NCAA Basketball Tournament Highlights

Top seed Virginia beat 3 seed Texas Tech in the National Championship game by 8 points in overtime. Virginia led 32-29 at the half and expanded their led to 10 points 53-43 with 10:22 to go. Texas Tech battled back to tie the game up 59-59 with 3:28 remaining and the score was 68 all at the end of regulation. Texas Tech was up 73-72 until De'Andre Hunter made a 3-pointer with 2:10 left. And with less than a minute to go Virginia's Ty Jerome was fouled and made both free throws. Two more fouls added on 4 more points for Virginia and they go from losing to a 16 seed in the 2018 tournament to winning it all. Deandre Hunter led all scorers with 27.

Texas Tech advanced to the National Championship for the first time in school history after defeating Michigan State 61-51 in the Final Four round of the NCAA Tournament. Texas Tech's Matt Mooney led all scorers with 22 points and Michigan State was led by Cassius Winston with 16. Texas Tech will face Virginia in the National Championship.

1 seed Virginia advanced to its first ever National Championship game after beating 5 seed Auburn in the Final Four 63-62. Auburn lead 31-28 at the half but Virginia pulled out to a 10-point lead 57-47 with 5:24 remaining. Virginia didn't score a point until 9 seconds to go; a Kyle Guy clutch three brought the score 61-60, Auburn up. Jared Harper of Auburn was fouled and made 1/2 from the line. With 0.6 seconds to go Kyle Guy shot a three and missed but was fouled and made all 3 free throws. Auburn failed to respond and Virginia advanced to take on the winner of Michigan State v Texas Tech for the championship. UVA's Jerome led all scorers with 21.

2 seed Michigan State advanced to the Final Four after beating top seed Duke 68-67 in the NCAA Tournament. Duke trailed 34-30 at halftime and the game was close until the final seconds. With 1:21 to go MSU's Kenny Goins hit a 3-pointer to bring the score to 68-66. And with only 6 seconds remaining Duke's RJ Barrett was fouled. He missed his first free throw and tried to miss the second but an unlucky bounce made the shot fall. MSU inbounded and ran out the clock. Duke's Zion Williamson led all scorers with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Cassius Winston led his team with 20. Michigan State will take on Texas Tech in the Final Four.

5th seed Auburn punched its ticket into the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament with an overtime upset win against 1 seed Kentucky in the Elite 8. Kentucky led this game 35-30 at the half but the score was quickly tied and remained close until finishing 60-60 in regulation. Auburn scored the first 4 points in OT and lead by as much as 7. The final minute was filled with fouls and Auburn making the most of the free throw line. Kentucky's PJ Washington played an outstanding game with 28 points and 13 rebounds, though it was Auburn's Jared Harper (26) and Bryce Brown (24) that proved the difference makers. Auburn will play Virginia in the Final Four.

Purdue's Carsen Edwards put up 42 points in a valiant losing effort against top seeded Virginia in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Tournament. This game was close every step of the way, 30-29 was the halftime score and a last second jumper by Virginia's Mamadi Diakite brought the game into overtime with a score of 70-70. The score was 75-77 Virginia with just 5 seconds left in OT when Purdue fouled and sent Kyle Guy to the line. Guy made both free throws. Another desparate foul was made by Purdue with 1 second to go and Kihei Clark made both giving Virginia it's Final Four ticket to face the winner of Auburn v Kentucky.

3 seed Texas Tech advanced to the Final Four for the first time in school history after a 6-point win over top seeded Gonzaga in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga lead this game 37-35 at halftime but Texas Tech was able to secure it's first 2nd period lead 51-50 at the 11:10 mark from a Brandone Francis lay-up. Texas Tech never lost the lead after that, only briefly tying. Rui Hacinmura of Gonzaga lead all scorers with 22 points. Jarrett Culver led TTU's squad with 19. Of note, Texas Tech shot 84.2% from the free throw line, making 16/19; that helped them close out the game. TTU will take on the winner of Duke v Michigan State in the Final Four.

The No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats beat the No. 3 seed Houston Cougars in this Sweet 16 match up of the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Elite 8 to take on No. 5 seed Auburn. Kentucky was up in this game 37-26 of halftime but the Cougars battled back to gain the lead 51-49 with 3:38 remaining from a Corey Davis Jr. jump shot. Houston had the lead until just 25 seconds remained when Kentucky's Tyler Herro made a 3-pointer to pull ahead by 2. Herro was fouled with 14 seconds to go and made both free throws, finalizing the outcome. Armoni Brooks of Houston led all scorers with 20 points and Herro led the Wildcats with 19.

