CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Sporting Alert) — Scores, results and box scores from the NCAA tournament games that took place on Sunday, March 23.
Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor in action at NCAA tournament.At a time when several top seeds were losing their cool and being shocked in the championship, No. 1 seeds Duke and Wisconsin made sure there were no upsets on their side.
At the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, the Blue Devils (31-4) blew away eighth-seeded San Diego State 68-49 to book a place in the Sweet 16.
Star freshman Jahlil Okafor poured in 26 points on 12-for-16 shooting and grabbed six rebounds and three blocks and Quinn Cook added 15 points and five boards for Duke, which shot 54.5 percent from the floor.
Justise Winslow ended with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds, while dishing out five assists, four steals and three blocks in an all-round performance on the day.
“They’re together,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who was making the Sweet 16 for the 22nd time.
“We have talent, we’re getting older by experience, and so we just – we got better here these two games.”
Winston Shepard scored 13 points to lead the way for the Aztecs (27-9), who were just 19-for-58 from the floor in shooting.
The other No. 1 seed in action on Sunday was Wisconsin (33-3), which advanced to the Sweet 16 courtesy of a 72-65 victory over Oregon at CenturyLink Center Omaha in Nebraska.
Sam Dekker shot 50 percent from the field and scored 17 points and star forward Frank Kaminsky added 16 points and seven rebounds to paced the Badgers, who held off the strong challenge from the Ducks to earn its fourth appearance in the Sweet 16 in the past five years.
Nigel Hayes chipped in with 14 points and Bronson Koenig ended with 12 for Wisconsin, which faces the No. 4 seed North Carolina in the West regional semifinals on Thursday in Los Angeles.
After a slow start Oregon rallied with a second half run to tie the scores at 52-52 with 5:56 left.
However, the Badgers used a 6-0 run to open up the gap back and then utilized their free throws down the stretch to kill off the game.
“Oregon made their run to fight back just as a good team always does,” Dekker told reporters. “And good teams respond to those runs. We settled in, and guys weren’t going to get too riled up.
“We got a big 6-0 run there and opened up the lead and held on from there. It’s a game of runs, and you’ve got to respond at the right time.”
Pac-12 Player of the Year Joseph Young finished with a game-high 30 points for the Ducks (26-10).
Michigan State Stuns Poor Shooting Virginia
Losing on the day though was No. 2 seed and Atlantic Coast Conference regular season champions Virginia, which fell 60-54 to the seventh-seeded Michigan State.
Travis Trice scored 23 points and Branden Dawson added 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for the Spartans (25-11), who took advantage of the Cavaliers’ poor day offensively.
Darion Atkins had 10 points and 14 rebounds and Anthony Gill added 11 points and six boards in the defeat for Virginia, which shot 29.8 percent from the field and was a shocking 2-for-17 from three-point range.
Elsewhere, seventh-seed Wichita State dumped No. 2 seed Kansas 78-65, while the second-seeded Gonzaga destroyed seventh-seed Iowa, 87-68.
NCAA Tournament Scores and Results
Box Scores and More
(7) Michigan State 60, (2) Virginia 54
(1) Duke 68, (8) San Diego St 49
(7) Wichita State 78, (2) Kansas 65
(3) Oklahoma 72, (11) Dayton 66
(2) Gonzaga 87, (7) Iowa 68
(1) Wisconsin 72, (8) Oregon 65
(5) West Virginia 69, (4) Maryland 59
(4) Louisville 66, (5) Northern Iowa 53
