Falcons

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Jamarius Burton made a go-ahead jumper with 10 seconds left and Pitt edged Mississippi State 60-59 in a back-and-forth First Four game Tuesday night that featured 21 lead changes &mdash; most in the NCAA Tournament in five years.
Mississippi State had a great chance to win at the end, but Shakeel Moore missed a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner with two seconds remaining off an inbounds play. D.J. Jeffries&rsquo; tip-in attempt was off target just before the buzzer.
Nelly Cummings led Pitt with 15 points. Greg Elliott scored 13 and Blake Hinson added 12 as the Panthers (23-11) won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2014.
They slotted into the Midwest Region bracket as the 11th seed and advanced to face No. 6 seed Iowa State on Friday in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Dashawn Davis had 15 points for the Bulldogs (21-13).
TEXAS A&amp;M-CORPUS CHRISTI 75, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE 71
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Isaac Mushila had 15 points and 12 rebounds as Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi held off Southeast Missouri State to earn the first NCAA Tournament win in program history.
Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi went 3 of 4 at the free-throw line in the final 15 seconds to ice the game and advance to play top-seeded Alabama in the South Region on Thursday in Birmingham, Alabama.
The 16th-seeded Islanders (24-10), winners of the Southland Conference, returned to the First Four for a second straight season and led for all but 23 seconds in the opening game of this NCAA Tournament.
Southeast Missouri State (19-17) erased a 10-point deficit and tied it at 64 with 3:07 left.
Jalen Jackson led the Islanders with 22 points. Trevian Tennyson scooped in a slick layup off the glass to give Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi a 72-69 lead with 22 seconds remaining.
Chris Harris scored 23 points before fouling out for the Redhawks, the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champions. Phillip Russell came up short on a good look at a potential tying 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds to go.
Southeast Missouri State went 9 of 20 at the free-throw line.

The Pitt Panthers and Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders advanced to the Round of 64 in two First Four contests.

Pitt gets past Mississippi St in first March Madness games

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Marcus Hammond and Cormac Ryan each scored 20 points as Notre Dame won longtime coach Mike Brey&rsquo;s final home game with an 88-81 victory over No. 25 Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.
Nate Laszewski and Trey Wertz each added 14 points as the Fighting Irish (11-19, 3-16 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapped a seven-game losing streak.
Brey, who is stepping down at season&rsquo;s end and received warm ovations from the crowd before and after the game, improved to 315-76 at Purcell Pavilion over 23 years as Notre Dame coach.
&ldquo;What an unbelievable night,&rdquo; Brey said over the public address. &ldquo;We defended pretty much the whole game. I thought we were good defensively. &hellip; It was neat for our seniors to finish like that.&rdquo;
Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings and Nike Sibande all scored 19 points, and Blake Hinson added 15 points and 13 rebounds, for the Panthers (21-9, 14-5), who entered with wins in eight of their last nine games. Pitt was playing its first game since moving into the AP Top 25 for the first time in seven years.
&ldquo;First and foremost, congrats to Notre Dame,&rdquo; Panther coach Jeff Capel said. &ldquo;They were terrific. I knew they would come out and be really inspired and emotional (with five grad players in their starting lineup), and obviously being the last game here for Coach Brey.&rdquo;
Pitt, the conference leader going in, had a chance to clinch at least a tie for its first ACC title across its 10 years in the league, but struggled with its shooting.
The Panthers finished 7 of 22 on 3-pointers and 20 of 36 at the line, while the Irish closed 10 of 27 and 26 of 31. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of things we didn&rsquo;t do well,&rdquo; Capel said, &ldquo;but I love the fight that we had.&rdquo;
Notre Dame led by a high of 61-41 at 11:49 remaining, after scoring the final 11 points of the first half for a 42-28 advantage at the break. Late-rallying Pitt got no closer than 84-79 at 38 seconds remaining.
BIG PICTURE 
Pittsburgh: While the Panthers appear safely into the NCAA Tournament field, their 2-2 mark over their last four games while facing entirely sub-.500 ACC teams won&rsquo;t help their seeding. They can still trend back up with a win at Miami or an extended league tourney run.
Notre Dame: While the win was sweet for the Irish, barring a miracle title in next week&rsquo;s ACC Tournament and thus the league&rsquo;s automatic NCAA Tourney bid, they&rsquo;ll be turning their full attention toward hiring Brey&rsquo;s successor.
BREY-KING AWAY 
Brey had declared Tuesday that he would be heading over to the Linebacker, an iconic bar just off the Notre Dame campus, immediately after Wednesday&rsquo;s game and that all others were welcome as well. &ldquo;I gotta get over to the Linebacker,&rdquo; Brey said to start his postgame radio interview over the PA while doubling down on his Tuesday intentions. True to his word the coach went to the bar. Brey said he had never been in the bar in all his 23 years at Notre Dame and thought this would be a fitting time. The PA interview lasted just three minutes and he did not conduct a postgame press conference.
CAPEL CIRCLES BACK 
Capel was asked if this was an emotional night for him as well. The first two years of his playing career at Duke, beginning in 1993, were also the final two years of Brey&rsquo;s time as an assistant with the Blue Devils. Brey has described Capel as &ldquo;like a son.&rdquo; &ldquo;Certainly I love Coach Brey, Capel said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been a big part of my life since I was about 17 years old.&rdquo; Added Capel, &ldquo;We were excited about the opportunity to play them in Coach Brey&rsquo;s final home game here (given) how much he&rsquo;s put into this program.&rdquo;
UP NEXT 
Pittsburgh: At least a share of the ACC regular-season title goes to the winner when the Panthers visit No. 16 Miami (23-6, 14-5) in Saturday night&rsquo;s league finale. No. 13 Virginia (22-6, 14-5) remains in the mix as well and hosts last-place Louisville (4-26, 2-17) Saturday.
Notre Dame: The Irish conclude their regular season Saturday at Clemson (21-9, 13-6), where the Tigers may need a win to assure a top-four finish in the ACC and a double bye in next week&rsquo;s league tourney.

