NCAA Tournament: Baylor holds off Mississippi State; Colorado State upends Memphis
Raleigh, N.C. – NBA lottery prospect V.J. Edgecombe had just four points at halftime of Baylor's first-round NCAA Tournament game against Mississippi State.
That didn't concern Bears coach Scott Drew.
The athletic Edgecombe responded with a big second half and finished with 16 points, including two clutch free throws down the stretch, to help the ninth-seeded Bears hold off the eighth-seeded Bulldogs 75-72 on Friday.
“Because he’s so highly rated on the draft boards, people just assume that he's going to score,” Drew said. “V.J. doesn’t have to score to impact a game. He is an all-around player. He gets comparisons to Dwyane Wade, Russell Westbrook, and the thing that those guys did is their athleticism and their ability to assist, defend. It affects the game. So if he’s scoring or not, he’s helping us.”
Edgecombe also had five rebounds, a block and a steal in his first NCAA Tournament game.
Robert Wright scored 19 points, Langston Love added 15 and Norchad Omier had a strong game inside with 12 points and nine rebounds for the Bears (20-14), who led by 11 points in the second half but had to hold off the Bulldogs in the final seconds – and even tenths of seconds.
Josh Hubbard scored 26 points to lead Mississippi State (21-13), which was seeking its first March Madness victory since 2008.
The Bears led 60-49 with 8:10 remaining after a free throw by Omier.
But the Bulldogs stormed back and cut the lead to one with 29 seconds left when KeShawn Murphy scored in the lane on a baby hook. Edgecombe was fouled with 9.3 seconds left and the Big 12 freshman of the year calmly stepped to the line and made both.
“Playing in the Big 12, you just have a lot of close games, and coming in here, we know that in March a lot of stuff happens,” Omier said. “V.J. hit both free throws, and we call it a game.”
More East
▶ No. 2 Alabama 90, No. 15 Robert Morris 81: All-America guard Mark Sears scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half and Alabama pulled away late. The Colonials gave the Crimson Tide (27-8) all they could handle and even took their first lead at 65-64 on a layup by Josh Omojafo to bring the crowd to its feet. Alabama responded behind Sears, who had seven points during an 11-2 surge that gave the Crimson Tide some breathing room against the Horizon League champions. Robert Morris (26-9) came in as a 22-1/2 point underdog, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, yet spent most of the afternoon threatening to author the first true bracket-buster of the tournament.
▶ No. 1 Duke 93, No. 19 Mount St. Mary's 49: Tyrese Proctor had 19 points and freshman star Cooper Flagg returned from an ankle injury with 14 points and seven boards for the Blue Devils (32-3). Duke jumped to a 13-2 lead in a dominant first half marked by clean execution on the way to a big lead. The Blue Devils cooled after the break, but finished at 50% shooting with 14 3-pointers to cruise toward a second-round date with Baylor. The 18-year-old Flagg missed the last two games of Duke’s run to the ACC tournament title after rolling his left ankle in the quarterfinals against Georgia Tech. Arlandus Keyes scored 15 points for the Mountaineers (23-13).
▶ No. 7 Saint Mary's 59, No. 10 Vanderbilt 56: Saint Mary's guard Jordan Ross keyed a second-half rally while star Augustas Marciulionis dealt with foul trouble. The Commodores led by 12 points when Marciulionis – the two-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year – exited with his fourth foul early in the second half. Ross scored 10 points with Marciulionis on the bench to help the Gaels (29-5) pull even, and Marciulionis hit a couple of clutch shots down the stretch to set up a meeting with Alabama. Ross finished with 15 points and Marciulionis added 14 points and eight rebounds. Jason Edwards led Vanderbilt (20-13) with 18 points.
▶ No. 4 Arizona 93, No. 13 Akron 65: Jaden Bradley, Trey Townsend and Caleb Love hit 3-pointers within the first two minutes and Arizona never looked back. Bradley finished with 19 points, Townsend had 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting, Carter Bryant scored 12 and Love and KJ Lewis each had 10 for the Wildcats (23-12). Arizona shot 12 of 25 from 3-point range and threw down nine dunks. Tavari Johnson and Nate Johnson each scored 13 for the Zips (28-7).
▶ No. 5 Oregon 81, No. 12 Liberty 52: Jackson Shelstad scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half for Oregon (25-9). Nate Bittle had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Oregon. Zach Cleveland had 10 points and was Liberty's lone player in double figures. The Flames (28-7) made just eight of 37 3-point attempts (22%).
South
▶ No. 3 Iowa State 82, No. 14 Lipscomb 55: Milan Momcilovic scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half as Iowa State (25-9) rolled. Curtis Jones had 17 points as Iowa State bounced back nicely after dropping four of seven going into the tourney. Joshua Jefferson finished with 10 points and eight assists. Momcilovic, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, made four 3-pointers and grabbed five rebounds. Jacob Ognacevic, the player of the year in the Atlantic Sun, led Lipscomb with 18 points.
