East Regional

No. 11 USC 66, No. 6 SMU 65

For the second straight tournament game, Southern California overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half to win.

Elijah Stewart hit a late 3-pointer for USC as the Trojans upset SMU on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

USC trailed SMU by 10 in the second half. The Trojans trailed Providence by 17 in the second half of their First Four game on Wednesday night before winning 75-71.

Apparently, they don't know how to quit.

"We just had to keep fighting back," Stewart said. "We've been in those positions before. So we're kind of seasoned to it. And you just can't stop. You just got to keep going."

Stewart had 22 points for the Trojans (26-9), including the game-deciding 3 with 37 seconds to play.

"We ran the play previously before, and I was open," Stewart said. "And then we had the media timeout. We discussed it. We ran the same play again, and I was open, and I just let muscle memory take place."

Bennie Boatright and Chimezie Metu each added 14 points for USC, which advanced to play third-seeded Baylor in the second round of the East region on Sunday.

SMU's Shake Milton missed a floater at the buzzer that would have won it for the Mustangs.

"There used to be a show on TV when I was little talking about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat," SMU coach Tim Jankovich said. "I think it was Wide World of Sports. I can certainly relate to that show right now."

Stewart noticed that SMU wasn't sure what it was going to do in the final sequence.

"I noticed that two players were arguing about who was going to take the last shot," Stewart said. "Usually, when something like that happens, like whoever shoots it, it just messes with you. The floater was short, and I felt like if — like it could have went either way, honestly. I was just — I had my eyes closed."

Semi Ojeleye had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Sterling Brown had 17 points for SMU (30-5), which had won 16 straight. The Mustangs' last loss had been on Jan. 12, and they won the American Athletic Conference tournament title on Sunday.

SMU was in the NCAA Tournament after being banned from postseason play a year ago for multiple violations, including academic fraud and unethical conduct.

"Today is obviously an incredible heartbreak," Jankovich said. "If ever there was a team to deserve some great things, some more great things to happen, particularly this time of year, it was these guys."

When the Trojans play Baylor, it will be their third NCAA Tournament game in five days. But at least the Trojans won't have to travel. After the game against Providence in Dayton, Ohio, the team got to Tulsa at 3:30 a.m. Thursday.

Duke 87, Troy 65

Grayson Allen has embraced his role as Duke’s sixth man over the past three weeks.

“It just to give the team that extra boost,” he said.

“And score points,” Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski interjected.

Allen did both to keep second-seeded Duke’s postseason perfect in a victory over Troy.

Allen had 21 points off five of Duke’s 13 3-pointers and Jayson Tatum added 18 points and 12 rebounds.

“I’m coming in with fresh legs off the bench,” Allen said. “I’m coming in to explode really.”

Shrugging off the chorus of bad-boy boos each time he touched the ball, Allen helped the Blue Devils (29-7) improve to 34-7 all-time in opening NCAA games. They’ll face No. 7 seed South Carolina on Sunday.

Jordon Varnado had 18 points to lead Troy, which made its first NCAA appearance since 2003. Varnado said the players came out sluggish and could not fight their way out of it. “We’ve got to use this motivation and fire we had before the game to come back hard” next year, the sophomore said.

Duke, which averaged eight 3-pointers a game this season, hit 10 in the opening half to quickly pull away from the Trojans. Tatum opened the game with a 3. A short time later, Frank Jackson, Luke Kennard and Matt Jones had long-range baskets on consecutive possessions as the Blue Devils jumped to a 16-4 lead less than 5 minutes in.

The lead shrunk to nine points in the second half, the final time at 59-50 on Wesley Person Jr.’s basket with 14:32 to go. But Jones and Allen followed with 3s and the Trojans (22-15) could not rally.

Duke finished with 13 3-pointers, its highest total in nine games since hitting the same amount in a win over Wake Forest on Feb. 18.

Jones finished with 14 points off three 3-pointers and Jackson 12 with two 3s. The Blue Devils’ outside touch offset the poor performance of leading scorer Kennard, who was just 3-of-12 shooting for eight points — snapping a streak of 19 games scoring in double figures.

Amile Jefferson played in his 149th game at Duke, the most in program history. Jefferson, a senior, shrugged it off: “It means I’ve been around a long time,” he said.

Baylor 91, New Mexico State 73

After two years of surprise early NCAA Tournament exits, Baylor finally broke through.

Al Freeman came off the bench to score 21 points, and the third-seeded Bears defeated No. 14 seed New Mexico State.

Reserve forward Terry Maston scored 19 points, Jo Lual-Acuil scored 16 and Johnathan Motley added 15 points and 10 rebounds for Baylor (26-7), which suffered upset losses to Georgia State and Yale in the first round the previous two years. The Bears advanced to play Southern California on Sunday.

