GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Markquis Nowell had 17 points and 14 assists and No. 3 seed Kansas State held off 14th-seeded Montana State 77-65 for its first NCAA Tournament win since knocking off Kentucky in 2018 to reach the Elite Eight. Now the two Wildcat programs will meet again in a rematch on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum. Kentucky, the sixth seed, defeated No. 11 Providence 61-53 in the earlier game. Nowell and fellow third-team Associated Press All-American Keyontae Johnson, who had 18 points and eight rebounds, proved too much for Bobcats to handle. RaeQuan Battle had 26 points on 9 of 17 shooting for Montana State, which had its eight-game win steak snapped.
DENVER (AP) — JaKobe Coles hit a floater from the lane with 1.5 seconds left and No. 6 seed TCU rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to beat 11th-seeded Arizona State 72-70 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Coles took a pass Mike Miles Jr. from near the top of the 3-point circle, dribbled once and let go of the game-winner. Arizona State’s desperation heave at the buzzer missed. Miles, playing on a hyperextended right knee, finished with 26 points for the Horned Frogs. They advanced to a second-round matchup with No. 3 seed Gonzaga on Sunday in the West Region. DJ Horne had 17 for Arizona State.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Norm Roberts appears to have transitioned smoothly into his acting head coach role for top-seeded Kansas despite all the day-to-day uncertainty and chatter about Bill Self’s status in the NCAA Tournament. Roberts says Self continues to do well in his recovery from the heart procedure he had less than two weeks ago. But it's still unknown whether Self will be on the bench for Saturday's second-round game against Arkansas. Roberts says he tries to do what Self would want to do when he makes in-game decisions.
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Nelly Cummings scored 13 points and No. 11 seed Pittsburgh held sixth-seeded Iowa State to 23% shooting in a 59-41 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Jamarius Burton added 11 points and Greg Elliott had 10 for coach Jeff Capel’s Panthers, who stormed to a 22-2 lead after Iowa State missed its first 11 shots. Things didn’t get much better for the Cyclones, who had three stretches where they missed at least eight consecutive shots. Gabe Kalscheur and Jaren Holmes each had 12 points for Iowa State. Pitt moves on to Sunday’s second-round game against third-seeded Xavier in the Midwest Region.
DENVER (AP) — Caleb Lohner scored a season-best 13 points in just 18 minutes, and No. 3 seed Baylor beat UC Santa Barbara 74-56 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Adam Flagler led the Bears with 18 points, and LJ Cryer scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half. Next up for 23-10 Baylor is the Creighton-North Carolina State winner on Sunday in the South Region. Lohner’s only other double-digit performance since transferring from BYU to Baylor for this season came back in November when he scored 11 against Virginia.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Purdue’s Matt Ramos ended Iowa star Spencer Lee’s chase for four national titles with a pin in the closing seconds of their semifinal match on Friday night. That will leave Cornell’s Yianni Diakomihalis as the only wrestler still in contention for a fourth Division I title on Saturday. He defeated Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness 8-3 in his semifinal match at 149 pounds. If Diakomihalis defeats Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso in the final, he will become the fifth Division I wrestler to win four championships. Penn State is closing in on its 10th national title in 12 years.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Cate Reese scored 25 points and Esmery Martinez had a double-double against her former team to help seventh-seeded Arizona to a 75-62 victory over 10th-seeded West Virginia in the women’s NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats started fast and never trailed. They'll play Maryland next. Arizona entered the tournament on a three-game losing streak. Martinez had 13 points and 12 rebounds. JJ Quinerly led West Virginia with 19 points.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas fought through a season of injuries and early losses that knocked them from preseason No. 3 all the way to unranked at one point. Coach Vic Schaefer even complained his team just wasn't tough. The Longhorns rallied to win a share of the Big 12 title and earn a critical No. 4 seed to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Texas will face No. 13 East Carolina in the first round. Saturday's other matchup in Austin pits No. 5 Louisville against No. 12 Drake. Like Texas, Louisville rallied from early losses after a top-10 start.
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