FRIDAY’S OTHER MEN’S TOURNEY BASKETBALL GAMES

EAST REGIONAL

No. 1 Duke 85, No. 16 North Dakota State 62

COLUMBIA, S.C.

Zion Williamson had an explosive NCAA Tournament debut with 25 points and a can’t-miss second-half showcase to lead top-seeded Duke. RJ Barrett led Duke with 26 points and 14 rebounds and combined with Williamson for a prolific showing for the freshmen stars.

No. 9 UCF 73, No. 8 VCU 58

COLUMBIA, S.C.

Tacko Fall had 10 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks as ninth-seeded UCF won its first NCAA Tournament game. The 7-foot-6 Fall barely left his feet to haul in some rebounds as the Rams helplessly swiped at missed shots and struggled to find open space on drives to their baskets when the Knights’ towering center was nearby.

No. 12 Liberty 80, No. 5 Mississippi State 76

SAN JOSE, CALIF.

Caleb Homesley scored 22 of his 30 points in the second half and Lovell Cabbil hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:16 to play to send Liberty to its first NCAA Tournament win in school history. Homesley helped rally Liberty from a 10-point deficit in the second half by scoring 14 points in a span of less than five minutes. Quinndary Weatherspoon scored 27 points to lead the Bulldogs and Reggie Perry added 21. Cabbil finished with 18 points and Myo Baxter-Bell added 13.

MIDWEST REGIONAL

No. 1 North Carolina 88, No. 16 Iona 73

COLUMBUS

Cameron Johnson scored 21 points, and North Carolina quickly erased a five-point halftime deficit to beat hot-shooting Iona. Ricky McGill finished with 26 points for Gaels. Asante Gist had 17 points and Andrija Ristanovic scored 11 for Iona. Nassir Little added 19 points for UNC.

No. 3 Houston 84, No. 14 Georgia State 55

TULSA, OKLA.

It’s beginning to look like old times for Houston in the NCAA Tournament. Corey Davis scored 26 points to help the Cougars beat Georgia State. Fabian White had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Breaon Brady added 13 for Houston (32-3). D’Marcus Simonds scored 18 points for Georgia State (24-10), which received an automatic bid as the Sun Belt Conference Tournament champion.

No. 9 Washington 78, No. 8 Utah State 61

COLUMBUS

Noah Dickerson had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and ninth-seeded Washington made a successful return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years, beating Utah State. Jaylen Nowell, the Pac-12 player of the year, had 19 points and five assists. Top defender Matisse Thybulle helped the Huskies surge ahead to stay late in the first half but was limited by foul trouble the rest of the way. He finished with 10 points, five steals and three blocks. Brock Miller had 13 points for Utah State.

SOUTH REGIONAL

No. 1 Virginia 71, No. 16 Gardner-Webb 56

COLUMBIA, S.C.

No. 1 seed Virginia this year avoided the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history. The Cavaliers rallied from 14 points down to beat No. 16 seed Gardner-Webb in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers trailed 30-16 with 6:42 left in the first half but rallied and cut the Runnin’ Bulldogs lead to six at halftime. Virginia then opened the second half with a 25-5 run that ended any ideas of another 1-and-done.

No. 2 Tennessee 77, No. 15 Colgate 70

COLUMBUS

Admiral Schofield had 19 points and Tennessee held off a second-half rally by No. 15 seed Colgate to get a win. Jordan Bone added 16 and Jordan Bowden 14 for Tennessee (30-5), which advances to play Iowa.Jordan Burns had 32 points for Colgate, the most allowed by a single Tennessee opponent this season.

No. 9 Oklahoma 95, No. 8 Mississippi 72

COLUMBIA, S.C.

Rashard Odomes and Christian James scored 20 points apiece, Kristian Doolittle had 19 points and matched a career-high with 15 rebounds and No. 9 seed Oklahoma blitzed Mississippi from the start. Odomes went 8 of 10 in 22 minutes and left the game for good after picking up his fourth foul with 13:37 remaining. Brady Manek added 18 for the Sooners. Terrence Davis led Ole Miss with 17 points.

No. 10 Iowa 79, No. 7 Cincinnati 72

COLUMBUS

Luka Garza scored 20 points, Jordan Bohannon made a three-point play during Iowa’s closing surge, and the 10th-seeded Hawkeyes rallied for a victory over seed Cincinnati. The Hawkeyes (23-11) got their first NCAA Tournament win in four years. Point guard Justin Jenifer score a career-high 19 points for Cincinnati, keeping the Bearcats in the game despite a subpar game from Cumberland.

No. 12 Oregon 72, No. 5 Wisconsin 54

SAN JOSE, CALIF.

Payton Pritchard scored 19 points, Kenny Wooten protected the rim with four blocks and 12th-seeded Oregon extended its surprising March run by beating No. 5 seed Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Louis King added 17 points, Paul White scored all 14 points of his points in the second half and Wooten had nine points, six rebounds. Ethan Happ and Khalil Iverson each scored 14 points to lead the Badgers (23-11).

No. 13 UC Irvine 70, No. 4 Kansas State 64

SAN JOSE, CALIF.

UC Irvine got back-to-back 3-pointers from Evan Leonard to spark the deciding run in a nupset over Kansas State that marked the Anteaters’ first NCAA Tournament victory in school history. Leonard and Max Hazzard each scored 19 points for UC Irvine (31-5). Kamau Stokes led Kansas State, the co-champions of the Big 12, with 18 points.

WEST REGIONAL

No. 3 Texas Tech 72, No. 14 Northern Kentucky 57

TULSA, OKLA.

Jarrett Culver had 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to help Texas Tech shake off a slow start and beat Northern Kentucky. Tariq Owens scored 12 points and Davide Moretti had 10 for Texas Tech (27-6). Northern Kentucky (26-9) got 23 points from Tyler Sharpe and 11 from Dantez Walton while giving the Red Raiders everything they could handle in the West Region.

No. 6 Buffalo 91, No. 11 Arizona State 74

TULSA, OKLA.

Looking like a No. 6 seed no one wants to play, high-scoring Buffalo breezed into the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. Jeremy Harris and Nick Perkins each had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Buffalo was hardly bothered by 11th-seeded Arizona State. The Bulls (32-3) have won 13 straight and will face No. 3 seed Texas Tech on Sunday. CJ Massinburg, Buffalo’s leading scorer, had 18 points. Zylan Cheatham had 22 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 2:06 remaining for Arizona State (23-11).

Associated Press