OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tyler Tanner was inches from March Madness immortality. After Nebraska’s Braden Frager made a driving layup with 2.2 seconds left to give the Cornhuskers a two-point lead over Vanderbilt in a second-round NCAA Tournament thriller on Saturday night, Tanner had no choice but to chuck one toward the basket. His heave from beyond half court was on target. The ball crashed off the center of the backboard and dropped halfway below the rim — and then, somehow, it rattled out, and Nebraska escaped with a 74-72 victory. Players on both sides say they thought Tanner had made the shot.
UNDATED (AP) — March Madness wasn’t for mid-majors this year. For the first time since the women’s NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1994, no programs from mid-major conferences advanced to the second round. The 32 remaining teams all hail from the Power Four conferences and the Big East. In the men’s tournament, five mid-major teams made the second round. There were 23 teams in the first round from smaller conferences, and they went 0-23. Colorado State, a 12 seed, got the closest, losing 65-62 to Michigan State. The rest lost by double digits.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Nebraska has advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Braden Frager made a driving layup with 2.2 seconds left, and the Cornhuskers outlasted Vanderbilt 74-72 in a scintillating second-round game when the Commodores’ Tyler Tanner rimmed out a heave from beyond half court at the buzzer. Frager finished with 15 points and Pryce Sandfort also scored 15 for the fourth-seeded Cornhuskers. Nebraska advances to the South Region semifinals in Houston, where it will face either top-seeded Florida or ninth-seeded Iowa on Thursday. Tanner scored 27 points for Vanderbilt.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A clock issue cost Clemson an apparent buzzer-beater in the women's NCAA Tournament. Mia Moore made a running 3-pointer at the buzzer against Southern California on Saturday, but officials looked at video and determined that the clock hadn't started on time. That meant the 4.4 seconds left when Clemson inbounded the ball had expired before Moore got her shot off. USC went on to win 71-67 in overtime. Clemson coach Shawn Poppie thought his team had a signature March Madness win. He called it “a tough, tough day.”
UNDATED (AP) — There hasn't been quite as much madness in March Madness in recent years. The top four seeds in each region have gone unbeaten in the first round in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments. Coaches say the influx of money into the sport now that players can be paid has led to what one coach called a “chasm” in talent between the haves and the have-nots. The ability for players to move freely in the transfer portal has also made it harder for strong mid-major teams to stay together.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Cearah Parchment scored 21 points as seventh-seeded Illinois beat No. 10 seed Colorado 66-57 on Saturday night in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. The Fighting Illini are the youngest team in this tournament after replacing four starters. They now have won a first-round game for a second straight season. Illinois will play Vanderbilt, a winner over No. 15 seed High Point, on Monday night for a berth in the Sweet 16 of the Fort Worth 1 Region. Destiny Jackson had 11 rebounds and scored 11 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter to help seal the win. Colorado missed its final five shots.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA stormed past Cal Baptist in the women’s NCAA Tournament, turning a close game into a 96-43 blowout. The Bruins clamped down after halftime, outscoring the Lancers 52-9 over the final two quarters. Lauren Betts powered UCLA with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Kiki Rice added 18 points, while hitting all 10 of her free throws, and dished seven assists. Cal Baptist kept pace early and trailed 44-34 at the break. Chance Bucher led Cal Baptist with 11 points off the bench. The Lancers were just 6 of 30 from 3-point range.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg punctuated his 25-point outing with a massive dunk in transition, and the Midwest Region’s top-seeded Michigan advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 95-72 win over Saint Louis in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Morez Johnson Jr. had 15 and eight rebounds for Michigan. The Wolverines' 7-foot-3 center, Aday Mara, had 16 points, five rebounds and four blocks to increase his season blocks total to 96, one short of matching Michigan’s single-season record set by Roy Tarpley in 1985-86. Amari McCottry had 14 points and five rebounds for Saint Louis. Michigan will play the winner of Texas Tech and Alabama at Chicago on Friday.
