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Abilene Christian Wildcats forward Joe Pleasant (32) celebrates with teammates after Saturday’s upset of the Texas Longhorns in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Photograph: Andrew Nelles/USA Today Sports
Abilene Christian Wildcats forward Joe Pleasant (32) celebrates with teammates after Saturday’s upset of the Texas Longhorns in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Photograph: Andrew Nelles/USA Today Sports

Abilene Christian and Ohio score NCAA tournament upsets as virus ends VCU's run

This article is more than 3 years old

Virginia Commonwealth University were pulled from the NCAA tournament on Saturday after what the school said were “multiple” positive Covid-19 tests within the past two days, ending the Rams’ run in college basketball’s annual showcase before it began.

Last year’s entire tournament was called off because of the pandemic, and the NCAA moved this year’s event to Indiana and put teams in what it called a “controlled environment”. But those steps weren’t enough to ensure every game would be played.

The 10th-seeded Rams’ first-round game Saturday against Oregon was declared a no-contest, the NCAA said, sending the seventh-seeded Ducks into the second round without playing.

“We’ve been tested every day for the past three weeks, but within the past 48 hours we’ve received multiple positive tests,” VCU coach Mike Rhoades said in a statement. “We are devastated for our players and coaches. It has been a dream for all of us to play in the NCAA tournament.

“We appreciate the care of our doctors and administration this year, and all our efforts and attention will be put into our players at this time.”

The NCAA MBB Committee has declared the VCU-Oregon game a no-contest because of COVID-19 protocols.

As a result, Oregon will advance. pic.twitter.com/75PFpk8TbC

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 20, 2021

The announcement from the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee came a little more than three hours before the teams were set to play in the West Region. It didn’t offer specific details, citing privacy concerns, and said that the decision came after consultation with the Marion County Public Health Department.

“The NCAA and the committee regret that VCU’s student-athletes and coaching staff will not be able to play in a tournament in which they earned the right to participate,” the statement read.

VCU was in the field for the ninth time in 10 tournaments. The Rams made it to the Final Four in 2011 as an 11 seed.

“The wait is over! Time for some March Madness!” the school’s basketball account tweeted just six hours before the withdrawal was announced.

The Rams were forced to stop practicing or playing on 2 January because of a positive Covid-19 test within their program, forcing a game against Davidson to be postponed. They resumed practice two days later and made it through the rest of the season without further problems.

Led by Atlantic 10 player of the year Bones Hyland, VCU finished second in the conference in the regular season and lost to St Bonaventure in the A-10 title game. But their body of work, which included a season-opening win over Utah State, was enough to earn Rhoades’ team an at-large berth to the tournament.

No 14 Abilene Christian 53, No 3 Texas 52

Abilene Christian and its frantic, havoc-causing defense sent Shaka Smart and Texas out of the NCAA tournament in the first round yet again as the 14th-seeded Wildcats stunned the third-seeded Longhorns 53-52 on Saturday night.

Joe Pleasant, a 58.8% foul shooter on the season, made a pair of free throws with 1.2 seconds left as the Wildcats shocked their in-state rivals in the first meeting ever between the two schools.

The Wildcats caused all kinds of headaches for the bigger, more talented Longhorns all night and got just enough offense to pull off their first NCAA Tournament victory in their second appearance.

Pleasant finished with 11 points as did Coryon Mason for the Wildcats. Abilene Christian will face No 11 seed UCLA in the second round on Monday.

No 13 Ohio 62, No 4 Virginia 58

Virginia’s unusual title defense ended with another upset loss, falling 62-58 to Jason Preston and Ohio.

The fourth-seeded Cavaliers struggled to score during a key stretch in the second half and shot 35% from the field for the game. Virginia became the first No 1 seed to drop its opening game in the NCAA tournament when it lost to UMBC in 2018, but it used the setback as motivation in its run to the championship in 2019.

Last year’s NCAA tournament was canceled because of the pandemic, delaying the Cavaliers’ title defense. They just arrived in Indiana on Friday because of Covid-19 issues, and now they are heading home again.

Preston and Ben Vander Plas delivered for Ohio (17-7) after leading the Bobcats to the Mid-American Conference Tournament title.

