Ohio State’s Eugene Brown III, right, blocks a shot by Loyola Chicago’s Aher Uguak during an NCAA Tournament first-round game Friday in Pittsburgh. Ohio State won, 54-41. Keith Srakocic/Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — E.J. Liddell scored 16 points, Big Ten Freshman of the Year Malaki Branham added 14 and seventh-seeded Ohio State shut down 10th-seeded Loyola Chicago from start to finish, winning 54-41 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
The Buckeyes (20-11) advanced to play Villanova on Sunday in the South Region while preventing another March run by the Ramblers (25-8), who shot 27% (15 of 56) from the floor.
Braden Norris led Loyola with 14 points, but star Lucas Williamson endured perhaps his worst game of the season. The winningest player in program history finished with four points on 1-of-10 shooting and committed three turnovers as Loyola fell in the first round after reaching the Sweet 16 last season and the Final Four in 2018.
Sister Jean, Loyola’s 102-year-old chaplain, led the Ramblers in a pregame prayer and took in the school’s third NCAA appearance in five years from the mezzanine but could only watch as Loyola – listed as a slight favorite by FanDuel Sportsbook, a nod to the program’s rise – fumbled away an opportunity to further cement its status as a mid-major power.
Ohio State came in having lost four of its final five games, including a baffling setback to lowly Penn State in the Big Ten tournament last week. The return of forward Kyle Young, who hadn’t played since March 8 because of a concussion, and Liddell’s steadiness helped the Buckeyes avoid a second straight early exit.
VILLANOVA 80, DELAWARE 60: Justin Moore scored 21 points, Collin Gillespie added 14 and second-seeded Villanova had little trouble with 15th-seeded Delaware.
The Wildcats (27-7) used a 35-10 surge spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second to turn an eight-point deficit into a blowout.
Delaware (22-13) showed some early fight in a meeting of programs separated by 43 miles on the map and considerably more in the college basketball landscape.
It wasn’t nearly enough as Villanova overwhelmed the Blue Hens under a barrage of 3-pointers to begin the school’s quest for a third national title in seven seasons.
ILLINOIS 54, CHATTANOOGA 53: Alfonso Plummer scored 15 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 12 seconds to go, and fourth-seeded Illinois (23-9) escaped 13th-seeded Chattanooga (27-8) at Pittsburgh.
The Big Ten co-champion Illini never led until the final minute and survived when Chattanooga star Malachi Smith missed twice in the closing seconds. His runner in the lane was swatted by Illinois’ Coleman Hawkins and his pull-up jumper just before the clock expired clanged off the rim.
Illinois All-America center Kofi Cockburn had 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. His putback gave the Illini a 52-51 lead with 48 seconds to go. Smith, the Southern Conference Player of the Year, responded by drilling a pair of free throws to put Chattanooga back in front.
ARIZONA 87, WRIGHT STATE 70: Christian Koloko scored 17 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and keyed a big second-half surge for top-seeded Arizona (32-3) against No. 16 Wright State (22-14) in San Diego.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 18 points and Dalen Terry had 16 for the Wildcats, who reached the second round for the first time since 2017.
Grant Basile scored 21 points and Trey Calvin had 16 for Wright State, which beat Bryant 93-82 in a First Four game.
TCU 69, SETON HALL 42: Mike Miles Jr. scored 21 points and ninth-seeded TCU got its first NCAA Tournament victory in 35 years, easily dispatching eighth-seeded Seton Hall in San Diego
The Horned Frogs’ last tournament victory was in 1987 against Marshall, when Coach Jamie Dixon was a senior at TCU. They haven’t had many opportunities since: This was their third appearance since 1988 and second in Dixon’s six seasons.
The Horned Frogs (21-12) will take on the South Region’s top seed, Arizona, on Sunday in the second round.
Jamir Harris and Myles Cale each scored 11 points for Seton Hall (21-11), which shot 28.8% from the field, its worst performance in an NCAA Tournament game.
HOUSTON 82, UAB 68: Kyler Edwards scored 25 points, Fabian White Jr. added 14 and fifth-seeded Houston (30-5) looked like a team capable of making another deep run in March as it opened the NCAA Tournament with a win over 12th-seeded UAB (27-8) in Pittsburgh.
Edwards made six 3-pointers and controlled the fast tempo as the Cougars advanced in the South Region to play fourth-seeded Illinois on Sunday.
Houston made it to the Final Four a year ago but doesn’t have a single starter left from that squad, which lost to eventual champion Baylor in the semifinals
EAST
PURDUE 78, YALE 56: Jaden Ivey raced his way to 22 points and Zach Edey controlled the action inside, helping Purdue overpower Yale in Milwaukee.
Ivey, one of the fastest players in college basketball, went 3 for 6 from 3-point range and 7 for 9 at the free-throw line in 27 minutes. The 7-foot-4 Edey made the most of his size advantage against the Ivy League champions, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes.
No. 3 seed Purdue (28-7) won its NCAA opener for the fourth time in its last five tournaments. The exception occurred last year, when Purdue was upset by 13th-seeded North Texas.
Azar Swain scored 18 points on 8-for-19 shooting for Yale (19-12), the No. 14 seed.
TEXAS 81, VIRGINIA TECH 73: Andrew Jones scored 21 points, Marcus Carr beat the halftime buzzer with a shot from well beyond midcourt to put Texas ahead for good, and the sixth-seeded Longhorns beat No. 11 Virginia Tech for their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2014.
The Longhorns (22-11) advance to a second-round East Region game Sunday against No. 3 seed Purdue.
