Hawkeyes knock out first top seed in Gators
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TAMPA, Fla. -- Alvaro Folgueiras nailed a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining and Iowa eliminated defending national champion Florida, sending the top-seeded Gators home with a 73-72 victory on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Under first-year coach Ben McCollum, Iowa reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015, while Florida (27-8) became the first No. 1 seed to be knocked out of this year's March Madness.
The ninth-seeded Hawkeyes (23-12) wasted a 12-point lead in the second half but rallied in the final minutes. They will face No. 4 seed Nebraska in the South Region semifinals Thursday night in Houston.
Xaivian Lee's driving layup put Florida ahead 71-68 with under two minutes left. Bennett Stirtz answered with a floater to cut it to 71-70 with 57 seconds remaining.
After Thomas Haugh missed a 3-pointer, Stirtz missed a running layup and Isaiah Brown grabbed the rebound with 8.9 seconds left. Brown made his second free throw.
But Iowa easily broke Florida's full-court press and Folguerias was wide open in the corner for his 3. Florida didn't get a shot off before the buzzer, with Lee's desperate drive ending with a pass that Haugh couldn't handle.
Coming off a 59-point victory over Prairie View A&M on Friday night, Florida played like a team that hadn't been tested.
It felt like a home game for the Gators, who played in front of a sea of orange and blue at Benchmark International Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Fans left stunned.
Tavion Banks led Iowa with 20 points, Folgueiras had 14 and Stirtz finished with 13 on another off night when he shot just 5 of 16. Cooper Kock scored 12 points on four 3s.
Alex Condon led Florida with 21 points, Haugh had 19 and Lee added 17.
Virginia goes home
PHILADELPHIA -- Ja'Kobi Gillespie and Bishop Boswell are roommates on the road and the Tennessee standouts suggested they spend almost every moment -- from the practice court to the weight room to social activities -- together.
"We can't get enough of each other," Gillespie said.
How does another March Madness weekend as roomies sound?
Gillespie scored 21 points, Boswell and Nate Ament made critical free throws down the stretch and sixth-seeded Tennessee advanced to its fourth straight Sweet 16, beating Virginia 79-72.
Thijs De Ridder led Virginia, the No. 3 seed, with 22 points. The Cavs finish at 30-6.
Still going strong
SAN DIEGO -- Jaden Bradley scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half, Motiejus Krivas had 11 points and 14 rebounds and top-seeded Arizona beat No. 9-seeded Utah State 78-66 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in five seasons under coach Tommy Lloyd.
The Wildcats (34-2) take an 11-game winning streak into Thursday's game against No. 4-seeded Arkansas in the West Region in San Jose. The Wildcats will be looking to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since doing so in both 2014 and 2015.
Redemption time
SAN DIEGO -- Dylan Darling hadn't made a shot all day when he got the ball at midcourt for St. John's with 3.9 seconds left in a tied March Madness thriller.
Darling could have passed. He could have wilted. He could have missed yet again.
Instead, the Red Storm's tenacious point guard ran the play he had called for himself moments earlier -- attacking the basket, banking in a perfectly weighted shot and sending himself headlong into St. John's lore.
Darling hit a driving layup for his only bucket of the game, and St. John's advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999 with a 67-65 victory over Kansas.
It was his only bucket of the game.
"I probably don't deserve this," said Darling, who had missed his first four shots badly enough that an exasperated Rick Pitino implored him to stop aiming the ball. "I was pretty bad all night long. But my teammates held it down tonight. Everybody stepped up. Just happy to keep this thing rolling."
Darryn Peterson, a projected top 3 NBA draft pick, led Kansas with 21 points.
Purdue triumphs
ST. LOUIS -- Purdue has advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third straight time and seventh in the last nine years. Fletcher Loyer scored 24 points, Trey Kaufman-Renn had 19 points and nine rebounds, and the second-seeded Boilermakers beat Miami 79-69.
In his first game since breaking Bobby Hurley's NCAA career record for assists, Purdue's Braden Smith had 12 points and eight assists.
Kentucky rolled
ST. LOUIS -- Tamin Lipsey had 26 points and 10 assists as second-seeded Iowa State pulled away in the second half for an 82-63 win over No. 7 seed Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Cyclones are headed back to the Sweet 16.
Iowa State played without All-America forward Joshua Jefferson, who sprained his ankle in a first-round win over Tennessee State and watched from the end of the bench.
Denzel Aberdeen scored points and Otega Oweh had 18 for Kentucky.
UConn cruises
PHILADELPHIA -- Alex Karaban scored a career-high 27 points and had Bill Murray and the rest of the UConn crowd roaring with each splashed 3 as he helped send the second-seeded Huskies back to the Sweet 16 with a 73-57 win over UCLA.
The Huskies snapped a tie game with a 14-0 run the second half that put the game away.
Xavier Booker led the Bruins with 13 points.