NCAA Latest: Powerhouse Sweet 16 includes most of top seeds
The Latest on the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament (all times Eastern):
10:25 p.mm.
Michigan vs. Texas Tech is as advertised so far.
Kenpom.com’s top two defenses in the country are tied at 6 at the under-12-minute timeout in the first half. The teams are a combined 5 of 23 from the field and have turned the ball over six times.
Charles Matthews leads all scorers with four points.
The winner faces Gonzaga in the regional final.
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10:10 p.m.
The last perfect bracket among NCAA Tournament fans is busted.
Well, as busted as you can get at 49-1.
A 40-year-old neuropsychologist who had the bracket on NCAA.com had changed his Twitter name to Gregg “Perfect Bracket” Nigl. Mr. Perfect is no more after Purdue’s overtime win over Tennessee.
Nigl (NIGH-gull) became an overnight celebrity after making it through the first two rounds with correct picks on all 48 games. It’s a nearly impossible feat, even during a tournament that’s gone mostly to the favorites.
Nigl had all No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the Elite Eight.
Here’s some brutal luck: The loss dropped Nigl’s bracket to sixth place in the NCAA’s bracket challenge.
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10:05 p.m.
Purdue is in the South Region final after outlasting Tennessee 99-94 in overtime.
Carsen Edwards made two of three free throws with 1.7 seconds remaining in regulation to force OT for the Boilermakers. He followed with six more in the extra session, including a free throw with 6 seconds left to seal the game. Edwards finished with 29 points.
Ryan Cline had 27 before fouling out as Purdue reached its first regional final since 2000.
The third-seeded Boilermakers face either No. 1 seed Virginia or No. 12 seed Oregon on Saturday.
Purdue won despite shooting 16 of 33 on free-throw attempts and squandering an 18-point, second-half lead.
Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield each scored 21 points for second-seeded Tennessee.
-Gary Graves reporting from Louisville, Kentucky
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9:40
Tennessee and Purdue are headed to overtime after a pulsating second half in which the Volunteers rallied from an 18-point deficit.
Tennessee actually led by two, but Purdue’s Carsen Edwards was fouled shooting a 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds remaining. He missed the first free throw but made the next two to tie it at 82.
Edwards has 23 points and teammate Ryan Cline scored 27. Tennessee shot 20 of 30 from the field and 7 of 10 from 3-point range in the second half.
Tennessee and Purdue also went to overtime last season in Tennessee’s Battle 4 Atlantis victory over the Boilermakers.
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9:20 p.m.
Gonzaga is the first team in the Elite Eight.
The Bulldogs beat Florida State 72-58, holding off the Seminoles and advancing to face either Michigan or Texas Tech in the regional final.
Rui Hachimura scored 17 points, one of four Gonzaga players with at least 14. Trent Forrest scored 20 for Florida State.
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9:10 p.m.
Top-seeded Gonzaga is trying to hold on against Florida State.
The Seminoles, who once trailed by 14, are down 63-56 with 2:06 to play. They actually were down by just four, but Gonzaga’s Zach Norvell Jr. connected on a 3-pointer.
Florida State is just 3 of 17 from beyond the arc.
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9:05 p.m.
Purdue is still shooting impressively, and the Boilermakers lead Tennessee 65-51 in the second half.
The Boilermakers are 10 of 15 from the field in the second half. For the game, they’re shooting 59 percent and 11 of 24 from 3-point range.
Admiral Schofield hit his first bucket of the game on a jumper for Tennessee, and the Vols chipped away after trailing by 18, but they haven’t been able to match the shots Purdue keeps taking — and making.
Carsen Edwards, who is now Purdue’s career leader in NCAA Tournament scoring, has 21 points, bringing his career total to 174.
— Teresa M. Walker reporting from Louisville, Kentucky.
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8:45 p.m.
Florida State’s depth continues to be tested as the Seminoles try to rally against Gonzaga.
The Seminoles already were playing without Phil Cofer and David Nichols. Christ Koumadje has four fouls. And PJ Savoy just appeared to injure a shoulder.
Gonzaga leads the Seminoles 55-45 with 11:29 left in the game.
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8:25 p.m.
Purdue’s Carsen Edwards has been impressive again. Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield hasn’t gotten going yet.
Edwards has 15 points, and the Boilermakers lead the Volunteers 40-28 at halftime. Schofield has only one point, on a free throw in the final minute. Tennessee’s Lamonte Turner has scored only two.
Both teams have been awful on free throws. Purdue is 1 of 5 and Tennessee is 4 of 13. Jordan Bowden, who entered the night shooting 85.7 percent from the line, is 1 of 6 for the Volunteers.
Edwards entered this South Regional semifinal as the NCAA Tournament’s active career leader with 153 points. He was coming off a 42-point effort against Villanova. Edwards missed a layup and two 3-pointers before making a layup and a 3 just 24 seconds apart to give Purdue an 18-13 lead.
