The Latest on the second full day of the NCAA Tournament:
Audi Crooks’ 40 points lift Iowa State
The Hawkeye State has another big-time scorer other than Caitlin Clark.
Audi Crooks bullied her way to 40 points on 18-of-20 shooting to lead seventh-seeded Iowa State over No. 10 seed Maryland 93-86 in the Portland 4 Region.
The 6-foot-3 Crooks added 12 rebounds and two blocks.
The Cyclones rallied from 20 points down. It’s the second-largest comeback in NCAA history, trailing only a 21-point rally by Texas A&M over Penn in 2017.
Iowa State advanced to face Stanford or Norfolk State in Stanford, California.
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BRACKET BUSTER: 13-seed Yale takes out Au
burn
The Ivy League has as many wins in this tournament right now as the SEC.
Yale, the No. 13 seed in the East region, beat fourth-seeded Auburn 78-76 on Friday. It’s the second win in NCAA tourney play ever for Yale.
Auburn led for 34 of the game’s 40 minutes. The SEC is 1-5 in the tournament so far; Tennessee won its opener but Auburn, Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Kentucky all were bounced in Round 1.
Up next for Yale: 2023 national finalist San Diego State on Sunday.
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WOMEN’S FINAL: Colorado 86, Drake 72
Fifth-seeded Colorado is moving into the second round after beating No. 12 seed Drake.
The Buffaloes will host Kansas State in the second round Sunday. Aaronette Vonleh led four scorers in double figures with 18. The Colorado men advanced earlier in the day, 102-100 over Florida.
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MEN’S FINAL: Texas A&M 98, Nebraska 83
No. 9 seed Texas A&M is headed to the second round after lighting up the scoreboard and overwhelming eighth-seeded Nebraska.
Backcourt trio Wayne Taylor IV (25), Manny Obaseki (22) and Tyrece Radford (20) combined to score 67 points for the Aggies, who will face Houston or Longwood in the second round.
Texas A&M hit 13 3-pointers, including nine in a 58-point first half.
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MEN’S FINAL: Duke 64, Vermont 47
No. 4 seed Duke is onto the second round after dispatching 13-seeded Vermont.
Mark Mitchel and Jared McCain scored 15 points apiece for the Blue Devils, who advanced to face Wisconsin or James Madison in the second round.
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WOMEN’S FINAL: Kansas State 78, Portland 65
Kansas State is moving on in the NCAA women’s tournament thanks to standout center Ayoka Lee’s 21 points and nine rebounds.
Lee made 7 of 12 shots and hit 7 of 8 from the free-throw line for the fourth-seeded Wildcats.
Gabby Gregory added 22 for the home team. K-State will face Colorado or Drake in the second round on Sunday.
Gohlke coming in hot
The only people not surprised by Oakland sharp-shooter Jack Gohlke’s 32-point outburst in an upset win over Kentucky may have been Gohlke and those who know him best.
While Gohlke’s social media blew up after he hit 10 3-pointers against the Wildcats, one shy of the NCAA Tournament record, his former coaches say what Gohlke did against Kentucky is nothing new.
“I mean this from the bottom of my heart, every single one of those shots he took and made are shots that he religiously practices every single day,” said Keven Bradley, an assistant coach during Gohlke’s final three years at Division II Hillsdale College, where he played before enrolling in Oakland.
▶ Read more: Jack Gohlke, Oakland’s masterful 3-point shooter
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MEN’S FINAL: Colorado 102, Florida 100
Colorado’s KJ Simpson’s baseline jumper with 1.7 seconds left – a shot that bounced around the rim several times before falling through – gave Colorado a narrow victory against seventh-seeded Florida.
The Gators frantically rallied behind Walter Clayton Jr. to tie the wild game in the waning seconds. But Simpson answered on the other end.
Clayton got off a final shot from beyond halfcourt that hit the backboard.
Colorado’s win kept the Pac 12 unbeaten through five games. The Southeastern Conference dropped to 1-5.
The Buffaloes advanced to face Marquette on Sunday.
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WOMEN’S FINAL: Alabama 82, Florida State 74
Alabama is moving on in the NCAA women’s tournament after beating Florida State.
Essence Cody led the way for the Crimson Tide with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Karly Weathers and Aaliyah Nye added 18 points apiece for Alabama, which advanced to face Texas in Austin on Sunday.
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WOMEN’S FINAL: LSU 70, Rice 60
Angel Reese and defending national champion LSU are moving on.
Reese and the No. 3 seeded Tigers escaped against Rice at home in Baton Rouge. Reese finished with 10 points and 19 rebounds. She missed 6 of 7 shots but made 8 of 10 from the free-throw line.
The Tigers will face 11th-seeded Middle Tennessee on Sunday.
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WOMEN’S FINAL: Virginia Tech 92, Marshall 49
Virginia Tech’s women rolled in their opener against Marshall, shooting 54% in an easy 92-49 win.
The percentage could have been even better.
The Hokies made 15 of 20 shots (75%) in a 20-minute stretch spanning midway through the first quarter and midway through the third, and they were shooting 63% for the game early in the fourth, before going cold and missing eight consecutive shots.
They had runs of 13-0, 13-0, 11-0 and 10-0 in the game.
