March Madness: Rhode Island outlasts Oklahoma in overtime

This is the team most fans think will pull off a first-round upset

Donte Ingram wins it for Loyola-Chicago

Donte Ingram wins it for Loyola-Chicago

NCAA.com

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First Round

Friday, March 16

Teams Time (ET) Watch (10) Providence vs. (7) Texas A&M 12:15 p.m. CBS | Stream (15) CSU Fullerton vs. (2) Purdue 12:40 p.m. truTV | Stream (13) Marshall vs. (4) Wichita State 1:30 p.m. TNT | Stream (15) Georgia State vs. (2) Cincinnati 2 p.m. TBS | Stream (15) Lipscomb vs. (2) UNC 2:45 p.m. CBS | Stream (10) Butler vs. (7) Arkansas 3:10 p.m. truTV | Stream (12) Murray State vs. (5) West Virginia 4:00 p.m. TNT | Stream (10) Texas vs. (7) Nevada 4:30 p.m. TBS | Stream (9) Kansas State vs. (8) Creighton 6:50 p.m. TNT | Stream (14) Bucknell vs. (3) Michigan State 7:10 p.m. CBS | Stream (16) Texas Southern vs. (1) Xavier 7:15 p.m. TBS | Stream (13) Charleston vs. (4) Auburn 7:27 p.m. truTV | Stream (16) UMBC vs. (1) Virginia 9:20 p.m. TNT | Stream (11) Syracuse vs. (6) TCU 9:30 p.m. CBS | Stream (9) Florida State vs. (8) Missouri 9:50 p.m. TBS | Stream (12) New Mexico State vs. (5) Clemson 9:57 p.m. truTV | Stream

Second Round

Saturday, March 17

Sunday, March 18

Sweet 16

Thursday, March 22

Teams Time (ET) Watch TBA vs. TBA 7:09 p.m. CBS | Stream TBA vs. TBA 7:27 p.m. TBS | Stream TBA vs. TBA 9:39 p.m. CBS | Stream TBA vs. TBA 9:57 p.m. TBS | Stream

Friday, March 23

Teams Time (ET) Watch TBA vs. TBA 7:09 p.m. CBS | Stream TBA vs. TBA 7:27 p.m. TBS | Stream TBA vs. TBA 9:39 p.m. CBS | Stream TBA vs. TBA 9:57 p.m. TBS | Stream

Elite Eight

Saturday, March 24

Teams Time (ET) Watch TBA vs. TBA 6:09 p.m. TBS | Stream TBA vs. TBA 8:49 p.m. TBS | Stream

Sunday, March 25

Teams Time (ET) Watch TBA vs. TBA 2:20 p.m. CBS | Stream TBA vs. TBA 5:05 p.m. CBS | Stream

Final Four

Saturday, March 31

Teams Time (ET) Watch TBA vs. TBA 6:09 p.m. TBS | Stream TBA vs. TBA 8:49 p.m. TBS | Stream

National championship

Monday, April 2

Teams Time (ET) Watch TBA vs. TBA 9:20 p.m. TBS | Stream

Here is NCAA.com's Andy Katz on this year's tournament:

PITTSBURGH — Here’s the skinny on a Philly guard called Fatts: The player with the best nickname in the tournament given because he was a chunky baby turned in the stout performance Rhode Island required to win.

Fatts Russell hit three 3s and showed that — for this game, at least — he was the best freshman guard around as he pressured Oklahoma’s dynamic scorer Trae Young right out of the NCAA Tournament.

E.C. Matthews hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime and one more that sealed it to help Rhode Island hold off Young and beat Oklahoma 83-78 Thursday in the Midwest Region.

The seventh-seeded Rams (26-7) won a game in the tournament for the second straight season and will play second-seeded Duke on Saturday.

Young is likely one-and-done at OU.

Fatts Russell plays on.

"I told him when I recruited him: The only point guard I saw better than him at the Peach Jam last year was Trae Young, and he told me I was wrong about that and he was going to prove me wrong today," Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley said. "And he put on a show."

The Sooners needed more of a show out of Young.

Young had cooled a bit as the 10th-seeded Sooners (18-14) ended the season on a 2-8 stretch headed into the tournament. Still, the phenomenal freshman led the nation with averages of 27.4 points and 8.8 assists.

He needed a late-game surge just to hit 28 points on 9 of 18 shooting. But he also committed six turnovers and took a pair of ill-advised shots in OT.

