NCAA Tournament roundup: Duke’s Zion Williamson shines in March Madness debut

Zion Williamson had an explosive NCAA Tournament debut with 25 points to lead top-seeded Duke to an 85-62 win over North Dakota State on Friday night in Columbia, South Carolina.

RJ Barrett led Duke (31-5) with 26 points and 14 rebounds and combined with Williamson for a prolific showing for the freshman stars. But it was Williamson who could not be contained in the second half, and he turned a tight early contest into a Duke runaway in the first round of the East Region.

Duke led just 31-27 at halftime, but Williamson opened the second half by driving on two defenders for a layup that drew a foul. He missed the free throw but slammed home the rebound, and his layup moments later gave the Blue Devils a 40-27 lead.

The Bison (19-16) never recovered.

Vinnie Shahid led the Bison with 20 points.

(12) Liberty 80, (5) Mississippi State 76: Caleb Homesley scored 22 of his 30 points in the second half and Lovell Cabbil hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:16 to play to send the Flames to the first NCAA Tournament win in school history in San Jose, California.

Liberty (29-6) had lost twice as a No. 16 seed and once in the play-in game.

Cabbil finished with 18 points and Myo Baxter-Bell added 13.

Homesley helped rally Liberty from a 10-point deficit in the second half by scoring 14 points in a span of less than five minutes. Cabbil’s 3 gave the Flames the lead for good, 72-70, and Liberty did the rest at the foul line to spoil the first tournament trip for Mississippi State (23-11) in a decade.

Quinndary Weatherspoon scored 27 points to lead the Bulldogs.

(10) Oregon 72, (7) Wisconsin 54: Payton Pritchard scored 19 points, Kenny Wooten protected the rim with four blocks, and the Ducks extended their surprising March run with a victory over the Badgers in San Jose, California

The Ducks (24-12) won four games in four days to win the Pac-12 tournament last week just to make the NCAAs then followed it with an impressive victory over a higher-seeded opponent.

Louis King added 17 points, Paul White scored all 14 points of his points in the second half and Wooten had nine points, six rebounds and the tone-setting blocks to give the Ducks their ninth straight win.

Ethan Happ and Khalil Iverson each scored 14 points to lead the Badgers (23-11).

(1) Virginia 71, (16) Gardner-Webb 56: The Cavaliers rallied from 14 points down to beat the Bulldogs and avert another first-round exit in Columbia, South Carolina.

The Cavaliers trailed 30-16 with 6:42 left in the first half of the South Region opener but rallied and cut the Runnin’ Bulldogs (23-12) lead to six at halftime.

Virginia (30-3) then opened the second half with a 25-5 run to put to rest any thoughts of an upset. The Cavaliers used their trademark stifling defense to force 11 Gardner-Webb turnovers in the first 12 minutes after the break.

De’Andre Hunter led the Cavaliers with 23 points and Mamadi Diakite added 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting and nine rebounds.

Jose Perez scored 19 points for Gardner-Webb, which was playing in its first NCAA Tournament.

Last year the Cavaliers were the top seed in the tournament and lost by 20 to No. 16 seed Maryland Baltimore County.

(2) Tennessee 77, (15) Colgate 70: Admiral Schofield had 19 points and the Volunteers held off a second-half rally by the Raiders in Columbus, Ohio.

Jordan Bone added 16 and Jordan Bowden 14 for Tennessee (30-5).

The Raiders (24-11) erased most of Tennessee’s 42-30 halftime lead with an 11-2 run, tied the score midway through the second half, and kept the game close after that.

Schofield hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Tennessee a cushion with 45 seconds left.

Jordan Burns had 32 points for Colgate, which played much of the game without leading scorer Rapolas Ivanauskas because of eye problems.

(6) Buffalo 91, (11) Arizona State 74: Jeremy Harris and Nick Perkins each scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds to help lead the Bulls past the Sun Devils in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

CJ Massinburg had 18 points and six rebounds for Buffalo (32-3), which won its 13th straight game.

Zylan Cheatham scored 22 points and had eight rebounds before fouling out with 2:06 remaining for Arizona State (23-11). Romello White and Luguentz Dort each added 12 points.

Arizona State trailed 44-31 at halftime and pulled within nine early in the second half before Buffalo’s 7-0 run pushed its lead to 16 with 16:13 remaining. The Bulls’ advantage never fell below 14 the rest of the way.

(13) UC Irvine 70, (4) Kansas State 64: UC Irvine got back-to-back 3-pointers from Evan Leonard to spark the deciding run in an upset over the Wildcats, the Anteaters’ first NCAA Tournament victory in school history in San Jose, California.

Leonard and Max Hazzard each scored 19 points to send UC Irvine (31-5) into the second round of the South Region.

One year after making a run to the Elite Eight, the fourth-seeded Wildcats (25-9) had a short stay in the tournament as they struggled to decipher the Anteaters zone defense and missed star forward Dean Wade, who was sidelined by a foot injury.

Kamau Stokes led Kansas State with 18 points.

(9) Washington 78, (8) Utah State 61: Noah Dickerson had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and the Huskies made a successful return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years in Columbus, Ohio.

