Michigan State (29-6), which will face Mississippi in a South Region semifinal in Atlanta on Friday night. The sixth-seeded Rebels beat Iowa State to advance to the tournament’s second weekend for the first time since 2001.
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