"Sometimes you’ve got to live with those shots because he’s been making them all year," Sooners guard Christian James said. "Sometimes you take those shots and they didn’t fall this time."

Young shook off an early second-half funk and scored 11 straight points for the Sooners to close regulation and made two free throws to open OT.

Matthews, who scored 16 points, hit a 3 in OT for a 74-72 lead with 1:54 left and one more with 28 seconds to go for a five-point lead. Hurley ended the win with a big embrace with Russell. Russell (whose first name is Daron) scored 15 points.

Rhode Island stood on the court and pointed toward the scoreboard as their logo advanced on the video bracket.

"We didn’t want to change our style of play and not be aggressive against him just because of who he is," Russell said of Young. "We just tried to contain him and it worked."

Young said he will sit down with his family later this week to discuss whether he will return to school or not. Many projections have the 6-foot-2 star who has drawn comparisons to Stephen Curry going in the first round of this year’s NBA draft if he decides to leave.

"It’s tough after a loss to think of anything else besides that," Young said.

The Sooners needed so much more out of Young early in the second half as they quickly gave up a four-point halftime lead.

He finally hit a 3 off a turnover with 2:05 left and then sank two free throws with 14.5 seconds to go that tied the game 69-all and sent it to overtime.

Rhode Island’s buzzer-beater follow shot for the win rolled off the rim.

Matthews and Russell helped turn the game for Rhode Island.

Matthews hit a 3, Russell stripped Young and connected on his own 3-pointer for a 55-50 lead that sent the pro-URI crowd into a frenzy.

There was anticipation this would turn into the Trae Young Show in a hurry much like in the four games this season he scored at least 40 points. Young took some time to warm up. He did sink a pair of 3s and made all four shots for 10 points in the first half but sat for a spell when he picked up two offensive fouls. Young did not try and create his own shots for easy looks at the rim and he had three turnovers in just 14 minutes.

He didn’t pick up another foul the rest of the game.

Hurley was a spastic bundle of energy on the bench, pumping his fists, stomping down the sideline and exhorting a nice turnout of URI fans — that included "Frog Man" — to get louder. Hurley was issued a warning in the second half for straying too far outside the box. His energy rubbed off on the players, including one who lay on his back and waved his arms on a Rhode Island 3.

But when the potential winner rolled out in regulation, Hurley was the picture of cool.

"His demeanour, what he was saying in timeout, was calm," Matthews said. "We got the message, so we were calm."

BIG PICTURE

Rhode Island: Cyril Langevine scored 14 points and Jared Terrell had 13 as part of a balanced Rams team.

Oklahoma: Jamuni McNeace scored 14 points but no other Sooner hit double digits. The Sooners missed a whopping 16 of 20 3-point shots and — with Young struggling until late — could never put together enough of a run to put away the Rams.

NOTHING’S FREE

Rhode Island survived despite making 12 of 20 free throws. OU wasn’t much better at 16 of 24.

UP NEXT: The Rams play Duke. The Blue Devils rolled by Iona 89-67 on Thursday.

But the Bulls had other ideas. Their backcourt of Jeremy Harris and Wes Clark combined for 48 points. It was Buffalo’s first N.C.A.A. tournament win. And it could hardly have been more unexpected.

For most of the first day of what has been billed as the most wide-open tournament in years, fans had been left wondering: What happened to the upsets?

After the higher seeds Kansas, Duke, Gonzaga and Tennessee all advanced in the early afternoon — some of them expending a little more perspiration than others — it was hardly the dramatic, roiling, bracket-busting start to a tournament that is designed to fuel unpredictability.

When there was finally a buzzer-beater shot by a midmajor underdog — Loyola-Chicago, a No. 11 seed, stunned Miami — it was greeted exuberantly by fans on social media, even though the outcome had not been entirely unforeseen. The Ramblers, making their first tournament appearance since 1985, were considered a favorite sleeper, and their win kept plenty of brackets intact.

Yet the higher seeds won seven of the first eight games. Many of winners emerged from major conferences, and they quickly snuffed out the smaller programs that have historically given the tournament its March Madness mystique.

The day’s first seven games were decided by an average of more than 11 points.

That is not exactly unique — many first rounds often feature blowouts involving the top seeds. But this year’s field has been considered atypical in its parity. For the first time in years, even a No. 16 seed, Penn, was thought to be a threat to upend a No. 1, Kansas, something that has never happened in 132 previous tries in the men’s tournament.