Motley said the previous losses served as motivation.

“No one wants to leave the tournament early,” he said. “Our ultimate goal was to come in and just win it, so we want to just take every game for what it is and make sure we come in and just play our hardest, play desperate, because after this, you lose, you go home. So we knew one team was going home today, and we made sure it wasn’t us.”

Ian Baker and Braxton Huggins each scored 19 points for New Mexico State (28-6). In the end, Baylor’s athletic ability, length and depth were too much for the Aggies to handle. Baylor blocked seven shots .

“We beat a lot of teams this year that we weren’t supposed to beat, we beat a lot of teams that were flat-out better than us,” New Mexico State coach Paul Weir said. “We were trying to do it against one more team tonight, and we were trying to do that with what I think we showed for 20 minutes, which is a team that just plays really hard, a team that plays together.”

It looked like Baylor might be headed for another disappointing early exit. Huggins hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give New Mexico State a 40-38 lead at the half. The Aggies made 6 of 14 3-pointers before the break to counter Baylor’s 55 percent shooting.

Baylor took control for good with a 14-3 run early in the second half that gave the Bears a 58-47 lead and forced a New Mexico State timeout. The Bears held the Aggies to 37 percent shooting after the break.

“We know the tournament is about making runs,” Motley said. “They made their run, and it was our job to come back and make our own run. So we went in at halftime and made some adjustments, made sure we carried out those adjustments, and good things happen when you follow the game plan.”

South Carolina 93, Marquette 73

South Carolina coach Frank Martin had a message for long-suffering fans: It won't take the Gamecocks 44 years to win another NCAA Tournament game.

Sindarius Thornwell had 29 points and 11 rebounds to lead seventh-seeded South Carolina to a victory over Marquette.

When Martin took the job five years ago, you could hear about every instruction he called out, the cavernous, 18,000-seat home arena was so empty. This time, the host arena about 2 hours north of campus was filled with boisterous Gamecock fans.

"We're not there yet," Martin said after the cheers died down. "But it's fun right now."

It might get less fun come Sunday. If the Gamecocks (23-10) want an NCAA winning streak, they will have to beat No. 2 seed Duke.

South Carolina last won a game in the NCAAs when it topped Southwestern Louisiana 90-85 in a regional consolation game on March 17, 1973. Exactly 44 years later, the drought — the Gamecocks were one-and-done in their next five appearances — finally came to end in front of a boisterous, South Carolina crowd who traveled the 2 hours north from Columbia to witness the end of an ugly run they couldn't have imagined would last this long.

"This is a great day for Gamecock basketball," said Alex English, the Denver Nuggets great who scored 22 points in that long-ago South Carolina win.

Marquette (19-13) gave fans some serious worries in the opening half, going up by 10 points. But the Gamecocks used an 11-0 run midway through the second half to take control. When Thornwell, voted Southeastern Conference player of the year by league coaches, nailed his third 3-pointer with 6:37 to play, South Carolina was up 76-67 and pulling away.

P.J. Dozier had 21 points, 13 in the South Carolina's second-half rally.

Jujuan Johnson had 16 points to lead Marquette.

South Carolina's win spoiled a made-for-TV second-rounder between Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and his former Blue Devils point guard and longtime assistant, Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski.

Wojciechowski said his team could not match the Gamecocks' physicality in the second half. "We couldn't sustain that as long as we needed to and they created separation," he said.

The Golden Eagles could not keep up with the Gamecocks defensive pressure or high-tempo play in the second half.

Marquette came out firing — Rowsey opened the game with a four-point play — and moved in front 26-16. South Carolina, though, cut things to 40-39 at the half on Maik Kotsar's layup with 42 seconds left.

The Golden Eagles withered in the second half, committing 12 of their 19 turnovers in the final 20 minutes. They also made only three 3-pointers after hitting eight in the opening half.

Midwest Regional

Michigan 92, Oklahoma State 91

Derrick Walton Jr. stuck to the plan Friday.

He kept running the Michigan Wolverines offense against an aggressive Oklahoma State defense and eventually things fell into place. Again.

Walton scored 26 points and had 11 assists as the Wolverines made a school record 16 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game, getting past Oklahoma State.

“We haven’t played a team that got up into us in a minute. It’s hard to simulate that in practice,” Walton said. “In the second half, I settled down. I wanted to make the right play consistently.”

Coach John Beilein had no complaints.

Seventh-seeded Michigan needed every point it could muster in a game that ended with a parade to the free-throw line, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer and a foe that refused to go away.

