NCAA tournament: Loyola Chicago stun Miami; Duke and Gonzaga win – latest scores

Things you didn’t know about the ageless Syracuse coach …

The women’s curling World Championships start Saturday, so if he wants to have time to check out the action, Syracuse must lose tomorrow to TCU.

The No. 8 vs. No. 9 games are theoretically the most evenly matched, but Seton Hall has led this one throughout. Still, N.C. State are within four with 8:45 to play.

After this game, we’ll hit a lull for a few minutes before building up to another four-game frenzy, so email me at [email protected] or just yell at me on Twitter @duresport.

We’re told this tied a record for 3-point attempts in a tournament game. Ohio State tried 40. South Dakota State tried 31.

Meanwhile, N.C. State has made it a close one against Seton Hall, so let’s all change the channel together, shall we?

South Dakota State 71-79 Ohio State. 31.3 seconds left. The Jackrabbits had the ball with a chance to tie if they could get a 3-pointer, a stop and another 3-pointer. So, naturally, they raced into the lane for a wild off-balance layup. Ohio State got the rebound and hit two free throws, so the fifth seed looks set to escape the entertaining but erratic 12th seed.

South Dakota State 70-77 Ohio State. Another bad foul on a 3-pointer, and the Buckeyes will take a seven-point lead into the final minute.

And by the way, Bryan, I did hear what you said about Duke, and I should point out I have two degrees from that esteemed institution.

(I’ve also picked them to lose to Rhode Island. March Madness isn’t for freshmen.)

South Dakota State 70-74 Ohio State. Well, that’s a momentum-killer. The Jackrabbits reel off 10 in a row, then let Kam Williams score four on one possession. He netted the free throw after an ill-advised foul as he sank a 3-pointer.

Thanks Bryan. We have two games in progress at the moment — Seton Hall is pulling away from N.C. State in the second half, and South Dakota State has … wait for this free throw … erased a deficit and is now tied with Ohio State 70-70.

South Dakota State 66-70 Ohio State. Not so fast. The Jackrabbits have just cut the deficit to four points on back-to-back three-pointers from Brandon Key and – who else? – Mike Daum. And with that, I’ll hand it off to the esteemed Beau Dure for the next few hours.

South Dakota State 60-70 Ohio State. The Jackrabbits are getting a lion-sized effort from talismanic power forward Mike Daum (a game-high 23 points), but the Buckeyes have slowly pulled away in the second half and just opened up a double-digit lead with Kam Williams’ lay-up with 4:40 left in regulation.

It’s been some day for graduates of Simeon Career Academy. Gonzaga’s Zach Norvell hits the biggest shot of the game for the Bulldogs and Loyola Chicago’s Donte Ingram hits the biggest shot of the tournament to lift the Ramblers to the upset. The pair were team-mates at the famed Chicago Public League powerhouse whose alumni include Derrick Rose, Jabari Parker, Nick Anderson and Bobby Simmons.

March Madness is here. The first major upset and first buzzer-beater of this year’s tournament came just moments ago in Dallas as Donte Ingram, the MVP of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, hit a go-ahead three pointer as time expired to lift Loyola Chicago to a dramatic 64-62 victory over the sixth-seeded Hurricanes. The officials placed 0.3 seconds left on the clock after a video review, but when Miami’s desperation heave was broken up the Ramblers could celebrate.

Loyola Chicago 60-60 Miami (Fl). Clayton Cluster, the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year, has just canned a three-pointer to tie the game at 60 apiece with 1:17 left in regulation. A barn-burner afoot in Dallas.

It’s a final in Pittsburgh as the Blue Devils go through behind a game-high 22 points from Marvin Bradley III. That sets the stage for a delicious 2-7 clash on Saturday between Duke and Rhode Island.

South Dakota State 43-43 Ohio State. Reed Tellinghuisen bangs a game-tying three pointer for the Jackrabbits and No12 seed South Dakota State will head to the locker room on level terms with the favored Buckeyes.

Loyola Chicago 45-47 Miami (Fl). The Ramblers of Loyola Chicago, the No11 seed in the South regional and Missouri Valley Conference champions, were a trendy upset pick against the sixth-seeded Hurricanes and they’re very much living up to advance billing with under 10 minutes to go. Clayton Custer’s lay-up moments ago cut Miami’s lead to two points.

