NCAA Tournament roundup: Houston outlasts Texas A&M in OT

 

[March 25, 2024]  Houston overcame crippling foul trouble and a dramatic comeback by Texas A&M to earn a 100-95 victory in overtime on Sunday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament's South Region in Memphis.

Emanuel Sharp scored a game-high 30 points and Jamal Shead added 21 points and 10 assists for the top-seeded Cougars (32-4), who are off to face No. 4 seed Duke in the Sweet 16 on Friday.

J'Wan Roberts was the only Houston starter to not foul out, but the Cougars still managed to outscore the ninth-seeded Aggies (21-15) 14-9 in the extra session.

LJ Cryer scored 14 of his 20 points after halftime for Houston, and Roberts finished with 13 points, going 6-for-6 from the field. The Cougars canned 51.5 percent of their field-goal attempts in beating Texas A&M for the second time this season.

Tyrece Radford scored 27 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out six assists for the Aggies, while Wade Taylor IV added 21 points but made only 5 of 26 shots from the floor.

No. 2 Marquette 81, No. 10 Colorado 77

Tyler Kolek recorded 21 points, 11 assists and five rebounds to lead the Golden Eagles to a victory over the Buffaloes in Indianapolis.

David Joplin secured the win by making two free throws with 7.4 seconds remaining to send the Golden Eagles (27-9) to the Sweet 16. Marquette will face No. 11 North Carolina State on Friday in Dallas. Kam Jones scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half to lead the Golden Eagles to an 11-point lead at halftime.

KJ Simpson led Colorado (26-11) with 20 points. Tristan da Silva added 17 for the Buffaloes, who fell just short of reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1969.

No. 4 Duke 93, No. 12 James Madison 55

Jared McCain drained eight 3-pointers -- a school record in an NCAA Tournament game -- and finished with 30 points for the Blue Devils, who never trailed against the Dukes in New York.

Tyrese Proctor (18 points), Jeremy Roach (15 points) and Kyle Filipowski (14 points) also scored in double figures for Duke (26-8), which is in the Sweet 16 for the first time since advancing to the Final Four in Mike Krzyzewski's final season in 2022.

Terrence Edwards Jr. scored 13 points while T.J. Bickerstaff added 11 points for James Madison (32-4), which reached the second round of the tourney for the first time since 1983. The Dukes were trying to become the first No. 12 seed to advance to the Sweet 16 since Oregon State went to the Elite Eight in 2021.

Midwest Region

No. 1 Purdue 106, No. 8 Utah State 67

Zach Edey once again dominated with 23 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and two steals to lead the Boilermakers to a second-round rout of the Aggies in Indianapolis.

Purdue (31-4) advances to play No. 5 seed Gonzaga on Friday in Detroit. Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Fletcher Loyer added 15 points and six assists. The Boilermakers went 8-for-14 from 3-point range in the second half to put the game away.

Great Osobor had 14 points and Josh Uduje added 13 for Utah State (28-7), which fell to 7-25 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.

West Region

No. 6 Clemson 72, No. 3 Baylor 64

Chase Hunter scored 20 points and added six assists as the Tigers held off a late charge from the Bears in Memphis.

Clemson, which held a 15-point lead with less than seven minutes left, was clinging to a 66-64 advantage when Baylor's Ja'Kobe Walter missed two free throws that would have tied the score with 36.2 seconds remaining.

Clemson sealed the outcome by hitting six straight shots at the free-throw line. RJ Godfrey hit four of those free throws and Joseph Girard III added a pair as the Tigers (23-11) earned a spot in the Sweet 16. RayJ Dennis scored 27 points for the Bears (24-11), and Walter finished with 20.

No. 4 Alabama 72, No. 12 Grand Canyon 61

Mark Sears had 26 points, a season-best 12 rebounds and six assists to lead the Crimson Tide to a victory over the Lopes at Spokane, Wash.

Rylan Griffen added 13 points for the Crimson Tide (23-11), who scored the final 10 points of the game to hold off a charge by the Lopes.

Tyon Grant-Foster recorded 29 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots for Grand Canyon (30-5), which was a porous 2 of 20 from 3-point range.

East Region

No. 1 UConn 75, No. 9 Northwestern 58

Donovan Clingan finished two blocks shy of a triple-double as the defending national champion Huskies posted another wire-to-wire win by beating the Wildcats in New York.

UConn (33-3), the nation's top-ranked team, will face No. 5 San Diego State in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Boston. UConn has won nine straight games. Clingan had 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks, while Tristen Newton added 20 points and 10 assists.

Northwestern (22-12) lost in the second round for the third time in as many NCAA Tournament trips -- all since 2017 under 11th-year coach Chris Collins. Brooks Barnhizer scored 18 points while Ryan Langborg had 13 for the Wildcats.

No. 5 San Diego State 85, No. 13 Yale 57

Jaedon LeDee recorded 26 points and nine rebounds and the Aztecs never trailed while beating the Bulldogs at Spokane, Wash.

Darrion Trammell established season highs of 18 points and four 3-pointers for San Diego State (26-10), which made a season-best 13 treys (in 27 attempts) and led by as many as 31 points.

Bez Mbeng scored 12 points and Matt Knowling added 11 for Yale (23-10). John Poulakidas was scoreless in the first half and had just nine points on 2-of-9 shooting for the Bulldogs. He poured in 28 points in Yale's stunning 78-76 upset of fourth-seeded Auburn on Friday.

--Field Level Media

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