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Anteaters take bite out of K-State

SAN JOSE, Calif. — When it comes to college basketball in California, UC Irvine is low on the totem pole.

Now the program that sometimes feels like a little brother to Pac-12 powers like UCLA and USC is the only school from the state still standing in the NCAA Tournament after pulling off a stunner .

The 13th-seeded Anteaters got back-to-back 3-pointers from Evan Leonard to spark the deciding run in a 70-64 upset Friday over No. 4 seed Kansas State for the first tournament win in school history.

“Well, little brother has been in the weight room, getting better, getting ready for a chance like this,” coach Russell Turner said. “So I’m really happy for these players to be able to work so hard for something everybody can see and then accomplish it. But I’m also really excited for the fans of our program who also seem to have endured feeling like little brothers.

“You know, we need to stick our chests out a little bit right now.”

UC Irvine (31-5) had lost its only previous tournament game, 57-55 to Louisville in 2015. But the Anteaters got a longer stay this time after taking control of the game with a 12-0 run midway through the second and then holding off the regular season co-champions of the Big 12 to earn their 17th straight victory.

Leonard and Max Hazzard each scored 19 points to send UC Irvine (31-5) into the second round of the South Region for a matchup against either Wisconsin or Oregon.

Elsewhere:

Liberty 80, Mississippi State 76: Caleb Homesley scored 22 of his 30 points in the second half and Lovell Cabbil hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:16 to play to send 12th-seeded Liberty to its first NCAA Tournament win in school history,, this one over fifth-seeded Mississippi State. The Flames (29-6) were making their fourth tournament trip in school history, but lost twice as a No. 16 seed and once in the play-in game.

Oklahoma 95, Mississippi 72: Rashard Odomes and Christian James scored 20 points apiece, Kristian Doolittle had 19 points and matched a career-high with 15 rebounds and No. 9 seed Oklahoma blitzed Mississippi from the start in a victory.

VIRGNIA 71, GARDNER-WEBB 56: No. 1 seed Virginia this year avoided the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history. The Cavaliers rallied from 14 points down to beat No. 16 seed Gardner-Webb in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Virginia was the top overall seed last year but lost 74-54 to 16th seeded UMBC. It was the first — and still the only — time in 35 years one of the top four teams in the tournament has fallen in their opening game. The Cavaliers trailed 30-16 with 6:42 left in the first half but rallied and cut the Runnin’ Bulldogs lead to six at halftime. Virginia then opened the second half with a 25-5 run that ended any ideas of another 1-and-done.

IOWA 79, CINCINNATI 72: Luka Garza scored 20 points, Jordan Bohannon made a three-point play during Iowa’s closing surge, and the 10th-seeded Hawkeyes rallied for a victory over No. 7 seed Cincinnati. The Hawkeyes (23-11) got their first NCAA Tournament win in four years despite what amounted to a home crowd for the Bearcats, who couldn’t overcome a subpar game by Jarron Cumberland.

Tennessee 77, Colgate 70: Admiral Schofield had 19 points and No. 2 seed Tennessee held off a second-half rally by No. 15 seed Colgate to get a win. Jordan Bone added 16 and Jordan Bowden 14 for Tennessee (30-5), which advances to play Iowa on Sunday.

Texas Tech 72, Northern Kentucky 57: Jarrett Culver had 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to help No. 3 seed Texas Tech shake off a slow start and beat No. 14 seed Northern Kentucky. Tariq Owens scored 12 points and Davide Moretti had 10 for Texas Tech (27-6), which had won nine straight games to share the Big 12 regular-season title.

Buffalo 91, Arizona State 74: Looking like a No. 6 seed no one wants to play, high-scoring Buffalo breezed into the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. Jeremy Harris and Nick Perkins each had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Buffalo was hardly bothered by 11th-seeded Arizona State in a victory.

Duke 85, North Dakota State 62: Zion Williamson had an explosive NCAA Tournament debut with 25 points and a can’t-miss second-half showcase to lead top-seeded Duke to a win over North Dakota State. RJ Barrett led Duke with 26 points and 14 rebounds and combined with Williamson for a prolific showing for the freshmen stars.

Washington 78, Utah State 61: Noah Dickerson had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and ninth-seeded Washington made a successful return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years, beating Utah State. Eighth-seeded Utah State (28-7) had won 10 in a row and 17 of 18 while taking the Mountain West title. The Aggies got the highest seed in school history and were trying to end their own long NCAA Tournament drought.

Houston 84, Georgia State 55: Corey Davis scored 26 points to help the third-seeded Houston Cougars beat Georgia State. After reaching the national final in 1984, Houston went more than three decades without winning an NCAA Tournament game. Now, the Cougars have tourney wins in back-to-back seasons and are starting to resemble the program that has five Final Four appearances and produced stars including Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon.

Ohio State 62, Iowa State 59: The Buckeyes held on as the Cyclones missed a tying 3-point attempt in the closing seconds. The win gave the Big Ten a 7-1 record in the first round of the tournament.

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