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NCAA Basketball Tournament

FINAL FOUR: Clayton’s Place

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SAN ANTONIO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Even in his lowest-scoring game of the NCAA Tournament, Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. made his presence felt on both ends of the court late in the national final on Monday.

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The All-America guard rallied the Gators to a 65-63 victory over Houston in San Antonio, a performance that led to his selection as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Clayton, a senior, finished the title game with 11 points — all in the final 15 minutes — seven assists and five rebounds.

He also made the key defensive play in the final seconds, leaping to prevent Houston’s Emanuel Sharp from getting off a 3-point attempt. The ball fell to the floor, and Florida’s Alex Condon secured it as time expired.

In the Gators’ semifinal victory over Auburn, Clayton amassed a career-high 34 points. That followed his 30-point effort in the Elite Eight against Texas Tech. Clayton is the first player since Larry Bird in 1979 to have back-to-back 30-point games in the Elite Eight and Final Four.

Overall, he averaged 22.3 points, 3.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds in six NCAA Tournament wins as the Gators closed out a 36-4 season. His season norms were 18.3 points, 4.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds.

Clayton explored entering the NBA draft after last season, participating in pro workouts after the Gators went 24-12 and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Colorado. That was his first campaign at Florida after he played two seasons at Iona.

He was chosen the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2022-23 after putting up 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game for the Gaels.

–Field Level Media

Houston Shocks Duke at Final Four

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SAN ANTONIO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The University of Houston’s LJ Cryer ignited a 14-point comeback in the final 8:02, and teammate J’Wan Roberts made the go-ahead free throws and Houston stunned Duke 70-67 in a memorable Final Four clash between No. 1 seeds on Saturday night at the Alamo Dome.

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Cryer shot 6-of-9 from 3-point range and led the Cougars with 26 points, while Roberts had 11 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Emanuel Sharp made massive plays down the stretch and finished with 16 points for Houston (35-4), which will face Florida in the national championship game on Monday night.

Duke’s Cooper Flagg had 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks (35-4) but was whistled for a foul with 19 seconds left that allowed Houston to move in front after the Blue Devils led most of the game.

Houston out-rebounded Duke 42-31 to make up for 37.7 percent shooting from the floor. Duke made just 39.4 percent of its shots after hitting at least 50 percent in each of its first four NCAA Tournament games.

Duke appeared safe when Houston’s Joseph Tugler made contact with the ball when the Blue Devils were attempting an inbound with 1:14 to go. Duke received one technical foul shot and possession.

Kon Knueppel (16 points) made the foul shot for a 67-61 lead, but Houston got a stop on Tugler’s block and Sharp made a major 3-pointer to cut it to 67-64.

James’ inbound pass was stolen by Mylik Wilson, and Houston clawed within one on Tugler’s putback dunk with 25 seconds left. The Cougars then fouled Duke, Tyrese Proctor missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and Roberts drew a foul from Flagg on the rebound.

Roberts’ free throws gave Houston its first lead since 6-5. Flagg’s midrange floater with eight seconds left hit the front of the rim and Houston got the rebound. Cryer hit two free throws for the final margin.

Flagg hit a jumper at the 10:31 mark of the second half and Proctor added one free throw for a 59-45 lead, but the Blue Devils missed their next six field-goal attempts.

Cryer had a six-point possession thanks to a flagrant-1 foul call on Mason Gillis under the basket when Cryer made a three. Houston got one foul shot and possession, and Cryer hit a jumper to cut it to 59-51 with 7:43 to play.

Houston pulled within 59-55 before Proctor hit two free throws to end a 4:33 Duke scoring drought. Then, Maliq Brown kicked the ball to Flagg in the right corner for a 3-pointer with 3:03 left.

–Field Level Media

March Madness: Coach Cal Awaits

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PROVIDENCE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – RJ Luis Jr. made a career-high five 3-pointers and second-seeded St. John’s found its shooting stroke en route to an 83-53 victory over No. 15 seed Omaha in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night in Rhode Island.

