What happened in Thursday and Friday's first round

Creighton coach Greg McDermott on Akron’s first half and the battle it became: “Some of the things I said in the huddle I can’t repeat.”

Late Sunday afternoon, in between rounds of confetti showers at Minneapolis’ Target Center, Terrence Shannon Jr. took center stage. The fifth-year guard for Illinois’ men’s basketball team had been voted the most outstanding player of the Big Ten tournament, which his team just won. Now was the moment to claim his prize. Shannon nudged past elated teammates wearing championship hats and T-shirts on a temporary dais, took a trophy off a table and smiled as he cradled it near his waist.

A couple hours earlier, a less exultant scene played out.

Shannon toed the free-throw line early in the title game against Wisconsin. The arena was relatively muted. Members of the Badgers’ pep band, seated behind the basket, directed a chant at Shannon while he prepared to shoot. “No means no! No means no!” they shouted. Officials, including one from the Big Ten Conference, approached the band and ordered them to stop. They obliged. A pocket of Wisconsin fans nevertheless repeated the chant the next time Shannon was at the line.

The dynamic will now have a national audience during the NCAA Tournament. The Fighting Illini are a surging No. 3 seed in the East Region, and Shannon, a first-team all-league performer, is their best player. He’s also out there only because he successfully sued the university to end a suspension levied after he was arrested and charged with rape in Douglas County, Kansas, in December.

Shannon has not spoken publicly about the case since charges were filed, on advice from legal counsel. That isn’t expected to change this week in Omaha, Neb., where the Illini are playing Morehead State in the first round.

“I’m the basketball coach, and a lot of this stuff was put in play by our university, the courts, and I’m not going to consume myself with it,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said after the Big Ten tournament championship game. “I said when he was suspended, I was going to coach the guys in the locker room. He’s in the locker room. I’m going to coach him.”

On Dec. 5, prosecutors charged Shannon, 23, with one count of rape or an alternative count of sexual battery after an alleged incident that occurred while visiting Lawrence, Kansas, for a Sept. 8 football game. A woman told police that she was at a bar early Sept. 9 when she was summoned by a man, who grabbed her buttocks, reached under her skirt and touched her sexually, according to an investigative report. She later identified Shannon from an online team roster.

“Terrence is innocent of these charges, and he intends to take his case to trial,” Mark P. Sutter, Shannon’s lawyer, said in a statement.

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No. 11 seed, Midwest Region

Opponent, time, TV: South Carolina, 4 p.m., TNT

Team in 16 words: Thought to be foie gras, the Ducks flap into the field thanks to a high-flying offense.

Record: 23-11 (12-8 Pac-12)

Coach: Dana Altman (16-15 NCAA Tournament, 1 Final Four)

Player to watch: N’Faly Dante (first-team All-Pac-12)

Numbers:

BetMGM title odds: +25000

Sweet 16 projected chance: 21 percent

Final Four projected chance: 2.1 percent

Strengths: Pounding the paint is Oregon’s greatest asset. N’Faly Dante simply would not be contained down the homestretch and into the Pac-12 Tournament, which the Ducks needed to win to get into the NCAA Tournament and they did. He enters the NCAA Tournament after a flawless 12-for-12 shooting performance in the championship game against Colorado. Mind-blowing. Over their final seven regular-season contests, Oregon, as a team, made 56.4 percent of its shots inside the arc. Decent on the glass and occasionally effective from 3-point range, Dana Altman’s group has reached their offensive apex at the most opportune time.

Weaknesses: Defensively, the Ducks are more of the rubber variety. Over the final month of the regular season, they ranked a wretched No. 270 nationally in effective field-goal percentage defense, surrendering a staggering 53.3 percent from two and an equally loathsome 35.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Ducks’ backcourt shot the rock more effectively in the Pac-12 tournament, but in their last eight games they checked in at No. 346 in 3-point percentage offense (27.2). Bottom line, the Ducks are truly kings of inconsistency in myriad ways.

Outlook: Much like the NES classic Duck Hunt, the spiraling Quackers — days before the Pac-12 tourney — were food for snickering dogs. However, a stirring and unforeseen March run allowed them to steal a bid. If Dante, Jermaine Couisnard and Jackson Shelstad continue to sizzle, the storybook ending could have them laughing last.

— Brad Evans

High-scoring start to Illinois-Morehead State, with the 14th-seeded Eagles leading the Illini 17-13 after seven minutes. Morehead State made its first three 3-pointers, but Illinois has an early advantage on the class with eight rebounds to Morehead's three.

PITTSBURGH – It was going to take 14th-seeded Akron, the 274th-best 3-point shooting team in America, shooting out of its mind to pull an upset over No. 3 seed Creighton here in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

And for a few magical minutes, the Zips shot out of their minds, making five of their first nine 3-point tries. So for a full half of basketball, the dream lived.

But in the second half, the law of averages and a tremendous talent disparity took over. Akron missed nine straight and 13 of 15 shots at one point, and the Bluejays’ big three of Baylor Scheierman, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Trey Alexander seemed to remember they were the best players in this game by a wide margin.