Brey is stepping down at season’s end and received warm ovations from the Notre Dame crowd before and after the game.

Notre Dame wins coach Mike Brey’s home finale, upsets Pitt

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Jahvon Quinerly scored 24 points, Brandon Miller made the clinching free throws with six seconds left and No. 2 Alabama rallied from a 17-point deficit before beating archrival Auburn 90-85 in overtime Wednesday night.
The Crimson Tide (26-4, 16-1 Southeastern Conference) clinched outright their second regular-season SEC title in three years but continued to live on the edge over a troubling eight days that included courtroom revelations in a capital murder trial.
Miller rebounded teammate Jaden Bradley&rsquo;s missed dunk and drew a foul, making both free throws. Noah Clowney had blocked K.D. Johnson&rsquo;s layup attempt on the other end.
The Tigers (19-11, 9-8), who had three key players foul out, couldn&rsquo;t close it out after leading almost the entire way in regulation. They were up 17 with under 11 minutes left.
Alabama won its fourth straight but the past three have gone down to the wire since courtroom revelations tied freshmen Miller and Bradley to the scene of a murder. Neither has been charged or accused of a crime, but then-teammate Darius Miles and another man are facing capital murder charges.
Police said Miles texted Miller asking him to bring the gun.
NO. 22 TCU 75, NO. 9 TEXAS 73
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; Damion Baugh scored a career-high 24 points, Emanuel Miller had 20 and TCU denied Texas a chance to play for a share of the Big 12 title in its upcoming regular-season finale.
Baugh scored on a breakaway layup off the opening tip and the Horned Frogs (20-10, 9-8 Big 12) never trailed. It was the second loss in a row and third in five games for the Longhorns (22-8, 11-6), who haven&rsquo;t won a regular-season conference crown since 2008.
Texas hosts third-ranked Kansas (25-5, 13-4) on Saturday. The Jayhawks had already clinched at least a piece of the Big 12 title Tuesday night, and now know they won&rsquo;t have to share it.
Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 16 points for the Longhorns, and Tyrese Hunter had 15.
NO. 10 GONZAGA 104, CHICAGO STATE 65
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 17 points in what&rsquo;s expected to be his final home game at Gonzaga, and the Bulldogs trounced Chicago State in a postseason tune-up.
Timme made his 99th start at Gonzaga. The senior forward ranks second on the school&rsquo;s career scoring list, 21 points behind Frank Burgess (1958-61).
The 6-foot-10 Timme has played four seasons at Gonzaga but could return for a fifth because of extra eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has not announced any definitive plans.
Fellow senior Rasir Bolton added 15 points for the Zags (26-5), who won their seventh straight game. Malachi Smith scored 14.
Jahsean Corbett led Chicago State (11-19) with 22 points and seven rebounds.
Gonzaga added the game to avoid going more than a week without playing before the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas.
NO. 11 KANSAS STATE 85, OKLAHOMA 69
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Desi Sills flirted with a triple-double in his Bramlage Coliseum farewell and Kansas State held on to beat Oklahoma.
Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell also had big senior send-offs for the Wildcats. Sills finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while Johnson had 16 points and Nowell added 11 points and 10 assists to help Kansas State (23-7, 11-6 Big 12) snap a three-game skid against the Sooners.
Nae&rsquo;Qwan Tomlin scored 19 points for Kansas State, which led by 20 early in the second half before the Sooners (14-16, 4-13) made a late run. Milos Uzan had 20 points to lead Oklahoma.
