March Madness Scores: 2021 Men's NCAA Tournament Day 4 Schedule, Recaps
March Madness continues Monday with the fourth full day of the men's NCAA tournament, and the final eight spots in Sweet 16 are up for grabs. After a Sunday that saw upsets once again take center stage, with No. 15 seed Oral Roberts, No. 12 seed Oregon State, No. 11 seed Syracuse and No. 8 Loyola Chicago all moving on, who will join them? Plus, can the Big Ten bounce back from its brutal showing, and will the Pac-12 keep rolling in Indianapolis?
Sports Illustrated will keep you updated throughout the day with scores and brief recaps, from Iowa vs. Oregon to USC vs. Kansas. Monday's full schedule is below.
No. 7 Oregon 95, No. 2 Iowa 80
The Pac-12 and Big Ten continued their tournament role reversal to kick off Monday. The Hawkeyes got 36 points from star Luka Garza, but their season-long defensive concerns were exposed as the Ducks got whatever they wanted offensively. After an electric opening 15 minutes in Indy, which featured the teams trading flamethrowers, Oregon closed the first half on a 10–0 run and then permanently separated itself in the second by clamping down on Iowa's non-Garza shooters. Chris Duarte, L.J. Figueroa, Will Richardson and Eugene Omoruyi all had big days for the Ducks, who advance to the Sweet 16. —Molly Geary
No. 1 Gonzaga 87, No. 8 Oklahoma 71
After a strong start, the Sooners couldn’t quite keep up with the undefeated Zags. Oklahoma scored 17 points in the first 4:18 of game action but was mostly slowed down after that, scoring just 17 points for the remainder of the half while Gonzaga built out a 12-point lead at halftime. And while the Sooners never folded, they simply could never string together enough stops to seriously threaten the nation’s No. 1 team. Oklahoma trimmed down a lead that was once 19 to single digits with just under three minutes to play, but Gonzaga responded and removed any drama shortly thereafter. While it was a far cry from perfection by the Zags, Drew Timme refused to let the Bulldogs lose with 30 points, 13 rebounds and four assists. —Kevin Sweeney
No. 11 UCLA 67, No. 14 Abilene Christian 47
From the First Four to the Sweet 16, UCLA ended a third team’s season in a week by knocking off Abilene Christian in the second round. The Bruins took care of the ball extremely well against a ACU team that ranked first nationally in forcing turnovers, coughing it up just seven times in the game. UCLA also kept ACU off the offensive glass, which was a critical part of the Wildcats’ victory over Texas Saturday. Johnny Juzang led the way for Mick Cronin’s club with 17 points, while Cody Riley added a double double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Cronin brings a team to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in his career. —K.S.
No. 5 Creighton 72, No. 13 Ohio 58
The Bobcats' magic against Virginia didn't carry over to their second-round bout with the Bluejays, as Ohio's flashy offense got shut down in a double-digit loss. Creighton bounced back from a rough day from three against UC Santa Barbara, with Marcus Zegarowski leading the team's 42.9% mark from the perimeter on Monday. Ohio star Jason Preston had a tough day from the field, going just 1 for 10 and finishing with four points, though he did record nine rebounds and seven assists. The Bluejays' reward? A date with No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga. —M.G.
No. 1 Michigan 86, No. 8 LSU 78
The Wolverines got all they could handle from a talented LSU club, but Michigan advanced to the tournament’s second weekend. A huge reason why? The play of Chaundee Brown and Eli Brooks. Brown and Brooks each scored 21 points in the game, making big play after big play to stem the tide when LSU made its push. That helped Juwan Howard’s club overcome foul trouble for Hunter Dickinson and a relatively quiet night from Franz Wagner. After LSU took a five-point lead with 10:50 to go, the Tigers made just two field goals in the next seven minutes and the Wolverines took control. And while other top Big Ten clubs in Ohio State, Illinois and most recently Iowa have been bounced early, Michigan will extend its stay for at least a few more days. —K.S.
No. 4 Florida State 71, No. 5 Colorado 53
A Buffaloes' offense that put up 96 points two days ago on Georgetown got suffocated by the Seminoles length and athleticism, managing 40 fewer on Monday night. Colorado shot just 36.4% from the field, with point guard McKinley Wright IV (10 points, five turnovers) struggling and Jabari Walker, who went 5 for 5 from three against the Hoyas in the first round, failing to register a point. Florida State went 18 for 29 inside the arc and made 81.0% of its free throws to overcome the Buffs' 16 offensive rebounds. —M.G.
No. 2 Alabama 96, No. 10 Maryland 77
It’s really hard to beat Alabama when the Tide knock down threes. That’s exactly what Maryland found out Monday night, getting torched by Nate Oats’s bunch to the tune of 16 threes and never threatening after a solid start. The Tide showcased their quality depth in this one, putting three bench players in double figures, including a 13-point, 11-assist showing from Jahvon Quinerly. Add in a combined 41 points from Jaden Shackelford and John Petty, and the only real drama in the second half was whether Alabama would top 100 points in this one. The Tide get out of the first weekend for the first time since 2004. —K.S.
No. 6 USC 85, No. 3 Kansas 51
The Trojans handed the Jayhawks program its worst NCAA tournament loss ever to cap the second round, controlling both halves against Bill Self's team to set a Sweet 16 date with conference foe Oregon. The Mobley brothers teamed up to post a combined 27 points, 21 rebounds, nine assists and four blocks, including Isaiah hitting four threes. Kansas struggled to get anything going either inside or outside the arc against the USC defense, shooting a dismal 29.0% from the field and seeing only Marcus Garrett (15 points) score more than eight. It was a fitting end to an opening weekend that has been surprisingly dominated by the Pac-12. —M.G.
• 12:10 p.m.: No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 7 Oregon (CBS)
• 2:40 p.m.: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 8 Oklahoma (CBS)
• 5:15 p.m.: No. 11 UCLA vs. No. 14 Abilene Christian (TBS)
• 6:10 p.m.: No. 5 Creighton vs. No. 13 Ohio (TNT)
• 7:10 p.m.: No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 8 LSU (CBS)
• 7:45 p.m.: No. 4 Florida State vs. No. 5 Colorado (TBS)
• 8:45 p.m.: No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 10 Maryland (TNT)
• 9:40 p.m.: No. 3 Kansas vs. No. 6 USC (CBS)
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