The difference: Poise and emotion, the same components that helped Michigan (25-11) overcome last week’s harrowing plane mishap to sweep four games in four days at the Big Ten Tournament.

Early Friday, it looked like Michigan’s momentum was waning. The Wolverines (25-11) looked out of sync and out of sorts in the first half.

But rather than change the game plan, Walton followed the script, steadied his team and the shots started going.

While Michigan made only five shots inside the arc in the second half, it went 11 of 15 from 3-point range — drawing increasingly louder roars from the crowd and more bewilderment from first-year Cowboys coach Brad Underwood.

Walton wound up 6 of 9 on 3s, and Zak Irvin made four more in front of his hometown crowd. Irvin finished with 16 points.

“You go 11 for 15, that’s hard enough to do in a gym by yourself,” Underwood said. “We shot 55 percent in the NCAA Tournament and just lost in the first round, outrebounded an opponent 40-21 and you lose.”

For Michigan there was no victory celebration — only relief after winning the highest-scoring game in this year’s tourney.

The Wolverines have won six in a row and need one more to reach their first Sweet 16 since 2014.

Juwan Evans scored 23 points and Jeffrey Carroll had 19 to lead Oklahoma State (20-13), but the nation’s eighth-highest scoring team just couldn’t keep up with Michigan’s 3-point barrage.

The 10th-seeded Cowboys finished the season with four straight losses and haven’t won an NCAA game since 2009.

Michigan erased a six-point second-half deficit with a run of four 3s, the last from Walton with 12:28 to go to take a 62-61 lead. They made three more in another flurry to take a 76-68 lead with 6:47 to go.

But the Cowboys rallied, cutting the deficit to two twice in the final 8 seconds — only to watch the Wolverines close it out at the free-throw line.

“Shooting the ball from 3 is part of our package,” Beilein said. “Today we were really good at hitting the open man. We valued every possession.”

In addition to shooting 64 percent from the field in the second half and 51.8 percent for the game, the Wolverines had only four turnovers. They came into the game leading the nation at 9.42 per game.

D.J. Wilson had 19 points and four blocks for the Wolverines.

Michigan State 78, Miami 58

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo wasn’t sure if his talented but inexperienced freshmen were ready to abandon their more comfortable up-tempo ways and play “smash mouth” basketball.

Two of those freshmen showed they could play any way they wanted in their tournament debuts, leading the ninth-seeded Spartans (20-14) to an opening-round win over No. 8 seed Miami.

Freshman forward Nick Ward led the way for Michigan State, scoring 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting, while fellow newcomer Miles Bridges was 8 of 12 from the field and added 18 points in the win.

“I was worried about whether these freshmen would handle the big stage, even though they’ve been on one, but it’s still the NCAA Tournament, and the difference now is it’s one-and-done time,” Izzo said. “... What a cool thing to watch happen, and I’d like to keep it going a little while.”

The win came a year after the Spartans suffered a shocking first-round NCAA Tournament loss as a No. 2 seed, and after they trailed 17-5 early in the game. Michigan State blitzed past the stunned Hurricanes (21-12) after that, using a 20-2 first half run to take control for good and shooting 64 percent (16 of 25) in the second half.

Ward made his first six shots and capped his night with a putback dunk in the closing minutes, and Joshua Langford added 13 points in a win that improved Izzo’s record to 47-18 in the NCAA Tournament.

Ja’Quan Newton scored 16 points to lead Miami, which had won at least one tournament game in each of its previous three trips. Davon Reed added 12 points and Bruce Brown 11 for the Hurricanes, who shot just 40.4 percent (21 of 52) and struggled to slow Michigan State’s tandem of Ward and Bridges.

“Miles Bridges and Nick Ward basically made every shot they took,” Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. “... We just couldn’t stop them.”

The injury-riddled and youthful Spartans suited up only three players on Friday who saw action in last year’s opening-round loss as a No. 2 seed to Middle Tennessee State.

That inexperience showed early in the first half against an experienced Miami team that reached the Sweet 16 last season, one that had won at least one NCAA Tournament game in five of its six previous appearances.

With Brown hitting his first three shots and the Spartans committing six early turnovers, the Hurricanes bolted out to a 17-5 lead in the early minutes of the game and appeared comfortable against a Michigan State team that narrowly earned its 20th straight tournament appearance.

It was all Sparty from there.

Michigan State followed its early stumble by outscoring Miami 33-10 to close out the half, including a 20-2 run at one point, and took a 38-27 halftime lead — one it only added to in the second half.

“When we feed off each of each other, we’re hard to beat,” Ward said.