NO. 14 UCONN 88, DEPAUL 59
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Adama Sanogo scored 26 points to lead five UConn players in double figures and the Huskies closed out their home schedule in emphatic style with an easy win over skidding DePaul.
Andre Jackson filled up the stat sheet for Connecticut (23-7, 12-7 Big East) with 11 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Tristen Newton added 12 points for the Huskies, who have won four straight and seven of eight.
Nick Ongenda tied a career high with 17 points for DePaul (9-21, 3-16), which has lost 11 in a row.
UConn put the game away early, opening on a 29-2 run.
NO. 19 XAVIER 94, NO. 20 PROVIDENCE 89
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Souley Boum scored a season-high 33 points and Colby Jones added a career-best 29 to help Xavier beat Providence and clinch the No. 2 seed in the Big East Tournament.
Ed Croswell had 17 points with 13 rebounds, and Bryce Hopkins also scored 17 for Providence, which cut a 22-point first-half deficit to two in the second half.
It was the Friars&rsquo; first loss at home in 16 games this season.
With one game remaining, Xavier (22-8, 14-5 Big East) has a one-game lead over Providence (21-9, 13-6) and controls the tiebreaker, having swept their two regular-season matchups.
OHIO STATE 73, NO. 21 MARYLAND 62
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Felix Okpara had 12 points and 12 rebounds to help Ohio State finish its home schedule with a win over Maryland.
Justice Sueing had 16 points to lead six Buckeyes in double figures. Ohio State (13-17, 5-14 Big Ten) jumped ahead early with a 12-0 run and didn&rsquo;t give up the lead the rest of the way.
Julian Reese had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Terrapins (20-10, 11-8).
VANDERBILT 68, NO. 23 KENTUCKY 66
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Jordan Wright hit a go-ahead fall-away jumper in the lane with 2.6 seconds remaining to finish with 23 points, and Vanderbilt topped Kentucky for its first win at Rupp Arena since January 2007.
The surging Commodores (17-13, 10-7 Southeastern Conference) earned their seventh win in eight games and are 7-3 since losing to Kentucky 69-53 last month in Nashville.
Wright&rsquo;s drive tied the game with 42 seconds left, and Tyrin Lawrence grabbed Antonio Reeves&rsquo; missed jumper with 20 seconds to go.
Reeves&rsquo; 3-point attempt missed the rim altogether as time expired. Kentucky had won its previous four and re-entered the rankings on Monday for the first time in seven weeks.
Oscar Tshiebwe had 21 points and 20 rebounds for the Wildcats (20-10, 11-6).
NOTRE DAME 88, NO. 25 PITTSBURGH 81
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Marcus Hammond and Cormac Ryan each scored 20 points as Notre Dame beat Pittsburgh to win longtime coach Mike Brey&rsquo;s final home game.
Nate Laszewski and Trey Wertz each added 14 points for the Fighting Irish (11-19, 3-16 Atlantic Coast Conference), who snapped a seven-game losing streak.
Brey, stepping down at season&rsquo;s end, received warm ovations from the crowd before and after the game. He improved to 315-76 at Purcell Pavilion over 23 years as Notre Dame coach.
Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings and Nike Sibande all scored 19 points for Pittsburgh. Blake Hinson added 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Panthers (21-9, 14-5), who lost for only the second time in 10 games. They were playing their first game since moving into the AP Top 25 for the first time in seven years.

A recap of Wednesday's top-25 action in men's college hoops includes the Crimson Tide winning the regular-season SEC title.

