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NCAA Tournament scores: Brackets busted by Arkansas Little Rock, Yale, Wichita St. upsets

By The Sports Xchange
The Wichita State Shockers upset the Arizona Wildcats on Thursday, joining Yale and Arkansas Little Rock as lower seeds that advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round. File photo Bill Greenblatt/UPI
The Wichita State Shockers upset the Arizona Wildcats on Thursday, joining Yale and Arkansas Little Rock as lower seeds that advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round. File photo Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

DENVER -- With its season on the line, Little Rock turned to its senior guard to lead the way.

Josh Hagins scored 29 of his career-high 31 points after halftime -- including six in double overtime -- and the 12th-seeded Trojans shocked No. 5 seed Purdue 85-83 on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

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Little Rock (30-5) is the second straight Sun Belt Conference team to pull an upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after Georgia State did it to Baylor last year. The Trojans meet No. 4 Iowa State in Saturday's second round of the Midwest Region.

"I've waited 22 years to get to this point, this one game," Hagins said. "I wasn't going to go out like that. I wasn't going to go without a fight. I made shots, missed them. I was going to go out swinging."

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A.J. Hammons had 16 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks for the Boilermakers (26-9). Vince Edwards scored 24 points, but Purdue blew a 13-point lead late in regulation.

Hagins, who added seven rebounds, six assists and five steals, took over in the second overtime. He hit a jumper to give the Trojans a 77-75 lead at the start and Kemy Osse's 3-pointer made it five-point game.

Yale 79, Baylor 75

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Makai Mason scored a career-high 31 points and the No. 12 Bulldogs stunned the No. 5 Bears for the first NCAA Tournament victory in school history.

Justin Sears scored 22 points for Yale (23-6), which meets No. 4 Duke in Saturday's second round in the West Region in a rematch of the Blue Devils' 80-61 victory on Nov. 25. The Bulldogs were playing in their first NCAA Tournament since 1962.

Taurean Prince scored 28 points for Baylor (22-12), which cut a 12-point deficit to one with 12.9 seconds left after Prince's 3-pointer. The Bears had a chance to tie or win but an out-of-control Lester Medford coughed the ball up and Brandon Sherrod iced the game with two free throws in the final two seconds.

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Providence 70, USC 69

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Rodney Bullock scored on a lay-in off an inbounds play with 1.4 seconds to play as the No. 9 Friars edged the No. 8 Trojans in the East Region.

Ben Bentil scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half, while Kris Dunn and Bullock each scored 16 for Providence (24-10), which meets No. 1 North Carolina in Saturday's second round.

Jordan McLaughlin scored 15 points and Nikola Jovanovic had 14 for USC (21-13).

Wichita State 65, Arizona 55

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Fred Van Vleet recorded 16 points and had five steals as the No. 11 Shockers upset the No. 6 Wildcats in the South Region.

Ron Baker added 13 points, six assists and five rebounds for Wichita State (26-8), which meets No. 3 Miami in Saturday's second round. The Shockers, who reached the Final Four in 2013, defeated Vanderbilt on Tuesday in a First Four game.

Kadeem Allen scored 11 points for the Wildcats (25-9), who committed 19 turnovers.

Gonzaga 68, Seton Hall 52

DENVER -- Domantas Sabonis had 21 points and 16 rebounds as the No. 11 Bulldogs ousted the No. 6 Pirates in the Midwest Region.

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Kyle Wiltjer added 13 points for Gonzaga (27-7), which won a first-round game for the eighth straight year and faces No. 3 Utah in Saturday's second round.

Seton Hall leading scorer Isaiah Whitehead was held to 10 points on 4-for-24 shooting. He missed all 10 of his 3-point attempts, but wasn't the only one cold from the field as the Pirates (25-9) shot 32.3 percent.

Kansas 105, Austin Peay 79

DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Jayhawks demonstrated why they are the No. 1 overall seed, cruising to an easy victory over the No. 16 Governors in the South Region.

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk scored a career-high 23 points and was 9 for 11 from the field for Kansas (31-4), which meets No. 9 Connecticut in Saturday's second round.

Josh Robinson led Austin Peay (18-18) with 24 points and Chris Horton added 14 points and 10 rebounds.

North Carolina 83, Florida Gulf Coast 67

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Brice Johnson scored 18 points and blocked eight shots and Joel Berry had 14 points as the No. 1 Tar Heels pulled away from the No. 16 Eagles after leading by one point at halftime in the East Region game.

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Justin Jackson and Isaiah Hicks scored 12 points apiece while Marcus Paige added 10 for North Carolina (29-6), which meets No. 9 Providence in Saturday's second round.