South Dakota State 29-34 Ohio State. The fifth-seeded Buckeyes are on top but Jackrabbits star Mike Daum has just canned a three-pointer to close it to five points with 5:52 left in the first half. Daum, who has a game-high 15 points so far, is more than the tournament’s best nickname (‘The Dauminator’): he may be the best NBA prospect you’ve never heard of.

Iona 41-62 Duke. We’re less than two minutes into the second half and the second-seeded Blue Devils have already tacked on to their 14-point halftime lead over the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions. Wendell Carter Jr’s basket just now off a Grayson Allen assist marked Duke’s 10th consecutive made field goal.

Loyola Chicago 28-28 Miami (Fl). And Miami have things tied up into halftime and we have… no basketball at this moment. So I guess this is a good time to hand things over to Bryan Graham who will take you through the next few hours of NCAA tournament action.

Loyola Chicago 26-24 Miami (Fl). And we just have one game going here. And only for a moment. Miami cut it to a two point game with 90 seconds to go.

And a Number1 seed has still yet to fall to a Number 16 seed. I feel like this last hour has been something of a tease. Oh well.

It’s halftime and Duke are up 53-39 over Iona. So you’re telling me there’s a chance.

Penn 56-69 Kansas. And it’s looking like we’re not going to see the first upset from a No16. Things look pretty nice for Kansas who are up by 13 points with less than four minutes to go and they definitely look like they’re in complete control here. The Quakers are just playing this out but congrats to them for making the Jayhawks uh, well, quake there for a long stretch of time.

Bad news for Duke haters. They’ve got a 40-25 lead over Iona with 5:51 left in the first half. Meanwhile Loyola Chicago has a 18-15 lead over Miami, 7:40 left in the half.

Penn 51-60 Kansas. Meanwhile, Kansas looks in control in the second half of their game with Penn, with a 9 point lead with 7:31 remaining.

Josh Perkins ties the game for Gonzaga. On the other end, freshman Zach Norvell hits a three! And an offensive foul on UNCG looks like it will pretty much put an end to their upset bid but Gonzaga misses both free throws. UNCG go for the three-pointer that would tie the game but it just doesn’t go down. Gonzaga make one out of two free throws and that manages to seal the deal.

UNCG 64-62 Gonzaga. 1:39 remaining. UNCG with the lead! On their first put-back points of the half! Upset brewing?

Double barrel action!

Okay, UNCG and Gonzaga are tied 60-60 with 3:22 to go. Meanwhile, Kansas are only up 50-45 over Penn with 12:33 to go. Could the Jayhawks be in danger?

UNCG 56-57 Gonzaga. UNCG cut it to a single point. We’re definitely in Potential Upset Territory here. 5:40 to go.

And hey, we’re back to four-games-going-at-once! No11 Loyola Chicago is tipping off against No6 Miami (Florida).

Oh hey, it’s Iona-Duke! They’re already 5-5 with lithe more than a minute into the game.

Action has resumed in the Impossible Dream Battle between Penn and Kansas and… things remain interesting. Penn are keeping it close. Kansas have a 42-35 lead with 16:52 to go. So both games have a seven point difference at the moment, when Gonzaga up 57-50 with 7:54 left. That’s unusual (and short-lived, UNCG immediately scores twice to cut it to 57-54.)

UNCG 42-47 Gonzaga. Old (well, older) school basketball on display here between the Spartans and the Bulldogs, with either team only making three three-pointers apiece. Definitely more physical than Oklahoma/Rhode Island. It’s definitely cool to see so many different types of basketball on display throughout the day.

UNCG cut Gonzaga’s lead to 5 points with 11:46 to go.

At some point shortly, we’ll have No14 Iona vs No2 Duke tipping off, with the winner going on to face Rhode Island. That game has been delayed a tad bit thanks to that whole overtime thing.

Gonzaga have a 44-36 lead over UNCG, who are starting to put in a little fight here. We have 14:00 to go.

Order has been restored. Kanas have a 33-26 lead over Penn at the half, but still that’s a fairly tight halftime score for a No16/No1 matchup. Worth monitoring. Our only live game at the moment features Gonzaga with a 26-28 lead over UNCG with 17:19 remaining in the second half.

We apparently missed absolutely nothing here, drama-wise. The Volunteers with a statement win.

