Ohio guard Jason Preston, front, and forward Ben Vander Plas celebrate their win over Virginia in a first-round game in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on Saturday in Bloomington, Ind. Doug McSchooler/Associated Press
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Virginia’s unusual title defense ended with another upset loss in the NCAA Tournament, as the fourth-seeded Cavaliers fell 62-58 against No. 13 Ohio on Saturday.
Some familiar problems showed up again for the Cavaliers, who struggled to score during a key stretch in the second half and shot 35% from the field. Virginia became the first No. 1 seed to drop its opening game in the NCAA Tournament when it lost to UMBC in 2018, but it used the setback as motivation in its run to the championship in 2019.
Last year’s tournament was canceled because of the pandemic, delaying the Cavaliers’ title defense. They didn’t arrive in Indiana until Friday because of COVID-19 issues, and now they are heading home again.
Ben Vander Plas and Jason Preston delivered for Ohio after leading the Bobcats to the Mid-American Conference Tournament title.
Vander Plas scored eight of his 17 points during an 18-4 second-half run that erased a 38-31 deficit and gave the Bobcats a 49-42 lead. Ohio (17-7) never trailed again.
Preston finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
VIRUS PROTOCOLS ELIMINATE VCU: Virginia Commonwealth has been pulled from the NCAA Tournament because of COVID-19 protocols, along seventh-seeded Oregon to advance to the second round without playing.
The announcement came a little more than three hours before the teams were set to play in the West Region. The NCAA didn’t offer specific details, citing privacy concerns, and said that the decision came after consultation with the Marion County Public Health Department.
“The NCAA and the committee regret that VCU’s student-athletes and coaching staff will not be able to play in a tournament in which they earned the right to participate,” the statement read.
(1) GONZAGA 98, (16) NORFOLK STATE 55: Corey Kispert scored 15 of his 23 points by halftime and No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga (27-0) rolled in its tournament opener in Indianapolis.
Anton Watson had 17 points on 7-for-7 shooting for the Bulldogs, who easily handled the 16th-seeded Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions.
Next up for the undefeated Zags is Oklahoma in the second round of the West Region.
Devante Carter and Kyonze Chavis each scored 12 points for Norfolk State (17-8).
(2) IOWA 86, (15) GRAND CANYON 74: Iowa (22-8) got 24 points from Luka Garza and avoided the early exit that befell other high seeds with a victory over 15th-seeded Grand Canyon (17-7) in Indianapolis.
Joe Wieskamp added 16 points to help lead the Hawkeyes into the next round against Oregon.
Eastern Washington guard Michael Meadows, center, gets pressure from Marcus Garrett, left, and Bryce Thompson of Kansas while attempting to shoot during the first half of Saturday’s game in Indianapolis. AJ Mast/Associated Press
(3) KANSAS 93, (14) EASTERN WASHINGTON 84: One day after rejoining the Jayhawks in Indianapolis from his COVID-19-caused hiatus, bruising big man David McCormack piled up 22 points and nine rebounds, helping slow-starting Kansas (21-8) rally from a 10-point second-half deficit and beat No. 14 seed Eastern Washington (16-8).
Ochai Agbaji scored 21 points, Marcus Garrett fought foul trouble to add 20 and Dajuan Harris Jr. had 13 for the Jayhawks, who advanced to play sixth-seeded USC.
Tanner Groves scored a career-high 35 points and younger brother Jacob Groves had 23 for the Eagles, whose third trip to the NCAA Tournament ended just as quickly as the first two – though not without putting up a fight.
(5) CREIGHTON 63, (12) UC SANTA BARBARA 62: Christian Bishop made both ends of a one-and-one with 16 seconds left to give fifth-seeded Creighton the lead, and the Bluejays (21-8) held on to beat 12th-seeded UC Santa Barbara (22-5) in Indianapolis.
(6) USC 72, (11) DRAKE 56: Evan Mobley had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 6 seed Southern California (23-7) used smothering defense to beat Drake (26-5) in Indianapolis.