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Perhaps the best game of the day came right out of the gate. No. 7 seed Rhode Island and No. 10 seed Oklahoma was the first matchup of the first round, and it did not disappoint. The freshman sensation Trae Young (28 points) put on a show, but the Rams held on in overtime, 83-78, after 15 lead changes.

The Rams advanced to meet Duke, the No. 2 seed in the Midwest region, in Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Blue Devils — always susceptible to an embarrassingly premature exit — had no trouble this time keeping up with the fast-paced No. 15-seeded Iona, and their defense continued to impress. Duke held the Gaels to just 20 percent shooting from 3-point range.

In the evening games, there was more of the same. Top-seeded Villanova had no trouble dismantling No. 16 seed Radford, winning by 26.

And No. 5 seed Kentucky had a 10-point halftime lead over No. 12 seed Davidson that was whittled away in the second half. But young Kentucky made more plays down the stretch than Davidson, whose shooting went cold at the wrong time.

Here’s what happened on Thursday:

No. 4 Arizona Falls to No. 13 Buffalo

Wes Clark scored 25 points, Jeremy Harris added 23 and No. 13 seed Buffalo pulled off the biggest upset of the N.C.A.A. tournament’s opening round, rolling over No. 4 seed Arizona 89-68 in the South Region.

The smaller Bulls (27-8) used their quickness to zip around the Wildcats (27-8), scoring at the rim and on kickout 3-pointers.

Defensively, Buffalo neutralized Arizona’s size inside by collapsing on the paint, forcing the Wildcats to shoot from the perimeter. Arizona went 2 for 18 from beyond the 3-point arc, while the Bulls knocked down 15 of 30. Superstar freshman Deandre Ayton was held to a quiet 14 points.

CJ Massinburg had 19 points and Buffalo shredded Arizona’s defense at a 55-percent clip for the program’s first N.C.A.A. tournament win.

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The Bulls move on to face Kentucky in Saturday’s round of 32.

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Loyola-Chicago Scores Tournament’s First Upset

The N.C.A.A. tournament is about buzzer-beaters, and the first one in this year’s event came from No. 11 Loyola of Chicago.

It was a close game throughout, but Miami took the lead late, and Lonnie Walker IV went to the line with his team up by 1 and 9 seconds left.

He missed, and Loyola raced down court to try to take the lead. Donte Ingram fired from 3 points, and with 2 seconds left, it swished in, giving Loyola the first upset of the tournament, 64-62.

Celebrating the win was Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt, the 98-year-old nun who serves as the team chaplain for Loyola.

The 11th-seeded Ramblers (29-5) matched the school record for wins from their 1963 national championship team in their first N.C.A.A. trip since losing to Patrick Ewing and Georgetown in the Round of 16 in 1985. They advanced to face third-seeded Tennessee on Saturday. Next up for Loyola is Tennessee.

The sixth-seeded Hurricanes (22-10) led most of the second half in their third straight trip to the tournament but couldn’t pull away in the final minutes and lost in the first round for the second straight year.

Among those selecting 11th-seeded Loyola over sixth-seeded Miami was former President Barack Obama.

Buffalo shot 54.8 percent from the field, but its defense was what stood out, holding Ayton to a quiet 14 points, as he was double- and even triple-teamed on almost every possession.

Michigan’s Defense Stifles Montana

A suffocating defensive performance lifted Michigan past Montana, 61-47, in the final game of what wound up being an eventful first night.

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Opening the game with a 10-0 lead, the Grizzlies were quicker and more energetic than the Wolverines, who looked to be shaking off some rust after an extra week off following the early Big Ten tournament this year.

But by halftime, Michigan was back in shape. And in the second half, they held Montana more than 10 minutes without a field goal. The Grizzlies finished with only seven field goals in the entire second half.

The No. 4 seed Wolverines would never be confused with an offensive juggernaut, but their defense has been terrific of late. Thursday night was just the latest example.

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Rob Gray’s 39 Points Keep Houston Alive

An up-and-under scoop layup through traffic by Rob Gray with 1.1 seconds remaining beat San Diego State, 67-65, and sent No. 6 Houston to the second round.

The Aztecs’ Trey Kell had a look at a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, after a pass the length of the court found him surprisingly open. But it clanged out.

It had been an amazing comeback by the Aztecs, who trailed by 13 early in the second half. The No. 11 seed found a way to tie it with 1:08 remaining on a 3-pointer by Devin Watson.

