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Bracket Buster: No. 1 Seed Baylor Upset by North Carolina; Purdue Top Seed Left in East Regional

The East Regional bracket keeps busting wide open for Purdue. No. 1 seed Baylor was upset by North Carolina on Saturday, just two days after No. 2 seed Kentucky lost in the first round. The No. 3 seed Boilers are now the highest remaining seed in the region.
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FORT WORTH, Texas — First it was No. 2 seed Kentucky, and now No. 1 seed Baylor has been knocked out of the NCAA Tournament's East Regional.

That leaves the No. 3-seed Purdue Boilermakers as the highest remaining seed in the East Regional.

Baylor, the defending national champions, fell behind North Carolina by 25 points but made a furious rally and forced overtime. But the No. 8 seed Tar Heels hung on in the extra period to win 93-86 and advance out of the second round and into next week's East Regional in Philadelphia. Baylor was just 1-for-11 shooting in the overtime period.

North Carolina was led by sophomore guard R.J. Davis, who scored 30 points in the win. Senior Brady Manek had 26 points, but was ejected for a Flagrant-2 foul in the second half, which sparked Baylor's rally.

"Never underestimate the heart of a champion. When you're down 25 and you force overtime, you've got to be really proud of the guys,'' Baylor coach Scott Drew said on CBS after the game. 

North Carolina (26-9) will play the winner of Saturday night's game in Portland between No. 4 seed UCLA and No. 5 Saint Mary's next Friday in Philadelphia. Purdue played North Carolina earlier this season, winning 93-84 on Nov. 20 in Connecticut.

Purdue, which beat Yale on Friday night, will play its second-round game on Sunday against No. 6 seed Texas. The game, being played in Milwaukee, starts at 8:40 p.m. ET.

If Purdue wins, it plays the winner of Murray State and St. Peters in Philadelphia next Friday. 

  • PURDUE STEAMROLLS YALE, 78-56: Purdue basketball got past Yale on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, led by Jaden Ivey's game-high 22 points. Zach Edey scored 16 points while Caleb Furst also added 10 off the bench. CLICK HERE
  • WHAT MATT PAINTER SAID: Purdue basketball defeated Yale 78-56 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Here's everything coach Matt Painter had to say during the postgame press conference following the victory. CLICK HERE
  • WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID: Here's everything players Jaden Ivey, Zach Edey and Sasha Stefanovic had to say during the postgame press conference following the victory. CLICK HERE
  • PURDUE, YALE LIVE BLOG: Purdue basketball tipped off against Yale in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday inside the Fiserv Forum. CLICK HERE 
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