Sean Padulla scored 13 of his 19 points in the last 4 1/2 minutes for Virginia Tech (23-13).
MIDWEST
AUBURN 80, JACKSONVILLE STATE 61: Freshman Jabari Smith had 20 points and 14 rebounds as second-seeded Auburn pulled away from Jacksonville State late in the first half in Greenville, South Carolina, to win its 10th straight NCAA Tournament opener.
Walker Kessler, Smith’s partner in the paint, finished a block shy of a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks.
The Tigers (28-5) will face 10th-seeded Miami on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.
If Smith, a potential high NBA lottery pick, plays like he did Friday, Auburn will be hard to slow down.
Smith had four 3-pointers, a couple from far behind the line. He ended his first NCAA Tournament game with an emphatic, right-handed slam with just over a minute to go as teammate Wendell Green Jr. covered his face in disbelief.
Auburn was on target from the outside. K.D. Johnson ended his shooting slump – he was 0 for 14 in an Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinal loss to Texas A&M – and had 10 points and a couple of 3s during a 17-3 run that put the Tigers in control in the first half.
MIAMI 68, USC 66: Charlie Moore made two free throws with three seconds left and finished with 16 points to lift 10th-seeded Miami over No. 7 seed Southern California at Greenville, South Carolina.
Moore drove the lane in the final moments and appeared to have his layup blocked by Chavez Goodwin. But a foul was called and Moore made the free throws.
Isaiah Wong led Miami (24-10) with 22 points before fouling out with 2:07 to play. The Hurricanes were ahead 65-58 with 44 seconds left, but Drew Peterson, who led the Trojans with 17 points, hit consecutive 3s and then tied it with an inside basket.
Miami won its first NCAA game since defeating Wichita State in the second round in 2016.
IOWA STATE 59, LSU 54: Freshman Tyrese Hunter scored 23 points and 11th-seeded Iowa State (21-12) made itself at home in Milwaukee once again, using its hard-nosed defense to beat No. 6 seed LSU (22-12).
Izaiah Brockington added 19 points as the Cyclones got their first win in the NCAA Tournament since 2017 – also in Milwaukee. They held the Tigers to 37% shooting and forced 19 turnovers.
WISCONSIN 67, COLGATE 60: All-American guard Johnny Davis scored 25 points and sparked a second-half comeback as third-seeded Wisconsin withstood 14th-seeded Colgate’s 3-point assault and beat the Raiders in Milwaukee.
The third-seeded Badgers (25-7) snapped Colgate’s 15-game winning streak and advanced to a second-round game Sunday against No. 11 seed Iowa State.
Davis had Wisconsin’s last 14 points and showed he’s all the way back from the injured left ankle that knocked the Big Ten player of the year out of the Badgers’ regular-season finale. Davis returned for the Big Ten Tournament but shot 3 of 19 in a quarterfinal loss to Michigan State.
After shooting 3 of 11 in the first half, Davis caught fire when the Badgers needed him. They trailed by as many as five in the second half before going on a 10-0 run and holding Colgate (23-12) scoreless for more than seven minutes.
WEST
TEXAS TECH 97, MONTANA STATE 62: Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 20 points and set a dominating tone in the opening minutes for Texas Tech, which overwhelmed Montana State with one of the best-shooting games in the first round since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Bryson Williams also scored 20 points for Texas Tech (26-9), which shot 66.7% (36 of 54) from the field, including making 12 of 20 3-pointers. At one point, the Red Raiders were trending toward breaking Syracuse’s record of 67.9% (38 of 56) against Southern Illinois in 1995. They settled for a tie for fourth.
Texas Tech, the No. 3 seed in the West Region, was too big, quick and talented for the Bobcats (27-8), who were making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996. The Red Raiders will play 11th-seeded Notre Dame in the second round.
NOTRE DAME 78, ALABAMA 64: Cormac Ryan scored a career-high 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, and 11th-seeded Notre Dame recovered from a grueling First Four win and late-night flight to beat sixth-seeded Alabama 78-64 in San Diego.
Ryan, a senior guard, was 10 of 13 from the field and made a career-best seven of his nine tries from beyond the arc for Notre Dame (24-10), which beat Rutgers in double overtime Wednesday night in Dayton, Ohio, to earn a trip to San Diego.
Blake Wesley had 18 points while Paul Atkinson Jr. added 13 points and eight rebounds. The Fighting Irish missed six of their first seven shots but went 28 of 47 the rest of the way.
Keon Ellis led Alabama (19-14) with 16 points and Jaden Shackelford scored 13. Junior guard Jahvon Quinerly suffered a left knee injury early in the game and did not return. His knee was in an immobilizing brace when he came back to the Crimson Tide bench.
DUKE 78, CAL STATE FULLERTON 61: Second-seeded Duke began Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski’s final NCAA Tournament with minimal stress, beating Cal State Fullerton in Greenville, South Carolina.
Freshman Paolo Banchero scored 17 points to lead the Blue Devils (29-6), who jumped to a double-digit lead in the first 4 1/2 minutes and remained in control throughout.
Damari Milstead scored 12 points to lead 15th-seeded Cal State Fullerton (21-11).
MICHIGAN STATE 74, DAVIDSON 73: Joey Hauser scored a career-high 27 points and seventh-seeded Michigan State (23-12) edged No. 10 Davidson (27-7) in Greenville, South Carolina.
A.J. Hoggard added 14 points for the Spartans, who wrestled away control of a tight game in the second half and then held on against a desperate comeback push in the final seconds.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