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St. John’s (31-4) earned its first tournament win since 2000. Coach Rick Pitino and the Big East champs will face John Calipari and No. 10 seed Arkansas in the second round Saturday.

Luis led all scorers with 22 points and added eight rebounds. He made 5 of 8 attempts from deep as St. John’s — a 30.4 percent 3-point shooting team entering the night — matched a season high with 14 3-pointers to counter Omaha clogging the lanes.

Simeon Wilcher scored 13 points for the Red Storm. Kadary Richmond had 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Zuby Ejiofor added 10 points, seven boards, four assists and three blocks.

JJ White posted 15 points and five assists to lead Omaha (22-13), which was playing in its first Division I NCAA Tournament after claiming the Summit League championship.

Marquel Sutton scored 11 for the Mavericks, and Isaac Ondekane pulled down 10 of his 11 rebounds in the first half.

St. John’s missed its first five shots and let Omaha stake out a 7-0 lead, prompting an early timeout from Pitino. After Richmond got the Red Storm on the board, Luis scored eight St. John’s points in a row, bookended by a pair of 3-pointers.

The Mavericks moved ahead 20-14 before St. John’s turned the tables. Wilcher cut the lead in half with a 3-pointer, prompting a 16-2 run that featured triples by Deivon Smith, Ruben Prey and another from Wilcher.

Omaha scored six in a row to cut it to 30-28, but Vince Iwuchukwu got inside for a bucket that turned into a three-point play with two seconds left, giving St. John’s a 33-28 halftime edge.

Luis kept the Red Storm 3-point party going by making one 14 seconds into the second half. Teammate Aaron Scott splashed a trey, then Luis and Wilcher went on a two-on-one that ended in an alley-oop dunk by Luis, giving St. John’s firm control at 43-30.

Luis knocked down another two triples to hand St. John’s its first 20-point lead with 13:14 to go. Critically, the Red Storm had assists on their first eight made field goals of the half with no turnovers.

St. John’s held the Mavericks to 7-of-34 field-goal shooting (20.6 percent) and outrebounded them 31-19 in the second half.

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | Special

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Bracketology: NCAA Fails Geography 101

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

PROVIDENCE – Highly respected sports industry guru Tony Ponturo, he of multi-time nominee and winner for both the Most Powerful Man in Sports and in the theatre industry, wrote a thought-leadership book entitled, “Revenge of the C+ Student.”Ponturo, a two time TONY Award winner for his efforts on Broadway, reviving “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” and producing 2010 Best Musical “Memphis,” helped make the brands “Bud” and “Bud Light” household names on a worldwide basis. Just ask The Budweiser Clydesdales.

Ponturo spent 26 years selling Bud, the exact same amount of time this columnist spent working for David Stern at the National Basketball Association. Looking at those two parallel lines, and enlightened by Ponturo’s book and his transcript, I’d love to author a similar sports business practice book and I’d call it, “At Least I Was Good at Geography.”

To wit, I give you this year’s brackets for NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball.

In the East, we have:

  • No. 2 Alabama
  • No. 3 Wisconsin
  • No. 4 Arizona
  • No. 5 Oregon
  • No. 6 BYU (Utah)
  • No. 7 St. Mary’s Moraga (California)
  • No. 14 Montana

In the West, we have:

  • No. 1 Florida
  • No. 2 St. John’s (New York)
  • No. 3 Texas Tech (Lubbock, Texas)
  • No. 4 Maryland
  • No. 5 Memphis (Tennessee)
  • No. 6 Missouri
  • No. 8 UConn (Hartford, Connecticut area)
  • No. 9 Oklahoma
  • No. 14 UNC Wilmington (North Carolina)
  • No. 16 Norfolk State (Norfolk, Virginia)

There’s a few more.

