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NCAA roundup: Purdue routs defending champ Villanova; Michigan, Michigan State win big

HARTFORD, Conn. — Carsen Edwards had a career night, scoring 42 points as Purdue knocked reigning national champion Villanova out of the NCAA Tournament Saturday night in an 87-61 rout.

Matt Haarms added 18 points and nine rebounds for the third-seeded Boilermakers (25-9), who advanced to their third straight Sweet 16.

Eric Paschall had 19 for Villanova (26-10), which saw its quest for a third national title in the last four seasons end during the tournament’s first weekend. Fellow senior Phil Booth scored 15 points, putting him over 1,500 for his career.

Edwards has battled a sore back and had been in a recent shooting slump, making just 7 of 23 shots from the field in Purdue’s first-round win over Old Dominion. He found the bottom of the net early and often against ‘Nova, making 12 of his 21 shots, including nine of 16 from behind the arc.

Purdue shot 54 percent while holding Villanova to just 20 baskets on 58 shots (34 percent).

Purdue jumped out early, building a 13-point lead thanks to Edwards’ outside shooting and Haarms’ work down low.

The 7-foot-3 Dutchman towered over the shorter Wildcats, who didn’t start anyone over 6-8. He had Purdue’s first 4 points on a dunk and a put-back. Edwards hit five of his nine first-half shots, all of which came from 3-point range.

Purdue had nine 3-point baskets in the first half and a dunk by Haarms put the Boilermakers up 43-24 at intermission.

Another dunk from the Dutchman extended the lead to 35 in the second half. Villanova chipped away but the sixth seeded Big East champions did not have weapons to make it a game.

The Wildcats continued a five-year pattern that has seen them lose in the second round, win a national title, lose in the second round and win another national title. The Wildcats are 15-3 in NCAA Tournament games over that stretch.

Elsewhere:

Michigan State 70, Minnesota 50: Michigan State is back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015 after rolling past Minnesota in the second round Saturday night.

The Spartans (30-6) made nine of their first 10 shots on their way to building a 20-point lead in the first 14 minutes. Minnesota managed to pull within single digits briefly in the second half before Big Ten player of the year Cassius Winston took matters into his hands.

Xavier Tillman had 14 points, Winston added 13 with nine assists, and the Spartans shot 57.1 percent.

Amir Coffey had 25 points to lead the 10th-seeded Gophers (23-14), who shot a season-worst 30.5 percent and made only 2 of 22 3-pointers.

Forward Jordan Murphy, the Gophers’ No. 1 all-time rebounder and No. 2 scorer, was limited to four minutes because of back problems.

GONZAGA 83, BAYLOR 71: Brandon Clarke had five monster dunks, five blocks, and matched a career high with 36 points, leading top-seeded Gonzaga past Baylor in the second round of the West Region.

Ninth-seeded Baylor (20-14) scored the first 10 points of the second half to draw within six and keep the game in range. But Gonzaga held on and Clarke’s easy bucket put the Bulldogs up 13 with less than four minutes left.

Clarke, who hit 15 of 18 shots, also had eight rebounds and two steals and lifted his season blocks total to 110, best in the nation.

Baylor’s Mark Vital finished with 17 points and eight rebounds but was hampered by foul trouble.

FLORIDA STATE 90, MURRAY STATE 62: Mfiondu Kabengele scored 22 points, Terrance Mann added 18 and Florida State slammed Murray State to advance to the West regional semifinal of the NCAA Tournament.

Florida State (29-7) is in the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year, the first time FSU has pulled that off since 1992-93.

Murray State point guard Ja Morant, who posted a triple-double against Marquette in the first round, dazzled for a half against FSU, going 5 for 5 from 3-point range. He finished with 28 points, but the 12th-seeded Racers (28-5) were no match for the Seminoles, who hit eight of their first 11 shots from behind the arc and led by 16 at halftime.

MICHIGAN 64, FLORIDA 49: Jordan Poole scored 19 points and Michigan is back in the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year after pulling away from Florida in the second round.

Michigan (30-6), the No. 2 seed in the West Region, has reached the Sweet 16 five times in seven years.

Zavier Simpson had nine points, nine rebounds and nine assists, while 7-foot-1 Jon Teske had eight points to go with 10 rebounds for the Wolverines.

The 10th-seeded Gators (20-16) shot just 29 percent in the second half and were held to their lowest point total of the season.

KENTUCKY 62, WOFFORD 56: Kentucky ended Wofford’s season in the NCAA Tournament with a stifling defensive effort on Fletcher Magee in the second round.

Reid Travis scored 14 points, including two huge free throws with 17.8 seconds left, to help seal the victory for second-seeded Kentucky (29-6). The graduate student, a transfer from Stanford, also grabbed 11 rebounds to help hold off the upstart Terriers (30-5).

Two days after setting the NCAA Division I record for career 3-pointers, Magee stunningly went 0 of 12 from beyond the arc. He made seven 3s on Thursday in Wofford’s victory over Seton Hall.

Nathan Hoover had 19 points and Cameron Jackson 11 for the Terriers. Magee finished with eight points on 4-of-17 shooting.

The Wildcats had a two-point lead at halftime. The Terriers briefly recaptured the lead early in the second half, but Kentucky went ahead for good with 14 1/2 minutes remaining and doggedly protected their advantage the rest of the way.

LSU 69, MARYLAND 67: Tremont Waters drove by three defenders and scooped in a banking layup with 1.6 seconds remaining to give third-seeded LSU the victory over sixth-seeded Maryland in the second round.

Skylar Mays, who scored 16 points, hit a huge 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining that put the Tigers (28-6) up 67-64.

Jalen Smith answered on the other end, sending the packed crowd into a frenzy and prompting LSU to call timeout. Interim coach Tony Benford called a final play for Waters, and he delivered a trip to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2006..

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