Top seeded Duke escaped yet another nail baiter in the final seconds of this Sweet 16 match up in against 4th seed Virginia Tech with just a 2-point victory, 75-73. Duke was trailing 34-38 at the half but gained the lead after 2 minutes of play in the 2nd period. With 8:47 remaining they expanded their lead to the largest by either team in the final 20 minutes by 8 points, 60-52. And the game remained close until the final inbound shot by VT with just 1 second to go, down by 2, with Ahmed Hill missing a put up jumper at the basket. Zion Williamson of Duke led all scorers with 23 points shooting 11/14 from the field. Duke will face Michigan State in the Elite 8.

For the first time in 33 years Auburn advanced into the Elite 8 after upsetting No.1 seed North Carolina 97-80 in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. 5th seed Auburn was only up by 2, 41-39 at halftime but began the 2nd period with an 8-0 run. Auburn was able to maintain the double digit lead for a vast majority of the rest of the game to ultimately win by 17. Chuma Okeke of Auburn led all scorers with 20 points on 8 of 11 shooting, tacking on 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Cameron Johnson and Coby White of UNC both finished with a team high 15 points. Auburn will take on the winner of Houston v Kentucky in the next round.

2 seed Michigan State won it's Sweet 16 match up against 3 seed LSU by 17 points thanks to high percentage shooting. MSU shot 47% on field goals as a team and 40.6% from the 3 point line, making 13 of 32 from behind the arc. Aaron Henry led all MSU scorers with 20 points, shooting 9 of 14 from the field and 2 of 4 from 3 point range, tacking on 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Tremont Waters of LSU was the game's leading scorer with 23 points, notably hitting on 4 of 9 three pointers. Michigan State advanced to the Elite 8 to take on the winner of Duke and Virginia.

No.1 seed Virginia made it past No.12 seed Oregon in this Sweet 16 match-up in the NCAA Tournament by 4 points. The score was 30-22 at the half but Oregon fought back and briefly captured the lead with 8:32 remaining after a Louis King 3-pointer to make the score 42-40. Virginia's Ty Jermone answered with a game tying jumper and King again hit a three to give Oregon it's largest lead of the half, 45-42. Virginia promptly went on an 8-0 run and Oregon simply ran out of time to respond. Oregon's King led all scorers with 16 points. Virginia will take on No.3 seed Purdue in the Elite 8.

3 seed Texas Tech beat 2 seed Michigan by 19 points in this defense-heavy Sweet 16 match-up in the NCAA Tournament. Texas Tech lead by 24-16 at the half and extended their lead by 11 in the second period. Jarrett Culver of TTU led all scorers with 22 points on 9 of 19 shooting. Ignas Brazdeikis was Michigan's top scorer with 17 points. Texas Tech was the best defensive team in the country and they proved why in this game, not allowing 20 points by their opponent until the 15:32 mark of the 2nd period. Next up for Texas Tech is 1 seed Gonzaga, the nation's best offensive team, in the Elite 8.

The No.3 seed Purdue Boilermakers beat the no.2 seed Tennessee Volunteers 99-94, in a close game. The Volunteers came back from an 18 point game with just 16 minutes left in the second half. Purdue responded, with 1.7 seconds left, putting the game into overtime. Admiral Schofield scored 20 points in the second half for Tennessee. Ryan Cline scored 27 points for Purdue, and Carsen Edwards scored 27 for the Boilermakers. Even though many free throws were missed by both teams in the final minutes, Purdue pulled ahead and the Volunteers couldn't catch up.

No.1 seed Gonzaga beat the no.4 seed Florida State Seminoles. Florida State hung with Gonzaga, reducing a double digit lead to four points in the final moments of the game. The Bulldogs, however, found a way to put enough points on the board to claim a 72-58 victory. The Seminoles struggled with many injuries and absences. Trent Forrest struggled to keep the Seminoles in the game during the second half. He scored 15 of his 20 points then. He was the only FSU player to reach double digits, while four of the Gonzaga players scored at least 14 points.

