NCAA Tournament roundup: Princeton, Furman pull off upsets

 

[March 17, 2023]  Ryan Langborg banked in a driving layup with two minutes to go Thursday to give Princeton its first lead, and second-seeded Arizona missed its final seven shots as the 15th-seeded Tigers scored a shocking 59-55 victory in a South region first-round game in Sacramento, Calif.

Princeton (22-8) finished on a 9-0 run while overcoming a 12-point second-half deficit, posting an upset reminiscent of its 1996 first-round victory over defending champion UCLA. Pac-12 tournament champion Arizona (28-7) bowed out after scoring only four points in the final 8:05 to finish with its season-low point total.

Tosan Evbuomwan led Princeton with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Princeton advances to play in Saturday's second round against seventh-seeded Missouri.

Azuolas Tubelis had 22 points for Arizona, while Oumar Ballo posted a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

No. 13 Furman 68, No. 4 Virginia 67

JP Pegues' 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left after a huge steal by Garrett Hein lifted the Paladins to a stunning upset over the Cavaliers in Orlando, Fla.

Pegues' historic shot from the right wing gave Furman its first NCAA Tournament win since 1974 after rallying from a four-point deficit in the final 19 seconds. The Paladins (28-7), playing in their first NCAA Tournament since 1980, will face fifth-seeded San Diego State in the second round on Saturday.

Jalen Slawson had 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, while Marcus Foster added 14 points for Furman, which won for the 15th time in its past 16 games. Kadin Shedrick had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers (25-8), who have lost in the first round in three of their past four NCAA Tournaments.

No. 1 Alabama 96, No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 75

Nick Pringle posted a double-double Thursday as the Crimson Tide overcame a poor performance from Brandon Miller to beat the Islanders in Birmingham, Ala.

Pringle totaled 19 points and 15 rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting in just 21 minutes of action for Alabama (30-5), which will face eighth-seeded Maryland in the second round on Saturday. Mark Sears added 15 points and Jahvon Quinerly went for 13. Miller, the Southeastern Conference Player and Freshman of the Year, went scoreless for the first time this season, with coach Nate Oats saying he has been playing through a groin injury.

Trevian Tennyson scored a game-high 20 points Thursday for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (24-11), which shot just 34.7 percent (26 of 75) from the floor. Isaac Mushila contributed 16 points and 15 rebounds, while Owen Dease had 14 points.

No. 5 San Diego State 63, No. 12 Charleston 57

Matt Bradley scored 17 points and the fifth-seeded Aztecs held off the 12th-seeded Cougars in Orlando.

Keshad Johnson, Jaedon LeDee and Aguek Arop scored eight points apiece for San Diego State (28-6), which will face 13th-seeded Furman in the second round on Saturday. Furman upset fourth-seeded Virginia earlier Thursday,

Ante Brzovic had 12 points and eight rebounds, Ryan Larson had 11 points and Dalton Bolon finished with 10 points for Charleston (31-4).

No. 7 Missouri 76, No. 10 Utah State 65

D'Moi Hodge scored 23 points and had four steals as the Tigers defeated the Aggies in Sacramento.

Kobe Brown scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Tigers (25-9), who won their first NCAA tournament game since 2010. DeAndre Gholston scored 11 points and Noah Carter added 10 for Missouri, which will play the No. 15 seed Princeton -- who later shocked No. 2 Arizona -- in the second round on Saturday.

Taylor Funk led the Aggies (26-9) with 16 points and seven rebounds. Dan Akin and Steve Ashworth scored 12 points each and Sean Bairstow added 10. Missouri held Utah State to 4-for-24 shooting from 3-point range and forced the Aggies into 15 turnovers.

No. 8 Maryland 67, No. 9 West Virginia 65

Julian Reese led the Terrapins with 17 points and nine rebounds in a tight win over the Mountaineers to tip off region action in Birmingham.

Hakim Hart had 15 points with four assists and scored the go-ahead basket as the Terrapins (22-12) ended the game on an 11-6 run. Scott had 11 points and eight rebounds and Young scored 10 points for Maryland, which reached the Round of 32 for the third time in the past four tournaments (2019, 2021).

The Mountaineers (19-15) lost despite Johnson's career-high 27 points. Mitchell added 13 points and six rebounds.

East Region

No. 4 Tennessee 58, No. 13 Louisiana 55

Tyreke Key scored 12 points and the Volunteers led by as many as 18 points before escaping with a victory over the Ragin' Cajuns at Orlando.

Jahmai Mashack added 11 points for the fourth-seeded Volunteers (24-10), who won for just the sixth time in their past 13 games. Tennessee will face fifth-seeded Duke in the second round on Saturday.

Jordan Brown recorded 16 points and seven rebounds and Kobe Julien added 15 points for 13th-seeded Louisiana (26-8), which had a five-game winning streak end. Jalen Dalcourt scored 11 points and Themus Fulks had 11 assists for the Ragin' Cajuns.

No. 5 Duke 74, No. 12 Oral Roberts 51

Jeremy Roach tied his career high with 23 points as the Blue Devils ran away from the Golden Eagles for a wire-to-wire victory in Orlando.

It was the 10th straight win for the Blue Devils (27-8), who are moving on under first-year coach Jon Scheyer. Roach shot 9 of 17 from the floor and had just one turnover in 37 minutes of action. The veteran guard also had three assists and two rebounds.

Dereck Lively II provided the Blue Devils with a game-high 12 rebounds and six blocked shots. Oral Roberts (30-5) got 12 points from Max Abmas, who also had five assists and three rebounds.

