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March Madness Day 3 recap

A ball bounces across the court during a practice session for the first-round college basketball games of the NCAA Tournament.
George Walker IV
A ball bounces across the court during a practice session for the first-round college basketball games of the NCAA Tournament.
SOURCE: George Walker IV
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March Madness Day 3 recap

Day 3 of the NCAA Men's Tournament is underway. Here are updates on all of Saturday's games.

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Iowa State forward Hason Ward (24) grabs a rebound in front of Washington State forward Isaac Jones (13) in the first half of a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament.
Charlie Neibergall
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(2) Iowa State 67, (7) Washington State 56

Tamin Lipsey scored 15 points to lead No. 2 seed Iowa State to its seventh Sweet 16 with a 67-56 victory over seventh-seeded Washington State in the NCAA Tournament.

Curtis Jones added 14 points for the Cyclones.

Jaylen Wells scored 20 points and Myles Rice had 13 for the Cougars, who were sent back to the Palouse still in search of their first Sweet 16 appearance since Tony Bennett was on the sideline in 2008.

North Carolina forward Harrison Ingram (55) drives to the basket past Michigan State guard A.J. Hoggard (11) during the first half of a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament.
Chris Carlson
2

(1) North Carolina 85, (9) Michigan State 69

RJ Davis scored 20 points to help North Carolina beat Michigan State 85-69 in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, pushing the Tar Heels to the Sweet 16 while keeping them unbeaten in March Madness against Spartans Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.

Harrison Ingram made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points for the West Region’s top seed, which continued its NCAA success in its home state. UNC ran off 17 straight points during a 23-3 run over the last eight minutes of the first half to erase a 12-point deficit, then continued answering every push by the Spartans after halftime.

The Tar Heels improved to 5-0 in the tournament against Izzo, including victories in the 2005 Final Four and 2009 title game.

UNC also got a strong showing inside from Armando Bacot (18 points), who got into the paint to score, draw fouls or kick out against oncoming double teams. Ingram was on the receiving end of some of those, knocking down 5 of 7 3-pointers to go with seven rebounds.

Tyson Walker scored 24 points for the ninth-seeded Spartans, who were playing what amounted to a road game in front of a blue-clad crowd about a 2 1/2-hour drive from UNC's Chapel Hill campus.

Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) brings the ball up court while guarded by Dayton guard Enoch Cheeks (6) during the first half of a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament.
Isaac Hale
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(2) Arizona 78, (7) Dayton 68

Caleb Love scored 19 points and second-seeded Arizona reached the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons, beating No. 7 seed Dayton 78-68 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Arizona also reached a regional semifinal in 2022 in coach Tommy Lloyd's first season.

Keshad Johnson and Pelle Larsson each had 13 points and seven rebounds for Arizona.

DaRon Holmes II had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Flyers, who were denied their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2014.

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Kansas center Hunter Dickinson (1) shoots as Gonzaga forward Braden Huff (34) defends during the first half of a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City.
Rick Bowmer
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(5) Gonzaga 89, (4) Kansas 68

Gonzaga played a nearly perfect second half, busting open a back-and-forth game with a 15-0 run to pull away from Kansas for an 89-68 win and extend its nation-best streak of trips to the Sweet 16 to nine.

Anton Watson shot 8 for 11 for 21 points on an afternoon when basically everyone in a navy jersey was a star, especially after halftime.

The fifth-seeded Zags made their first five 3-pointers of the second half, not missing from long range until less than two minutes remained, and the game had long been in extended garbage time.

They improved to 16-2 since Jan. 18, with the only two losses coming to Saint Mary’s, the team that beat Gonzaga for the West Coast Conference title but was dismissed from the tournament Friday night.

Big man Graham Ike also had 15 and nine, going toe to toe with KU’s Hunter Dickinson, who finished with a quiet 15 points.

Making all the Bulldogs look good was Ryan Nembhard, who blew off a rough shooting night (1 for 6) and finished with 12 assists to become the program's career leader in that category.

