NCAA Tournament recap: Big 12 gets one into Elite Eight in Texas Tech

Texas Tech made sure the Big 12 would have at least one team in the Elite Eight, rallying for an incredible 85-83 victory over Arkansas in overtime. The Red Raiders trailed by as many as 16, closing with a huge rally in regulation.

Darrion Williams’ layup with seven seconds left was the difference, as Arkansas was unable to get the potential tying bucket to go at the buzzer. Christian Anderson had 22 while both Williams and JT Toppin added 20 with nine rebounds.

Arizona gave Duke all it could handle before falling, 100-93. Caleb Love put on a one-man show, scoring 35 points, including five made 3-pointers. Jaden Bradley added 15 and Henri Veesaar chipped in 13 off the bench.

But Cooper Flagg was too much, as the future No. 1 NBA Draft pick scored 30 points with seven assists, six rebounds and three blocked shots. The Blue Devils made 11 triples in all, including three from Flagg.

Give BYU credit, as they were picked to finish near the bottom of the Big 12 Conference this past season. Instead, the Cougars put together a strong run that ended Thursday night in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

And honestly, on most other nights, they probably would have been moving on. But nobody was beating Alabama.

The Crimson Tide sank a tournament-record 25 three-pointers in posting a 113-88 victory over BYU. Alabama was 25 of 51 from deep and shot 53 percent overall, making just 10 field goals from inside the 3-point line.

Mark Sears sank 10 of those triples, scoring 34 points with eight assists. He also broke the single-game record for made 3-pointers. Chris Youngblood scored 19 and Grant Nelson had 10 rebounds.

For BYU, Richie Saunders finished with 25 points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists, with Egor Demin adding 15 points and seven assists.

NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Sweet 16 Round

Thursday’s results

Alabama 113, BYU 88
Florida 87, Maryland 71
Duke 100, Arizona 93
Texas Tech 85, Arkansas 83 (OT)

Friday’s Games

Ole Miss vs. Michigan State, 6:09 p.m. (CBS)
Kentucky vs. Tennessee, 6:39 p.m. (TBS/truTV)
Michigan vs. Auburn, 8:39 p.m. (CBS)
Purdue vs. Houston, 9:09 p.m. (TBS/truTV)