Oregon 93, Iona 77

Star big man Chris Boucher carefully stood with his bulky knee brace to pump his arms and cheer his teammates at every chance. He shimmied his shoulders in delight to celebrate the Oregon Ducks and what they were doing on the big stage without him.

Not quite the shot-blocking menace on the sidelines that he is on the floor for Oregon. He’s doing his part.

The Ducks advanced in the tournament in large part because each player committed to do all the little things that Boucher brings on both ends.

Tyler Dorsey scored 24 points to lead four players in double figures, and No. 3 seed Oregon beat 14th-seeded Iona.

The Ducks (30-5) showed they have depth and sheer athleticism to make a special March run, just as coach Dana Altman hoped this week when he challenged role players to make larger contributions in Boucher’s absence.

“Him being on the sideline is just like him being on the floor chemistry-wise,” Dylan Ennis said. “He’s physically not there but he’s so much a part of our team encouraging us. Obviously not having him out there, it’s a different look. If all of us just stay active on defense, hopefully we can make up for him being out.”

Iona star Jordan Washington gave his team a huge scare when he went down hard under Oregon’s basket, screaming in pain and grabbing his lower left leg with 1:12 to go before halftime. But the senior forward returned to start the second half and finished with 22 points on 10-for-16 shooting and 11 rebounds in his final college game for the Gaels (22-13).

Boucher was relegated to a cheerleading role for the Ducks, who shared the Pac-12 regular-season crown with Arizona then lost by three points to the Wildcats in the conference tournament final after Boucher tore his left ACL in the semifinals.

While this is hardly the kind of finish Boucher envisioned for his final collegiate season, his teammates so appreciate the way he keeps contributing.

Oregon, which had its 27-point lead trimmed to 13 in the second half before holding on, shot 63.6 percent with only three turnovers in the first half to take control, began the second half with a 10-1 burst and went 55.6 percent from the floor overall.

Dillon Brooks scored 18 points and Payton Pritchard 16 points and Jordan Bell 17 with 12 boards.

“We have a lot of guys who are very confident in their ability to score a basket,” Altman said.

For Iona, Washington limped off with help just before halftime at first-year Golden 1 Center, home of the NBA Sacramento Kings.

He brought energy on both ends to lead the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champs, driving for a pretty spin move with 11:46 left in the first half then taking a charge from Dorsey moments later. He then drew another one.

Washington scored 14 of his team’s initial 18 points, but Oregon led 55-37 at halftime. He had an X-ray, believing he injured his shin.

Sam Cassell Jr., son of the former NBA star, scored 16 points in his final collegiate game. He pumped his arms and kicked out a leg when Oregon called timeout after Iona pulled to 29-26 with 8:35 to play in the first half on consecutive 3s by Cassell and E.J. Crawford.

“They got out in transition. Our bad shots led to their fast-break layups,” Cassell Jr. said.

Bell delivered back-to-back layins as the Ducks answered, then his putback with 4:27 left in the half extended Oregon’s lead to 41-33.

“This year we have a confident bunch,” Brooks said. “We’re thinking about one goal and one goal only.”

Louisville 78, Jacksonville State 63

Louisville had a full weekend planned for its return to the NCAA Tournament.

It may have taken a little longer and little more work than expected, but eventually they got the job done. Now they'll have to do it all over again Sunday.

Mangok Mathiang scored 18 points, Deng Adel and Quentin Snider each had 16 and the second-seeded Cardinals pulled away from Jacksonville State.

"We created a lot of turnovers off our press," Snider said. "Once we got on our breaks, that's when we did our best."

Clearly, they learned some lessons from last week's one-and-done experience at the ACC Tournament.

They avoided foul trouble. They kept their foot on the gas. And when they were challenged, the Cardinals kept finding answers that got the mostly red-and-black clad crowd on its feet.

Louisville took full advantage of its opportunities, outscoring the Gamecocks 44-14 in the paint, 24-3 on second-chance points and 11-0 edge on fast-break points. That was more than enough to ensure the Cardinals, who had lost three of their previous five, of their fifth consecutive opening-round win.

They sat out last season's tourney because of school-imposed postseason ban for alleged recruiting violations.

"The game was determined by our inability to rebound the ball. It wasn't because of a lack of effort," Jacksonville State coach Ray Harper. "Their length and their athleticism caused us some problems."

It sure wasn't as easy as most expected, though.

Louisville (25-8) gave up the first eight points and trailed for the first 13 minutes.

When the Cardinals got their defense fixed and Jacksonville State (20-15) flummoxed — the devastating combination quickly turned an interesting contest into a decidedly one-sided affair.

Jacksonville State came into the game full of confidence after four straight wins.