North Carolina State's DJ Burns, Jr. (30) shoots over Oakland's Chris Conway during the first half of a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament Saturday, March 23, 2024, in Pittsburgh.
Matt Freed
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(11) North Carolina State 79, (14) Oakland 73

DJ Burns Jr. scored 24 points, including a go-ahead putback that ignited a 9-0 run in overtime, and 11th-seeded North Carolina State beat 14th-seeded Oakland 79-73 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night.

Powered by their versatile 6-foot-9, 275-pound forward, the Wolfpack advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015 by finally pulling away from 3-point specialist Jack Gohlke and the Golden Grizzlies in the extra period.

Michael O'Connell had 12 points for the Wolfpack. DJ Horne and Casey Morsell added 11 apiece. Jayden Taylor came off the bench in overtime to hit a 3-pointer that put N.C. State ahead by five.

Oakland, which ousted third-seeded Kentucky on Thursday, just missed becoming the first 14 seed to reach the Sweet 16 since Chattanooga in 1997.

Trey Townsend, the Horizon League Player of the Year, had 30 points and 13 rebounds for the Golden Grizzlies. Gohlke, who made 10 3-pointers against Kentucky, poured in six more 3s and finished with 22 points.

Texas forward Brock Cunningham reaches for a loose ball during the first half of a second-round college basketball game against Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 23, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Chris Carlson
6

(2) Tennessee 62, (7) Texas 58

Dalton Knecht scored 18 points and made four free throws in the final 8.8 seconds as Tennessee topped Texas 62-58 on Saturday to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.

Jonas Aidoo had 11 points and Tober Awaka added 10 for the Volunteers, helping coach Rick Barnes beat the team he coached for 17 seasons. The Vols have reached the Sweet 16 three times in nine seasons under Barnes, but have yet to advance out of that round in that stretch.

Tyrese Hunter and Chendall Weaver each had 13 points for seventh-seeded Texas.

The Vols shot just 29% from the field in the first half, but managed to take a 38-29 lead into the locker room.

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Duquesne forward Jakub Necas (7) goes for a loose ball with Illinois guard Luke Goode (10) and forward Marcus Domask (3) in the first half of a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament.
Charlie Neibergall
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(3) Illinois 89, (11) Duquesne 63

Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 30 points, Marcus Domask added 22 and No. 3 seed Illinois made fast work of 11th-seeded Duquesne in an 89-63 victory Saturday night to reach the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005.

Illinois hadn't made it through the first weekend of the tournament in eight previous appearances, a maddening run of frustration the Illini ended in resounding fashion.

Duquesne, which came in on a nine-game win streak, had its first tournament appearance since 1977 end with its worst loss of the season that sent 65-year-old coach Keith Dambrot into retirement.

Jimmy Clark III scored 14 points and Fousseyni Drame had 13 for Duquesne.

Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) dunks against Oregon's Kwame Evans Jr. (10) during the first half of a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament Saturday, March 23, 2024, in Pittsburgh.
Matt Freed
8

(3) Creighton 86, (11) Oregon 73

Steven Ashworth and Ryan Kalkbrenner made 3-pointers in the second overtime and Creighton edged past its former coach, Oregon’s Dana Altman, to move into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with an 86-73 win on Saturday night.

The 3s by the 6-foot-1 Ashworth and a rare one by the 7-1 Kalkbrenner helped the third-seeded Bluejays score the first 15 points of the second OT to finally put away the 11th-seeded Ducks.

Ashworth scored 21 points, Trey Alexander added 20 and Kalkbrenner 19 for Creighton, which will make its third Sweet 16 appearance in four years when it faces Tennessee next week in the Midwest Regional in Detroit.

It took balance, big shots, clutch free throws and poise for the Bluejays to overcome Oregon's 1-2 punch of Jermaine Couisnard and N'Faly Dante.

Couisnard, who had 40 points in the first round against South Carolina — his former school — had 32 and Dante added 28 points and 20 rebounds.