Following a three-day breather after a weekend of chaos, the men’s NCAA Tournament returned to action with the start of the Sweet 16.
No. 3 Kansas State defeated No. 7 Michigan State in an overtime thriller in the first of four games in the West and East, while No. 4 Connecticut rolled over No. 8 Arkansas. No. 9 Florida Atlantic continued its dream season, knocking out No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 3 Gonzaga won a heavyweight showdown against No. 2 UCLA to wrap up the night.
MEN’S TOURNAMENT: Complete scores and schedule
WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT: Complete scores and schedule
Julian Strawther’s deep 3-pointer lifts Gonzaga over UCLA
Gonzaga survived after staging a furious rally against UCLA to advance to the Elite Eight.
Julian Strawther delivered the game-winning shot on a long 3-pointer with 7 seconds to play. UCLA’s Tyger Williams had a chance to send the game into overtime but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Gonzaga won, 79-76.
The game felt like whiplash.
UCLA led by 13 points at the half but then was down by 10 points with 2: 30 left to play. But back came the Bruins.
UCLA freshman Amari Bailey put the Bruins ahead 76-75 on a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to play. But Gonzaga answered with Strawther and survived UCLA’s last gasps before the horn sounded.
Senior forward Drew Timme led Gonzaga with 36 points and 13 rebounds.
The injury-depleted Bruins, playing without their starting center and top defensive player, appeared to stun Gonzaga by matching the Bulldogs’ fast pace. UCLA led 46-33 at the half.
But Gonzaga staged an impressive comeback, earning a berth to the Elite Eight thanks in part to defense. During one stretch in the second half, UCLA failed to score a field goal for more than 11 minutes.
Gonzaga will play fourth-seeded Connecticut Saturday.
UCLA was without starting center Adem Bona, out with a shoulder injury, and Jaylen Clark, the team’s top defensive player, who suffered a season-ending injury in the final game of the regular season.
On Thursday, Jaime Jaquez Jr. led UCLA with 29 points and 11 rebounds.
– Josh Peter
No. 9 Florida Atlantic upsets No. 4 Tennessee
The Florida Atlantic Owls upset the Tennessee Volunteers, 62-55, Thursday to advance to the Elite Eight despite having never won a game in the NCAA Tournament before this year.
Ninth-seeded Florida Atlantic will play third-seeded Kansas State on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Florida Atlantic trailed by as many as nine points in the first half and in the second half was down 39-33 when the Owls suddenly took control.
The Owls went on 15-2 tear, moving ahead 48-41 with 7: 22 left to play, which prompted Tennessee to call a timeout. It stopped the clock – but not Florida Atlantic.
The Owls went up 53-43 with 5: 50 left to play, and Tennessee pulled no closer than five points the rest of the way.
It was yet another postseason disappointment for Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes. During his eight-year tenure, he has guided the Volunteers to the Sweet 16 twice – and never beyond.
The Volunteers made their only other trip to the Elite Eight in 2010 and they did not advance.
Florida Atlantic made its only other NCAA Tournament appearance in 2002, when it was seeded No. 15 and lost to No. 2 seed Alabama.
But these are a different set of Owls. Demonstrating their toughness, they outrebounded Tennessee, 40-36, and held Tennessee to 33.3% shooting from the field. By contrast, Florida Atlantic shot 42% from the field.
– Josh Peter
Half: UCLA 46, Gonzaga 33
The Bruins went on a 15-4 run to close the first half taking a 46-33 lead over the Bulldogs, despite missing Adem Bona (shoulder) and Jaylen Clark (Achilles). Amari Bailey and Tyger Campbell both have 13 points, with Jaime Jaquez Jr. adding 12 and six rebounds.
The Bulldogs’ Drew Timme has a game-high 19 points and five rebounds, but he’s not getting much help from the rest of the team. Gonzaga turned the ball over nine times in the half, compared to UCLA’s one turnover.
Tennessee leads Florida Atlantic at half
The Volunteers entered halftime with a 27-22 lead over the Owls, led by Uros Plavsic’s team-high eight points. No one is in double digits in the low-scoring affair.
