NCAA Tournament bracket: Kansas avoids upset; Gonzaga eliminates Oklahoma State
The Jayhawks avoided a huge upset, and Marcus Smart’s tournament run came to an early end.
The NCAA Tournament Round of 64 continues Friday, and Andrew Wiggins and the Kansas Jayhawks advanced to face Stanford on Sunday. Marcus Smart, however, saw his tournament cut short after the Oklahoma State Cowboys dropped their game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
No. 2 Kansas 80, No. 15 Eastern Kentucky 69
Eastern Kentucky went into halftime tied with Kanas, but the Jayhawks were able to avoid a huge upset. Tarik Black and and Jamari Traylor had big games, combining for 29 points and 19 rebounds, and Andrew Wiggins put the exclamation point the Jayhawks' victory.
Wiggins’ slam with less than a minute remaining served as the final breaking point for the Colonels.
Kansas' superstar freshman scored a game-high 19 points. Perry Ellis also had a big game, adding in 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Kansas will face Stanford on Sunday in the Round of 32.
No. 8 Gonzaga 85, No. 9 Oklahoma State 77
So long, Cowboys. The Bulldogs sent Smart and Oklahoma State packing. Kevin Pangos scored a game-high 26 points, draining multiple free throws in the final minutes to hold off the Cowboys.
Smart finished with a team-high 23 points, but Oklahoma State struggled from beyond the arc. The Cowboys shot just 20 percent from three-point range, while Gonzaga shot 50 percent. Gary Bell Jr. scored 17 points for Gonzaga, making three of his four three-point attempts.
Gonzaga will play Arizona on Sunday.
No. 3 Creighton 76, No. 8 Louisiana-Lafayette 66
Doug McDermott went off for 30 points and 12 rebounds, and the Bluejays held off the Ragin' Cajuns. McDermott did most of his damage in the first half, but scored seven points over the final three minutes to help close out Louisiana-Lafayette.
Bryant Mbamalu had a terrible game, shooting just 1-of-12 from the field. Elfrid Payton led Louisiana-Lafayette with 24 points.
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