Walter Clayton Jr. scored 23 points and sparked top-seeded Florida’s late-game splurge to oust two-time defending champion UConn 77-75 in the West Region’s second round on Sunday afternoon in Raleigh, N.C.
The Gators looked disjointed at times on offense before racking up 18 points in the final three minutes. The eighth-seeded Huskies seemed poised to pull off an upset before their 13-game winning streak in NCAA Tournament games came to a close.
Florida (32-4) will meet No. 4 Maryland in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in San Francisco. The Terrapins eked out a 72-71 win over Colorado State later Sunday. The Gators are advancing to the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 2017.
Liam McNeeley poured in 22 points, Alex Karaban had 14 and Samson Johnson added 10 to pace the Huskies (24-11), who had a late-game escape against Oklahoma two days earlier in the first round. McNeeley’s final shot was a made 3-pointer before the buzzer, but it was too late for UConn to get another possession.
No. 4 Maryland 72, No. 12 Colorado State 71
Derik Queen drove for a short basket as time expired to give the Terrapins a dramatic victory over the Rams at Seattle.
Colorado State’s Jalen Lake swished a 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left to give the Rams a one-point edge before Queen’s drive put the Terrapins (27-8) in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016. Queen had 17 points and Rodney Rice added 16 for Maryland, which will play top-seeded Florida in San Francisco on Thursday.
Nique Clifford registered 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Rams (26-10), who had an 11-game winning streak halted. Lake scored 13 points while Bowen Born and Kyan Evans scored 10.
Midwest Region
No. 3 Kentucky 84, No. 6 Illinois 75
Kobe Brea had 23 points and Otega Oweh added 15 to pace the Wildcats’ victory over the Fighting Illinois in Milwaukee.
Kentucky (24-11) will face second-seeded Tennessee in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Indianapolis. The Wildcats hit their first five shots of the second half for a 10-0 run. Brea scored 10 consecutive points for Kentucky for a 70-54 lead with 9 1/2 minutes remaining.
Kylan Boswell had 23 points, Tomislav Ivisic 19 and Kasparas Jakucionis 13 for the Fighting Illini (22-13). Kentucky scored 26 points off 14 Illinois turnovers and had 18 assists on its 32 field goals.
South Region
No. 2 Michigan State 71, No. 10 New Mexico 63
Jaden Akins scored a team-high 16 points and the Spartans controlled the last seven minutes to eliminate the Lobos in Cleveland.
Tre Holloman came off the bench to add 14 points and fellow reserve Frankie Fidler chipped in 10 points for the Spartans (29-6), who advance to the regional semifinals in Atlanta to play No. 6 Ole Miss on Friday.
Nelly Junior Joseph scored 16 points for the Lobos (27-8) but was limited to 29 minutes due to foul trouble before fouling out at the 2:12 mark. Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Donovan Dent added 14 points and six assists, while Mustapha Amzil also tallied 14 points.
No. 6 Ole Miss 91, No. 3 Iowa State 78
Sean Pedulla had 20 points, eight assists and four steals and Jaemyn Brakefield added 19 points as the Rebels dominated the Cyclones in Milwaukee.
Ole Miss (24-11) will face second-seeded Michigan State (29-6) in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Atlanta. Ole Miss shot 58.2 percent, including 57.9 percent (11 of 19) beyond the arc. The Rebels hit 19 of 28 shots in the second half for 67.9 percent, including 6 of 8 3-pointers. Malik Dia added 18 points and Matthew Murrell 15 for the Rebels, who advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001.
Curtis Jones had 26 points and Joshua Jefferson 16 with eight rebounds for Iowa State (25-10). Milan Momcilovic, who had 20 points in the Cyclones’ 82-55 first-round win over Lipscomb, had just five points on 2-of-12 shooting.
East Region
No. 1 Duke 89, No. 9 Baylor 66
Tyrese Proctor poured in 25 points and freshman sensation Cooper Flagg added 18 as the Blue Devils routed the Bears in Raleigh, N.C., for their second tournament blowout in three days.
Kon Knueppel racked up 12 points as part of the Blue Devils’ rousing performance in front of a large contingent of their fans just about a half-hour drive from campus. Duke (33-3), which has a 13-game winning streak, faces Arizona in the Sweet 16 round Thursday night at Newark, N.J.
VJ Edgecombe posted 16 points, Norchad Omier had 15 points and nine rebounds and Langston Love finished with 11 points for Baylor (20-15), which shot just 36.8 percent from the field.
No. 2 Alabama 80, No. 7 Saint Mary’s 66
Six Alabama players scored in double figures and the Crimson Tide held the Gaels to 24-of-70 shooting from the floor in a win in Cleveland.
The Crimson Tide (27-8) will move on to face No. 6 seed BYU in the Sweet 16 on Thursday. Aden Holloway, Mark Sears and Grant Nelson each scored 12 points. Chris Youngblood led Alabama with 13 points.
Mitchell Saxen led all scorers with 15 points in the loss. Harry Wessels finished with 12 points and eight rebounds for the Gaels (29-6).
No. 4 Arizona 87, No. 5 Oregon 83
Caleb Love scored 20 of his 29 points in the second half and made several vital plays down the stretch to help the Wildcats put away the Ducks in Seattle.
Love shot 6-for-7 with four 3-pointers in the second half and scored 10 straight Arizona points in crunch time to ensure the Wildcats (24-12) would beat their former Pac-12 rivals. They will face No. 1 Duke in the East Region semifinals on Thursday. Tobe Awaka collected 12 points and 14 rebounds for Arizona, which reached the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years under coach Tommy Lloyd.
Jackson Shelstad led Oregon (25-10) with 25 points, TJ Bamba had 17 and Nate Bittle paired 16 points with 11 boards. The Ducks squandered a 19-4 head start, fell behind before halftime and could not land the final blow after making it a one-possession game again.
–Field Level Media