And 7-foot center Norbertas Giga played did everything he could to keep the Ohio Valley Conference tourney champs close. He had a career-high 30 points, nine rebounds and was 11 of 13 from the field and 5 of 5 on 3-pointers. Malcolm Drumwright added 12 points and Greg Tucker had 11.

But it wasn't nearly enough to pull the upset.

Louisville flipped the game with an 8-2 run late in the first half to take its first lead. The Cardinals closed the half on a 9-4 run to make it 38-31 and opened the second half on a 10-2 run to make it 48-33.

Jacksonville State cut the deficit to 10 midway through the second half, then got within 61-52 with 6:53 to go before running out of steam.

"When they shoot 50 percent, go 10 for 19 from the 3 and you still win by 15, you have to take it," Pitino said.

Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell finished with nine points, a career-high 10 rebounds and a career-high five assists.

Kansas 100, UC Davis 62

Josh Jackson insisted a season’s worth of distractions wouldn’t take away from his focus in his first, and likely last, NCAA Tournament.

The standout Kansas freshman proved true to his word in an opening-round victory over UC Davis, scoring 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting in his return from a one-game suspension for an accumulation of embarrassing incidents.

Jackson scored the first field goal for the Jayhawks (29-5) and 11 of their first 31 points after missing last week’s Big 12 Conference Tournament. His hot start helped Kansas recover from missing its first four shots, and it helped the Jayhawks win their opening game of the tournament for an 11th straight year.

“I’ve been really excited to play for a while now, been itching to play for about a week and a half, so just coming out there today felt really good to get back out there with the guys,” Jackson said. “When I step out there on that court, I’m really not thinking about anything else but basketball, something I’ve been doing for most of my life.”

The win ensures top seeds will remain perfect since the tournament expanded, with the schools now 132-0 against No. 16 seeds.

The Jayhawks advance to face ninth-seeded Michigan State on Sunday.

It also puts an end to a dream run for the Aggies (23-13), who were in their first NCAA Tournament and had advanced to face Kansas after winning a First Four game against North Carolina Central.

Chima Moneke scored 20 points to lead UC Davis, while Brynton Lemar added 17 and Siler Schneider 10 in the loss. However, only two days removed from their victory in Dayton, the Aggies were unable to slow a Kansas team making its 28th straight NCAA Tournament appearance — the longest active streak in the nation.

“We just had as emotional a locker room as I’ve ever been a part of, and I’ve been a part of a lot of teams,” UC Davis coach Jim Les said. “They accomplished a lot of wonderful feats, and I don’t want this game to take away from (that). There’s a lot to be grateful for.”

While Jackson’s return boosted the Jayhawks, senior Frank Mason III proved as reliable as ever while scoring 22 points and adding eight assists on Friday.

All five starters finished in double figures for Kansas, with Svi Mykhailiuk and Devonte’ Graham adding 16 points each and Landen Lucas 13 points and 11 rebounds. The Jayhawks outrebounded UC Davis 45-27 and shot 56.3 percent (36 of 64) in the win.

The last time Kansas lost an opening-round game of the NCAA Tournament was as a No. 4 seed in 2006 to a Bradley team led by Les.

Despite Les’ experience and past success as a lower seed against the Jayhawks, the weary Aggies began to fade midway through the first half against a rested Kansas team.

The Jayhawks hadn’t played in eight days since losing to TCU in the Big 12 Conference Tournament quarterfinals, and they closed the half on a 29-7 run to lead 50-28.

“We were a little nervous early, anxious early, and they certainly made it very difficult to score early on,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “And then, I thought from about the 12-minute mark of the first half, the lid came off the basket and I thought we executed very well.”

Whether Jackson’s suspension played a role or not in the Jayhawks’ early exit from the Big 12 Tournament, Kansas appeared back in top form with its star freshman’s return. The 6-foot-8 guard started and played 23 minutes, putting together a highlight-reel performance that included several impressive finishes at the rim while adding seven rebounds.

South Region

Arkansas 77, Seton Hall 71

Arkansas did just enough in the final minute to push its way through the NCAA Tournament’s first round — aided by a couple of eye-catching calls and noncalls by the officiating crew, too.

Jaylen Barford hit the go-ahead layup with 57.8 seconds left to help Arkansas hold off Seton Hall.

Barford had 12 of his 20 points after halftime for the eighth-seeded Razorbacks (26-9), who erased an 8-point second-half hole and scored the final 7 points of the game to earn the program’s third straight opening-game NCAA win.

“Coach (Mike Anderson) told us to keep chipping away,” said Dusty Hannahs, who scored 14. “He knows we don’t lose our head. We’ve been down a lot this year.”