Tennessee had only trailed by double digits in three other games, two of which were losses.
— Gary B. Graves reporting from Louisville, Kentucky.
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8:10 p.m.
Josh Perkins stole the ball and made a three-point play in the final seconds of the first half, giving Gonzaga a 38-27 lead over Florida State at the break.
Perkins and Rui Hachimura lead the Bulldogs with 10 points apiece. Gonzaga started out 1 of 6 on 3-pointers but is now 5 of 13.
Florida State has nine turnovers and is 10 of 30 from the field. The Seminoles also had some foul issues. RaiQuan Gray, Mfiondu Kabengele and 7-foot-4 center Christ Koumadje each have two fouls.
Terance Mann has just two points on a pair of free throws for the Seminoles. Mann scored a game-high 18 points for Florida State in its regional semifinal victory over Gonzaga last season.
This is the third time in the last 10 years that these two teams have met in the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga won 67-60 in the round of 64 in 2010, while Florida State won 75-60 last year.
— Joe Reedy reporting from Anaheim, California
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7:45 p.m.
Purdue made its first four shots from the field and leads Tennessee 18-13 in their Sweet 16 matchup.
The Boilermakers didn’t miss until Carsen Edwards, the Big Ten’s scoring leader this season, had his layup blocked by Tennessee forward Grant Williams with 16:44 left in the first half.
The Volunteers have shot 5 of 13 to start the South Regional semifinal. Matt Harms, Purdue’s 7-foot-3 center, has been bothering Tennessee with his length inside.
— Teresa M. Walker reporting from Louisville, Kentucky.
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6:40 p.m.
RaiQuan Gray will get his third straight start for Florida State in place of Phil Cofer, who is not with the team for its West regional semifinal game against Gonzaga following the death of his father on March 21.
The 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman scored 8 points in the Seminoles’ first-round victory over Vermont and then had 11 points, including three 3-pointers, in the second round against Murray State. Gray is averaging 4.0 points on the season but is known more for his defense. He is tied for second on the team with 27 steals.
Senior guard David Nichols remains doubtful after sustaining an ankle injury during the first round against Vermont.
— Joe Reedy reporting from Anaheim, California.
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5 p.m.
Oregon is the closest thing to a long shot left in the NCAA Tournament. And the 12th-seeded Ducks have made the Sweet 16 three out of the last four years.
Next up for Oregon is No. 1 seed Virginia. The teams will match up in Thursday night’s last game.
No. 2 seed Tennessee faces third-seeded Purdue in the other matchup in Louisville, Kentucky, while Gonzaga-Florida State and Texas Tech-Michigan decide the finalists in the West Region in Anaheim, California.
Dana Altman’s squad from Eugene, Oregon, is one of only two teams left in the tournament seeded outside the top four. The other, No. 5 seed Auburn, was a small favorite when it beat No. 4 seed Kansas in the second round.
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4:30 p.m.
Florida State (29-7) will be without senior Phil Cofer when it faces Gonzaga (32-3) at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Cofer learned after Florida State’s first-round win over Vermont that his father, former NFL player Mike Cofer, had died after a long illness. The funeral is Saturday in Georgia.
Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton says: “Life sometimes gives you those types of curve balls that you’ve just got to learn how to adjust and deal with the best you can.”
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4:15 p.m.
North Carolina forward Garrison Brooks will wear an accessory for Friday’s Midwest Region semifinal against Auburn: a mouth guard.
“Hindsight,” he said, laughing, “I would have worn one since Day One.”
Brooks caught an elbow to the mouth from Washington’s Noah Dickerson in Sunday’s 81-59 second-round win in Columbus, Ohio. One tooth was knocked out, another was chipped and his lip was cut. He missed the last 12 minutes of the first half to get stitched up and returned for the second half.
A thin wire brace stretched across Brooks’ front six teeth Thursday.
Brooks has started every game for the Tar Heels and averages 8 points and 5.7 rebounds. He’s a big communicator on defense, but he said the injury didn’t keep him from talking when he got back on the court.
“It wasn’t very painful,” he said. “As long as my mouth stop bleeding, I was OK.”
How’s it been to eat?
“It’s been bothering me to eat, I’m not going to lie,” said Brooks, adding that he has no food restrictions as his mouth heals.
— Eric Olson reporting from Kansas City, Missouri.
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4 p.m.
Tennessee (31-5) and Purdue (25-9) have some familiarity with one another ahead of their Sweet 16 matchup.
The teams met in the Battle 4 Atlantis in November 2017, and Tennessee returned most of the team that beat Purdue 78-75 in overtime.
The Boilermakers have a bunch of new faces.
Tennessee’s Grant Williams says that win was important for his team’s season, but the Volunteers have to be prepared for the changed team playing Thursday night.
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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/MarchMadness and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.
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