Several Higher Seeds Fall, Top Seeds Win In NCAA Tourney

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Published on March 20 2015 6:31 am
Last Updated on March 20 2015 6:31 am
Written by Millie Lange

PITTSBURGH -- Notre Dame was rocked on its heels one more time in March, a team with designs on playing another weekend or two staring straight into the grim prospect of one more early exit. Notre Dame outscored Northeastern 22-2 in transition Thursday. The Fighting Irish had scored 23 transition points in their past three NCAA tournament games combined (1-2). The Irish held on, though, because they could hold on to the ball.

Zach Auguste scored 25 points, Jerian Grant added 17 and Notre Dame dodged a scare trying to erase its futile NCAA tournament history with a 69-65 win over Northeastern on Thursday. The Fighting Irish (30-5) will play Butler on Saturday.

"I told them in the locker room, we weren't going to beat them by 15," coach Mike Brey said. "So don't anybody walk out of here feeling we should have won by 15."

The third-seeded Irish were fortunate to even win by 4. The Irish returned to the tournament after a one-year absence determined to build off their ACC tournament title and make a Final Four run in March.


UBA 60, Iowa State 59

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The UAB Blazers may not have a football program anymore. They do have the first big upset of the NCAA tournament and hope they can give their university something to rally around. William Lee scored the last four points for 14th-seeded UAB, and the Blazers knocked off third-seeded Iowa State 60-59 on Thursday in their opening game in the NCAA tournament. It's the third straight year a 14-seed has upset a No. 3 seed, and Georgia State followed up by joining the list within an hour with a 57-56 win over Baylor.

The Blazers (20-15) came in with the youngest team in the tournament and with nobody having played in this tournament before. They wound up winning the program's first NCAA game since 2005 and ran over to celebrate in front of the fans of a school that shut its football program down in December.


Georgia State 57, Baylor 56

R.J. Hunter kept firing away, eventually lifting 14th-seeded Georgia State over third-seeded Baylor and knocking his father right off his seat with the biggest shot of his life. Hunter's 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds remaining capped a comeback from a 12-point deficit and lifted the Panthers to a 57-56 opening-game victory over the Bears in the NCAA tournament on Thursday. With Ron Hunter working the sideline on a rolling chair less than a week after tearing his left Achilles tendon celebrating Georgia State winning the Sun Belt Conference championship, R.J. shrugged off a poor shooting performance to come through when his team needed him most.

"It was a great game, but I'm not going to coach, I'm going to be Dad right now," said Hunter, who fell off his seat and had to be helped up after R.J. made the second of two long 3-pointers that helped the Panthers advance. "This is my son. Proud of him. ... I haven't been able to do that for three years."


Arizona 93, Texas Southern 72

Arizona's defense -- or perceived lack thereof -- muted the Wildcats' victory celebration for their NCAA Tournament opener. The second seed in the West jumped out early and cruised to a 93-72 victory over No. 15 seed Texas Southern on Thursday. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led the Wildcats with 23 points -- 16 in the first half -- and 10 rebounds. While Arizona was efficient overall, coach Sean Miller suggested the team's defense wasn't where it should be.

Senior guard T.J. McConnell called it Arizona's worst defensive effort of the season. Forward Brandon Ashley said that even with the sizable lead, the Wildcats know better than to let up on defense in the tournament.


Villanova 93, Lafayette 52

Thirty years after an improbable run to a stunning national championship, Villanova is going to try it this time around as a prohibitive favorite to reach the Final Four. With a romp in the opening act, the Wildcats showed they're up to the task of headlining on the way to Indianapolis. Without a hint of doubt, the Wildcats flexed their top-seeded muscle and showed why President Barack Obama picked them to reach the NCAA Tournament title game, thumping Lafayette 93-52 on Thursday night.

Dylan Ennis scored 16 points and helped Villanova (33-2) win its 16th straight game. They'll go for 17 straight when they play Saturday against No. 8 seed North Carolina State, which rallied from 16 down to stun LSU in the final seconds.


Kentucky 79, Hampton 56

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Take away the sluggish start and the ragged finish, and top-ranked Kentucky opened the NCAA tournament the way it wanted against 16th-seeded Hampton. Karl-Anthony Towns bounced back from a mini-slump with 21 points and 11 rebounds, Andrew Harrison added 14 points, and the Wildcats rolled to a 79-56 win over the outmanned Pirates on Thursday night in the Midwest Region.

Getting started took some doing for Kentucky (35-0), which was already resigned to the late tipoff. The Wildcats' wait became even longer as Cincinnati fought to a 66-65 overtime win over Purdue in the preceding game. That made for an uneven night as the Wildcats shook some cobwebs and seemed to tire late. Fortunately for Kentucky, it did what it needed in between.


Thursday, March 18 Scoreboard

(3) Notre Dame 69, (14) Northeastern 65

(14) UAB 60, (3) Iowa State 59

(14) Georgia St 57, (3) Baylor 56

(2) Arizona 93, (15) Texas Southern 72

(6) Butler 56, (11) Texas 48

(11) UCLA 60, (6) SMU 59

(6) Xavier 76, (11) Ole Miss 57

(10) Ohio State 75, (7) Virginia Commonwealth 72

(1) Villanova 93, (16) Lafayette 52

(8) Cincinnati 66, (9) Purdue 65

(4) North Carolina 67, (13) Harvard 65

(5) Utah 57, (12) Stephen F. Austin 50

(8) NC State 66, (9) LSU 65

(5) Arkansas 56, (12) Wofford 53

(1) Kentucky 79, (16) Hampton 56

(4) Georgetown 84, (13) Eastern Washington 74


Friday, March 19 Schedule (All Times Central)

(15) New Mexico St vs (2) Kansas*, 11:15 a.m.

(10) Georgia vs (7) Michigan St*, 11:40 a.m.

(12) Wyoming vs (5) Northern Iowa*, 12:40 p.m.

(12) Buffalo vs (5) West Virginia*, 1;10 p.m.

(10) Indiana vs (7) Wichita St*, 1;45 p.m.

(15) Belmont vs (2) Virginia*, 2:10 p.m.

(13) UC Irvine vs (4) Louisville*, 3:10 pm.

(13) Valparaiso vs (4) Maryland*, 3:40 p.m.

(9) Oklahoma St vs (8) Oregon*, 5:50 p.m.

(16) Robert Morris vs (1) Duke*, 6:10 p.m.

(10) Davidson vs (7) Iowa*, 6:20 p.m.

(14) Albany vs (3) Oklahoma*, 6:27 p.m.

(16) Coastal Carolina vs (1) Wisconsin*, 8:20 p.m.

(9) St. John's vs (8) San Diego St*, 8:50 p.m.

(15) North Dakota St vs (2) Gonzaga*, 8:50 p.m.

(11) Dayton vs (6) Providence*, 8:57 p.m.