Christian Terrell scored 15 points to lead FGCU (21-14), which defeated Fairleigh Dickinson on Tuesday in a First Four game.

Virginia 81, Hampton 45

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Anthony Gill recorded 19 points and seven rebounds as the No. 1 Cavaliers overcame the temporary loss of coach Tony Bennett to easily defeat the Pirates in the Midwest Region.

Bennett, 46, fell to the court because of what he called a case of dehydration, but was back on the sideline for the start of the second half.

Virginia (27-7) meets No. 9 Bulter in Saturday's second round after recording the most lopsided victory in an NCAA Tournament game in school history.

Quinton Chievous scored 17 points for Hampton (21-11).

Utah 80, Fresno State 69

DENVER -- Pac-12 Player of the Year Jakob Poeltl recorded 16 points and a career-high 18 rebounds as the No. 3 Utes ousted the No. 14 Bulldogs in the Midwest Region.

Lorenzo Bonam scored 17 points while Brandon Taylor and Jordan Loveridge added 16 points apiece for Utah (27-8), which meets No. 11 Gonzaga in Saturday's second round.

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Marvelle Harris scored a game-high 24 points for Fresno State (25-10).

Miami 79, Buffalo 72

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Angel Rodriguez tallied a season-high 24 points to lead the No. 3 Hurricanes past the No. 14 Bulls in the South Region.

Sheldon McClellan (20 points) scored in double figures for the 21st consecutive game for Miami (26-7), which meets No. 11 Wichita State in Saturday's second round. Kamari Murphy and Davon Reed each had double-doubles as Murphy had 11 points and 13 rebounds and Reed wound up with 10 and 12.

Nick Perkins scored a career-high 20 points for Buffalo (20-15).

Kentucky 85, Stony Brook 57

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Freshman Jamal Murray had 19 points and seven rebounds as the No. 4 Wildcats crushed the No. 13 Seawolves in the East Region.

Freshman Isaiah Briscoe added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Kentucky (27-8), which faces No. 5 Indiana in Saturday's second round.

Jameel Warney recorded 23 points and 15 rebounds for Stony Brook (26-7).

Duke 83, UNC Wilmington 85

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Marshall Plumlee registered 23 points and eight rebounds as the No. 4 Blue Devils became defense of their title by holding off the No. 13 Seahawks in the West Region.

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Grayson Allen scored 23 points and was 15 for 17 from the free-throw line while grabbing 10 rebounds and Brandon Ingram added 20 points and nine boards for Duke (24-10), which meets No. 12 Yale in Saturday's second round.

Chris Flemmings scored 18 points for UNC Wilmington (25-8).

Iowa State 94, Iona 81

DENVER -- Georges Niang scored 28 points and Monte Morris added 20 as the No. 4 Cyclones held off a late rally to defeat the No. 13 Gaels in the Midwest Regional.

Abel Nader added 19 points for Iowa State (22-11), which meets No. 12 Little Rock in Saturday's second round.

A.J. English scored 28 points to finish his career with 2,004 career points -- 10th among active players -- for Iona (22-11), which is 0-10 in the NCAA Tournament.

Indiana 99, Chattanooga 74

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Yogi Ferrell registered 20 points and 10 assists as the No. 5 Hoosiers crushed the No. 12 Mocs in the East Region.

Freshman OG Anunoby added a season-best 14 points for Indiana (26-7), which meets No. 4 Kentucky in Saturday's second round.

Duke Ethridge led Chattanooga (29-6) with 16 points.

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Connecticut 74, Colorado 67

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Rodney Purvis scored 19 points as the No. 9 Huskies made 23 of 24 from the free-throw line as part of a comeback victory over the No. 8 Buffaloes in the South Region.

Daniel Hamilton added 17 points and 10 rebounds while Sterling Gibbs finished with 12 points, including six free throws in the final 45 seconds, as 2014 national champion Connecticut (25-10) erased a 36-27 halftime deficit and advanced to meet No. 1 Kansas in Saturday's second round.

Josh Scott had 23 points and 11 rebounds in his final collegiate game for Colorado (22-12).

Butler 71, Texas Tech 61

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Kelan Martin scored all 11 of his points during a four-minute stretch late in the second half as the No. 9 Bulldogs defeated the No. 8 Red Raiders in the Midwest Region.

Kellen Dunham scored 23 points, Tyler Wideman added 14 and Andrew Chrabascz had 13 points for Butler (22-10), which faces No. 1 Virginia in Saturday's second round.

Devaugntah Williams scored 18 points for Texas Tech (19-13).

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