Otega Oweh rescued Kentucky with a buzzer-beating 35-footer off the glass to force overtime, then the seventh-seeded Wildcats owned the extra session to escape with an 89-84 win over No. 10 Santa Clara in Midwest Region first-round action on Friday afternoon in St. Louis.
Santa Clara forward Allen Graves hit what looked to be a game-winning 3-pointer when he connected from the right wing with 2.4 seconds left, but Oweh took the inbounds pass and pulled up just in time to send the game to overtime. He then made all four of his free-throw attempts in the extra session when Kentucky outscored Santa Clara 16-11.
Oweh finished with a career-high 35 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Mouhamed Dioubate had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats (22-13), who shot 50.8% to win a rollercoaster game which featured 20 lead changes and 12 ties.
Elijah Mahi led the Broncos (26-9) with 20 points in the program’s first NCAA Tournament game in 30 years. Graves added 17 points and seven rebounds.
No. 2 Iowa State 108, No. 15 Tennessee State 74
The Cyclones dominated the final 38 minutes of action, blowing out the Tigers in St. Louis despite losing All-American forward Justin Jefferson to a knee injury.
Iowa State advanced to play No. 7 Kentucky in the second round on Sunday. Head coach T.J. Otzelberger said X-rays were negative and that Jefferson would be re-evaluated on Saturday before determining his game status against the Wildcats.
Freshman Killyan Toure had 25 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, Nate Heise scored 22 points and Milan Momcilovic added 17 for Iowa State, which forced 16 turnovers. Aaron Nkrumah led Tennessee State (23-10) with 21 points. Antoine Lorick III added 20 points and eight rebounds.
No. 3 Virginia 82, No. 14 Wright State 73
Jacari White scored a season-high 26 points and hit the go-ahead floater off the glass with 4:07 to play as the Cavaliers survived a tough test from the Raiders in Philadelphia.
White made 6 of 8 from 3-point range, Sam Lewis scored 12 points, Malik Thomas added 11 and Thijs De Ridder had 10 for Virginia (30-5), which used a late 11-0 run to create some distance and secure its first NCAA Tournament win since winning the 2019 national championship.
Michael Imariagbe had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Wright State (23-12). Solomon Callaghan added 18 points and combined with Imariagbe to shoot 9 for 15 from behind the arc. The Raiders made 13 3-pointers, the most Virginia has allowed this season.
No. 4 Alabama 90, No. 13 Hofstra 70
Labaron Philon Jr. took over by scoring 21 of his game-high 29 points in the second half as the Crimson Tide shrugged off an early 10-point deficit to handle the Pride during first-round play in Tampa, Fla.
Philon, who sported a bandage on his cut chin in the second half, made 10 of 18 shots and added eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. The Crimson Tide (24-9) played without No. 2 scorer Aden Holloway, who was suspended for first-degree felony marijuana possession, but Aiden Sherrill stepped forward with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Taylor Bol Bowen added 15 points while Amari Allen and Latrell Wrightsell contributed 11 points apiece.
Hofstra (24-11) built a 28-18 lead in hopes of extending its seven-game winning streak, but Alabama recovered to take a 37-35 edge by halftime. Preston Edmead paced the Pride with 24 points, four rebounds and four assists. Cruz Davis had 14 points and six assists while German Plotnikov scored 12 points.
No. 5 Texas Tech 91, No. 12 Akron 71
Jaylen Petty scored 24 points to lead five Red Raiders in double figures as they pulled away late for a win over the 12th-seeded Zips in Tampa, Fla.
Petty made 9 of 14 shots, helming a sensational shooting performance that saw No. 5 Texas Tech (23-10) make a season-best 64.2% of its shots to snap a three-game skid and win its NCAA Tournament opener for the sixth time in its last seven appearances. The Red Raiders face Alabama on Sunday.
Amani Lyles (26 points) and Shammah Scott (20 points) were the only two players in double figures for Akron (29-6), which had a 10-game winning streak snapped and fell to 0-8 in the NCAA Tournament. The Zips entered the day ranked 21st nationally in 3-point accuracy at 37.9%, but they made just 5 of 19 from long range (26.3%).
No. 6 Tennessee 78, No. 11 Miami (OH) 56
Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 22 of his 29 points in the first half and J.P. Estrella added 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Volunteers ended the magical season for the RedHawks in Philadelphia.
Felix Okpara added 12 points and five rebounds for Tennessee (23-11), which advanced to Sunday’s second round against No. 3 Virginia. Gillespie canned 8 of 12 from the field in the first half, which included 5 of 6 from 3-point range and finished with a game-high nine assists.
Peter Suder scored 27 as the only player in double figures for Miami (32-2), which dropped two of its final three games after setting a school and Mid-American Conference record with a 31-0 regular season. The RedHawks entered the game leading the nation in field goal percentage at 52.2%, but the Volunteers limited them to a season-worst 35.2% (19 of 54).
West Region
No. 1 Arizona 92, No. 16 Long Island 58
The Wildcats rode a rare 3-point barrage in the first half to overwhelm the underdog Sharks and roll to an easy first-round win in San Diego.
Arizona (33-2) came into the postseason averaging 5.9 3-pointers per game, but Tommy Lloyd’s team eclipsed that average before the final media timeout in first half as the Wildcats hit 6 of 9 from beyond the arc. Brayden Burries hit four 3-pointers in the first half en route to a game-high 18 points. Koa Peat added 15 points while Ivan Kharchenkov posted 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Long Island (24-11) shot well from deep in its own right, with Mason Porter-Brown (15 points) and Jamal Fuller (11 points) combining to knock down five 3-pointers by intermission, and six of the team’s eight for the contest. However, the Sharks’ struggles to contain the Wildcats on the interior proved insurmountable. Arizona scored 50 points in the paint, a portion of which came off the Wildcats’ 22 second-chance points. The bigger Arizona lineup dominated the glass, 52-31, with 16 on the offensive end.
No. 9 Utah State 86, No. 8 Villanova 76
MJ Collins Jr. scored seven of his 20 points in the final three minutes as the Aggies outscored the Wildcats 15-3 down the stretch to rally for the first-round win in San Diego.
Mason Falslev, the Mountain West Player of the Year, delivered 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Utah State (29-6), which will face top-seeded Arizona on Sunday. Adlan Elamin added 13 points and seven rebounds while Drake Allen contributed 11 points, six assists and three steals.
Bryce Lindsay paced all scorers with 25 points for Villanova (24-9), which built a 10-point lead early in the second half. Duke Brennan and Tyler Perkins added 15 points apiece. The Wildcats took their last lead, 73-71, with 6:04 to play on Lindsay’s sixth and final 3-pointer.
Utah State responded with a 9-0 run keyed by two Collins’ layups, then he delivered a breakaway dunk that made it 84-74 with 1:13 to go.