Everybody’s trying to hit the big three in this overtime and nobody seems to be hitting it until E.C. Matthews nails his to give Rhode Island a 74-72 lead, part of a 12-2 run, and they don’t look back. Trae Young’s college career is probably done.

Meanwhile, Tennessee retains a comfortable 54-35 lead over Wright State with 7:13 left.

Gonzaga has a 32-23 lead over UNCG at the half.

Penn has a 19-11 lead over Kansas with 8:32 remaining in the first. Will we see our first upset by a No16 in tournament history? (No but it’s fun that they have an early lead.)

Oklahoma 69-69 Rhode Island. Oklahoma give the ball back to Rhode Island, who… miss. And Trea Young gets fouled with a chance to tie things up on the line. Which he does. Rhode Island has a chance to hit the last shot, two chances actually, and THEY CAN’T GET IT IN. We’re heading to overtime.

Rhode Island 69-67 Oklahoma. Young cuts it to two points with 2:10 and then nails a three for the lead. However, a three-point play gives the lead right back to Rhode Island. Oklahoma have the ball and are down by two with less than a minute left.

Oklahoma is keeping close, but Rhode Island has stayed on top 66-62 with 3:45 left to go. It’s going down to the wire.

I am already sick of these Charles Barkley/Samuel L. Jackson/Spike Lee CapitalOne commercials. It’s going to be a long march through, uh, March.

Not a great second half from Trae Young, He scores his first point of the second half on the free throw line with 6:43 to go. Rhode Island have a 59-53 lead.

And we’re almost in keeping-the-plates spinning portion of the evening, with No16 Penn about to tip off against No1 Kansas.

Oh hey, they’re finally out of halftime, Tennessee has a 40-27 lead over Wright State. Pretty healthy, but not entirely insurmountable with 17:18 to go in their game. Gonzaga have a 17-13 lead over UNCG with 8:03 to go.

And wisely so, back-to-back three pointers give Rhode Island a 55-50 lead!

Oklahoma is up 50-47 on Rhode Island with 10:36 to go in the game while UNCG and Gonzaga are all tied up at 8-8 with 13:30 to go in the first half.

I’m gonna stick with Oklahoma/Rhode Island for the moment I think.

The tournament is really all about second halves, however and we’ve got an interesting one here with Oklahoma and Rhode Island all tied up with 15:00 to go.

This is always one of the greatest days on the sports calendar. Or really just on the calendar in general. There’s always the chance for an upset, buzzer beater, furious comeback or just plain old wackiness when you have games going all day, sometimes four at a time. Hopefully we’ll have a few of those over the course of the next few hours. Don’t want the other guys to have all the fun today.

Alright things are really starting now, with Game Number 3, No. 13 UNC-Greensboro vs. No. 4 Gonzaga, tipping off. This is UNC-Greensboro’s first tournament appearance since 2001. It’s halftime at Wright State/Tennessee, with Tennessee enjoying a 34-23 lead.

The shock-o-meter is edging up towards “mild” with Oklahoma leading Rhode Island 35-31 at the half. Not that it would be a HUGE shock, given that Oklahoma have the magnificent Trae Young.

Some had picked Tennessee to struggle to live up to their No3 seeding but they’re doing OK so far. They have a healthy 17-8 lead over Wright State with around 10 minutes left in the first.

And we’re off, with Oklahoma taking on Rhode Island in out first game. No10 seed Oklahoma are 24-21 up in the early stages. They have guard Trae Young, who leads the nation with averages of 27.4 points and 8.8 assists. If Oklahoma lose this one that could Young’s college career done as a freshman – he’s projected to go in the first round if he decides to enter the NBA draft.

Hunter will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s our writers on who they think will win the tournament:

Villanova over North Carolina. Why not a repeat of 2016? However, this time the Wildcats won’t wait to win on a buzzer-beater. Instead, they will coast through the second half and establish a new dynasty on the Main Line and send Wright to the Hall of Fame. Les Carpenter

Villanova over Gonzaga. Jay Wright has quietly strung together a five-year run at Villanova that any program in history would happily take: 159 wins, four Big East regular season titles, three conference tournament titles and a national title. Cutting down the nets again this year will give his program the national respects it deserves. DJ Gallo

Villanova over Virginia. Make it two national titles in three years for Wright, whose tiny Catholic school powerhouse on Philadelphia’s Main Line will make the jump to dynasty status after cutting down the nets in San Antonio. Bryan Graham