UNC able to McAdoo MIDWEST REGIONAL
First Posted:
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Tyler Zeller had 17 points and 15 rebounds to help North Carolina beat Vermont 77-58 on Friday in its NCAA tournament opener despite playing without injured starter John Henson.
Freshman forward James Michael McAdoo added a season-high 17 points for the top-seeded Tar Heels (30-5), who pushed ahead by double figures late in the first half and then broke the game open after halftime.
Sandro Carissimo had 11 points for the 16th-seeded Catamounts (24-12), who beat Lamar in one of Wednesday’s First Four games. That earned them a trip to Greensboro to face the Tar Heels in front of a home-state crowd wearing plenty of light blue.
The Tar Heels didn’t turn in a rousing performance, but they had a danger-free afternoon and advanced to face Creighton on Sunday in the third round of the Midwest Regional. They also bought Henson another two days to recover from that sprained left wrist.
Georgetown 74, Belmont 59
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jason Clark scored 21 points, Otto Porter added 16 and Georgetown’s ruthless defense bottled up Belmont’s shooters, sending the Hoyas into the next round after early exits the past two years.
Henry Sims had 15 points for the third-seeded Hoyas (24-8), who shot 62 percent from the floor and will play No. 11 seed North Carolina State on Sunday.
Georgetown’s previous two seasons ended with embarrassing first-round losses to Virginia Commonwealth and Ohio. The Hoyas weren’t going to let that happen a third time to a pesky underdog.
NC State 79, SDSU 65
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Richard Howell doubled his average with 22 points and 11th-seeded North Carolina State used its muscle inside and sticky defense to upset San Diego State.
The Wolfpack (23-12) advances to play Georgetown on Sunday at Nationwide Arena.
Lorenzo Brown added 17 points, C.J. Leslie 15 and Scott Wood 10 for the Wolfpack, who are now 12-5 in their first NCAA games. N.C. State has won at least a game in seven of their last eight trips.
Creighton 58, Alabama 57
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Doug McDermott scored 16 points and Creighton overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half to beat Alabama for its first NCAA tournament victory in 10 years.
Alabama had a chance to win during the frantic final seconds, but Josh Jones blocked Trevor Releford’s 3-point attempt from the top of the key as time expired.
McDermott, the MVP of the Missouri Valley Conference and the nation’s third-leading scorer at 23.2 points per game, was held scoreless for more than 14 minutes but then scored nine points in the game’s final 14 minutes.
Purdue 72, Saint Mary’s 69
OMAHA, Neb. — Lewis Jackson made the go-ahead free throws with 22.8 seconds left after Saint Mary’s had rallied from 11 points down late to take its first lead, and the Boilermakers defeated the Gaels.
Jorden Page made a 3-pointer with 44.2 seconds left to finish a 14-2 run that brought the Gaels back from a 66-55 deficit with 4:24 to play.
Purdue’s Terone Johnson and Saint Mary’s Clint Steindl were called for traveling before Jackson made his free throws.
Ohio 65, Michigan 60
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Walter Offutt grabbed a loose ball, was fouled by Evan Smotrycz and sank both of his free throws with 6.8 seconds left to preserve Ohio’s upset of Michigan in the second round of the NCAA tournament’s Midwest Regional.
The 13th-seeded Bobcats (28-7) had the Wolverines on their heels throughout the game, but Michigan’s Trey Burke hit a 3 with 4:12 left to cut it to 63-60. But the Wolverines missed their final five shots, four by Burke.
South Florida 58, Temple 44
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Victor Rudd Jr. and Anthony Collins each scored 17 points, and the South Florida Bulls shook off a frigid first 20 minutes, upsetting fifth-seeded Temple 58-44 Friday night in the Midwest Regional.
The No. 12 seeded Bulls (22-13) took it to the Atlantic 10 regular season champ with their bruising, Big East-style play and held Temple 20 points below its previous season low in scoring.