In the South, there’s Michigan State (Lansing), Marquette (Wisconsin), Yale (New Haven, Connecticut), and Michigan (Ann Arbor) – four schools where you can’t get much further North, unless Canada does become the 51st State and UConn is south of Yukon.

In the Midwest, the bracket claims, UCLA (Los Angeles), Gonzaga (Spokane, Washington), Utah State (Logan, Utah), and then a slew of Southeastern or Southern schools like Wofford (Spartanburg, South Carolina), High Point (North Carolina), Clemson (South Carolina), Kentucky, McNeese (Lake Charles, Louisiana), Tennessee and Georgia.

There are other examples, but you surely get the point.

In recent years, the NCAA made adjustments to the brackets so an Eastern team such as St. John’s (full disclosure: it’s  my alma mater) can play in the West Regional but remain in Providence, Rhode Island to do so. But, success in Providence sends teams in that pod to San Francisco while a successful weekend in Seattle for Arizona or Oregon sends a team to Newark, New Jersey.

The tournament itself increased from 64 to 68 teams in 2001, so we’ve been bickering about this stuff for decades. Still, there is no resolve and it’s pretty bad when there’s no Big East team in the East.

Admittedly, this is nothing new being reported. The days of a truly East vs West NCAA Tournament went out with the 16 team set-up which gave the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in New York the golden opportunity of securing a very deep field in the late ‘60s and early ‘70’s. As the times changed and the Big Dance played to a bigger ballroom of dancers, the money kicked in and TV programmers maxed-out the billions being spent.

Suffice it to say, the names of the regionals should no longer be East, West, South and Midwest, and maybe the NCAA should take a page out of the NHL’s book and rename the basketball regionals something like:

  • Lester Patrick
  • Conn Smythe
  • James Norris
  • Charles Francis Adams

Joking aside, it’s time to rid the tournament of its D- grade in Geography, as the Men’s and Women’s basketball committees divvy-up the schools with goals other than to stack them to represent a region of the USA.

May it be suggested:

  • Dave Gavitt Division (East)
  • John Wooden Division (West)
  • Ray Meyer Division (Midwest)
  • Guy Lewis Division (South-Texas-Southwest representation)

Those names, in tribute of Dave Gavitt (founder of the BIG EAST), John Wooden (the great UCLA coach), Ray Meyer (coached Chicago’s DePaul University from 1942 to 1984) and Guy Lewis (coach of University of Houston from 1956 to 1986). To pay proper respect to college basketball in the United States, the Most Outstanding Player from each division would be recognized and awarded with:

  • Gavitt MOP received the Patrick Ewing Trophy
  • Wooden MOP honored with the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy
  • Meyer MOP receives the Oscar Robertson Trophy
  • Lewis MOP honored with the Junior Bridgeman Trophy

Should the tournament choose to expand, we could very easily add:

  • Gonzaga Division (Northwest) – MOP award John Stockton Trophy
  • Coach K Division (Southeast) – MOP gets the Michael Jordan Trophy (apologies to Grant Hill, Ralph Sampson, Artis Gilmore and Len Bias).

Those two divisional mentioned do not need further explanation, I hope.

The bottom line as the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament begins, is that the famed, crack committee did a pretty good job of selecting the right teams and fairly distributing them across the four existing regional pods, sans the Group of Death they sent out West.

The West is so stacked, a hot team like Florida, after its No. 1 vs No. 16 tilt against Norfolk State, will have a rough road to the Final 4, including:

  • Winner of UConn v.Oklahoma
  • Winner of Memphis v. Colo State/or/Maryland v. Grand Canyon
  • A Regional Final against No. 2 St. John’s or others (Kansas/Texas Tech) etc

There’s gotta be a better way.

They were partying at West End Johnnies at an NCAA Regional in Boston

PICKS: Here are a few picks that are going into a combination of my two or three bracket submission with friends and family. (Note: I always bang out one bracket on Selection Sunday night and set it aside). Then with more thought and research I do another bracket for use in pools.