▶ No. 6 Mississippi 71, No. 11 North Carolina 64: Sean Pedulla made a critical 3-pointer with 52.8 seconds left, and Mississippi prevailed after squandering most of a 22-point lead in the second half. Ole Miss (23-11) will chase its first Sweet 16 berth since 2001 when it faces Iowa State. North Carolina (23-14) made Ole Miss work for it. RJ Davis drove to the basket, drew a foul and converted a three-point play to cut Ole Miss’ lead to 66-64 with 1:09 remaining. Pedulla responded by sinking Ole Miss’ only successful 3-pointer in seven second-half attempts. After North Carolina’s Drake Poell missed a 3 with 43 seconds left, Ole Miss went 4 of 5 on free throws the rest of the way.
▶ No. 10 New Mexico 75, No. 7 Marquette 66: Donovan Dent scored 21 points and New Mexico took control late in the second half. Richard Pitino joined his father in the second round after New Mexico (27-7) snapped a four-game NCAA Tournament losing streak. Rick Pitino has St. John's playing its next game Saturday against Arkansas. Dent, the Mountain West Player of the Year, had six points in the first half but found his rhythm in the second half. He had four points during a 10-0 Lobos run that broke the game open. David Joplin led Marquette (23-11) with 28 points, including six 3-pointers.
Midwest
▶ No. 3 Kentucky 76, No. 14 Troy 57: Otega Oweh scored 20 points and Andrew Carr had 13 for the Wildcats (23-11). Oweh added eight assists and six rebounds, and Amari Williams grabbed 13 boards. Kentucky also was a No. 3 seed last year when it lost 80-76 to Oakland in the first round. But it doesn’t have a single person on its roster who played in that Oakland game, and it had no major issues against Troy this time around. Myles Rigsby scored 14 points for the Trojans (23-11), champions of the Sun Belt.
▶ No. 6 Illinois 86, No. 11 Xavier 73: Will Riley had 22 points, Kasparas Jakucionis finished one rebound shy of a triple-double and Illinois was perfect from the foul line. Illinois (22-12) advanced to a second-round matchup against Kentucky. Jakucionis had 16 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Tomislav Ivisic added 20 points and 10 rebounds. Kylan Boswell scored 15 points. Illinois led throughout the last 33 minutes and went 18 of 18 from the free throw line and 12 of 30 from 3-point range.
West
▶ No. 12 Colorado State 78, No. 5 Memphis 70: Kyan Evans made a career-high six 3-pointers and scored 23 points to lead Colorado State. Nique Clifford, the Mountain West tournament MVP, had his quietest scoring night in a month, finishing with 14 points, eight on free throws. He added eight rebounds and six assists for the Rams (26-9), who extended their winning streak to 11. This 12-over-5 result was no shocker, with Colorado State a 2 1/2-point favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Coach Penny Hardaway's Tigers (29-7) were not at full strength, with veteran guard and third-leading scorer Tyrese Hunter sidelined by a left foot injury.
▶ No. 4 Maryland 81, No. 13 Grand Canyon 49: Julian Reese had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Ja'Kobi Gillespie added 16 points for the Terrapins (26-8), who will play Colorado State next. Derik Queen, the Big Ten freshman of the year, finished with 12 points and 15 boards. Tyon Grant-Foster led Grand Canyon (26-8) with 23 points.
▶ No. 1 Florida 95, No. 16 Norfolk State 69: First-team All-American Walter Clayton Jr. scored 23 points and Florida rolled, ensuring all four No. 1 seeds made it out of the first round unscathed. Alijah Martin added 17 points for the SEC champions, who built a 32-point lead in the first half en route to their seventh straight win. Christian Ings scored 16 points and Jaylani Darden added 15 for Norfolk (24-11). This one was over early as Clayton knocked down a 3 and was fouled for a four-point play, giving the Gators (31-4) a double-digit lead five minutes into the game that they would never relinquish.
▶ No. 8 UConn 67, No. 9 Oklahoma 59: UConn's bid for a third straight national title continued when Alex Karaban came through with a critical 3-pointer and a floater in the lane during a late run. Karaban had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies (24-10), who extended their March Madness winning streak to 13 games, tied with Duke from 1991-93 for the second-longest without missing a tournament. Karaban's 3 on the catch from the right wing at the 3:40 mark gave UConn a four-point lead, and he followed with the floater at the 2:18 mark that pushed UConn ahead 64-58. Freshman Jeremiah Fears had 20 points to lead the Sooners (20-14), who shot 32.1% and made 3 of 17 3-pointers.
NCAA Tournament
FRIDAY
East
Baylor 75, Mississippi St. 72
Alabama 90, Robert Morris 81
Duke 93, Mount St. Mary's 49
Saint Mary's 59, Vanderbilt 56
Arizona 93, Akron 65
Oregon 81, Liberty 52
South
Iowa State 82, Lipscomb 55
Mississippi 71, North Carolina 64
New Mexico 75, Marquette 66
Michigan State 87, Bryant 62
Midwest
Kentucky 76, Troy 57
Illinois 86, Xavier 73
West
Colorado State 78, Memphis 70
Maryland 81, Grand Canyon 49
Florida 95, Norfolk State 69
UConn 67, Oklahoma 59