Barford’s layup off Khadeen Carrington’s turnover at the other end pushed Arkansas ahead for good. Then came a critical sequence, which started with Carrington’s travel while being harassed by a double team near midcourt with 24.6 seconds left.

Hannahs threw the ball to Daryl Macon near the Seton Hall bench. As defenders converged, Macon stutter-stepped past them in an apparent travel that went uncalled.

Instead, Macon threw the ball to Barford, who was knocked to the floor on a foul by Desi Rodriguez as Rodriguez tried to stop the clock with 18.3 seconds left. Officials reviewed the play — which showed Rodriguez’s hands touching only Barford’s left shoulder and back, while his left foot clipped Barford’s in an accidental trip — and changed it to a flagrant foul.

“I thought it was no play on the ball. That’s as simple as that,” Anderson said, adding: “It just came at a bad time, probably the right time for us.”

Barford hit both free throws, then Macon added another to make it a 75-71 game.

Carrington missed a 3 at the other end in what amounted to the last gasp for the ninth-seeded Pirates (21-12). He finished with 22 points with three 3-pointers

“I think I made a basketball play,” Rodriguez said. “I didn’t foul intentionally to hurt anyone. The officials called it another way, and that’s that.”

J.D. Collins, the NCAA’s national coordinator of men’s basketball officiating, said site referees made the correct call on Rodriguez’s flagrant foul.

“When a player puts two hands on the back and doesn’t make any attempt to play the ball or ... get in front of him, it’s an F-1 foul,” Collins said.

The Pirates had a 17-5 run to take a 64-56 lead with 8:41 left, but their mistakes down the stretch hurt. They had nine of their 15 turnovers after halftime to deny their pursuit of a first tournament win since 2004.

“Got a lot of turnovers the last 6 minutes, but that’s how the game ends,” said Angel Delgado, the nation’s leading rebounder who finished with 12 points and 13 boards. “We’ve just got to take care of the ball more.”

The Razorbacks survived being soundly beaten on the boards (46-32) but they did just enough to speed the Pirates up and get the game closer to their preferred pace. They also made 18 of 23 free throws to help prolong their late-season surge.

“It’s not something I marvel at,” Anderson said of winning despite the rebounding trouble, “but we’ve done it before. We’ve got to get better at it.”

Moses Kingsley scored 23 points on 10-for-13 shooting for Arkansas and Macon finished with seven points, but added two free throws with 9.7 seconds left to seal it. Dustin Thomas added 13 points.

Cincinnati 75, Kansas State 61

Cincinnati has made a name for itself with a stifling defense, turning every opponent’s possession into a grind.

A little known fact outside of the American Athletic Conference: The Bearcats can play some offense, too.

Working the ball inside to open things up on the perimeter, Cincinnati shot it way past Kansas State.

“They saw the fruits of trying to work harder to get that ball closer to the basket,” Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. “From there, you’re in a tough spot what do you do because you over help and we got guys on this team that can make shots.”

Cincinnati (30-5) was knocked out in the first round a year ago and No. 6 seeds were 0-3 before the Bearcats took the court, with Maryland, Creighton and SMU all losing to No. 11 seeds.

The Bearcats took care of their business and the No. 6 jinx with an impressive shooting display, hitting 62 percent from the field. Cincinnati is known for its defense and did that, too, preventing Kansas State (21-14) from making much of a run after building a 17-point lead.

Troy Caupain scored 23 points and Kyle Washington added 16 for the Bearcats, who move on to play No. 3 seed UCLA on Sunday.

“We had a sense of calm the whole time,” Washington said. “We have a whole bunch of guys that are experienced and ready to play. We were ready.”

Kansas State has had a knack for mounting comebacks this season, yet could never get over the hump against Cincinnati. Just when it appeared the Wildcats were on the verge of a run, the Bearcats would string a few baskets together or swat a shot away on defense.

Wesley Iwundu led Kansas State with 19 points.

“We didn’t play our best game, there is no doubt,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “Some of that’s them, the way they played. They made some shots.”

Cronin was not pleased with his team’s seeding nor the travel all the way to California to play its opening game.

Kansas State had an even tougher trip, having two days between games after traveling from Dayton to Sacramento following a 95-88 win over Wake Forest in the First Four.

The Wildcats had to switch gears quickly in style of play, too. While Wake Forest likes to play at a fast pace, the Bearcats have the nation’s fourth-stingiest scoring defense at 60.4 points allowed per game.

Cincinnati was solid defensively, as expected, but the offense stole the show early. The Bearcats hit their first eight shots to go up nine midway through the first half and only slowed slightly.

Caupain made all five of his shots to score 14 points and Cincinnati hit 15 of 23 to lead 39-28.