No. 2 Alabama rallies from 17 down to top rival Auburn in OT

The second day of the 2022 NCAA tournament featured some slugfests, some blowouts, as well as a First Four team surviving another day. The Round of 32 is now completely locked-in, and we&rsquo;ll also take a peek at the must-watch matchups for Saturday.&nbsp;
UPSET ALERT&nbsp;
West Region: 11-seed Notre Dame defeats 6-seed Alabama 78-64
Alabama in recent seasons has had a strong program, with a number of players in the conversation for the NBA draft. This year the Crimson Tide&rsquo;s season has been a bit of a roller coaster, including a major win over arguably the best team in college basketball, Gonzaga, but also key SEC and non-conference losses that show in their 19-13 record coming into this game. Notre Dame had their fair share of ups and downs as well, but came into this first round matchup with momentum off their First Four double-OT win against Rutgers. The upset potential was apparent, and the Fighting Irish delivered behind a huge game from Cormac Ryan. The junior guard finished with a season-high 29 points, well above his 9.2 PPG average. Ryan has been coming on strong for the Irish with 20 and 16 points in their last two games respectively. Thanks to the efforts of Ryan and impressive freshman wing Blake Wesley &mdash; he scored 18 &mdash; Notre Dame moved on to play third-seeded Texas Tech in the second round.
Midwest Region: 11-seed Iowa State defeats 6-seed LSU 59-54
These were two teams with similar records that had similar patterns to their seasons &mdash; they both started the year with 12 game winning streaks that went through Christmas. However, playing in two of the best conferences in the country in the SEC and Big 12, both teams took their lumps through the remainder of the season. Although Iowa State took an 11-point lead around the 7-minute mark in the second half, LSU made an 11-1 run that brought the game within one point with under two minutes remaining. Iowa State pulled out the low scoring win with Tyrese Hunter being the team's major difference maker, dropping 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc. The freshman guard&rsquo;s clutch shooting clinic included two late threes that helped Iowa State pull away from the Tigers at the end. Hunter&rsquo;s 5 steals also led a stingy Cyclones defense that recorded 15 total. Iowa State&rsquo;s victory means they advance to the second round to take on third-seeded Wisconsin on Sunday.
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BEST GAMES OF THE DAY
Midwest Region
No. 10 seed Miami defeats No. 7 seed USC 68-66
This matchup was tightly contested throughout the first 15 minutes, until Miami began to break the game open and took a 13-point lead with three minutes remaining in the first half. USC&rsquo;s offense grew stagnant, and the Hurricanes took advantage with a 31-20 lead at halftime. However, the Trojans came fighting back to begin the second half with two threes and a fast break layup from Isaiah Mobley (he finished with 11 points) to bring them within one. From this point it was a back and forth battle that favored Miami, yet USC would manage a big basket to keep it close &mdash; USC was down by seven points with 45 seconds left in the game. A Doug Peterson three, a Miami out-of-bounds call, and then another Peterson three brought the Trojans back within one, with 25.3 seconds left in the game.
After free throws from both teams, it was tied at 66 in the final moments. Charlie Moore drove to the lane and attempted a contested layup, which earned him a foul call. Moore stepped to the line and knocked down two free throws to seal the game. A halfcourt heave at the buzzer almost fell for Doug Peterson &mdash; he ended the game with a valiant effort of 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Miami&rsquo;s Isaiah Wong led the Hurricanes with 22 points while dealing with foul trouble and Moore followed with 16 points. Miami will see second-seeded Auburn in the second round.&nbsp;
South Region
No. 4 seed Illinois defeats No. 13 seed Chattanooga 54-53
Illinois only led this game for 25 seconds, but it was the most important time to do so. Chattanooga jumped on Illinois early, with a 14-3 lead in the first five minutes. The Mocs had control over most of the first half, but a Fighting Illini run at the end of period brought the score to 33-29.&nbsp;
The second half started much like the first with Chattanooga playing good basketball and giving themselves an 11-point cushion, but a very resilient Illinois team fought back again and kept the game within one or two possessions over the course of the closing minutes. After some questionable possessions by Chattanooga, Illinois took its first lead of the game on a Kofi Cockburn putback with 47 seconds remaining. The Mocs received a trip to the line on the next possession and two free throws were knocked down by SOCON Player of the Year Malachi Smith (who finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds), which gave his team the lead.