Kihei Clark of the Virginia Cavaliers is fouled by Colin Granger of the Ohio Bobcats during their first-round game. Photograph: Stacy Revere/Getty Images

No 11 UCLA 73, No 6 BYU 62

UCLA is suddenly one of the hottest teams in the NCAA tournament after backing into it with four straight losses.

Johnny Juzang is suddenly one of its hottest players, too.

After helping the No 11 seed Bruins rally past Michigan State in the First Four, Juzang poured in 27 points against sixth-seeded BYU on Saturday night, carrying his team to a 73-62 victory and the second round of the East Region.

“This is what we live for. This is the height of college basketball,” Juzang said, “and playing for the Bruins – I’m from Los Angeles. Playing with a lot of guys I’ve known, we’re all brothers here. So putting on this jersey with my brothers, coming out, playing for the home team I’m just trying to make everybody on the team proud.”

Juzang didn’t do it alone.

Jules Bernard scored 16 points, most of them as BYU tried to rally in the second half, and Jaime Jaquez Jr added 13 as the Bruins advanced to play No 14 seed Abilene Christian on Monday night for a spot in the Sweet 16.

No 1 Michigan 82, No 16 Texas Southern 66

Juwan Howard got the win in his first NCAA tournament game since taking over at Michigan, guiding Mike Smith and the top-seeded Wolverines to an 82-66 victory over Texas Southern.

Smith scored 18 points and Hunter Dickinson added 16 as Michigan rolled into the second round without Isaiah Livers, who is out with a foot injury. Eli Brooks and Brandon Johns Jr had 11 points apiece.

Howard is back in the tournament for the first time since his stellar playing career with Michigan, including back-to-back Final Four appearances in 1992 and 1993. It’s his second season in charge, but the NCAA tournament was canceled last year because of the pandemic.

Howard and the Wolverines (21-4) had little trouble with the No 16 seed Texas Southern, but the absence of Livers could lead to adversity down the road. Next up is No 8 seed LSU on Monday.

Livers, 6ft 7in senior forward, is sidelined indefinitely with a right foot stress reaction injury, and he ambled down from his seat to timeout huddles while wearing a protective boot. He also wore a black T-shirt with the slogan #NotNCAAProperty, part of a social media effort to raise awareness about inequities in college sports.

Michigan’s Isaiah Livers wears a T-shirt that reads #NotNCAAProperty as he walks off the court with teammates after the first half of Saturday’s first-round win over Texas Southern. Photograph: Robert Franklin/AP

Livers is one of a few prominent Big Ten players leading the movement. Players have pushed for the NCAA to change rules preventing college athletes from earning money for things like endorsements, sponsorship deals and personal appearances.

The National College Players Association released a statement Wednesday detailing the players’ goals, which include getting the NCAA to change rules to allow athletes to receive pay for use of name, image and likeness. The players also are seeking meetings with NCAA President Mark Emmert and state and federal lawmakers.

The NCAA has been working toward changing its rules governing NIL compensation, although the NCAA in January delayed a vote on NIL legislation after receiving a letter from the Department of Justice that warned the proposed rule changes might violate antitrust law.

Emmert said recently he still hopes the NCAA will have uniform national NIL rules in place before the start of football season.

No 10 Maryland 63, No 7 UConn 54

Eric Ayala scored 23 points and 10th-seeded Maryland clamped down on defense down the stretch to beat No. 7 seed UConn.

The 10th-seeded Terrapins held UConn to 32% shooting to overcome the Huskies’ strong physical game. Maryland was outrebounded 40-29 but its defense carried the Terps to a second-round matchup against second-seeded Alabama.

Maryland (17-13) shot 51% for the game and converted 9 of 18 from behind the arc.

Aaron Wiggins had 14 points and Donta Scott 12 for Maryland.

James Bouknight had 15 points and Jalen Gaffney 12 for the Huskies (15-8), who won five of their last six games to earn their first NCAA tournament berth since 2016.