TEAMS CONSIDERED HOT: These teams were playing the best over the past few weeks and into their conference tournaments:

  1. Florida
  2. Duke
  3. Houston
  4. Auburn
  5. Tennessee
  6. Michigan State
  7. St John’s
  8. Alabama
  9. Texas Tech
  10. Iowa State

FACTS: In the Round of 64, the higher seed wins 71.5% and that includes No. 8 v. No. 9 which are really equal … In the Second Round, the better seeds win at a 73.1% clip. After that, the advantage for the higher seeds declines gradually:

  • Sweet 16 – 63.8% victory pace for higher seed
  • Elite 8 – 55%

In terms of vulnerable seeds since 2009, the No. 6 seeds are (29-31) against the No. 11s. In just the last 10 years, No. 11 seeds are 22-18 vs. No. 6

Applying the 6 vs 11 raw data to this particular year’s bracket set-up surfaces a few interesting upset possibilities:

  • In the East bracket, can No. 11 VCU upset No. 6 BYU in Denver where you have to figure in the travel and altitude?
  • In the South, No. 6 Ole Miss has to play the hot play-in winner of North Carolina.
  • In the West, No. 6 Missouri (22-11) has a tough draw vs. No. 11 Drake (30-3).
  • And, in the Midwest bracket, No. 6 Illinois will face play-in winner Xavier, a team that finished the Big East regular season quite strong with seven straight victories to close out the regular season before meeting and losing to Marquette at the Garden.

The teams entering the tournament that have executed the best in terms of both Offensive and Defensive efficiency:

  • Auburn
  • Duke
  • Florida
  • Houston
  • Arizona
  • Tennessee
  • Louisville

Not to bore anyone with a full Round-by-Round, Pick-by-Pick selection show, (see Jay Bilas’ column on ESPN.com as he does a much better job than everyone else put together), I’ll simply list my Regional Finalist predictions. Yes, they are rather high seeds.

  • East: Duke vs. Wisconsin
  • Midwest: Houston vs. Tennessee
  • South: Auburn vs. Michigan State
  • West: Florida vs St. John’s

No matter what – whether your bracket is torn up tomorrow or your favorite team survives and advances – it’s time for March Madness. Enjoy the ride. Enjoy the spectacle of the best of College Basketball (Men’s and Women’s) with a love of the game and not the X and O marks on a piece of paper, otherwise known in American culture as “your bracket.”

TL

NCAA March Madness: Sweet 16

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LOS ANGELES – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Grant Nelson scored fourth-seeded Alabama’s final five points, including a three-point play with 38 seconds left that put the Crimson Tide ahead for good in a 89-87 win over top-seeded North Carolina on Thursday in an NCAA Tournament West Region semifinal in LA.

Alabama (24-11) rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit, holding North Carolina to seven points through the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Crimson Tide’s defensive effort to open the second half produced a back-and-forth final stretch in a contest that featured 13 ties and 12 lead changes.

Nelson put up a game-high 24 points for the Crimson Tide, who advance to face sixth-seeded Clemson on Saturday in the regional final. Aaron Estrada and Rylan Griffen each scored 19 points.

Armando Bacot led North Carolina (29-8) with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Cormac Ryan scored 17 points, and RJ Davis had 16 points and seven assists.

West Region

No. 6 Clemson 77, No. 2 Arizona 72

Chase Hunter’s and-one play with 25.7 seconds remaining capped his game-high-matching 18-point performance, and the Tigers held off the Wildcats to earn their first trip to the Elite Eight since 1980 in Los Angeles.

Clemson (24-11) led nearly wire-to-wire behind the play of Hunter — who also had seven rebounds and five assists — and PJ Hall, who scored 17 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Ian Schieffelin added 14 points, including some pivotal baskets in the second half, and snared seven rebounds.