On the following possession Alfonso Plummer was fouled and hit two free throws for the Illini to take the lead back. On the final possession, the Mocs gave the ball to Smith who had two looks to take home the win &mdash; he was blocked on a left hand drive, then shot a last second midrange jumper that went just a tad long. Cockburn finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds and Plummer provided 15 points of his own. Illinois avoided the upset and will face fifth-seeded Houston on Sunday.
West Region
No. 7 seed MSU defeats No. 10 seed Davidson 74-73
An up-and-down season for Michigan State had some experts predicting Davidson would come away with this game. However, an impressive 27 points on 9-12 from the floor by Joey Hauser was the big difference.
An interesting storyline revolved around Davidson&rsquo;s transfer starting point guard, Foster Loyer &mdash; he's a Michigan native who made the move down to play with the Wildcats after three seasons of limited production for the Spartans. This proved to be a good move for Loyer, as he&rsquo;s been the leading scorer and assist man for Davidson with 16.1 points and 3.3 assists per game this season. The motivation was there for Davidson, and the team played with a confidence that showed each time the team came up with an answer to Michigan State&rsquo;s attempts to pull away.
Davidson took a five-point lead with under seven minutes to go, but with some big buckets by Hauser, heady play by AJ Hoggard (14 points) and a three from Gabe Brown (12 points), the Spartans made a 10-0 run to take a five-point lead of their own with under four minutes left. Michigan State had an eight point lead with one minute remaining, but a late push by the Wildcats with some great clock management, clutch baskets and pressure defense that led to a bad MSU turnover brought the game back in reach. However, in the end, Michigan State was able to close it out with two Tyson Walker free throws. Michigan State will take on second-seeded Duke in the round of 32.
No. 3 seed Wisconsin beats No. 14 seed Colgate 67-60
Colgate is one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, and came into this game on a 15-game winning streak. The Patriot League champs made sure Wisconsin knew this one wouldn&rsquo;t be easy. However, this would be the Raiders&rsquo;s biggest test, as the Badgers won the Big Ten regular season championship and have a projected lottery pick in Johnny Davis.
Colgate found success scoring the ball from inside before unleashing their long-range prowess. Senior Nelly Cummings for Colgate finished the game with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists &mdash; he gave the Badgers trouble on all three levels. Cummings even locked the game at 28-all with a baseline reverse layup at the buzzer to go into halftime.
But the stars shine bright on the big stage and, after a slow start, Johnny Davis got going in the second half. Davis finished with 25 points on 8 for 20 shooting from the floor and added 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Tyler Wahl followed Davis with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals of his own. The Raiders played a strong game but wore down as the battle-tested Badgers showed up down the stretch. Wisconsin has a date with 11th-seeded Iowa State in the next round.
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OTHER FIRST-ROUND RESULTS
Midwest Region
2-seed Auburn defeats 15-seed Jacksonville State 80-61
East Region
3-seed Purdue defeats 14-seed Yale 78-56
6-seed Texas defeats 11-seed Virginia Tech 81-73
South Region
No. 1 seed Arizona defeats No. 16 seed Wright State 87-70
No. 2 seed Villanova defeats No. 15 seed Delaware 80-60
No. 5 seed Houston defeats No. 12 seed UAB 82-68
No. 7 seed Ohio State defeats No. 10 seed Loyola Chicago 54-41
No. 9 seed TCU defeats No. 8 seed Seton Hall 69-42
West Region
No. 2 seed Duke defeats 15-seed Cal State Fullerton 78-61
No. 3 seed Texas Tech defeats 14-seed Montana State 97-62
MUST-WATCH SECOND-ROUND GAMES ON DAY 3
No. 1 seed Gonzaga vs. No. 9 seed Memphis - 9:40 PM EST
A highly anticipated second round matchup of two potential top-10 picks in Chet Holmgren and Jalen Duren.&nbsp;
No. 1 seed Baylor vs. 8-seed North Carolina - 12:10 PM EST
Baylor is missing two key pieces due to injury, &mdash;LJ Cryer and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua &mdash;&nbsp;while UNC is playing some of its best basketball of the season. Caleb Love is worth keeping an eye on.
No. 4 seed UCLA vs. 5-seed Saint Mary&rsquo;s - 7:10 PM EST
The Bruins are hoping to get back to the Final Four while Saint Mary&rsquo;s wants to prove the WCC isn&rsquo;t just run by Gonzaga. This could be a battle.
No. 7 seed Murray State vs. No. 15 seed Saint Peter&rsquo;s 7:45 PM EST
Does Saint Peter&rsquo;s have more magic for a Sweet 16 birth? Or will Murray State's toughness win out?
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Blake Hairston takes us through the upsets and thrillers of Day 2 of the NCAA DI men's basketball tournament, plus a preview of Day 3.