James Bouknight of the Connecticut Huskies sails toward the goal against the Maryland Terrapins during the first half of Saturday’s game. Photograph: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

No 5 Creighton 63, No 12 UC Santa Barbara 62

Christian Bishop made both ends of a one-and-one with 16 seconds left to give fifth-seeded Creighton the lead, and the Bluejays hung on to beat 12th-seeded UC Santa Barbara 63-62 on Saturday in the first round.

Creighton’s turbulent season, which included a one-game suspension for coach Greg McDermott after he made a racially insensitive remark in the locker room, continues Monday in the West Region when the Bluejays (21-8) face Ohio.

Bishop was fouled by Amadou Sow on the floor after grabbing an offensive rebound and went to the line with the Gauchos (22-5) up 62-61.

The junior came into the game making 57% from the line, but dropped in both, barely touching the rim.

The Gauchos (22-5) came right down and put the ball in the hands of their best player, JaQuori McLaughlin. The Big West player of the year split a double-team behind the 3-point line and found Sow in the lane, but the 6ft 9in junior couldn’t finish at the rim. Shereef Mitchell rebounded the miss for Creighton with three seconds left.

Sow scored the last four points for UC Santa Barbara, including two free throws for the lead with 37.9 seconds left, and finished with 12 points. McLaughlin led UCSB with 13 points.

No 2 Alabama 68, No 15 Iona 55

The rest of Rick Pitino’s designer suits will stay on the hangers, thanks to a blitz of baskets by Alabama that pried open a tight game Saturday and gave the Crimson Tide a 68-55 win over Pitino’s underdogs from Iona.

Herb Jones led Alabama with 20 points, including a steal and layup that highlighted an 11-0 run and gave Alabama breathing room at 54-46 after the teams seesawed with the lead through much of the second half.

But this was never easy for the second-seeded Crimson Tide (25-6).

Everyone knew the coach would come to the NCAA tournament prepared, and expecting to win. Even though he came in with his highest seeding ever, a 15, Pitino came to Indy with eight suits and at least a glimmer of hope he might use more than one.

This is the fifth, and maybe most unlikely, program he has brought to the tournament, in large part because the Gaels (12-6) went 50 days without playing a game in midseason due to Covid-19.

No 5 Colorado 96, No 12 Georgetown 73

Chances are, you can fit Colorado’s entire NCAA tournament history on the back of an old Patrick Ewing jersey. And now, Ewing is part of that history, too.

The Buffaloes used an early three-point barrage to parlay their highest seeding ever at March Madness into a first-round win Saturday over one of the biggest names in the game. It was a 96-73 thumping of Georgetown, the program Ewing starred for in the 1980s and now coaches.

Led by Jabari Walker’s 5-for-5 shooting clinic from three-point range, the fifth-seeded Buffs (23-8) made 16 three-pointers and shot 64% from long range.

“We’re a dangerous team. A lot of teams can’t run with us, because there are so many skill sets we have,” Walker said. “It’s really hard to beat us, I believe.”

Walker missed only one of his 10 shots on his way to a career-best 24 points, and D’Shawn Schwartz (18 points) made four of his five threes in the first half to put Colorado into cruise control. McKinley Wright IV had 12 points and 13 assists. The Buffs made the round of 32 for only the third time since the brackets expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

No 8 LSU 76, No 9 St Bonaventure 61

Freshman Cameron Thomas scored 27 points in another impressive performance and his LSU teammates provided the rebounding muscle, leading the eighth-seeded Tigers past ninth-seeded St Bonaventure 76-61 on Saturday and into the second round.

LSU (19-9) can reach their second straight Sweet 16 if they beat either Michigan, the top seed in the Midwest Region, on Monday.

Darius Days and Aundre Hyatt each had 13 points and Trendon Watford had 11. Days and Watford also had 11 rebounds each while Hyatt grabbed 10. The Tigers have won five of six.

Jaren Holmes scored 18 points and Osun Osunniyi had 15 points and nine rebounds for St Bonaventure (16-5). Jalen Adaway had 11 points in his home state.

No 4 Florida State 64, No 13 UNC Greensboro 54

Raiquan Gray scored 17 points and No 4 seed Florida State began what it hopes will be another deep NCAA tournament run under coach Leonard Hamilton, holding off 13th-seeded UNC Greensboro 64-54 in the East Region on Saturday.