Caleb Love, who scored 13 points, went 0-of-9 from beyond the arc for Arizona (27-9). He shot 5-of-18 from the floor overall. Oumar Ballo finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds but was just 1-of-7 at the foul line. Keshad Johnson grabbed 11 rebounds to go with six points.

East Region

No. 1 UConn 82, No. 5 San Diego State 52

Cam Spencer scored a team-high 18 points and the Huskies dominated the offensive glass to beat the Aztecs in a meeting of East Region teams in the Sweet 16.

Spencer added five rebounds for the Huskies (34-3), who grabbed 21 offensive boards that led to 12 second-chance points. Tristen Newton chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds, and Stephon Castle supplied 16 and 11, respectively, as UConn became the first defending champion to reach the Elite Eight since Florida in 2007.

The Huskies downed the Aztecs 76-59 in last year’s national championship game. Jaedon LeDee paced San Diego State (26-11) with 18 points and eight rebounds. Micah Parrish had 10 points as the Aztecs’ only other scorer in double figures. San Diego State was outshot 46.2 percent to 36.2 percent from the field.

No. 3 Illinois 72, No. 2 Iowa State 69

Terrence Shannon Jr. poured in 29 points and the Illini held off a second-half rally to earn a victory over the Cyclones.

The Fighting Illini will face No. 1 seed UConn in the Elite Eight on Saturday. Coleman Hawkins chipped in 12 points and six rebounds for the Fighting Illini (29-8), who outshot Iowa State 42.1 percent to 39.7 percent.

Curtis Jones paced Iowa State (29-8) with 26 points. Keshon Gilbert supplied 14, and Tre King had 12 to go along with seven boards.

–Field Level Media

UConn, Spencer Rip San Diego State

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BOSTON – (Staff and wire Service Report) -Connecticut’s Cam Spencer scored a team-high 18 points and No. 1 UConn dominated the offensive glass to beat fifth-seeded San Diego State 82-52 on Thursday night in a meeting of East Region teams in the Sweet 16.

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Spencer added five rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Huskies (34-3), who grabbed 21 offensive boards that led to 12 second-chance points.

Tristen Newton chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds, and Stephon Castle supplied 16 and 11, respectively, as UConn became the first defending champion to reach the Elite Eight since Florida did so in 2007.

The Huskies downed the Aztecs 76-59 in last year’s national championship game.

Jaedon LeDee paced San Diego State (26-11) with 18 points and eight rebounds. Micah Parrish had 10 points as the Aztecs’ only other scorer in double figures.

San Diego State was outshot 46.2 percent to 36.2 percent from the field.

Lamont Butler trimmed the Aztecs’ deficit to 42-33 with 18:48 left in the game, but that was the last time San Diego State would ever be within single digits.

Newton then dropped in a 3-pointer to spark a 9-2 burst, a rally that was capped with four points from Castle for a 51-35 cushion.

The Aztecs twice made it a 14-point game, but San Diego State’s season effectively came to an end when Castle sank two free throws with 4:30 remaining to widen the margin to 28 at 73-45.

Neither team could create any separation until Spencer took over. He accounted for nine points during a 14-4 run, lifting the Huskies to a 27-16 advantage with 10:55 left in the first half.

Elijah Saunders stopped the bleeding with a three-point play and Miles Byrd added a jumper to pull San Diego State within six.

After UConn pushed its lead back to double digits at 33-23, Parrish canned a 3-pointer and a jumper during an 8-2 Aztecs surge that made it 35-31 with 2:09 to go.

However, Spencer knocked down a trey with 21 seconds remaining, sending the Huskies into the break leading 40-31.

–Nick Galle, Field Level Media

Shannon Leads Ilini to Elite 8

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BOSTON – Illinois’ Terrence Shannon Jr. poured in 29 points and third-seeded Illini held off a second-half rally to earn a 72-69 victory over second-seeded Iowa State on Thursday night in a battle of East Region teams in the Sweet 16.

