NCAA Results Roundup: Gonzaga, Kansas State, UConn progress to Elite 8 as Florida Atlantic stuns Tennessee
The first day of the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 on Thursday was crazy. Gonzaga stormed back to defeat UCLA in a thriller, with Julian Strawther hitting the game-winner from the logo.
Meanwhile, Kansas State outlasted Michigan State in an overtime classic, UConn dominated Arkansas to progress into the Elite Eight and Florida Atlantic produced an upset, stunning Tennessee in a tough, hard-fought game.
Here is the latest NCAA results roundup for March 24 brought to you by Sportskeeda.
Julian Strawther sinks UCLA, helps Gonzaga win
Gonzaga was down by 13 points at halftime before storming back to take a 10-point lead over UCLA with around two minutes left in the game. However, the Bruins made a furious run to take back the lead with 12.4 seconds remaining.
Zags coach Mark Few drew up a great play to set up Julian Strawther's insane 3-point shot with 7.2 seconds left. A great defensive play by Malachi Smith and Strawther's free throw iced it for the Bulldogs 79-76.
Gonzaga (31-5), seeded third in the West, will face UConn (28-8), seeded fourth, in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
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Kansas State outlasts Michigan State in overtime
Kansas State pulled off a tough 98-93 win over Michigan State in overtime. Tyson Walker forced an extra period, but the Spartans ran out of steam. Markquis Nowell had an amazing game with 20 points, three rebounds, and an NCAA Tournament-record 19 assists.
Nowell also stole the ball in the final seconds of overtime to cement the Wildcats' victory. AJ Haggard had 25 points and six assists for Michigan State, but it wasn't enough.
Kansas State (26-9), seeded third in the East, will take on dangerous Florida Atlantic (34-3), the No. 9 seed, on Saturday.
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UConn continues to dominate NCAA Tournament
The UConn Huskies (28-8) continued their domination of the NCAA Tournament with another blowout win on Thursday. The Arkansas Razorbacks were no match for UConn, losing 88-65. Jordan Hawkins led the Huskies with 24 points, two rebounds and three assists.
UConn has won its three March Madness games by double digits and an average margin of 20.7 points. They steamrolled Iona 87-63 in the first round and made quick work of St. Mary's 70-55 in the second round. It will be interesting to see if UConn can continue its dominance against Gonzaga on Saturday.
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Florida Atlantic stuns Tennessee
Florida Atlantic continued its Cinderella run with a 62-55 upset win over Tennessee. The Owls, in just their second NCAA Tournament, made it to the Elite Eight for the first time. It was a total team effort for FAU, with Johnell Davis leading the way with 15 points and six rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Volunteers were smothered on defense and shot just 33.3%. Josiah Jordan-James and Jonas Aidoo were the only two Tennessee players to score in double figures with 10 points each.
Florida Atlantic will take on Kansas State in the Elite Eight.
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