Mobley, a 7-foot freshman forward and AP second-team All-American expected to be a lottery pick if he declares for the draft, made 7 of 15 field goals and blocked three shots. Isaiah Mobley scored 15 points and Drew Peterson added 14 for USC.
Joseph Yesufu scored 26 points for 11th-seeded Drake, which claimed its first tournament win in 50 years in the First Four on Thursday.
(8) OKLAHOMA 72, (9) MISSOURI 68: Austin Reaves scored 23 points, Brady Manek added 19 and the eighth-seeded Sooners (16-10) slipped by ninth-seeded Missouri (16-10) in Indianapolis.
EAST REGION
(1) MICHIGAN 82, (16) TEXAS SOUTHERN 66: Mike Smith scored 18 points and Hunter Dickinson added 16 as top-seeded Michigan (21-4) rolled into the second round with a win over Texas Southern (17-9) in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Michigan, playing without Isaiah Livers, who is out because of a foot injury, also got 11 points each from Eli Brooks and Brandon Johns Jr.
(2) ALABAMA 68, (15) IONA 55: Herb Jones led Alabama with 20 points, including a steal and layup that highlighted an 11-0 run and gave the Crimson Tide (25-6) breathing room against the Gaels (12-6) in a win at Indianapolis.
(14) ABILENE CHRISTIAN 53, (3) TEXAS 52: Joe Pleasant, a 58.8% foul shooter, made a pair of free throws with 1.2 seconds left and the 14th-seeded Wildcats (24-4) shocked their in-state rivals in the first meeting ever between the two schools, in Indianapolis.
Pleasant finished with 11 points, as did Coryon Mason for the Wildcats, who will face No. 11 seed UCLA in the second round on Monday.
Andrew Jones scored 13 points and was nearly the hero for Texas (19-8). He hit two free throws with 56 seconds left and a 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining to put the Longhorns in front, 52-51.
(4) FLORIDA STATE 64, (13) UNC GREENSBORO 54: Rayquan Gray scored 17 points and No. 4 seed Florida State (17-6) began what it hopes will be another deep run, holding off 13th-seeded UNC Greensboro (21-9) in Indianapolis.
The Seminoles, who reached the Elite Eight and the Sweet 16 in the previous two tournaments, allowed the Spartans to hang around deep into the second half thanks to an uneven offensive performance. Florida State went 0 for 9 from 3-point range, winning a game without a made 3 for the first time since February 2018. The Seminoles still managed to shoot 50% overall.
(5) COLORADO 96, (12) GEORGETOWN 73: Colorado (23-8) used an early 3-point barrage to parlay its highest seeding ever at March Madness into a first-round win over Georgetown (13-13) in Indianapolis.
Led by freshman Jabari Walker’s 5-for-5 shooting clinic from 3-point range, the fifth-seeded Buffaloes made 16 3-pointers and shot 64% from long range.
(11) UCLA 73, (6) BYU 62: Johnny Juzang poured in 27 points, Jules Bernard provided a big second-half lift, and No. 11 seed UCLA (19-9) beat sixth-seeded BYU (20-7) in Indianapolis.
Bernard finished with 16 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 13 for the Bruins.
Alex Barcello led the Cougars with 20 points, most of them coming as they tried to rally from a 38-27 halftime deficit.
(10) MARYLAND 63, (7) UCONN 54: Eric Ayala scored 23 points and seventh-seeded Maryland (17-13) clamped down on defense down the stretch to snag a victory over No. 7 UConn (15-8) in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The 10th-seeded Terrapins held UConn to 32% shooting to overcome the Huskies’ strong physical game. Maryland was outrebounded 40-29, but its defense carried the Terps to a second-round matchup against No. 2 Alabama.
(8) LSU 76, (9) ST. BONAVENTURE 61: Freshman Cameron Thomas scored 27 points in another impressive performance and his LSU teammates provided the rebounding muscle, leading the Tigers (19-9) past St. Bonaventure (16-5) in Bloomington, Indiana.
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