12th seed Oregon will be going to the Sweet 16 to face Virginia after defeating the 13th seed UC Irvine Anteaters 73-54 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. A Paul White layup with 4:49 left in the first period gave Oregon it's first double digit advantage of the game and the Ducks closed out the half up 35-23. UC Irvine stormed back at the beginning of the 2nd period by going on a 14-0 run and going up 37-35 with 14:28 remaining. Two minutes later Oregon's Ehab Amin made a 3-pointer that gave them the lead, of which they only expanded until they eventually won by 19. Oregon's Payton Pritchard lead all scorers with 18 points.

No. 3 seed Houston beat No. 11 seed Ohio State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by 15 points. The score was 39-31 Houston at the half and the Cougars outscored the Buckeyes by another 7 points in the second period. Houston's Corey Davis Jr. was the leading scorer of the game with 21 points, tacking on 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals to his day. The second leading scorer was Ohio State's C.J. Jackson with 18 points. Houston advanced into the Sweet 16 to take on No. 2 seed Kentucky.

1st seed Virginia Cavaliers punched their ticket to the Sweet 16 with a victory over the 9th seed Oklahoma Sooners in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The score was 31-22 Virginia at the half and the Cavs outscored Oklahoma 32-29 in the 2nd period, giving them a 12 point win overall. Mamadi Diakite of Virginia led all scorers with 14 points, shooting 7 of 9 from the floor. Christian James was Oklahoma's top scorer with 13. Virginia will take on the winner of Oregon and UC Irvine in the next round.

The no.4 seed Virginia Tech Hokies beat the no.12 seed Liberty Flames 67-58. Kerry Blackshear Jr. had 19 points and 9 rebounds for Virginia Tech. Ahmed Hill score 14 which put the Hokies up 59-50 with just 3 minutes left in the game. Justin Robinson added another 13 points, and Ty Outlaw helped out with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Darius McGhee scored 15 points which was the highest for the Flames. Virginia Tech will go on to play no.1 seed Duke in the Sweet 16.

The no.3 seed Texas Tech Red Raiders beat the no.6 seed Buffalo Bulls 78-58. Nick Perkins led the Bulls with 17 points, and 10 rebounds. Jarrett Culver led Texas Tech scoring 16 points, and Norense Odiase had 14, as well as 15 rebounds. Texas Tech took a 17-6 lead 8 minutes in. Texas Tech pulled away for the Bulls during the second half, but the Bulls couldn't catch up. Texas Tech will go on to face no.2 seed Michigan in the Sweet 16.

In a nail biting last few seconds of the second half, No.1 seed Duke beat UCF 77-76. UCF hung tough with the Blue Devils, all the way to the end. Duke's Zion Williamson scored 32 points, had 11 rebounds and 4 assists. R.J Barrett grabbed a rebound off of Williamson's miss, which would have been a game-tying free throw with just 14 seconds left in the game. It all ended with a miss and a tip in. Event though Duke was on "upset alert", the Blue Devils move on to the Sweet 16 for their 31st time.

The no.1 seed North Carolina Tar Heels beat the Washington Huskies 81-59, sending the Tar Heels to the Sweet 16. The Tar Heels began the first half with a 6-2 advantage. UNC's Cameron Johnson scored the first points of the game after Garrison Brooks missed a layup. Seven Tar Heels players were on the board within the first 10 minutes of the game. Luke Maye scored 20 points for the Tar Heels. UNC had an 18 point advantage by the second half, and were able to cruise for the win. They go on to face Auburn in the Sweet 16.

The first overtime game of the 2019 NCAA Tournament happened in the second round when 10th seed Iowa overcame a 21-point halftime deficit to tie 2nd seed Tennessee in regulation, 71-71. At one point Tennessee lead by as much as 25 points. Strong defense, turnovers and forcing the ball to Iowa's post players Tyler Cook and Luka Garza allowed Iowa to mount the impressive comeback. In overtime, Tennessee proved the more sure handed team, outscoring Iowa 12-6 to advance to the Sweet 16 to take on 3 seed Purdue. Tennessee's Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield topped all scorers, each with 19.

The 5 seed Auburn Tigers beat the Kansas Jayhawks 89-75, sending the Tigers to the Sweet 16 for the first time in since 2003. The Tigers put on a show shooting 52.5 percent from the field and 13 of 30 from the three point line. Bryce Brown scored 25 points for the Tigers. Dedric Lawson of Kansas helped his team stay in the game by shooting 25 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Kansas wasn't able to get the score differences to single digits during the whole second half. Auburn goes on to face the winner of NC vs Washington in the Sweet 16.