Utah State (28-7) had won 10 in a row and 17 of 18 while taking the Mountain West title. The Aggies got the highest seed in school history and were trying to end their own long NCAA Tournament drought – they haven’t won since 2002.

Washington (27-8) got enough from its top players. Jaylen Nowell had 19 points and five assists and top defender Matisse Thybulle finished with 10 points, five steals and three blocks.

Brock Miller had 13 points for Utah State.

(3) Texas Tech 72, (14) Northern Kentucky 57: Jarrett Culver had 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to help the Red Raiders shake off a slow start against the Norse in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Tariq Owens scored 12 points and Davide Moretti had 10 for Texas Tech (27-6).

Northern Kentucky (26-9) got 23 points from Tyler Sharpe and 11 from Dantez Walton while giving the Red Raiders everything they could handle in the West Region.

(9) Oklahoma 95, (8) Mississippi 72: Rashard Odomes and Christian James scored 20 points apiece, Kristian Doolittle had 19 points and matched a career-high with 15 rebounds and the Sooners blitzed the Rebels in Columbia, South Carolina.

The Sooners (20-13) scored on eight of their first nine possessions for a 12-0 lead and led by 17 at halftime.

The Rebels (20-13) had looked like a tired team for more than a month, and eight days off didn’t appear to help. Terrence Davis led Ole Miss with 17 points.

(10) Iowa 79, (7) Cincinnati 72: Luka Garza scored 20 points, Jordan Bohannon made a three-point play during Iowa’s closing surge as the Hawkeyes rallied past the Bearcats in Columbus, Ohio.

The Hawkeyes (23-11) got their first NCAA Tournament win in four years despite what amounted to a home crowd for the Bearcats, who couldn’t overcome a subpar game by Jarron Cumberland. He was 3 of 9 from beyond the arc and finished with 18 points.

Point guard Justin Jenifer scored a career-high 19 points for Cincinnati (28-7), which hasn’t made it past the opening weekend for seven straight years.

(3) Houston 84, (14) Georgia State 55: Corey Davis scored 26 points to help the Cougars top the Panthers in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Fabian White had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Breaon Brady added 13 for Houston (32-3).

D’Marcus Simonds scored 18 points Georgia State (24-10), the Sun Belt Conference Tournament champion.

Houston rolled to a 15-3 lead in the first five minutes and the rout was on.

(9) UCF 73, (8) VCU: Tacko Fall had 10 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks as the Golden Knights topped the Rams in Columbia, South Carolina.

The 7-foot-6 Fall barely left his feet to haul in some rebounds as the Rams helplessly swiped at missed shots and struggled to find open space on drives to their baskets when the Knights’ towering center was nearby.

VCU tried many things to keep him from getting involved, including sending two people to face guard Fall – or come as close as possible to a player who stands more than a half-foot taller than anyone on the Rams’ roster.

The win, UCF’s first in five NCAA appearances, sets up an intriguing matchup with overall top seed Duke between the game’s tallest player in Fall and its most dynamic star in Blue Devils’ freshman Zion Williamson on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.

UCF (24-8) built a 21-point lead in the second half. The Rams (25-8) narrowed the margin to 62-55 on De’Riante Jenkins’ 3-pointer with 4:53 to go, but could get no closer.

(1) North Carolina 88, (16) Iona 73: Cameron Johnson scored 21 points, and the Tar heels quickly erased a five-point halftime deficit to the hot-shooting Gaels in Columbus, Ohio.

The Tar Heels (28-6), who came into the tournament as a top seed for a record 17th time, advanced to play Washington in the second round of the Midwest Region on Sunday. They’re hoping to reach their 11th Final Four.

Much like Gardner-Webb did earlier Friday against No. 1 seed Virginia – which last year became the first top seed to lose in the first round – Iona surprised the Tar Heels early with their energy and outside shooting. Ricky McGill made all four of his 3-point attempts in the opening half as the Gaels (17-16) led by as many as eight and took a 38-33 lead into halftime.

Iona’s advantage disappeared quickly. Johnson’s 3-pointer and Luke Maye’s jumper tied it 39 seconds into the second half, and an 18-4 run put North Carolina back on track.

(11) Ohio State 62, (6) Iowa State: The Buckeyes went from barely making the NCAA Tournament to a spot in the second round with an upset of the Cyclones in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Kaleb Wesson had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the 11th-seeded Buckeyes (20-14).

Keyshawn Woods added 19 points for Ohio State, while Musa Jallow added 11 points.

Iowa State (23-12) led just once in the second half but had a chance to send the game into overtime when Nick Weiler-Babb had an open attempt at a game-tying 3. His shot missed and ended the season for the Cyclones, who won the Big 12 Tournament to earn a spot in the NCAAs.

Marial Shayok scored 23 points and Lindell Wigginton added 14 for Iowa State.

(4) Virginia Tech 66, (13) Saint Louis 52: Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 20 points, Kerry Blackshear added 15 and the Hokies earned their first NCAA Tournament win in 12 years in San Jose, California.

The Hokies (25-8) had lost in the first round the past two years under coach Buzz Williams before finally breaking through.

Virginia Tech got a big boost to go along with the lopsided win with the return of star point guard Justin Robinson.

Javon Bess scored 14 points and D.J. Foreman added 12 for the Billikens (23-13), who lost in their first tournament game since 2014.