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The Fighting Illini will face top-seeded UConn in the Elite Eight on Saturday. The Huskies beat San Diego State earlier Thursday.

After trailing by nine with just under 14 minutes left in the game, the Cyclones (29-8) found themselves within 56-54 following a Curtis Jones 3-pointer with 5:27 to go.

Shannon and Luke Goode prevented Iowa State from moving in front by sandwiching Tre King’s layup with a pair of triples, making it 62-56 in favor of Illinois (29-8).

The Cyclones trailed by at least three the rest of the way, and Shannon’s steal and slam with 22 seconds to play clinched the victory.

Shannon is now 7-0 against Iowa State dating back to his Texas Tech days. He was with the Red Raiders for three seasons (2019-22).

Coleman Hawkins chipped in 12 points and six rebounds for the Fighting Illini, who outshot Iowa State 42.1 percent to 39.7 percent from the field.

Jones paced Iowa State with 26 points. Keshon Gilbert supplied 14, and King had 12 to go along with seven boards.

Gilbert lit a spark under the Cyclones, scoring eight points in the opening 3:38 of the second half to cut Iowa State’s deficit to 41-37.

It didn’t take long for Illinois to push the lead to nine, doing so when Shannon drove for a layup less than three minutes later to make it 48-39.

Then the Fighting Illini faced some adversity in the form of foul trouble for Shannon, who picked up his fourth personal with 11:17 to go. Shannon went to the bench, and Iowa State capitalized on his departure, using a 11-5 spurt to get within 56-54.

Illinois scored the first eight points of the game and later led 16-6, taking advantage of Iowa State’s 2-for-12 start from the field. But Jones got the Cyclones on track, knocking down a 3-pointer before converting a three-point play to make it a four-point game.

The Fighting Illini’s advantage grew to 24-12 with 6:31 left in the first half before Illinois took a 36-26 lead into the break.

–Nick Galle, Field Level Media

Sweet 16: Odds Favor UConn

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – UConn’s quest to become the first team to repeat as the men’s national champion in nearly two decades has gotten off to a dominating start.

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Not only do the Huskies own the longest winning streak in the country at nine games, but UConn has now won eight consecutive NCAA Tournament games by double digits. After dispatching No. 16 Stetson and No. 9 Northwestern by an average of 28 points, next up for UConn in the East Regional is No. 5 seed San Diego State tonight at TD Garden.

The Huskies opened the tournament as the +360 favorite via Betting Hero, and those odds have shortened to +210 ahead of the Sweet 16. It helps that No. 4 Auburn and No. 6 BYU failed to make it out of the first round.

UConn is also the third-biggest liability at BetMGM, where the Huskies are the +200 title favorite and lead the field with 11.8 percent of the total bets and 20.3 percent of the money backing them.

Next is North Carolina with 11.7 and 12.0 percent of the action, respectively, as the Tar Heels have moved from +1300 to +1000 since the start of the tournament. DraftKings reported Monday they had received the most action in the title market in the past 24 hours, followed by UConn.

North Carolina has also cruised through its first two games, but if the Tar Heels get past No. 4 Alabama in the Sweet 16 an Elite Eight date against No. 2 Arizona could lie in wait.

Arizona owns double-digit victories over Long Beach State and Dayton to begin the tournament and will face No. 6 Clemson next. The Wildcats have been the biggest mover of the tournament at DraftKings, where their title odds have shifted 30 percent from +1200 to +900.

Next is Duke, which opened at +3500. The fourth-seeded Blue Devils are now +2200 at the book ahead of a Sweet 16 matchup against top-seeded Houston. After that is a potential matchup against No. 2 seed Marquette.

While UConn does face a difficult road with four of the top five seeds remaining in the East, No. 1 Purdue faces the same challenge in the Midwest. If the Boilermakers can get past No. 5 Gonzaga in the Sweet 16, they would face an Elite Eight duel against either No. 2 Tennessee or No. 3 Creighton.

