SOUTH REGIONAL

UAB 60,
 IOWA STATE 59

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — William Lee scored the last four points for the 14th-seeded Blazers in their upset win Thursday.

The Blazers (20-15) came in as one of the youngest teams in the field and with nobody having played in this tournament before. They wound up winning the program’s first NCAA game since 2005.

The third-seeded Cyclones (25-9) couldn’t hold onto a 55-51 lead with 3:13 left as the Blazers outscored Iowa State 9-4 down the stretch.



UCLA 60, SMU 59

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Bryce Alford made four 3-pointers in the final 3:40, his last on a rare goaltending call with 13 seconds remaining, to push 11th-seeded UCLA to the upset.

All of Alford’s points came on nine long-range shots but his last attempt was the most debated as his shot from the left side was hit by SMU’s Yanick Moreira before it reached the rim. Officials awarded Alford, the son of coach Steve Alford, the basket, to the disbelief of SMU players and coach Larry Brown.



GEORGETOWN 84, EASTERN
WASHINGTON 74

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 25 points, Mikael Hopkins had 10 points and nine rebounds, and fourth-seeded Georgetown avoided another NCAA Tournament upset by beating No. 13 seed Eastern Washington.

The Hoyas (22-10) had lost four of their last five tournament games — all to teams seeded 10th or worse — and fell behind by seven in the first half to the 3-point happy Eagles. But Georgetown got its groove back with its own long-range touch, going ahead by 23 early in the second half and holding off Eastern Washington’s late rally.



UTAH 57,
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 50

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Jakob Poeltl had 18 points and eight rebounds, and fifth-seeded Utah opened its first NCAA Tournament appearance in six years by holding off Stephen F. Austin.

The high-scoring Lumberjacks were a trendy pick in brackets across the country, but the Utes used their stout defense to hold the Southland Conference Tournament champions well under their season average of 79.5 points. Ty Charles led 12th-seeded Stephen F. Austin (29-5) with 14 points.



MIDWEST REGIONAL

KENTUCKY 79,
 HAMPTON 56

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns bounced back from a mini-slump with 21 points and 11 rebounds, Andrew Harrison added 14 points and No. 1 Kentucky rolled past 16th-seeded Hampton.

Limited by foul trouble the past two games, the 6-foot-11 Towns was a force all night in helping the unbeaten Wildcats (35-0) to the site’s most lopsided outcome of the day after three one-point finishes at the KFC Yum! Center.



CINCINNATI 66,
PURDUE 65, OT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Troy Caupain got Cincinnati to overtime with his buzzer-beating layup, then Coreontae DeBerry helped the eighth-seeded Bearcats beat No. 9 seed Purdue.

The Bearcats trailed by seven with 48.5 seconds left in regulation and forced overtime with a 10-3 run. Caupain’s driving layup banked off the glass, rolled around and hit the glass again — staying on the back rim for a moment — before falling through. That sent the Bearcats celebrating while officials reviewed the play to make sure Caupain did beat the buzzer.

NOTRE DAME 69, NORTHEASTERN 65

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Zach Auguste scored 25 points, Jerian Grant added 17 and Notre Dame dodged a scare trying to erase its futile NCAA Tournament history.

The third-seeded Fighting Irish (30-5) returned to the tournament after a one-year absence. They have traditionally struggled in the tournament under coach Mike Brey. They made only one Sweet 16 since 2001.

Scott Eatherton had 18 points and David Walker had 15 for 14th-seeded Northeastern (23-12) which gave the Irish fits and threatened to keep Notre Dame’s March malaise going.



BUTLER 56, TEXAS 48

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kellen Dunham scored 20 points, including a pivotal 3-pointer with 1:18 to play, to lift sixth-seeded Butler (23-10).

The Longhorns (20-14) added to a miserable day for the vaunted Big 12. Texas joined Baylor and Iowa State, both No. 3 seeds, as early tournament exits.

Jonathan Holmes led the Longhorns with 15 points and Isaiah Taylor added 14 but Texas shot just 34 percent from the field and turned it over 15 times while failing to make it beyond the first weekend of the NCAAs for the seventh straight year.



WEST REGIONAL

NORTH CAROLINA 67, HARVARD 65

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Justin Jackson hit a tying jumper in the final minute and then had a fast-break dunk to help fourth-seeded North Carolina edge 13th-seeded Harvard.

The Tar Heels (25-11) wasted a 16-point, second-half lead and briefly trailed before Jackson came to the rescue.

Siyani Chambers’ four-point play put Harvard ahead 65-63 with 1:15 remaining. It was the only lead of the game for the Ivy League champions.



ARKANSAS 56,
WOFFORD 53

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Michael Qualls scored 20 points, Southeastern Conference player of the year Bobby Portis added 15 points and 13 rebounds, and fifth-seeded Arkansas held off No. 12 seed Wofford.

The Razorbacks (27-8) escaped a back-and-forth game that featured 18 lead changes, 10 ties and neither team ahead by more than five points. Arkansas advanced to play North Carolina.



GEORGIA STATE 57, BAYLOR 56

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — R.J. Hunter kept firing away, eventually lifting Georgia State over Baylor and knocking his father right off his seat.

Hunter’s 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds remaining capped a comeback from a 12-point deficit and lifted the 14th-seeded Panthers over the third-seeded Bears.

With Ron Hunter working the sideline in 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.



XAVIER 76,
MISSISSIPPI 57

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Matt Stainbrook scored 20 points and Dee Davis added 17 for the sixth-seeded Musketeers.

The 6-foot-10 Stainbrook took advantage of his size in the post, making 8 of 10 shots in the paint and adding nine rebounds and five assists.

 Davis hit 4 of 9 shots from 3-point range for Xavier (22-13).



ARIZONA 93, TEXAS SOUTHERN 72

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 23 points, 16 in the first half, along with 10 rebounds for second-seeded Arizona.

Pac-12 freshman of the year Stanley Johnson added 22 points for the balanced Wildcats (32-3), who led by as many as 27 points.



OHIO STATE 75,
VCU 72, OT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — D’Angelo Russell scored 28 points and rallied 10th-seeded Ohio State from an early 12-point deficit for the overtime win.

Russell regrouped from a blow that sent blood streaming down the left side of his face near the end of regulation. He made 10 of 20 shots, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range, and added six rebounds, two steals and two blocks to bring the Buckeyes (24-10) back in both halves and overtime.



EAST REGIONAL

N.C. STATE 66, LSU 65

PITTSBURGH (AP) — BeeJay Anya’s hook shot rolled around and in with a second to play, lifting North Carolina State to a stunning victory over LSU.

The eighth-seeded Wolfpack (21-13) trailed by as many as 16 points but rallied to earn a date with top-seeded Villanova in the round of 32 on Saturday.

Cat Barber led N.C. State with 17 points, but Anya came up with the biggest play of the game.

VILLANOVA 93, LAFAYETTE 52

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Villanova flexed its top-seeded muscle in thumping Lafayette, showing why President Barack Obama picked the Wildcats to reach the NCAA Tournament title game.

Thirty years after stunning the basketball world with an improbable national championship, the Wildcats (33-2) are going to try it this time around as a prohibitive favorite to reach the Final Four.