INDIANAPOLIS — Chris Duarte scored 23 points and Oregon showed no signs of rust after a long layoff, beating No. 2 seed Iowa 95-80 on Monday to reach the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the past five NCAA Tournaments.

The seventh-seed Ducks (21-6) were put in an unprecedented spot, advancing to the West Region’s second round without playing a game. Virginia Commonwealth’s multiple positive COVID-19 tests took care of that, leaving Oregon with a nine-day break since losing in the Pac-12 Tournament title game.

Oregon’s offense hummed like it was fresh off the line once the ball went up, kicking off the NCAA Tournament’s first Monday of second-round games with a masterpiece.

The Ducks flowed on the floor and glowed on the scoresheet, shooting 56% and hitting 11 3-pointers. LJ Figueroa hit five 3s while scoring 21 points and Will Richardson added 19 points in an offensive domination.

Their sweet offensive movements left the Hawkeyes (22-9) flailing, one game short of the Sweet 16 for the fourth time under Fran McCaffrey.

Luka Garza played like a two-time All-American, bulling in for three-point plays, hitting mid-range jumpers and dropping in the occasional 3. He capped his stellar college career with 36 points and nine rebounds before receiving a nice ovation from the limited crowd allowed in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Joe Wieskamp added 17 points, but the rest of the Hawkeyes weren’t of much help to the big fella, sending them out of the bracket early with other top seeds Illinois, Ohio State and Texas.

The Ducks managed to navigate a difficult pandemic season full of pauses and injuries to win their second straight Pac-12 regular-season title.

Oregon earned a No. 7 seed in Indianapolis and faced what was expected to be a difficult opener against VCU and its Havoc defense. But the Ducks learned during their pregame meal that they would advance without playing a game, leaving them with a huge break before facing the No. 2 team in the region.

Nerves? Rusty? Nope.

The Ducks went on the attack from Richardson’s opening layup and used quick ball movement to set up open looks throughout the first half.

Oregon hit seven 3s, made 22 of 37 shots and used a 10-0 run to lead 56-46 at halftime.

The biggest problem was stopping Iowa’s best player.

Garza had 12 points in the first seven minutes, even with Oregon shading a defender toward him in the post, and 20 by halftime. He shook off the smaller Ducks bouncing off him as he hit 8 of 10 shots and the lone 3 he attempted.

The Ducks kept soaring on offense and swarmed Garza with double teams in the second half, stretching the lead to 76-57 to all but put it out of reach.

(1) GONZAGA 87, (8) OKLAHOMA 71: Gonzaga (28-0) continued to roll behind a career-high 30 points and 13 rebounds from Drew Timme in beating Oklahoma (16-11) in the second round at Indianapolis.

Gonzaga won its 32nd straight game dating to last season, passing its first real test of the NCAAs in the Bulldogs’ quest to be the first undefeated champion since Indiana 45 years ago.

The Bulldogs easily dispatched Norfolk State in the first round, but the Sooners were the first power conference opponent for Gonzaga since its victory over Virginia in late December.

It didn’t matter all that much. Oklahoma became the 25th straight team the Bulldogs beat by double digits – although the Sooners fought valiantly to keep it from becoming a blowout.

(5) CREIGHTON 72, (13) OHIO 58: Marcus Zegarowski scored 20 points to help Creighton (22-8) beat Ohio (17-8) at Indianapolis, securing the program’s first trip to the Round of 16 in 47 years.

Damien Jefferson added 15 points for the Bluejays. They had a cold opening few minutes before the offense – and Zegarowski in particular – got rolling with a strong performance that built a double-digit lead by halftime.

EAST

(1) MICHIGAN 76, (8) LSU 78: Michigan (22-4) salvaged the Big Ten’s best hope for NCAA Tournament glory, getting 21 points each from Chaundee Brown and Eli Brooks in a  roller-coaster win over LSU (19-10) at Indianapolis.

In a game full of big runs, the Wolverines used the biggest – 14-1 over the decisive stretch midway through the second half – to pull away and preserve a glimmer of hope for a conference that has mostly tanked these four days in Indianapolis.

(2) ALABAMA 99, (10) MARYLAND 77: Jaden Shackelford and Alabama (26-6) stuck with what got them to the NCAA Tournament, torching Maryland with 3-point shooting in a second-round rout at Indianapolis.

Shackelford scored 21 points and made five of Alabama’s 16 3-pointers as the Crimson Tide advanced to their first Sweet 16 since 2004. It’s the first regional semifinal for Nate Oats, the second-year coach who made Buffalo a must-watch team before moving up to the Southeastern Conference.

After trailing early, the nation’s top 3-point shooting team quickly heated up to overwhelm the Terrapins (17-14).

(4) FLORIDA STATE 71, (5) COLORADO 53: Anthony Polite scored a career-high 22 points and Florida State (18-6) pulled away in the second half to beat Colorado (23-9) to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third straight tournament.

Polite had never scored more than 15 points in a game, but the junior made 8 of 12 shots, including 4 of 7 3-pointers. Florida State advanced to face East region No. 1 seed Michigan, which knocked out the Seminoles in the 2018 Elite Eight.

(11) UCLA 67, (14) ABILENE CHRISTIAN 47: Johnny Juzang scored 17 points and UCLA (20-9) carefully brushed off pesky Abilene Christian (24-5) to become the fifth team to go from First Four to Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

UCLA started its tournament Thursday by rallying to beat Michigan State in overtime and is the first team to rise from First Four to the Round of 16 since Syracuse in 2018. VCU in 2011 is the only First Four team to advanced past the regional semifinals, when the Rams went to the Final Four.

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