Florida Atlantic is lucky to only be down by five. The Owls recorded nine first-half turnovers, which led to nine points for the Volunteers. Florida Atlantic also went 3-for-14 from beyond the arc. Nicholas Boyd and Michael Forrest were each able to knock down a three for the Owls in the closing minutes of the first-half, the team’s first threes since their opening possession, to get within five of Tennessee.
The winner of Tennessee-Florida Atlantic will play Kansas State in the Elite Eight. Markquis Nowell was spotted in the Madison Square Garden crowd to watch the matchup following his historic performance.
UCLA missing key piece vs. Gonzaga
UCLA starting center Adem Bona, suffering from a shoulder injury, did not join the Bruins during warmups in a clear sign he would not be able to play Thursday against Gonzaga.
Bona will be replaced by Kenneth Nwuba. The 6-foot-10 senior has played in 34 games and averaged 12 minutes.
The absence of Bona, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, compounded injury issues for the second-seeded Bruins.
UCLA lost Jaylen Clark, its top defensive player, to a season-ending injury in the final game of the regular season. David Singleton, the senior guard who moved into the starting lineup in Clark’s absence, subsequently suffered an ankle injury that has left his status in doubt.
– Josh Peter
Markquis Nowell leads Kansas State to thrilling overtime win over Michigan State
Classic.
In a white-knuckle, heart-stopping ride, third-seeded Kansas State outlasted seventh-seeded Michigan State in overtime, 98-93, Thursday in a Sweet 16 matchup of the men’s NCAA Tournament.
Markquis Nowell, Kansas State’s 5-foot-8 point guard, was brilliant with 19 assists – an NCAA Tournament single-game record — along with 20 points and five steals.
His fifth steal came in the final moments of the game to send the Wildcats into the Elite Eight. During his electric performance, Nowell overcame an ankle injury in the second half that forced him to the bench for about 2½ minutes and left him hobbled.
With the victory, Kansas State, which was picked last in the Big 12 preseason poll, continues its remarkable run.
The Wildcats needed everything they got from Nowell, as Michigan State fought back after trailing by as many as nine points early in the second half and again by seven points with less than five minutes to play. Michigan State’s Tyson Walker scored with five seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
Nowell – who else? – provided the signature play of overtime with a perfect, seemingly no-look lob to Keyontae Johnson, who finished with a team-high 22 points.
For Michigan State, the loss ended its quest to reach the Final Four for the 11th time in school history. But it was an impressive Tournament run for the Spartans, which started the season outside of the Top 25.
– Josh Peter
No. 4 UConn crushes No. 8 Arkansas
LAS VEGAS — It has been nearly a decade since the University of Connecticut men’s team was considered a national power, and for much of that time it was unclear whether anyone else could build the same type of program Jim Calhoun had that could contend for titles every year.
Danny Hurley isn’t quite there yet, but if the Huskies keep playing like this, it won’t be long.
UConn, the No. 4 seed in the West Regional, obliterated No. 8 seed Arkansas, 88-65, at T-Mobile Arena and will await the winner of UCLA-Gonzaga for a chance to reach the Final Four.
UConn, which won nine of its last 11 games entering the NCAA men’s tournament, simply had too much size, shooting and energy for Arkansas, which upset No. 1 seed Kansas to make the Sweet 16.
The game was never close. UConn started by getting into the paint for easy looks, and the Huskies followed with a muscular performance on the offensive glass when they did miss. Led by Jordan Hawkins’ 24 points and big man Adama Sanogo’s 18, UConn finished the game shooting 57 percent from the field and 45 percent from the 3-point line.
UConn made 17-of-28 shots in the first half for a 46-29 lead and fired with a 30-point margin early in the second half before Arkansas’ full-court press discombobulated the Huskies for a few possessions.
But after its lead was cut to 19 with more than 13 minutes remaining, UConn immediately got consecutive 3-pointers from Hawkins and Nahiem Alleyne to end any threat.
UConn hasn