LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The first big upset of the NCAA Tournament goes to the scrappy UAB Blazers.

William Lee scored the last four points for 14th-seeded UAB, and the Blazers upset third-seeded Iowa State 60-59 on Thursday in their opening game of the NCAA Tournament.

The Blazers (20-15) came in with the youngest team in the tournament. They wound up with the program’s first NCAA win since 2005.

The ninth-ranked Cyclones (25-9) came into the South Regional looking for a longer run than a year ago when they reached the Sweet 16. But they couldn’t match the Blazers on the boards in a second half in which the Cyclones couldn’t hold on to a 55-51 lead with 3:13 left.

UCLA 60, SMU 59: Bryce Alford made four 3-pointers in the final 3:40, his last on a rare goaltending call with 13 seconds remaining, to push 11th-seeded UCLA (21-13) to the upset of sixth-seeded SMU (27-7).

Alford’s last attempt was hit by SMU’s Yanick Moreira before it reached the rim. Officials awarded Alford the basket, to the disbelief of the Mustangs.

Advertisement

Sixth-seeded SMU had two shots to win in the final seconds, but Nic Moore missed a 3-pointer and then a 2-point attempt.

UTAH 57, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 50: Jakob Poeltl had 18 points and eight rebounds, and fifth-seeded Utah (25-8) opened its first tournament appearance in five years by holding off Stephen F. Austin (29-5) at Portland, Oregon.

MIDWEST REGION

NOTRE DAME 69, NORTHEASTERN 65: Zach Auguste scored 25 points, Jerian Grant added 17 and Notre Dame (30-5) dodged a scare at Pittsburgh.

Scott Eatherton had 18 points for 14th-seeded Northeastern (23-12) which gave the Irish fits.

With a chance to tie it at 67 with less than 10 seconds left, Quincy Ford lost control of the ball – and the Huskies lost their upset bid.

Advertisement

BUTLER 56, TEXAS 48: Kellen Dunham scored 20 points, including a pivotal 3-pointer with 1:18 to play, to lift sixth-seeded Butler (23-10) over the Longhorns (20-14).

KENTUCKY 79, HAMPTON 56: Karl-Anthony Towns bounced back from a mini-slump with 21 points and 11 rebounds, Andrew Harrison added 14 points and No. 1 Kentucky (35) rolled past Hampton (17-18) at Louisville, Kentucky.

CINCINNATI 66, PURDUE 65: Troy Caupain got Cincinnati to overtime with his buzzer-beating layup, then Coreontae DeBerry scored four of 13 points in the extra period to help the eighth-seeded Bearcats (23-10) beat Purdue (21-13).

WEST REGION

GEORGIA STATE 57, BAYLOR 56: R.J. Hunter’s 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds remaining capped a comeback from a 12-point deficit and lifted 14th-seeded Georgia State (25-9) over third-seeded Baylor (24-10) at Jacksonville, Florida.

Baylor (24-10) did not score after going up 56-44 on two free throws with 2:54 left. Georgia State forced three turnovers and Hunter shrugged off early poor shooting to score nine straight points.

Advertisement

NORTH CAROLINA 67, HARVARD 65: Justin Jackson hit a tying jumper in the final minute and then had a fast-break dunk to help fourth-seeded North Carolina (25-11) edge 13th-seeded Harvard (22-8) after wasting at 16-point lead.

XAVIER 76, MISSISSIPPI 57: Matt Stainbrook scored 20 points and Dee Davis added 17 for the sixth-seeded Musketeers (22-13) against the Rebels (21-13).

ARKANSAS 56, WOFFORD 53: Michael Qualls scored 20 points, SEC player of the year Bobby Portis added 15 points and 13 rebounds, and fifth-seeded Arkansas (27-8) held off No. 12 seed Wofford (28-7).

ARIZONA 93, TEXAS SOUTHERN 72: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 23 points, 16 in the first half, along with 10 rebounds for second-seeded Arizona as the balanced Wildcats (32-3) handled Texas Southern (22-13) at Portland, Oregon.

OHIO STATE 75, VCU 72: D’Angelo Russell scored 28 points and rallied the 10th-seeded Buckeyes (24-10) from an early 12-point deficit for the overtime win over VCU (26-10).

EAST REGION

VILLANOVA 93, LAFAYETTE 52: Dylan Ennis scored 16 points, and Villanova (33-2) thumped Lafayette (20-13) at Pittsburgh, showing why President Obama picked the Wildcats (33-2) to reach the final.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE 66, LSU 65: BeeJay Anya’s hook shot rolled around and in with a second to play, lifting the Wolfpack (21-13) to a stunning win over LSU (22-11) in which they trailed by as many as 16 points.

Copy the Story Link

Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.