The 3 seed Purdue Boilermakers beat the Villanova Wildcats 87-61, sending them to the Sweet 16 for their third straight year. Purdue's Carsen Edward scored 42 points, which is a career-high for him. Opened the game with three after three, setting the tone for a Boilermaker first half. Purdue led by as many as 33 points. The Boilermakers go on to face the winner of the Tennessee vs Iowa game in the Sweet 16.

2 seed Michigan State Spartans beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers 70-50. The Spartans could not be held back from their first Sweet 16 in 4 years. Cassius Winston scored 13 points and had nine assists, as well as a 7 point stretch in the last half. MSU would have pulled away further from the Gophers if it wasn't for turnovers, in which Minnesota converted 11 into 12 points during the first half. MSU ended up with a 20 point lead toward the end of the last half. MSU goes on to the Sweet 16 to face 3 seed LSU.

No. 1 seed Gonzaga beat No. 9 seed Baylor by 13 points in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, lead by an outstanding scoring performance from Brandon Clarke who put up 36 points. Clarke was 15 of 18 from the field and 6 of 8 from the free throw line. He also had 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Gonzaga was up 39-23 at the half and held off Baylor's attempts to come back in the second half; Baylor outscored the Zags 48-44 in the last 20 minutes. Mark Vital and Makai Mason shared the lead in scoring for Baylor, each putting up 17 points. Gonzaga will face Florida State in the Sweet 16.

12th seed Murray kept this game close until about the 5 minute mark in the 1st half when 4th seed Florida opened up a double digit lead that they never let go of. The score was 50-34 at the half and Florida outscored Murray State 40-28 in the 2nd period as well. All this didn't stop Ja Morant of Murray State from putting on another show, leading all scorers with 28 points and tacking on 5 rebounds and 4 assists in this second round performance. Mfiondu Kabengele was Florida State's top scorer with 22 points on 10 of 12 shooting. Florida State will face the winner of Gonzaga v Baylor in the Sweet Sixteen.

Jordan Poole of #2 Michigan scored 19 points in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, carrying his team to a 15-point victory over #10 Florida. The score was 32-28 at halftime, but Michigan quickly opened up their lead to double digits after a Poole layup with 18:19 remaining. Florida closed the gap into single digits for a majority of the 2nd half until the 5:12 mark with a score of 44-55. Michigan closed out strong after that. Poole was the leading scorer in the game and Michigan's Isiah Livers (10) and Florida's Jalen Hudson (11) were the only other double digit scorers. Michigan will face the winner of Buffalo v Texas Tech in the Sweet 16.

2 seed Kentucky Wildcats beat the Wofford Terriers 62-56, advancing to the Sweet 16 to face the winner of Houston vs Ohio State. Wofford stayed tough against the Wildcats throughout the whole game. The Terriers led by six in the first half until Kentucky had a spurt, taking a 28-26 lead just before half time. The Wildcats almost pulled away in the second, leading by nine points, but Wofford put up a fight, by pulling within 58-56 with 37 seconds to go. Kentucky made free throws late into the half to clench their victory.

3 seed LSU beat out the Maryland Terrapins in a close 69-67 game. Maryland closed LSU's lead, maintaining a close volley between the two teams. LSU made a comeback after a slump in the second half. The Tigers called a time out with just under 20 seconds to go, and then Tremont Waters sunk a layup with only 1.6 seconds to go, which put the Tigers past the Terrapins for the win. LSU moves on to the Sweet 16 to face the winner of the Michigan State vs Minnesota game.

4th seed Virginia Tech beat 13th seed Saint Louis in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament by 14 points. The score was 40-18 in favor of Virginia Tech at halftime and even though Saint Louis mounted a decent comeback to outscore their opponent 34-26 in the 2nd half, Virginia Tech's large lead was never seriously threatened. The closest SLU came was at the 10:23 mark with a score of 41-51. The top scorer in the game was Virginia Tech's Nickeil Alexander-Walker with 20 points. Saint Louis was led by Javon Bess with 14. Virginia Tech will face 12th seed Liberty in the Round of 32.