The Seminoles, who reached the Elite Eight and the Sweet 16 in the previous two tournaments, allowed the Spartans to hang around deep into the second half thanks to an uneven offensive performance.

Florida State went 0 for 9 from 3-point range, winning a game without a made 3 for the first time since February 2018. The Seminoles still managed to shoot 50% overall.

The Spartans closed within 51-50 with 4:52 remaining, but Florida State held them scoreless for nearly four minutes after that.

Balsa Koprivica had 13 points and nine rebounds and Anthony Polite added 12 points for the Seminoles, who advanced to play Colorado in the second round on Monday.

No 1 Gonzaga 98, No 16 Norfolk State 55

Corey Kispert scored 15 of his 23 points by halftime and No 1 overall seed Gonzaga rolled in its opener, beating Norfolk State.

Anton Watson had 17 points on 7-for-7 shooting for the Bulldogs (27-0), who shook off a slow few opening minutes and easily handled the 16th-seeded Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions.

Next up for the undefeated Zags is eighth-seeded Oklahoma in the second round of the West Region.

Gonzaga led by 22 points before the break and kept stretching the lead after halftime. It has won 31 straight dating to last season.

No 8 Oklahoma 72, No 9 Missouri 68

Austin Reaves scored 23 points, Brady Manek added 19 and Oklahoma slipped by ninth-seeded Missouri.

The eighth-seeded Sooners (16-10) are on to the second round for fourth time in the last six tournaments.

The Sooners pulled out to an eight-point lead with 1:08 left behind Reaves’ free-throw shooting, but Dru Smith made two 3-pointers in the final minute to keep the pressure on and pull Missouri within 70-67 with 46.7 left.

Smith led the Tigers (16-10) with 20 points.

Reaves missed a jumper and Missouri got a possession to tie with 17 seconds to go, but the Tigers never managed to get off a three-pointer, in part because Elijah Harkless committed a smart foul with 2.1 seconds left.

No 3 Kansas 93, No 14 Eastern Washington 84

David McCormack returned from his Covid-19-caused hiatus just in time to rescue No 3 seed Kansas.

One day after rejoining the Jayhawks in Indianapolis, the bruising big man piled up 22 points and nine rebounds, helping slow-starting Kansas rally from a 10-point second-half deficit and beat No 14 seed Eastern Washington 93-84 on Saturday to advance to the second round.

Ochai Agbaji scored 21 points, Marcus Garrett fought foul trouble to add 20 and Dajuan Harris Jr had 13 for the Jayhawks (21-8), who advanced to play sixth-seeded Southern California or No 11 seed Drake for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Tanner Groves scored a career-high 35 points and younger brother Jacob Groves had 23 for the Eagles (16-8), whose third trip to the NCAA tournament ended just as quickly as the first two – though not without putting up a fight.

No 6 USC 72, No 11 Drake 56

Evan Mobley had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 6 seed Southern California used smothering defense to beat Drake.

Mobley, a 7ft freshman forward and AP second-team All-American expected to be a lottery pick if he declares for the draft, made 7 of 15 field goals and blocked three shots.

Isaiah Mobley scored 15 points and Drew Peterson added 14 for USC (23-7), which advanced to play No 3 seed Kansas in the second round on Monday.

Joseph Yesufu scored 26 points for 11th-seeded Drake (26-5), but none of his teammates scored more than six. Drake shot 29% overall, including a dismal 19% in the second half.

No 2 Iowa 86, No 15 Grand Canyon 74

Iowa got 24 points from Luka Garza and avoided the earl tournament exit that befell other high seeds with an 86-74 victory over Grand Canyon in the West Region on Saturday night.

Ohio State, Purdue and Tennessee were all bounced from the tournament on a wild opening day of upsets, but the second-seeded Hawkeyes (22-8) used a strong shooting display to advance.

Iowa shot the Antelopes and their boisterous fans back to the desert, hitting 54% from the floor while going 10 of 22 from behind the arc.

Joe Wieskamp added 16 points to help lead the Hawkeyes into the next round Monday against Oregon, which advanced after Virginia Commonwealth became the first team to bow out of the bracket due to a positive Covid-19 test.

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