It took two overtimes, however Creighton made certain there can be no upsets on Saturday.
The No. 3 Bluejays took down No. 11 Oregon 86-73 in double additional time to advance to the Candy 16 within the Midwest area. Creighton compelled the primary additional time when Baylor Scheierman hit a jumper to tie the sport with lower than 10 seconds to go and the sport went to a second additional time when Steven Ashworth’s shot bounced off the rim as time expired within the first additional interval.
Oregon took Creighton to the brink of defeat regardless of actually not getting any scoring contributions from gamers who weren’t Jermaine Couisnard or N’Faly Dante throughout the second half. Jackson Shelstad’s shot with 46 seconds to go within the first half was the final level scored by a participant apart from Couisnard or Dante.
Significantly.
The Bluejays pulled away within the second half as Oregon’s reliance on its two stars merely stopped working. The Geese have been scoreless all through the ultimate 5 minutes till Dante made two free throws with 34 seconds to go. After the sport was tied 71-71 on the finish of the primary additional time, Creighton outscored Oregon 15-2 within the remaining interval for an anti-climactic finish to what had been an in depth recreation the whole manner.
Couisnard had 32 factors and Dante had 28 with 20 rebounds. Solely two different Oregon gamers scored. Shelstad had seven and Jadrian Tracey scored six.
Ashworth led Creighton with 21 factors as Trey Alexander had 20. Middle Ryan Kalkbrenner had 19 and Scheierman scored 18. Neither group had a lead of greater than six factors at any level till Creighton pulled away within the remaining additional time.
The win places Creighton within the Candy 16 for the third time previously 4 seasons. The Bluejays made the Candy 16 as a No. 5 seed in 2021 earlier than shedding within the second spherical as a No. 9 seed in 2022. A season in the past, Creighton received to the Elite Eight and misplaced to San Diego State because the Aztecs made it to the nationwide title recreation.
The 2024 NCAA event may very well be Creighton’s finest probability to make the Ultimate 4 for the primary time ever. The Bluejays will meet No. 2 Tennessee within the Candy 16 because the Vols are additionally on the lookout for their first Ultimate 4 look.
North Carolina and North Carolina State win
The strain is on, Duke.
No. 1 North Carolina pulled away from No. 9 Michigan State for an 85-69 win within the West area. 4 North Carolina gamers had at the very least 14 factors as RJ Davis had 20 and Armando Bacot had 18.
No. 11 North Carolina State continued its inconceivable win streak with a 79-73 additional time win over No. 14 Oakland. The Grizzlies compelled the sport into additional time with a late surge, however NC State pulled away within the additional 5 minutes.
First-round star Jack Gohlke had 22 factors for the Grizzlies as he made 6 of 17 3-point makes an attempt. NC State huge man DJ Burns Jr. was 9 of 12 from the sphere for twenty-four factors and in addition had 11 rebounds. The win is the seventh previously 11 days for the ACC event champions as they snuck into the event area with their ACC event title recreation win over UNC.
If Duke beats James Madison on Sunday, all three ACC applications from the Raleigh-Durham area can be within the Candy 16 for the primary time since 2015.
Arizona, Iowa State and Tennessee all put up victories
The three No. 2 seeds taking part in on Saturday superior to the Candy 16, although Arizona and Iowa State had much less hassle than Tennessee did.
The Wildcats opened the day with a 78-68 victory over No. 7 Dayton within the West area. Arizona pulled away from the Flyers late within the first half and maintained that benefit within the second. Caleb Love had 19 factors in 35 minutes, whereas Dayton’s DaRon Holmes II led all scorers with 23.
Iowa State took down No. 7 Washington State 67-56 because the Cyclones outscored the Cougars 40-29 within the second half. Washington State was simply 5 of 23 from behind the arc whereas Iowa State shot 7 of 14 from the 3-point line.
Tennessee had a horrible taking pictures night time however appeared prefer it was going to maintain No. 7 Texas at bay for a lot of the second half earlier than the Longhorns made a late run within the Vols’ 62-58 win. Texas received the sport to inside a degree with simply over 30 seconds to go, however Dalton Knecht made 4 free throws within the remaining 10 seconds to seal the sport.
Knecht, the SEC participant of the 12 months, scored 18 factors regardless of making simply 5 of his 18 area objective makes an attempt. Tennessee shot 34% from the sphere and three of 25 from the 3-point line as Knecht, Jonas Aidoo and Zakai Zeigler mixed to go 11 of 42 from the sphere. That’s a stat line that isn’t going to get lots of victories. Nevertheless it was sufficient on Saturday.
Gonzaga sprints away from Kansas
No. 5 Gonzaga’s 89-68 win over No. 4 Kansas was not an upset. The Zags entered the sport because the favorites. However the way in which it transpired within the second half was barely shocking. Kansas led 44-43 on the break earlier than Gonzaga went on a tear to begin the second half. The Bulldogs had a 13-0 run to take a commanding lead after which adopted that with a 14-0 run that put the sport out of attain.
Kansas was about as misplaced as you’ll discover a Invoice Self group on protection because the Jayhawks had no solutions for Gonzaga’s pick-and-roll.
No. 3 Illinois is within the Candy 16 for the primary time since 2005 after a simple 89-63 win over No. 11 Duquesne. Terrence Shannon Jr. continued his scorching streak with 30 factors on 10-of-14 taking pictures from the sphere, whereas Marcus Domask had 22 factors after posting a triple-double within the first spherical.
Illinois led 50-26 at halftime as they rapidly put away the Dukes. It was the ultimate recreation for Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot as he introduced earlier than the event that he would retire on the finish of the season.