That trio, the returning core of a team that came within one shot of the Final Four last season, combined for 57 points and 26 rebounds – nearly matching Akron’s entire team in both categories. Creighton, which trailed with two minutes to go in the first half, led by as many as 20 in the second, and won 77-60.

Next up is a date with the winner of Oregon-South Carolina for a trip to a third Sweet 16 in four years under coach Greg McDermott.

CHARLOTTE – Another excellent season for Chris Jans at Mississippi State ends in another NCAA Tournament disappointment, though a 69-51 loss to Michigan State might have hurt a little less than last year’s 60-59 heartbreaker against Pitt in the First Four.

That’s two seasons under Jans and consecutive NCAA bids, which last happened in 2008-09 for this program.

It also paves the way for a team that will look very different next season, with D.J. Jeffries, Dashawn Davis and Tolu Smith in their graduate years – and with others undoubtedly looking to poach Josh Hubbard.

Jans was asked about the roster turnover, and retaining Hubbard in particular, after the All-SEC freshman scored 15 points against the Spartans. He came in averaging 17.1 per game.

“Man, I really haven't gone there yet,” Jans said. “I've been super focused on this team, and certainly recruiting never ends. I've been super focused on trying to get our team into the best position possible to win these meaningful games.

“I'm sure as we get through with our obligations and get back to the hotel, the staff will be raring to go with getting me more on the phone than we have and trying to figure out where we go from here. We're going to want quality people. We're going to want obviously good players. Like you said, we're going to try to be better, in a better position next year than we are right now.”

Arizona and Long Beach State were tied at 35, but the No. 2 seed has taken control with a 20-2 run and leads Long Beach State 55-37 with 16:13 to play.

Kylan Boswell leads the Wildcats with 13 points, while Pelle Larsson has 11. Arizona has hit 6 of 11 from the floor in the second half and is on the verge of blowing this game open.

OMAHA, Neb. — Duquesne has been one of the best defensive teams in college basketball during a nine-game winning streak that now has the Dukes on its way to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

The Dukes won their first tournament game since 1969 with a 71-67 win over sixth-seeded BYU. The Cougars missed their first eight shots and struggled with Duquesne’s constant pressure.

It was a masterful defensive game plan from veteran coach Keith Dambrot, who is retiring at the end of the season. His team has embraced a defensive identity late in the season, and with BYU surging down the stretch, Duquesne’s Jimmy Clark III jumped into a passing lane and threw down a dunk to put the Dukes up four.

BYU went on a 4-0 run to tie the game, but Clark then went on his own 5-0 run. Clark, who was dismissed from VCU in 2021 for unclosed reasons, took over the game with his speed down the stretch. He finished with 11 points and four steals.

Anyone not named Jaxson Robinson struggled to make a perimeter shot for the Cougars. Robinson scored 25 points and made 5-of-11 3s, and the rest of the team was 3-of-13 from distance. Duquesne guarded the Cougars tight on the perimeter, getting body to body on on off-ball screening action and bumping cutters.

The Cougars finally figured out the solution was getting to the second and third side of the floor and drive on the Dukes. They started scoring once they got to the paint, chipping away at a 14-point lead that Duquesne held early in the second half. But the Cougars missed too many shots in close, particularly center Foussey Traore, who was 4-of-12 from the field.

Duquesne made just enough shots down the stretch, with Clark’s steal and dunk coming at a perfect time when the offense was struggling to get any quality looks. Duquesne leading scorer Dae Dae Grant led the Dukes with 19 points. Freshman Jakub Necas also had the game of his career, finishing with a career-high 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks.

It was the first-ever tournament win for Dambrot, who made three tournament appearances at Akron.

Duquesne over BYU is what the NCAA Tournament expansion people want to take away. The Dukes were a bid thief out of the A-10, then they beat a Power conference team in BYU.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has been among the sport’s leaders in favor of expansion by noting it would help a league like the Big 12 get more teams in the field.

Duquesne, which just won its first NCAA Tournament game since 1969, is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh.

Creighton remembered it has the three best players in this game and has dropped the hammer on plucky Akron.

Trey Alexander, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Baylor Scheierman have combined for 49 points. Akron for 47.

Bluejays lead by 20 with nine minutes to go.

OMAHA, Neb. — Duquesne players hopped up to scream over the table and celebrate with their fans. Long time coming for the Dukes and these fans.

Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot, who is retiring the next time the Dukes lose: "They just don't want me to retire, I guess. I'm trying to get to the promised land, and they're making me keep coaching."

PITTSBURGH — To piggyback on Hollinger's note, I think this is one of the most fun little quirks about being in the building at an NCAA Tournament.

As if the games playing out in front of you aren't thrilling enough, there are always a few moments when an upset at another site is brewing and the score or, even better, the live feed, of that game is shown on the big screen. The unexpected rumble, then roar from the crowd, is kind of awesome.