Mark Sears led a historic 3-point barrage with 10-of-16 accuracy from deep, racking up 34 points to power No. 2 seed Alabama to a 113-88 victory over No. 6 seed BYU in an East Region Sweet 16 matchup Thursday in Newark, N.J.
Alabama (28-8) made 25 3-pointers on 51 attempts, breaking NCAA Tournament records with both marks. The Crimson Tide are looking for their second straight Final Four berth.
Sears added eight assists and came one 3-pointer shy of tying the individual tournament record (Jeff Fryer, 1990 Loyola Marymount). Aden Holloway joined in with 23 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the arc.
Richie Saunders paced BYU (26-10) with 25 points and Egor Demin contributed 15 points and seven assists. The Cougars outscored the Crimson Tide 50-16 in the paint but went 6-for-30 (20 percent) on 3-point tries.
No. 1 Duke 100, No. 4 Arizona 93
Freshman star Cooper Flagg tallied 30 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three blocks as the Blue Devils survived the Wildcats in Newark.
The Blue Devils (34-3) made 13 consecutive shots from the floor, including their first nine of the second half, to leap ahead before fending off a valiant Arizona comeback spearheaded by Caleb Love’s season-high 35 points.
Kon Knueppel scored 20 points and Sion James 16 for Duke. Jaden Bradley contributed 15 and Henri Veesaar added 13 for the Wildcats (24-13), who couldn’t keep up despite making 12 3-pointers.
WEST
No. 1 Florida 87, No. 4 Maryland 71
Will Richard scored 15 points to pace six players in double figures, and the Gators defeated the Terrapins in San Francisco.
Alijah Martin added 14 points and Walter Clayton Jr. had 13 for Florida, which held a 29-3 advantage in bench scoring. The Gators (33-4) also outrebounded the Terrapins 42-20.
Maryland freshman Derik Queen, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and potential NBA draft lottery pick, scored 27 points for Maryland (27-9). Guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 17 points.
No. 3 Texas Tech 85, No. 10 Arkansas 83
Darrion Williams’ driving layup with seven seconds left in overtime completed a dramatic comeback for the Red Raiders and salvaged an otherwise off night for Williams against the Razorbacks in San Francisco.
Williams also hit a 3-pointer from well beyond the top of the arc with nine seconds left in regulation to force the extra period. In the first half, he was only 2 of 12 from the floor.
Christian Anderson led Texas Tech (28-8) with 22 points while JT Toppin added 20. Kevin Overton had 12 off the bench. Arkansas (22-14), which led 61-45 midway through the second half, got a game-high 30 points from Johnell Davis and 20 from Karter Knox.
–Field Level Media
