NCAA Tournament 2018 Schedule and Scores Tracker: Saturday's Second-Round Games
The first round of the NCAA tournament is officially complete, and Saturday's slate of games decided the first spots in the Sweet Sixteen. On Friday, the Marshall Thundering Herd rode the three-pointer train to pull off an upset of No. 4 Wichita State, while No. 7 Nevada clawed its way back to defeat Mo Bamba and No. 10 Texas. No. 2-seeds Duke and Purdue took care of business in the first round, but the Boilermakers didn't advance unscathed: senior center Isaac Haas fractured his elbow in a blowout win over Cal State-Fullerton and will miss the rest of the tournament.
Below you’ll find recaps of every game, and click here for a live look at the bracket.
Saturday's Results
Villanova 81, Alabama 58
With Virginia’s early exit, Villanova has the look of your new consensus national title favorite. The Wildcats looked like they were feeling the burden of being the NCAA tournament’s highest remaining seed in the first half against a hyper-athletic Alabama lineup, propped up only by a hot start from super-sub Donte DiVincenzo, who hit five three-pointers before the break. The rest of the team woke up in the second half and buried Alabama with an 18–1 run in the first five minutes, keyed by Mikal Bridges, who drained five threes of his own and finished with 23 points to lead all scorers.
Duke 87, Rhode Island 62
Mike Krzyzewski passed Pat Summitt for the most wins all-time in either men’s or women’s basketball, and the Blue Devils capped off an afternoon of blowouts in Pittsburgh, leading the undersized and overmatched Rams by double digits for the final 28:51 of game time to secure the program’s 24th Sweet Sixteen appearance under Coach K. Duke’s zone defense dominated with its length, reducing Rhode Island to deep threes and contested jumpers and holding leading scorer Jared Terrell to 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting. The Blue Devils shot 58% from the field, their fourth-best shooting day of the season, and all five starters finished in double figures.
Kentucky 94, Buffalo 75
No. 13 Buffalo pulled off the (second-best) stunner of the first round by knocking out No. 4 Arizona on Thursday, and the Bulls arrived to their second-round contest against John Calipari’s young Kentucky squad ready to play. Buffalo hung around and kept it close in Boise, but freshman Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 27 points on 10-for-12 shooting boosted the Wildcats, who ultimately gained separation late and held a firm grip. Kentucky was tested, but only trailed for 15 seconds against the Bulls, and it should carry some confidence into the Sweet 16.
Loyola-Chicago 63, Tennessee 62
The Ramblers did it again. No. 11 Loyola-Chicago (and Sister Jean!) is on to its first Sweet 16 since 1985 after knocking off No. 3 Tennessee on a game-winner in the final seconds. Clayton Custer’s jumper got just enough bounce to fall and the Vols couldn’t answer on the other end as Loyola escaped. Senior Aundre Jackson scored 16 off the bench to lead the Ramblers. Tennessee was playing without starting center Kyle Alexander but got 14 from Admiral Schofield.
Kansas 83, Seton Hall 79
No. 1 Kansas survived a tough test from No. 8 Seton Hall in the second round to reach its third straight Sweet 16. The Pirates cut the Jayhawks’ lead to four with less than four minutes to play, but couldn’t get over the hump as Kansas iced the game with free throws. Seton Hall senior Angel Delgado had a monster game, tallying 24 points and 23 rebounds (nine offensive!), but Malik Newman scored 28 to lead the Jayhawks.
Gonzaga 90, Ohio State 84
No. 4 Gonzaga held off a second-half comeback bid by No. 5 Ohio State to advance to the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight year. The Zags went up 15–0 not even five and a half minutes in, but the Buckeyes rallied and eventually took the lead midway through the second half. Behind freshman Zach Norvell Jr., who finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds, the Bulldogs staved off Ohio State to march on.
Texas Tech 69, Florida 66
No. 6 Florida had two great looks at a game-tying three pointer in the closing seconds but couldn’t get either to fall as No. 3 Texas Tech survived to reach its first Sweet 16 since 2005. Keenan Evans scored 22 and hit 3 of 4 threes to lead the Red Raiders, while freshman Zhaire Smith added 18. The Gators shot just 39.7% from the floor against Texas Tech’s defense, including a 6-for-22 effort from three.
Michigan 64, Houston 63
Jordan. Poole. The Wolverines freshman stunned No. 6 Houston at the buzzer, nailing a three to send No. 3 Michigan to the Sweet 16. Poole’s game-winner came after the Cougars’ Devin Davis missed two free throws with four seconds remaining, missing the opportunity to go up by two possessions. Rob Gray had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Houston, but it wasn’t enough as the Wolverines survived.
