Arizona roll past Long Beach State 85-65 for first round victory
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Arizona scored 16 straight points over a five-minute stretch to pull away for an 85-65 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and snuff out coach Dan Monson’s tenure at Long Beach State. Kylan Boswell had 20 points for the second-seeded Wildcats, who made 13 3-pointers, the program record for March Madness. Arizona trailed 35-34 with less than three minutes left in the first half. Two free throws and a 3-pointer by Caleb Love started the Wildcats’ onslaught before halftime. Love finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Aboubacar Traore and A.J. George led the Beach with 14 points each.
Washington State survives maddening 2nd half to beat Drake 66-61 in March Madness
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Isaac Jones had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Isaiah Watts’ first 3-pointer in three games gave Washington State the lead with 1:51 left and the seventh-seeded Cougars beat No. 10 Drake 66-61 in the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars shot just 29.6% while trailing most of the second half, but Drake’s season-worst 6-of-14 performance at the free-throw line helped them to win in their first tournament appearance since 2008. WSU will play Saturday against No. 2 Iowa State, which beat South Dakota State 82-65. Atin Wright had 20 points to lead Drake.
Oregon’s Couisnard drops 40 points on old school in 87-73 March Madness win over South Carolina
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jermaine Couisnard scored a career-high 40 points to haunt South Carolina — his former school — while leading Oregon to a 87-73 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region on Thursday. Couisnard spent three years at South Carolina before transferring following the 2022 season. He made five 3-pointers and went 14 of 22 from the field to pace the 11th-seeded Ducks. Oregon advanced to the second round to face No. 3 seed Creighton. That matchup will have a family feel as it will reunite Ducks coach Dana Altman and Creighton, where he spent 16 years and built the Nebraska school into one of the nation’s best maid-major programs. The Ducks improved to 8-0 in first-round NCAA Tournament games under him.
Ike’s perfect game leads hot-shooting Gonzaga to easy March Madness win over McNeese State
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Graham Ike scored 16 points and Anton Watson added 13 to power fifth-seeded Gonzaga over No. 12 seed McNeese State 86-65 in the Midwest Region. Ben Gregg tallied 12 points and Nolan Hickman had 11 on Thursday for the hot-shooting Bulldogs, who spoiled McNeese State’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 22 years. Gonzaga, which shot 52 percent from the field and 48 percent from 3-point range, feels right at home in Salt Lake City, playing here more than any other site over the years and posting a 9-3 record.Christian Shumate and Shahada Wells had 19 for the Cowboys.