By The Associated Press
Results from the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday:
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EAST REGION
ALABAMA 86, VIRGINIA TECH 83
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Collin Sexton scored 21 of his team-high 24 points after halftime to lead Alabama over Virginia Tech for the Crimson Tide’s first NCAA Tournament win in a dozen years.
John Petty kept ninth-seeded Alabama (20-15) in it while Sexton struggled during a sluggish opening half and finished with 20 points while shooting 6 of 8 on 3-pointers. Sexton found a rhythm in the second half, including a handful of big shots over the final five minutes to give the Crimson Tide a bit of breathing room in a game that featured 10 lead changes, with no team ever being up by more than seven points.
Justin Robinson scored 19 points to lead the eighth-seeded Hokies (21-12).
VILLANOVA 87, RADFORD 61
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 16 points and top-seeded Villanova hit 14 3-pointers to rout Radford.
The Wildcats (31-4) played to near-perfection for the first 30 minutes and led 44-23 at halftime.
The Highlanders (23-13) posed no threat at becoming the first 16 seed to ever knock off a No. 1 in the tournament.
TEXAS TECH 70, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 60
DALLAS (AP) — Keenan Evans scored 19 of his 23 points after halftime and third-seeded Texas Tech ended the game on a 13-2 run.
Evans’ layup with 3:58 left put the Big 12 runner-up Red Raiders (25-9) ahead to stay. Texas Tech will next play the winner of the Florida-St. Bonaventure game.
SFA (28-7), the Southland Conference tournament champion, led by eight early in the second half.
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SOUTH REGION
BUFFALO 89, ARIZONA 68
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Wes Clark scored 25 points, Jeremy Harris added 23 and No. 13 seed Buffalo pulled off the biggest upset of the opening round, rolling over No. 4 seed Arizona.
The smaller Bulls (27-8) used their quickness to zip around the Wildcats (27-8), scoring at the rim and on kickout 3-pointers.
Defensively, Buffalo neutralized Arizona’s size inside by collapsing on the paint, forcing the Wildcats to shoot from the perimeter. Arizona went 2 for 18 from beyond the 3-point arc, while the Bulls knocked down 15 of 30.
CJ Massinburg had 19 points and Buffalo shredded Arizona’s defense at a 55-percent clip for the program’s first NCAA Tournament win.
TENNESSEE 73, WRIGHT STATE 47
DALLAS (AP) — Admiral Schofield had 15 points and 12 rebounds as third-seeded Tennessee advanced to the second round by overwhelming Wright State.
Lamonte Turner had 19 points and a career-high nine assists for the Volunteers (26-8), SEC co-champions in the regular season after being picked in the preseason to finish 13th in the 14-team league. They’ll next play Loyola-Chicago on Saturday.
Wright State (25-10) was the Horizon League tournament champ.
KENTUCKY 78, DAVIDSON 73
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Kentucky didn’t make a 3-point for the first time in a game since 1988, but still did enough to top Davidson.
Fifth-seeded Kentucky (25-10) went 0 for 6 from behind arc after hitting a 3 in a nation-best streak of 1,047 games.
Kevin Knox scored 25 for Kentucky, which next plays the Arizona-Buffalo winner.
Davidson (21-12) made 11 3-pointers, led by six from Jon Axel Gudmundsson, who finished with 21 points.
LOYOLA-CHICAGO 64, MIAMI 62
DALLAS (AP) — Donte Ingram hit a 3-pointer from the March Madness logo just before the buzzer, lifting Loyola-Chicago over Miami 64-62 in its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1985.
Ingram’s long shot came from well above the key. The 11th-seeded Ramblers (29-5) matched the school record for wins from their 1963 national championship team.
Loyola was boosted by a pregame prayer from its team chaplain, 98-year-old Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt.
The buzzer sounded as Ingram’s shot went in, but officials put 0.3 seconds back on the clock. A desperation pass by Miami (22-10) bounced away harmlessly.
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MIDWEST REGION
KANSAS 76, PENN 60
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Devonte Graham ignited sluggish Kansas midway through the first half, pouring in 29 points and lifting his top-seeded team.
Lagerald Vick added 14 points for the Jayhawks (28-7), who trailed the Ivy League champs 21-11 with about 7 minutes left in the first half. Kansas advanced to play Seton Hall.
A.J. Brodeur had 14 points to lead the Quakers (24-9).
DUKE 89, IONA 67
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Marvin Bagley III dominated in his NCAA Tournament debut, pouring in 22 points to go with seven rebounds as Duke rolled.
The Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year made 10 of 14 shots in 32 minutes and grabbed seven rebounds.
Grayson Allen scored 16 points as the second-seeded Blue Devils (27-7) powered past 15th-seeded Iona (26-7).
Duke will next play Rhode Island.
RHODE ISLAND 83, OKLAHOMA 78, OT
PITTSBURGH (AP) — E.C. Matthews hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime and Rhode Island topped dynamic scorer Trae Young and the Sooners.
The seventh-seeded Rams (26-7) won a game in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season and will play Duke on Saturday.
Young scored 28 points on 9-for-18 shooting with six turnovers. The freshman scored 13 straight points for Oklahoma (18-14) late in regulation and made two free throws to open OT.
SETON HALL 94, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 83
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Khadeen Carrington scored 26 points, Desi Rodriguez added 20 and eighth-seeded Seton Hall won a foul-filled first-round matchup.
Myles Powell added 19 points and Angel Delgado scored 13 for the Pirates (22-11), who led the entire way a year after a late meltdown cost them against Arkansas.
Allerik Freeman hit six 3-pointers and had 36 points to lead No. 9 seed North Carolina State (21-12).
The only thing that slowed down the high-scoring, up-and-down matchup was the whistles. The teams combined for 53 fouls.
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WEST REGION
GONZAGA 68, UNC GREENSBORO 64
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Zach Norvell Jr. hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 20.8 seconds left to help Gonzaga escape a major scare.
The fourth-seeded Bulldogs (31-4) trailed 64-62 with 1:48 left after squandering a 12-point lead they took early in the second half.
Gonzaga, in its 20th straight NCAA tournament, won its first game of March Madness for the 10th year in a row. UNC Greensboro (27-8) was the Southern Conference champ.
OHIO STATE 81, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 73
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Kam Williams made a tiebreaking four-point play with 1:36 left, then added a trio of free throws after being fouled on another 3-point attempt to lift Ohio State.
The fifth-seeded Buckeyes (25-8) built a 13-point lead by reeling off 16 straight points midway through the second half.
Ohio State advanced to play Gonzaga. The teams met in November and the Zags romped 86-59.
Mike Daum scored 27 points for 12th-seeded South Dakota State (28-7).
HOUSTON 67, SAN DIEGO STATE 65
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Rob Gray scored 39 points, including a wind-milling layup that just trickled over the rim with 1.1 seconds left that lifted sixth-seeded Houston.
Trey Kell’s off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer was no good for 11th-seeded San Diego State (22-11).
Houston (27-7) posted its first tournament win since 1984.
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