“Right away off the bat we took jump shots and they got layups,” Weber said. “We talked about coming and doubling early. We probably weren’t quite in sync.”

Kansas State made a run at the Bearcats early in the second half, cutting the lead to six.

The Bearcats pushed the lead back to 13 behind their offense and with a tightened-up defense after those early baskets by Kansas State. Cincinnati made 12 of 20 shots in the second half.

The Bearcats controlled the inside most of the night, finishing with a 31-23 advantage in rebounds, 34-22 in the paint.

North Carolina 103, Texas Southern 64

Justin Jackson never lost confidence, even if he maybe started pressing a bit, when his shot suddenly stopped falling late in North Carolina’s season.

Trust the work you put in, he told himself.

Friday offered a reminder of why, and maybe a bit of reassurance, too.

The Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year broke out of a shooting slump with 21 points to help the top-seeded Tar Heels roll past Texas Southern.

“It was a good feeling,” Jackson said. “I haven’t shot the ball the way I’ve wanted to the past four games, so I got back in the gym as much as I possibly could, trying to get back to where I was. My teammates found me; they set a bunch of screens for me, and they just fell for me tonight.”

The 6-foot-8 junior had made just 20 of 60 shots (33 percent) and 7 of 31 3-point attempts (23 percent) in his last four games. But he had 19 points by halftime in this one, helping the Tar Heels (28-7) quickly eliminate any chance of an unprecedented upset.

Jackson finished 8 of 13 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range with seven rebounds.

“I just tried to put the work in on the court, away from practice and away from the games and trust that preparation,” Jackson said. “Whether I felt it or not, I go into every game thinking I’m going to hit shots, but having that preparation definitely helps a little bit.”

He had also spoken recently with coach Roy Williams to remain confident and stick with what helped him to a big year.

“I told him all he had to be was be Justin,” Williams said, “and I think that’s what he was today.”

Isaiah Hicks added 17 points and Kennedy Meeks had 13 for the Tar Heels, who are a No. 1 regional seed for an NCAA-record 16th time.

Kevin Scott scored 19 points to lead the 16th-seeded Tigers (23-12), the champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

SWAC player of the year Zach Lofton struggled, finishing with nine points on 2-for-11 shooting.

“Once you have a mistake and two ... you look up at the shot clock, you’re down 10,” Texas Southern’s Marvin Jones said. “All of a sudden you look up, and you’re down 15.

“It’s hard to come back from that because a team like that, they’re going to constantly keep doing the same thing over and over and over and over again.”

Wichita State 64, Dayton 58

Tournament flash: Wichita State can play a little defense, too. Just ask the stunned Flyers.

The Shockers’ powerful offense stalled out until the closing minutes, but their defense carried them through to a victory over Dayton.

Make it 16 straight wins for the Shockers (31-4) , who brought their reputation for piling up the points to Indianapolis, along with the feeling that they’d been slighted by their No. 10 seed.

They made the gritty plays in a game lacking style points.

“It was definitely something a little brand new to us from what we’ve seen in the Missouri Valley,” said Zach Brown, who had 12 points, including a late 3. “But I don’t know — we’ve just grinded it out. It was a tough game.”

And they were the tougher team.

Dayton (24-8) came in with a wealth of experience, playing in its school-record fourth straight NCAA Tournament. The Flyers start three seniors and have five overall, with a lot of shared tournament moments. This one ranks at the bottom.

The seventh-seeded Flyers were held to a season low in points and shot a season-low 31 percent from the field. They also got rebounded 48-29 and had eight shots swatted away.

“Of course you’ve got to give them credit because they’re the ones defending, but I think it’s more about us,” said point guard Scoochie Smith, who had 25 points. “We just had to step up and make shots, and a lot of people on our team couldn’t get their shots to fall, couldn’t get a flow.”

Brown’s 3-pointer put Wichita State up 51-45 with 5:38 left, the biggest lead by either team up to that point, and Dayton never threatened again. Landry Shamet led the Shockers with 13 points.

The Shockers haven’t lost a game since Jan. 14, going two months with nothing but postgame high-fives. They have relied on their offense to carry them, averaging 82.1 points per game. Feeling slighted by their tournament seed, they showed they’re more than a one-trick team.

“All in all, it was a big grind,” Brown said. “And I’m proud, proud of everybody.”

The Shockers scored 80 points a school-record 23 times this season. Their 64 points on Friday matched their second-lowest total of the season, but they won anyway.

UCLA 97, Kent St. 80

UCLA raced out for layups, dropped in 3-pointers, piled up the points. The Bruins are the nation's top-scoring team, so no surprise there.