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MTSU pulls first upset of women’s bracket
No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee overcame an 18-point, second quarter deficit to defeat sixth-seeded Louisville for the first upset of the women’s bracket.
The Blue Raiders appeared unnerved early, missing 10 of their first 13 shots. Ta’Mia Scott’s layup, Jalynn Gregory’s 3 and Savannah Wheeler’s layup cut it to 38-27 at halftime, and MTSU carried that momentum into the third quarter, closing to 44-40 on Wheeler’s second 3 of the game.
Merissah Russell’s halfcourt heave at the buzzer banged off the rim.
MTSU will play the winner of Rice vs. LSU in the second round.
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Duquesne’s Dambrot sounds off on NIL, portal
Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot will be retiring whenever the No. 11 seed Dukes get knocked out of the NCAA Tournament, and that could come as soon as Saturday, when they face third-seeded Illinois in the second round of the East Region.
So, when asked about the state of college basketball, from NIL money to the transfer portal, the 65-year-old Dambrot had no reason to hold back.
“I don’t like that guys can just quit so quickly. I don’t think that teaches them much,” he said of the transfer portal. “I think it teaches them to quit, and some guys should leave but other guys shouldn’t, and that’s the part I don’t really like. And the problem being able to do it multiple times — two, three, four and really unlimited right now — I don’t think that’s great. It’s not great for college basketball.”
Dambrot also took aim at Name, Image and Likeness money in college sports before offering a suggestion going forward.
“I wish there was a way to put it in a trust so they understand this is money they need to use for hte future, and not spend it all,” he said. “As we know, adults don’t do a very good job with money. Young people certainly aren’t going to do a very good job with money.”
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Owls bow out early
There will be no Final Four run for FAU this year.
No. 9 seed Northwestern got a layup late from Brooks Barnhizer to force the extra session, then dominated overtime to beat eighth-seeded Florida Atlantic. The Wildcats outscored the Owls 19-7 in OT.
Northwestern will face either top-seeded and defending national champion Connecticut or 16th-seeded Stetson on Sunday.
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MEN’S FINAL: Baylor 92, Colgate 67
Third-seeded Baylor is moving onto the second round.
The Bears never trailed in routing 14th-seeded Colgate. Jalen Bridges led four Bears in double figures. They led by as much as 25.
Baylor will play either Clemson or New Mexico on Sunday in the second round.
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Welcome back, Tyler
Marquette guard Tyler Kolek returned with a passion after missing six games with an injured oblique, knocking down his first two 3-pointers and scoring eight as the Golden Eagles lead Western Kentucky 13-12 at the first media timeout.
The nation’s No. 2 playmaker coming in (7.6 assists per game) had yet to record an assist through nine minutes but had three rebounds.
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CBS breaks into coverage for Kate, Princess of Wales, cancer announcement
CBS broke into coverage of the Florida Atlantic-Northwestern game for a special report with an announcement by Kate, the Princess of Wales, that she has been diagnosed with cancer.
Anchor Norah O’Donnell came onto the air at 2:01 p.m. ET during a stoppage in the FAU-Northwestern game.
The special report lasted only about two minutes. CBS went back to the game and no action was missed.
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WOMEN’S FINAL: Ohio State 80, Maine 57
Jacy Sheldon leads the way with 19 points and three other Buckeyes reach double-figures as Ohio State routs Maine 80-57 in a first round game in the NCAA women’s tournament.
The second-seeded Buckeyes advance to play the winner of the Duke-Richmond.
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WOMEN’S FINAL: North Carolina 59, Michigan State 56
North Carolina is into the second round of the women’s tournament after topping Michigan State 59-56 in the Albany 1 Region.
The Tar Heels will next play on Sunday. Barring a huge … enormous, really … upset, that game will be against top-ranked South Carolina. The Gamecocks play 16th-seeded Presbyterian later this afternoon.
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The men are underway, too
The second full day of the men’s NCAA Tournament is underway, with No. 8 seed Florida Atlantic and ninth-seeded Northwestern tipping off an East Region game in Brooklyn.
The winner is likely to face top overall seed UConn in the second round, provided the defending national champion Huskies get past 16th-seeded Stetson.
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Women’s tourney underway
No. 8 seed North Carolina and No. 9 seed Michigan State have started the first full day of the NCAA women’s tournament in Columbia.
Several players from top-overall seeded South Carolina are sitting near the court to watch before they start to prepare for their opener against 16th-seeded Presbyterian later Friday.
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A look back at Jack Gohlke’s night
There have been two instances of someone coming off the bench, making 10 3-pointers and not even trying a 2-pointer this season.
One was Oakland’s Jack Gohlke vs. IUPUI on Feb. 17. The other was Gohlke vs. Kentucky in the NCAA tournament last night.
That’s how rare what he did was. This season, Gohlke is truly one of a kind.
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Who will reach the women’s Final Four? A bracket analysis
The women’s NCAA Tournament field is set and now the fun begins, with 64 teams trying to win the national championship.
The stars are out with Caitlin Clark trying to get Iowa its first national championship and Angel Reese looking to help LSU repeat as champion. The third-seeded Tigers ended a 10-year run of No. 1-seeded teams winning the title last year.
Look for that to be a one-year thing. Here is a look at what could happen over the next few weeks:
Read More: Women’s bracket picks
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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