Princeton’s Keeshawn Kellman dunks during a Thursday NCAA Tournament game against Arizona in Sacramento, Calif. (AP photo)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ryan Langborg lifted Princeton to its first lead with 2:03 to play and the Tigers used a late-game run to earn their first NCAA Tournament win in 25 years, topping No. 2 seed Arizona 59-55 on Thursday.
The 15th-seeded Tigers (22-9) scored the final nine points, holding the Pac-12 Tournament champion scoreless over the final 4:43.
Tosan Evbuomwan scored 15 points in Princeton’s first tournament victory since beating UNLV in 1998 when current coach Mitch Henderson was a player for the Tigers.
Princeton advanced to play seventh-seeded Missouri in the second round of the South Region.
Azuolas Tubelis scored 21 points for the Wildcats (28-7), who haven’t won a tournament game in consecutive years since 2014-15.
It marked the third straight year and 11th time overall that a No. 15 seed won a first-round game. Arizona is the only school to be on the wrong end of one of those upsets twice, also losing to Steve Nash and Santa Clara in 1993.
Missouri 76,
Utah State 65
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The seventh-seeded Tigers (25-9) used a second-half scoring spurt from Kobe Brown to win its first NCAA Tournament game in 13 years, beating the 10th-seeded Aggies (26-9
Furman 68, Virginia 67
ORLANDO, Fla. — JP Pegues made a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining, and No. 13 seed Furman (28-7) completed a rally from a 12-point second-half deficit to hand fourth-seeded Virginia (25-8) another first-round loss.
The Cavaliers eliminated in the first round as the higher-seeded team for the third time in its past four NCAA tournaments.
San Diego State 63,
Charleston 57
ORLANDO, Fla. — Matt Bradley scored 17 points, including two free throws in the final minute, and No. 5 seed San Diego State (28-6) held on to beat 12th-seeded Charleston (31-4).
Maryland 67,
West Virginia 65
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — the eighth-seeded Terrapins (22-12) overcame a sluggish start and a final heave at the buzzer by Kedrian Johnson to beat the ninth-seeded Mountaineers (19-15).
Alabama 96,
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 75
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Crimson Tide (30-5) buried the 16th-seeded Islanders (24-11) under an early 3-point onslaught, and the NCAA Tournament’s top seed won easily even with star freshman Brandon Miller going scoreless.
West Region
Kansas 96, Howard 68
DES MOINES, IOWA — Jalen Wilson had 20 points and seven rebounds for No. 1 seed and defending national champion Jayhawks (28-7), who allowed absent and recovering coach Bill Self to rest during an easy victory over Howard. Self is still recovering from a recent heart procedure.
Shy Odom had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Bison (22-13), who were making the program’s first tournament appearance since 1992.
Arkansas 73,
Illinois 63
DES MOINES, Iowa — Ricky Council IV scored 18 points and the eighth-seeded Razorbacks survived some anxious moments in the second half against the ninth-seeded the Illini (20-13), who wouldn’t go away.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Jeremy Roach matched a career-high 23 points, and No. 5 seed Duke beat Oral Roberts 74-51 on Thursday in the school’s first NCAA Tournament game since Jon Scheyer took over as Blue Devils coach.
Dariq Whitehead added 13 points for the Blue Devils (27-8), winners of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Roach has now scored 23 points in back-to-back games after setting his career high the ACC championship game
Oral Roberts (30-5) entered the tournament on a nation-leading 17-game winning streak but was unable to replicate its success of two years ago, when the Golden Eagles upset Ohio State and Florida during a surprising run to the Sweet 16.
Northwestern 75,
Boise State 67
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Boo Buie scored 22 points to lead Northwestern past Boise State in the Wildcats’ second appearance ever in the NCAA Tournament.
The seventh-seeded Wildcats (22-11) previously made it to the Big Dance in 2017, and just like that time, they made sure they wouldn’t be one-and-done.
Northwestern never trailed in a game that was close most of the way and advanced to play either UCLA or UNC Asheville.
The 10th-seeded Broncos (24-10) are still searching for their first tournament win, losing their opener for the ninth time in as many tries. Max Rice scored 17 points to lead Boise State and Naje Smith added 14.
Chase Audige added 20 points for the Wildcats and Ty Berry scored 13, including three 3-pointers.
East Region
Duke 74, Oral Roberts 51
ORLANDO, Fla. — Jeremy Roach matched his career high with 23 points, and No. 5 seed Duke beat Oral Roberts in the school’s first NCAA Tournament game since Jon Scheyer took over as the Blue Devils’ coach.
Dariq Whitehead added 13 points for the Blue Devils (27-8), winners of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Roach also scored 23 in the ACC title game victory over Virginia.
Scheyer helped Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski win two of his five national titles as a Duke player and assistant. In his first NCAA Tournament game as Krzyzewski’s replacement, Scheyer led Duke to a 10th consecutive win and a second-round matchup against either fourth-seeded Tennessee or No. 13 seed Louisiana-Lafayette.
Oral Roberts (30-5), a 12 seed, entered the tournament on a nation-leading 17-game winning streak but was unable to replicate its success of two years ago, when the Golden Eagles upset Ohio State and Florida during a surprising run to the Sweet 16. Summit League player of the year Max Abmas was limited to 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting.
Midwest Region
Auburn 83, Iowa 75
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Johni Broome had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots, and Auburn beat Iowa.
The ninth-seeded Tigers (21-12) made 11 of 12 free throws over the final four minutes to lock up a second-round matchup with No. 1 seed Houston or Northern Kentucky.
The eighth-seeded Hawkeyes (19-14) twice got within four points in the second half but came no closer.
Auburn had five players score in double figures. Wendell Green Jr. had 15 points, and Tre Donaldson and KD Johnson each finished with 11. Allen Flanigan scored 10.
Payton Sandford scored 21 points for Iowa. Kris Murray had 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting and nine rebounds. Filip Rebraca scored 14 points.
Texas 81, Colgate 61
DES MOINES, Iowa — Sir’Jabari Rice scored 23 points and No. 2 seed Texas shut down sharpshooting Colgate.
Rice made five of his seven 3-pointers in the first half, helping the Longhorns get off to a fast start. Marcus Carr finished with 17 points and Dylan Disu had 17 points and nine rebounds.
Texas (27-8) shot 13 for 23 from 3-point range while advancing to a second-round matchup against Penn State or Texas A&M.
In another inspired performance under interim coach Rodney Terry, Rice and the Longhorns picked the perfect time to get hot on the perimeter against the nation’s leading outside shooting team. They matched their season best for 3-pointers made.
Keegan Records and Ryan Moffatt each scored 13 points for the 15th-seeded Raiders (26-9), who went 3 of 15 from long range fell to 0-6 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