The defense? That still could use a little work.

UCLA raced out to a big lead and held on through numerous defensive lapses, pulling away late for a victory over scrappy Kent.

"We were obviously very efficient on offense and at times were efficient on defense, just had some lapses there," UCLA coach Steve Alford said.

UCLA (30-4) jumped out to a 14-point lead in the opening minutes, only to have its defensive issues rise up again. The third-seeded Bruins had numerous breakdowns and let Kent State claw back into it by halftime, eventually stretching the lead midway through the second half.

TJ Leaf scored 23 points and Thomas Welsh 16 for UCLA. Aaron Holliday added 15 points and 11 assists for the Bruins, who face No. 6 seed Cincinnati in the second round on Sunday in what should be a pressure-packed and entertaining game.

"If you lose, you're done until next year, so that makes it a lot more pressure on you," Leaf said.

Kent State (22-14) appeared shell shocked in its first NCAA Tournament since 2008, falling into a deep early hole. The Golden Flashes, who beat the top three seeds in the MAC Tournament, showed a bit of resiliency by fighting back, keeping the mighty Bruins close until late.

Jaylin Walker had 23 points and Jimmy Hall Jr. added 20 for Kent State.

"Couldn't be more proud of our guys in terms of how we fought the entire game and during the season we had this year," Kent State coach Rob Senderoff said.

On a day of upsets in the NCAA Tournament — namely over No. 6 seeds — Kent State was hoping to pull off the biggest one of the tournament. The Golden Flashes know a bit about NCAA upsets; this is the 15th anniversary of the 2002 Kent State team that reached the Elite Eight.

The Bruins appeared as if they weren't going to give them much of a shot, dominating at both ends.

UCLA held Kent State to 1-of-11 shooting to open and raced out to a 16-2 lead behind Lonzo Ball and Leaf.

Ball had 10 points in the first 10 minutes and Leaf had 16 by halftime as the Bruins stretched the lead to 17.

Once the Golden Flashes found their bearings, they started to fight back, whittling away at UCLA's lead.

By the time halftime arrived, they were back within striking distance, down 47-39.

"Where we weren't poised is when we got up 16 in the first half and kind of let up," Alford said. "Our shot selection wasn't the best."

The Golden Flashes continued their momentum surge to start the half, trimming the lead to four on Jalen Avery's 3-pointer.

UCLA began to wear them down midway through the half, pushing the lead into double digits and stretching it from there.

"Ultimately, we didn't get enough stops," Senderoff said.

Kentucky 79, Northern Kentucky 70

Kentucky's freshmen showed the new kids on their block how it's done at tournament time.

Bam Adebayo had 15 points and 18 rebounds as Kentucky overcame plenty of freshmen mistakes and beat stubborn Northern Kentucky.

The second-seeded Wildcats (30-5) won their 12th straight and got their first-game jitters out of the way. They also wound up with a surprisingly close finish after pulling ahead by 18 points in the second half, showing their inexperience on the March stage.

"Well, that's freshmen, so I will tell you this is all a learning curve," coach John Calipari said. "We know we've got to play better, no question. I expect that we will."

The Norse (24-11) closed within 75-68 on Drew McDonald's 3-pointer with 35 seconds left. Malik Monk made four free throws to close it out. Monk, the SEC's player of the year, missed all of his six shots from beyond the arc and finished with 12 points, eight below his average. Freshman De'Aaron Fox scored 19 points.

Northern Kentucky reached the tournament in its first year of eligibility, only the seventh team to do so since 1970. For the Norse, the tournament was more of a starting point than the end of a season.

Norse players shook some of their fans' hands before leaving the court.

"I looked up and I saw my dad specifically, and he gave me a thumbs-up," McDonald said. "And that's what put a tear in my eye really, just to realize the impact we've put on our community and the university as a whole. It just struck me."

The contingent of Northern Kentucky fans dressed in black and gold enjoyed the start. Cole Murray had a chance to give the Norse a lead late in the first half, but missed on a 3-point try. The Wildcats outscored the Norse 15-3 the rest of the half, and they were in control until the closing flurry.

Northern Kentucky went only 8 of 32 from beyond the arc, well below its norm.

"We were the best shooting team in the Horizon League the entire season," coach John Brannen said. "Tonight was not our night from the 3-point line. I'd liked to have seen what happened if we had made a few more."

Northern Kentucky guard Lavone Holland II, who was the Horizon League Tournament's MVP, had 22 points on 10-of-21 shooting.

The Wildcats' freshman trio of Fox, Monk and Adebayo came in averaging 49.9 points, 14.5 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game. They combined for 36 points, 22 rebounds and six assists.