Purdue has been a popular play at BetMGM, drawing the third most total bets (7.7 percent) on the title winner along with the third most money (9.1 percent).

However, the biggest liability remains North Carolina State, the 11th seed in the South. The surprise ACC Championship winner has kept the ride rolling with opening victories over No. 6 seed Texas Tech and an overtime win over No. 14 Oakland.

The only double-digit seed to reach the Sweet 16, the Wolfpack opened the tournament at +15000 to cut down the nets at the end. A third of the way toward that unlikely event, NC State is now +10000 while drawing 2.1 percent of the total title money wagered.

Now that a program that finished below .500 in conference play clinched its first Sweet 16 since 2015, NC State star DJ Burns Jr. was asked for his message to the Wolfpack’s doubters.

“I’m just saying welcome back,” he said. “They didn’t really believe in us. They probably still don’t, but that doesn’t matter to us. We’re just going to stay together.”

–Field Level Media

Purdue, Edey Dominate Utah State

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INDIANAPOLIS  – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Purdue’s center Zach Edey once again dominated with 23 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and two steals to lead the Midwest’s top-seeded Boilermakers to a 106-67 second-round rout of No. 8 seed Utah State on Sunday.

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Purdue (31-4) advances to play No. 5 seed Gonzaga on Friday in Detroit.

Lance Jones and Trey Kaufman-Renn sparked a 20-6 uprising to open the second half, turning a 16-point lead to 30. Purdue didn’t let its foot off the gas in the second half, building the lead as high as 41.

Kaufman-Renn finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Fletcher Loyer added 15 points for Purdue went 8-of-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 and fell a round shy of reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1970.

Purdue thrilled the heavily-partisan crowd of 16,770 that turned out to watch them advance to the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years.

Utah State provided some resistance early on, taking leads of 14-10 and 20-17.

But after Uduje hit a 3-pointer with 9:21 left in the first half to put the Aggies ahead 23-21, Utah State missed its next 12 shots from the field while Purdue caught fire behind Edey, Jones and Kaufman-Renn.

Purdue went on a run of 18-1 to take a 39-24 lead. Jones ended the first-half scoring when he banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put the Boilermakers up 49-33.

Jones opened the second half with a trey as well, just 13 seconds in.

After Purdue’s Braden Smith stole a pass from Ian Martinez, Smith found Kaufman-Renn cutting to the basket for a layup.

On the next possession, Kaufman-Renn’s two-handed slam ignited the Purdue fans, putting the Boilermakers up 56-33 and sparking a desperate timeout from Utah State head coach Danny Sprinkle just 73 seconds into the half.

–Field Level Media

March Madness: Saturday Recap

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PITTSBURGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – DJ Burns Jr. had six points and one crucial assist in overtime and No. 11 seed North Carolina State outlasted No. 14 Oakland 79-73 on Saturday to secure an improbable Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament’s South Region.

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Burns finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for the Wolfpack (24-14), who won their seventh straight postseason game between the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Michael O’Connell had 12 points and a season-high eight assists, and DJ Horne, Casey Morsell and Mohamed Diarra each supplied 11 points.

Oakland (24-12) clawed back in the final minutes of regulation before its underdog story ended with an 11-1 NC State run in overtime. Trey Townsend scored 24 of his 30 points after halftime and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Jack Gohlke, Oakland’s first-round hero who made 10 3-pointers against Kentucky, went 6-for-17 from deep Saturday to finish with 22 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Grizzlies.

West Region

No. 1 North Carolina 85, No. 9 Michigan State 69

RJ Davis scored 20 points and the Tar Heels shrugged off a slow start and a couple of shaky moments to defeat the Spartans in Charlotte.

Armando Bacot added 18 points and seven rebounds and Harrison Ingram had 17 points as the Tar Heels delighted a partisan crowd and were sent off to the West Coast with momentum after two games in their home state.

