March Madness roundup: Oregon upsets No. 2 seed Iowa to reach Sweet 16

March 22 (UPI) -- The seventh-seeded Oregon Ducks earned a 95-80 win over No. 2 seed Iowa on Monday in Indianapolis to advance to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the last five NCAA men's basketball tournaments.

Chris Duarte scored a team-best 23 points for the Ducks (21-6), who showed no signs of rust after an extended layoff. Oregon reached the second round in the West Region without playing a game due to COVID-19 issues within the VCU Rams' basketball program.

VCU was forced to withdraw from the tournament after multiple positive COVID-19 tests, leaving Oregon with a nine-day break since losing in the semifinals of the Pac-12 tournament.

The Ducks will face either Kansas or USC in the Sweet 16.

"The guys fought through it, they stayed together," Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. "I'm proud of the way they responded."

L.J. Figueroa had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Ducks, who shot 55.9% from the floor and made 11 3-pointers. Will Richardson chipped in 19 points, while Eugene Omoruyi added 17 points, six boards and five assists.

Iowa star big man Luka Garza led the Hawkeyes with 36 points and nine rebounds. Joe Wieskamp scored 17 points, and Patrick McCaffery had 10 points off the bench.

"It's heartbreaking, so surreal, it kind of hit me all at once that this is the last time I'll put on this jersey and that hurts a lot," Garza said. "I feel bad that I wasn't able to lead this team to where it needs to go."

Also Monday, No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga cruised to an 87-71 win over Oklahoma to reach the Sweet 16. Fellow No. 1 seed Michigan moved on with an 86-78 victory over No. 8 seed LSU.

No. 11 UCLA, No. 5 Creighton, No. 4 Florida State and No. 2 Alabama also advanced to the round of 32 following blowout victories.