Jack Nunge blocked Terrell Burden’s driving try at a go-ahead layup within the remaining seconds, and Xavier dug out of a 13-point gap towards stunning Kennesaw State to flee with a 72-67 victory within the first spherical of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Souley Boum hit 4 clinching free throws within the remaining 2.6 seconds for the third-seeded Musketeers (26-9), who ran off 15 unanswered factors as a part of a game-ending 24-6 run. That was sufficient to show away the 14th-seeded Owls (26-9) in this system’s first-ever March Madness recreation.
Xavier strikes on to face both Iowa State or Pittsburgh on Sunday within the Midwest Region.
Xavier led 68-67 when Burden — who’d been profitable all day with dribble penetration — become the paint previous Jerome Hunter and appeared to have a path to the rim. The 7-foot Nunge moved over and swatted the ball into the backboard.
Kennesaw State made simply two baskets within the remaining 9:57 as its probabilities of a signature March second slipped away painfully.
HUGE BLOCK FOR XAVIER 😱<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>#MarchMadness</a> <a href=”https://t.co/NMiIZitmlg”>pic.twitter.com/NMiIZitmlg</a>
—@MarchMadnessMBB
Spartans survive
Joey Hauser scored 17 factors and No. 7 seed Michigan State clamped down defensively on No. 10 seed Southern California within the second half on Thursday for a 72-62 win within the first spherical of the NCAA Tournament’s East Region.
Coach Tom Izzo’s Spartans (20-12) will face the winner of the Vermont-Marquette matchup on Sunday for a spot within the Sweet 16. Marquette coach Shaka Smart sat on press row for a part of the second half to get a more in-depth have a look at what might be his subsequent opponent.
Smart watched as Michigan State ramped up its defensive depth after halftime to muzzle the streaky Trojans (22-11), who have been knocked out within the match’s first spherical for the second straight 12 months.
Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins added 12 factors apiece for Michigan State, which held USC to 34 per cent taking pictures within the second half. It felt like each possession was a problem for the Trojans, who solely stayed inside vary with some late 3-pointers and a few atrocious free-throw taking pictures by Michigan State.
Michigan State, showing in its twenty fifth straight match below Izzo, will transfer on in what has been a singular and difficult season for the Spartans. The staff turned the face of a grief-stricken college after a gunman killed three college students and injured 5 others in a campus taking pictures on Feb. 13.
Playing in Big Ten nation, and backed by a crowd sporting much more inexperienced on St. Patrick’s Day, the Spartans took management within the second half.
Baylor advances
Caleb Lohner scored a season-best 13 factors in simply 18 minutes, and No. 3 seed Baylor beat UC Santa Barbara 74-56.
Baylor (23-10) overcame a one-point halftime deficit to advance to play the Creighton-North Carolina State winner on Sunday within the South Region.
Lohner’s solely different double-digit efficiency since transferring from BYU to Baylor for this season got here again in November when he scored 11 towards Virginia.
The Gauchos (27-8) seemed like simple pickings for the Bears within the opening minutes earlier than they used a 13-1 run to take a 26-22 lead.
The Gauchos led the Mountain West Conference with a .493 taking pictures proportion and that sharpshooting carried over to Ball Arena, the place they shot 61.5 per cent within the first half to take a 36-35 lead into the locker room.
That all went away after halftime, nonetheless. The Gauchos have been held to 30.4 per cent taking pictures within the second half and the Bears pulled away.