North Carolina (29-7) goes on to face Alabama or Grand Canyon in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night in Los Angeles. Tyson Walker scored 24 points Malik Hall added 17 for Michigan State (20-15), which began the season ranked No. 4 in the country.

No. 2 Arizona 78, No. 7 Dayton 68

Caleb Love scored 19 points and the Wildcats earned a Sweet 16 spot with a victory over the Flyers in Salt Lake City.

Pelle Larsson had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Keshad Johnson recorded 13 points and seven rebounds for Arizona (27-8). Jaden Bradley added 12 points, three steals and three blocked shots.

Daron Holmes II had 23 points, 11 rebounds and three steals for Dayton (25-8).

Midwest Region

No. 2 Tennessee 62, No. 7 Texas 58

Dalton Knecht churned out 18 points to help Volunteers coach Rick Barnes defeat his former Longhorns in Charlotte.

Knecht, who provided seven of his team’s final 15 points, clinched the outcome by sinking both ends of a 1-and-1 with 3.8 seconds to play. Tennessee (26-8) won despite shooting just 33.8 percent for the game and will face No. 3 Creighton on Friday.

Reserve Chendall Weaver and Tyrese Hunter both had 13 points to lead Texas (21-13), which is coached by former Barnes assistant Rodney Terry. The Longhorns shot 36.4 percent.

No. 3 Creighton 86, No. 11 Oregon 73 (2 OT)

Steven Ashworth scored 21 points and ignited the game-winning, 15-point run to propel the Bluejays past the Ducks in Pittsburgh.

Trey Alexander tallied 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Ryan Kalkbrenner had 19 points, 14 boards and five blocks for Creighton (25-9). The Blue Jays escaped a tough second half and will play No. 2 seed Tennessee in the Sweet 16.

Oregon’s two-man wrecking crew of Jermaine Couisnard and N’Faly Dante ran out of gas in the second overtime. Couisnard finished with 32 points and eight rebounds, and Dante racked up a career-high 28 points and 20 rebounds for the Ducks (24-12).

No. 5 Gonzaga 89, No. 4. Kansas 68

Anton Watson scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting and the Bulldogs delivered a massive second-half knockout punch in routing the Jayhawks in Salt Lake City.

Nolan Hickman had 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting as Gonzaga reached its ninth consecutive Sweet 16. The Bulldogs blew the game open with a 32-4 burst over a 12-plus minute stretch of the second half.

Hunter Dickinson scored 15 points and KJ Adams Jr. and Dajuan Harris Jr. added 10 points apiece for the Jayhawks (23-11). Harris added 11 assists, and Kansas again played without All-American Kevin McCullar Jr. (knee). Gonzaga will face either No. 1 Purdue or No. 8 Utah State in the Sweet 16.

East Region

No. 2 Iowa State 67, No. 7 Washington State 56

Tamin Lipsey scored 15 points and the Cyclones reached the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons with a victory over the Cougars in Omaha, Neb.

Curtis Jones added 14 points for Iowa State, which won for the ninth time in its past 10 games. Keshon Gilbert and Milan Momcilovic added 10 points apiece.

Jaylen Wells scored 20 points for Washington State. Myles Rice added 13 points.

No. 3 Illinois 89, No. 11 Duquesne 63

Terrence Shannon Jr. scored a game-high 30 points and Marcus Domask added 22 to help the Fighting Illini cruise past the Dukes in Omaha, Neb., and into the Sweet 16.

Illinois (28-8) advanced to face No. 8 Iowa State in Boston on Thursday. It’s the Illini’s first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2005.

Saturday marked the final game for Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot, who is retiring at season’s end. Dambrot guided the 11th-seeded Dukes to an Atlantic 10 tournament championship to clinch the school’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 1977. Jimmy Clark III paced Duquesne with 14 points, and Fousseyni Drame followed with 13.

–Field Level Media