Then Gray answered with a 3-pointer to go back ahead. Then it was Watson again, from the corner, to tie the game a second time.

But Gray, the senior guard, was not going to be denied. He wove his way through traffic and somehow flipped a layup through for his 39th point. It was all the Cougars needed.

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Texas Tech Avoids Big Upset

It looked like it would be the biggest upset of the day, but No. 3 Texas Tech found a way to get past No. 14 Stephen F. Austin, fighting off a hot team to advance with a 70-60 victory on Thursday.

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The Red Raiders had lost five of the team’s last seven games going into the tournament but were still deemed 11-point favorites by most sportsbooks despite Stephen F. Austin having been on a roll with 10 wins in 11 games.

Keenan Evans led Texas Tech with 23 points, while Ivan Canete led Stephen F. Austin with 17.

While the Lumberjacks flirted with an upset all game, the Texas Tech defense ranked No. 4 in the nation by KenPom.com — locked things down in the second half, not allowing a field goal in the last 5 minutes and 24 seconds of the game. That plus an offensive surge led by Evans, who scored 19 of his 23 in the second half, sealed Stephen F. Austin’s fate.

Texas Tech will now advance to face the winner of Thursday’s matchup between No. 11 St. Bonaventure and No. 6 Florida.

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Kentucky Holds Off a Scrappy Davidson Team

They looked shaky at times in the second half, but No. 5 Kentucky managed to hold on against No. 12 Davidson to advance, 78-73.

Give the young ’Cats credit. They made the plays down the stretch, while Davidson went cold.

It was tied, 54-54, with just over seven minutes remaining, after Davidson rebounded from a 10-point halftime deficit. But then they went dry: 1 of 12 from the field down the stretch, while Shea Gilgeous-Alexander (15 points) and Kevin Knox (21 points) hit their shots. Not many people gave this freshmen-led Kentucky team much of a chance when they lost four in a row in early February. But they’ve now won 9 of their last 10.

It was the first time since Nov. 1988 that Kentucky won a game despite not making a single 3-pointer, breaking the longest streak in Division I history, according to Stats, Inc.

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Seton Hall Advances by Beating N.C. State

No metropolitan New York City team had won an N.C.A.A. tournament game since 2004. That streak ends, with No. 8 Seton Hall evading No. 9 N.C. State, 94-83.

It’s the first win in three tournament tries for the Pirates’ seniors Angel Delgado, Kadeem Carrington, and Desi Rodriguez. They combined for 59 points and now get to prepare to take on top seeded Kansas on Saturday.

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Carrington scored 26 points, Rodriguez added 20, Myles Powell had 19 and Angel Delgado scored 13 for the Pirates (22-11), who led the entire way a year after a late meltdown cost them an early exit against Arkansas.

Allerik Freeman hit six 3-pointers and had 36 points to lead the No. 9 Wolfpack (21-12), who returned to the tournament under first-year coach Kevin Keatts for the first time in three years. Torin Dorn added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Lennard Freeman contributed 13 points.

The only thing that slowed down the high-scoring, up-and-down matchup was the whistles. The teams combined for 53 fouls, resulting in 66 total free throws. Seton Hall had two players foul out — Delgado was one of them — and the Wolfpack had three players relegated to the bench.

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Ohio State Avoids Dreaded 12-5 Upset

With the game tied at 70, a four-point play by Kam Williams with 1 minute 36 seconds remaining gave Ohio State what it needed to outlast No. 12-seeded South Dakota State and avoid the dreaded 12-5 upset.

South Dakota State made a late run at the Buckeyes, scoring 10 straight points to tie it at 70-all.

Williams answered — by being fouled on a pair of 3-pointers. He finished off the four-point play for a 74-70 lead and made all three free throws on the second, making it 77-70 with 64 seconds left.

Mike Daum likely ends his career with the Jackrabbits with 27 points and six rebounds, while three Buckeyes scored at least 20 points, led by Keita Bates-Diop (24 points, 12 rebounds).

Ohio State was one of college basketball’s biggest surprises in coach Chris Holtmann’s first season. He didn’t take over the program until June and the Buckeyes were picked to finish 11th in the in Big Ten.

Yet behind Bates-Diop, the Big Ten player of the year, Ohio State finished second in the conference behind Michigan State to earn its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2015.

