By The Associated Press
The Latest on the second round of the NCAA Tournament (all times Eastern):
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8:10 p.m.
Malik Newman drained a deep 3-pointer to give No. 1 seed Kansas a 31-26 halftime lead on Seton Hall in their second-round matchup in the Midwest Region.
Newman is leading the Jayhawks with 10 points and helping to make up for the struggles of Devonte Graham. The Big 12 player of the year has three points on 1-for-5 shooting, and had to leave briefly in the closing minutes of the half after getting rocked by his own teammate.
Graham spent a couple minutes on the floor before heading to the bench. He tried to check back in for the final possession, but a missed free throw by Seton Hall prevented it from happening.
Angel Delgado already has 12 points and 12 boards for the Pirates.
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7:55 p.m.
Ohio State and Gonzaga are about to tip off in a rematch of game at the PK80 Invitational.
The Zags blew out the Buckeyes four months ago, shooting 59 percent in an 86-59 rout.
Ohio State recovered from that game to finish second in the Big Ten and is itching to get a little payback in the West Region.
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7:50 p.m.
Admiral Schofield had 11 points with three 3-pointers in the first 4 1/2 minutes as Tennessee jumped out to a quick lead. He hasn’t scored since and the Volunteers trail Chicago-Loyola 53-46 with 6:54 left.
Schofield was called for a charge, his fourth foul, when driving to the basket with 8:42 left. He then rebounded a missed 3 by Loyola. But after the Vols missed a 3, Donte Ingram hit from long range for the Ramblers.
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7:35 p.m.
Kentucky put an end to any upset talk on its watch Saturday, getting 27 points and a near-perfect shooting game from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a 95-75 pullaway from 13th-seeded Buffalo.
Gilgeous-Alexander went 10 for 12 and made both of his 3-point attempts to send fifth-seeded Kentucky (26-10) to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season.
It wasn’t a runaway until the last 7 minutes.
Buffalo (27-9), which got here with a 21-point blowout over Arizona, twice trimmed a double-digit lead to five midway through the second half. Gilgeous-Alexander answered both times – once with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to eight, then again a few minutes later with a three-point play that started a 12-2 run and put the game away.
Wes Clark had an electric day for the Bulls again, but it wasn’t enough. He finished with 26 points but closed his career at 0-5 against the Wildcats.
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7:15 p.m.
Top-seeded Kansas and No. 8 seed Seton Hall have tipped off in Wichita, where the winner will earn a Sweet 16 trip to Omaha, Nebraska, to face the winner of Sunday night’s Clemson-Auburn game.
The game is being played a 2-hour drive from the Jayhawks campus in Lawrence, and about 90 percent of the 15,000-plus fans at Intrust Bank Arena are wearing blue and red – and green, of course.
There was a festive pre-game atmosphere at the St. Patrick’s Day parties surrounding the arena.
The Pirates snapped a four-game NCAA Tournament skid with their opening win over North Carolina State, and are trying to reach the regional semifinals for the first time since 2000.
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7:10 p.m.
Sister Jean’s prayers are working again so far.
Loyola-Chicago erased a quick nine-point deficit and led Tennessee 29-25 at halftime, surely to the delight of 98-year-old nun, team chaplain and primary booster Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt.
The third-seeded Volunteers, co-champions in the SEC, led 15-6 after Admiral Schofield stole a pass and took it in for a dunk with 15 1/2 minutes left in the first half.
Tennessee missed its next nine shots, and the Ramblers took their first lead when guard Clayton Custer hit a 3-pointer to make it 23-22 with 6 minutes to go.
The Ramblers are going for their first Sweet 16 berth since 1985, the last time they made the NCAA Tournament. They won in the first round on Donte Ingram’s buzzer-beating 3 against Miami.
Vols coach Rick Barnes is 5-0 in the tournament at the American Airlines Center, home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. The first four victories were during his 17 seasons at Texas.
Schofield had all 11 of his first-half points in the first 4-plus minutes. Aundre Jackson, who grew up in the Dallas area, led Loyola with 10 points before halftime.
