Ryan Langborg banked in a driving layup with two minutes to go Thursday to give Princeton its first lead, and second-seeded Arizona missed its final seven shots as the 15th-seeded Tigers scored a shocking 59-55 victory in a South region first-round game in Sacramento, Calif.
Princeton (22-8) finished on a 9-0 run while overcoming a 12-point second-half deficit, posting an upset reminiscent of its 1996 first-round victory over defending champion UCLA. Pac-12 tournament champion Arizona (28-7) bowed out after scoring only four points in the final 8:05 to finish with its season-low point total.
Tosan Evbuomwan led Princeton with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Princeton advances to play in Saturday’s second round against seventh-seeded Missouri.
Azuolas Tubelis had 22 points for Arizona, while Oumar Ballo posted a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
South Region
No. 13 Furman 68, No. 4 Virginia 67
JP Pegues’ 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left after a huge steal by Garrett Hein lifted the Paladins to a stunning upset over the Cavaliers in Orlando, Fla.
Pegues’ historic shot from the right wing gave Furman its first NCAA Tournament win since 1974 after rallying from a four-point deficit in the final 19 seconds. The Paladins (28-7), playing in their first NCAA Tournament since 1980, will face fifth-seeded San Diego State in the second round on Saturday.
Jalen Slawson had 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, while Marcus Foster added 14 points for Furman, which won for the 15th time in its past 16 games. Kadin Shedrick had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers (25-8), who have lost in the first round in three of their past four NCAA Tournaments.
No. 1 Alabama 96, No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 75
Nick Pringle posted a double-double as the Crimson Tide overcame a poor performance from Brandon Miller to beat the Islanders in Birmingham, Ala.
Pringle totaled 19 points and 15 rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting in just 21 minutes of action for Alabama (30-5), which will face eighth-seeded Maryland in the second round on Saturday. Mark Sears added 15 points and Jahvon Quinerly went for 13. Miller, the Southeastern Conference Player and Freshman of the Year, went scoreless for the first time this season, with coach Nate Oats saying he has been playing through a groin injury.
Trevian Tennyson scored a game-high 20 points Thursday for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (24-11), which shot just 34.7 percent (26 of 75) from the floor. Isaac Mushila contributed 16 points and 15 rebounds, while Owen Dease had 14 points.
No. 8 Maryland 67, No. 9 West Virginia 65
Julian Reese led the Terrapins with 17 points and nine rebounds in a tight win over the Mountaineers to tip off region action in Birmingham, Ala.
Hakim Hart had 15 points with four assists and scored the go-ahead basket as the Terrapins (22-12) ended the game on an 11-6 run. Scott had 11 points and eight rebounds and Young scored 10 points for Maryland, which reached the Round of 32 for the third time in the past four tournaments (2019, 2021).
The Mountaineers (19-15) lost despite Johnson’s career-high 27 points. Mitchell added 13 points and six rebounds.
No. 5 San Diego State 63, No. 12 Charleston 57
Matt Bradley scored 17 points and the fifth-seeded Aztecs held off the 12th-seeded Cougars in Orlando, Fla.
Keshad Johnson, Jaedon LeDee and Aguek Arop scored eight points apiece for San Diego State (28-6), which will face 13th-seeded Furman in the second round on Saturday. Furman upset fourth-seeded Virginia earlier Thursday,
Ante Brzovic had 12 points and eight rebounds, Ryan Larson had 11 points and Dalton Bolon finished with 10 points for Charleston (31-4).
No. 7 Missouri 76, No. 10 Utah State 65
D’Moi Hodge scored 23 points and had four steals as the Tigers defeated the Aggies in Sacramento, Calif.
Kobe Brown scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Tigers (25-9), who won their first NCAA tournament game since 2010. DeAndre Gholston scored 11 points and Noah Carter added 10 for Missouri, which will play the No. 15 seed Princeton — who later shocked No. 2 Arizona — in the second round on Saturday.
Taylor Funk led the Aggies (26-9) with 16 points and seven rebounds. Dan Akin and Steve Ashworth scored 12 points each and Sean Bairstow added 10. Missouri held Utah State to 4-for-24 shooting from 3-point range and forced the Aggies into 15 turnovers.
West Region
No. 1 Kansas 96, No. 16 Howard 68
The defending national champion Jayhawks shifted into high gear in the second half to smother the Bison in Des Moines, Iowa.
All-American Jalen Wilson collected 20 points and seven rebounds, freshman Gradey Dick had 19 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals and the top-seeded Jayhawks (28-7) had five players with 10 or more points. The Jayhawks advanced to play eighth seed Arkansas on Saturday. Arkansas eliminated ninth seed Illinois 73-63 on Thursday.
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year Shy Odom had 15 points and eight rebounds for 16th-seeded Howard (22-13), which went 5 of 20 from 3-point range in the second half.
No. 8 Arkansas 73, No. 9 Illinois 63
The Razorbacks survived a second-half slump to put away the Fighting Illini and advance to the second round in Des Moines, Iowa.
Ricky Council IV scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead Arkansas (21-13), which trailed for only 1 minute, 20 seconds and led by as many as 17 in the second half. Davonte Davis scored 16 points, and Anthony Black had 12.
Ninth-seeded Illinois committed 17 turnovers but threatened late in the second half before another Arkansas surge. Terrence Shannon Jr. had 20 points for the Illini, while RJ Melendez and Coleman Hawkins added 10 apiece.
–Field Level Media