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Kansas Stumbles Early, but Holds Off Penn

After sending a few shivers down the spines of fans all across Kansas, Penn, the No. 16 seed in the Midwest region, isn’t going to wind up in the history books.

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A poised Quakers team took it to the top-seeded Jayhawks early, looking like a team that truly believed it had a chance to pull off the unthinkable: a No. 16 seed beating a No. 1.

But, as has happened 133 times before in the N.C.A.A. tournament, Kansas held on for a 76-60 victory. The Jayhawks could not turn it into the blowout that usually results in these first-round matchups; credit Penn for hanging tough throughout the second half. But Kansas’ star guard Devonte Graham (29 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) led a late first-half turnaround that was ultimately the difference.

If it wasn’t for six straight points from Graham to spark that run, perhaps this would be a different story. Penn, winners of the Ivy League tournament, had a 21-13 lead, momentum and the look of a team that wasn’t intimidated by the Big 12 conference champions. As it turned out, it was just a slow start for the Jayhawks, who shot 46 percent from the field in the second half and hit 15 of 17 free throws.

Duke Routs Iona to Advance

Mike Krzyzewski keeps wringing his hands about his team’s youth. And then Duke and its roster of N.B.A.-bound freshmen get on the floor against a more experienced opponent and the Hall of Fame coach’s fears largely vanish.

Having Marvin Bagley III certainly helps.

The Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year did whatever he wanted against game but overmatched Iona, pouring in 22 points to go with seven rebounds in his N.C.A.A. Tournament debut as the Blue Devils pulled away for an 89-67 victory on Thursday. The 6-foot-11 freshman forward made 10 of 14 shots in 32 minutes — even making his lone 3-point attempt — as Duke rolled into a second-round Midwest Region matchup with seven-seeded Rhode Island on Saturday. The Rams held off Oklahoma in overtime in the opening game of the tournament.

“(This is) what we’ve had to go through the whole year, you know, the first road game, the first conference game, the — you know, the first 10:00 of game, you know, all of those things,” Krzyzewski said. “So this is a first for them.”

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No. 4 Gonzaga Outlasts U.N.C.-Greensboro

Well, that got interesting.

A 3-pointer by redshirt freshman Zach Norvell Jr. with 20.8 seconds remaining was the difference for No. 4-seeded Gonzaga, which just sneaks past a pesky No. 13 U.N.C.-Greensboro that fought valiantly in the second half.

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The Bulldogs allowed the Spartans to keep hanging around because they could not make free throws. They were an abysmal 12 of 23 from the stripe, including four straight misses down the stretch. The Spartans kept up the full-court pressure, happy to let Gonzaga shoot from 3-point range (4 of 22 before Norvell’s clutch shot) or fouling when the Bulldogs tried to move it inside.

For a while, that strategy seemed to be working. A Greensboro putback by Jordy Kuiper gave the Spartans the lead for the first time since the first half with 1 minute, 46 seconds left.

But junior guard Josh Perkins answered with a jumper with 56 seconds remaining. After a wild miss by Federico Alonso, Norvell pulled up from 3 and drilled it for the go-ahead shot in Gonzaga’s 68-64 win in Boise.

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Rhode Island Knocks Out Trae Young and Oklahoma

Trae Young was the best player on the floor, as expected. But Rhode Island was better than Oklahoma in a tightly contested opener to the N.C.A.A. tournament, winning 83-78 in overtime.

There was more attention than usual on the game because of Young, and Oklahoma’s strange season. The freshman led the nation in points and assists. And, unfortunately, turnovers. Oklahoma had looked like one of the best teams in the country but by March only barely squeaked into the tournament.

Neither team could pull away in this game. No. 10 Oklahoma led by 4 at the half, behind 4-for-4 shooting by Young. In the second half he ramped up his point total and finished with 28 and seven assists.

Rhode Island was the team with a chance to win it in regulation however. After Young made two free throws to tie it at 69-69, Rhode Island missed a jumper by Jeff Dowtin and a Stanford Robinson putback.

In overtime, Rhode Island was the better team, winning, 83-78. The extra period included two long, long 3 point tries by Young, both with Oklahoma leading and both of which missed. A 3 by E.C. Matthews was the killer that won it for Rhode Island. Young finished with a game-high 28 and seven assists, and Matthews had 16 for Rhode Island.

• Meanwhile, no problems for Tennessee against Wright State; the final score was 73-47. Lamonte Turner scored 19 points off the bench.

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