– Schuyler Dixon reporting from Dallas
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6:40 p.m.
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt’s praying is working so far.
Admiral Schofield and Tennessee got off to a fast start against Loyola-Chicago and its biggest fan, Loyola’s 98-year-old chaplain.
Schofield scored 11 points -including three 3-pointers- in the first 4 ½ minutes, pushing the Volunteers out to a 15-8 lead.
The Ramblers, trying to get to the Sweet 16 like they did when they last made the NCAA Tournament 33 years ago, had three turnovers. Those miscues led to six points, but they’ve regrouped to pull back within three.
– Stephen Hawkins reporting from Dallas
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6:30 p.m.
Fifth-seeded Kentucky leads Buffalo 51-42 at halftime and the Wildcats have even hit a 3-pointer.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the Wildcats with 17 points on 6-for-6 shooting.
Buffalo’s guard trio of Wes Clark, Jeremy Harris and CJ Massinburg has combined for 35 of the Bulls points.
Kentucky is 3 of 7 from behind the arc. Quade Green hit the Wildcats’ first 3 of the tournament at 8:27 of the first half.
Kentucky all but ignored the arc Thursday night and failed to make a 3 for the first time in nearly 30 years in its 78-73 first-round victory over Davidson. The 0-for-6 effort snapped the program’s nation-best streak of 1,047 games with a 3 that began Nov. 26,1988.
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6:10 p.m.
Marshall coach Dan D’Antoni has a strong opinion about whether the Thundering Herd is worthy of playing West Virginia annually.
The annual in-state rivalry ended a few years ago, making it all that more juicy that the Thundering Herd will face the Mountaineers on Sunday night in San Diego in the East Region second round.
Asked if the Thundering Herd would go for a 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 to resume the series, D’Antoni said: « No, we’re a Division I school. You’ve got to treat us like one. I would love to play…. I’m not going to just play at Morgantown, so after that, ask West Virginia. I think it should be played. You play one time at their place, one time at our place, one time at a neutral place, whatever. »
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins downplayed the controversy, saying the schools are on opposite sides of the state.
« We don’t really cross, » Huggins said. « You don’t want to make it out to be Duke-North Carolina. It’s not that at all. »
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4:55 p.m.
Duke has a Sweet 16 berth in the bag.
Marvin Bagley III had 22 points and nine rebounds to lead No. 2 seed Duke past seventh-seeded Rhode Island 87-62 on Saturday.
The Blue Devils (28-7) are in the Sweet 16 for third time in four years.
Duke plays Friday against the Michigan State-Syracuse winner.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 18 points and Wendell Carter Jr. had 13.
Rhode Island (26-8) defeated Oklahoma in overtime to advance to the second round for the second straight season. E. C. Matthews led the Rams with 23 points.
Hurley is a hot commodity in coaching circles and may not return to Rhode Island.
This one was never in doubt. Trent hit three 3s in the first half and the Blue Devils raced to a 45-28 lead.
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3:30 p.m.
North Carolina hasn’t lost an NCAA Tournament game played in its home state since 1979, a winning streak that Texas A&M was unaware of as the Aggies prepared to play the Tar Heels on Sunday in a second round game in Charlotte.
Aggies coach Billy Kennedy said the statistic would be motivation for another upset at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center. UMBC made history Friday night by knocking off No. 1 seed Virginia in the final game of the day in Charlotte.
Kennedy will use the fact the Tar Heels have never been defeated instate as fodder for his team, which has been preparing for a year to end the season in San Antonio in the Final Four.
« We’re here to win, we’re not here just to show up, » Kennedy said. « The Final Four is in San Antonio. We don’t want to go there to eat chips and salsa. We want to play. In order to play, you’ve got to beat Carolina. »
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3:15 p.m.
North Carolina coach Roy Williams was out to dinner in Charlotte with his staff Friday night watching the first half of the game between 16th-seeded UMBC and top-ranked Virginia. Although the game was tied at 21 at halftime, Williams told his staff he was heading back to his hotel room to begin preparations for the Tar Heels’ second-round game Sunday game against Texas A&M.