Midwest Region

No. 1 Houston 63, No. 16 Northern Kentucky 52

First-team All-America guard Marcus Sasser scored just five points before aggravating a groin injury, but the Cougars battled through it to win their tournament opener in Birmingham.

Mar 16, 2023; Sacramento, CA, USA; Princeton Tigers guard Ryan Langborg (3) blocks the shot of Arizona Wildcats guard Courtney Ramey (0) during the second half at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Freshman Jarace Walker led the Cougars (32-3) with 16 points while Jamal Shead battled a troublesome knee to contribute 13 points as Houston advanced to face ninth-seeded Auburn (21-12) on Saturday. Sasser's status for this game is uncertain. After missing Houston's AAC tournament championship game Sunday, he started and played most of the first half Thursday -- but went to the bench shortly before halftime complaining of pain in his left groin and did not return.

Sam Vinson paced Northern Kentucky (22-13) with 15 points while Trey Robinson added 11. The Norse led for several minutes in the first half, forged a tie early in the second half and had multiple chances to re-take the lead -- but finished 5 of 33 from 3-point range as they tried in vain to catch up late.

No. 2 Texas 81, No. 15 Colgate 61

Sir'Jabari Rice shot Texas into the second round with a career-high seven 3-pointers, pushing the Longhorns past the Raiders in Des Moines, Iowa.

Rice had 23 points and six rebounds, and the Longhorns shot 56.5 percent from 3-point range while clamping Colgate's prodigious perimeter offense. The Raiders missed 12 of 15 tries behind the 3-point line; Texas was 13 of 23.

Marcus Carr and Dylan Disu had 17 points apiece for Texas (27-8). The Longhorns will face Penn State on Saturday, looking for their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2008.

No. 10 Penn State 76, No. 7 Texas A&M 59

Andrew Funk drilled a career-best eight 3-pointers while scoring a game-high 27 points and Jalen Pickett added 19 points to boost the Nittany Lions over the Aggies in Des Moines.

Penn State (23-13) shot 48.2 percent from the floor while making 13 of 22 attempts from 3-point range. The Aggies (25-1) were as cold as the Nittany Lions were hot, struggling to a 33.9-percent effort from the field, including a 7-for-23 showing from deep.

The Nittany Lions, who are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011, won for the sixth time in seven games and are set to face second-seeded Texas in a second-round game on Saturday. Thursday marked the program's first tournament victory since 2001.

No. 9 Auburn 83, No. 8 Iowa 75

Johni Broome recorded a double-double, and the Tigers held off a late comeback bid by the Hawkeyes to win their opener in Birmingham.

Broome finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks for the Tigers (21-12), who will face top seed Houston or 16th-seeded Northern Kentucky in the second round. Wendell Green Jr. chipped in 15 points, while Tre Donaldson, K.D. Johnson and Jaylin Williams tallied 11 apiece.

Payton Sandfort finished with a game-high 21 points for the Hawkeyes (19-14). Kris Murray contributed 15 points and nine rebounds, and Filip Rebraca notched 14 points.

West Region

No. 1 Kansas 96, No. 16 Howard 68

The defending national champion Jayhawks shifted into high gear in the second half to smother the Bison in Des Moines.

All-American Jalen Wilson collected 20 points and seven rebounds, freshman Gradey Dick had 19 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals and the top-seeded Jayhawks (28-7) had five players with 10 or more points. The Jayhawks advanced to play eighth seed Arkansas on Saturday. Arkansas eliminated ninth seed Illinois 73-63 on Thursday.

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year Shy Odom had 15 points and eight rebounds for 16th-seeded Howard (22-13), which went 5 of 20 from 3-point range in the second half.

No. 2 UCLA 86, No. 15 UNC Asheville 53

Jaime Jaquez Jr. produced 17 points, eight rebounds and five steals as the Bruins dominated from the start and cruised to a victory over the Bulldogs in Sacramento.

Amari Bailey also scored 17 for UCLA (30-5), which raced to a 14-0 lead and made its first seven shots from the field. The outcome was never in doubt after that, as UNC Asheville (27-8) trailed by 21 at halftime and fell behind by 33 in the second half.

The Bulldogs' Drew Pember, the Big South Player of the Year who came in averaging 21.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, finished with 13 points, two rebounds, two assists and six turnovers.

No. 7 Northwestern 75, No. 10 Boise State 67

Boo Buie recorded 22 points, five rebounds and five assists the Wildcats, who never trailed while knocking off the Broncos in Sacramento.

Chase Audige added 20 points, six rebounds and four steals for the seventh-seeded Wildcats (22-11), who improved to 2-1 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.

Max Rice scored 17 points and Naje Smith had 14 points and 11 rebounds for 10th-seeded Boise State (24-10). Boise State dropped to 0-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with the past four losses coming under current coach Leon Rice.

No. 8 Arkansas 73, No. 9 Illinois 63

The Razorbacks survived a second-half slump to put away the Fighting Illini and advance to the second round in Des Moines.

Ricky Council IV scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead Arkansas (21-13), which trailed for only 1 minute, 20 seconds and led by as many as 17 in the second half. Davonte Davis scored 16 points, and Anthony Black had 12.

Ninth-seeded Illinois committed 17 turnovers but threatened late in the second half before another Arkansas surge. Terrence Shannon Jr. had 20 points for the Illini, while RJ Melendez and Coleman Hawkins added 10 apiece.

--Field Level Media

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