March Madness scores, highlights from Saturday's NCAA Tournament games

Nick Birdsong

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March Madness scores, highlights from Saturday's NCAA Tournament games image

The Sweet 16 is set. Here's how the March Madness action played out Saturday, from Villanova's impressive win to Michigan's thrilling buzzer-beater.   

Live March Madness scores, highlights from NCAA Tournament

No. 1 Villanova 81, No. 9 Alabama 58

Villanova wasn't about to be the next No. 1 seed to go down to a lesser opponent. The Wildcats dispatched of the Crimson Tide with ease to advance to player either West Virginia or Marshall in the Sweet 16. Villanova got a game-high 23 points from Mikal Bridges and 18 from Donte DiVincezo. The Wildcats combined knocked down 17 3-pointer and have connected on 31 from deep through two games in the tournament. Alabama freshman Collin Sexton, in possibly his last collegiate game, scored a team-high 17 points. 

Second half 

17:15—Villanova's in the midst of a 9-0 run, sparked by seven points from Mikal Bridges, to start the half and lead 41-27. Things could be about to get ugly for the Crimson  Tide.

19:10—Alabama starter Herb Jones picks up his fourth foul, defending Mikal Bridges on a 3-point attempt. 

Halftime 

Wildcats guard Donte DiVincezo knocks down his fifth 3-pointer of the half to put his team ahead 32-27. The sophomore leads all scorers with 18 points. Collin Sexton has nine points and three assists, tops for the Crimson Tide. 

First half

6:50—Villanova's Donte DiVincezo has his outside jumper working. 

 

 

10:44—SN Player of the Villanova point guard Jalen Brunson goes to the bench with his second foul. The junior has four points and two assists and the Wildcats lead 13-12. 

16:14—Villanova big man Chris Spellman, the only Wildcat to score thus far, picks up his second foul and heads to the bench. Villanova leads 5-3. 

No. 2 Duke 87, No. 7 Rhode Island 62

Duke's in the Sweet 16. The Blue Devils handled Rhode Island, which defeated Oklahoma in overtime in workmanlike fashion as all five starters finished in double figures. Marvin Bagley led the way with 22 points and nine rebounds. Gary Trent scored 18. Trevon Duval contributed with 11 and Grayson Allen finished with 10. The Rams E.C. Allen dropped a game-high 23 points. Duke will face Michigan State or Syracuse next. 

Halftime 

Duke holds Rhode Island leading scoring Jared Terrel to no field goals to build a 45-28 lead at the half. Duke, which is shooting 53 percent from the field, is led by Gary Trent's 11 points. Blue Devils point guard Trevon Duval added 11. Rhode Island's E.C. Waters leads all scorers with 13 points. 

First half 

10:19—After trailing by five early, Duke's Grayson Allen hits a 3-pointer while being fouled and knocks down the free throw to convert the four-point play. Duke leads 19-11. 

No. 5 Kentucky 95, No. 13 Buffalo 75

Kentucky got monstrous games from both point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his running mate shooting guard Hamidou Diallo. The duo combined for 49 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists to catapult the Wildcats into the Sweet 16. Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 27 points, six assists and six rebounds. Diallo added 22 points to go along with eight rebounds, two steals an assist and and a block as Kentucky outscored the Bulls 39-23 the last 15-plus minutes. They'll face the UMBC-Kansas State winner in the Sweet 16 in Atlanta next week. 

Wes Clark had 26 and CJ Massinburg had 18 for Buffalo in a losing effort. 

Second half 

6:02—Kentucky's Hamidou Diallo scores on a layup to give his team a 82-69 lead for 15th and 16th points of the game. He and freshman Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (27) have combined for 43 points. 

Halftime 

Kentucky leads Buffalo 51-42 behind 17 points from freshman Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. CJ Massinburg (14) and Wes Clark (13) are tops in scoring for the Bulls. 

First half 

5:42—Watch you head! Hamidou Diallo is coming through. Wildcats lead 39-31. 

 

 

8:32—Quade Green drains a 3-pointer to put Kentucky back up double digits at 32-21. 

15:46—Kentucky leads 10-7 early and Wildcats guard Hamidou Diallo is making his presence felt on the defensive end. 

 

 

No. 11 Loyola (Ill.) 63, No. 3 Tennessee 62

Clayton Custer's jumper with seven seconds remaining gives the Ramblers a one-point lead and they hold on to complete their second-straight upset and advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1985. Aundre Jackson leads the way for Loyola with 16 points and four rebounds and the Custer finishes with 10 as the Ramblers shoot 50 percent from the field, including 40 percent from 3- point range. Three Volunteers, Admiral Schofield (14), Jordan Bone (13) and Grant Williams (12) put up double-digit scoring totals for Tennessee in the loss. 

Second half

0:21—Grant Williams scores on a jumper and adds a free throw after being fouled and Tennessee leads 62-61. 

4:04—The Volunteers are running out of time down 58-48 after Ramblers forward Aundre Jackson scores from close range. Loyola might be the first Cinderella crashing the ball at the Sweet 16. 

8:17—Tennessee trails Loyola 50-44. The Ramblers are shooting 52.8 percent from the field. 

Halftime 

Could the Ramblers be on their way to another upset? Loyola, which downed No. 6 Miami in the first round, leads the Volunteers 29-25 at the break. The Ramblers are paced by Aundre Jackson's 10 points and three rebounds off the bench. Tennessee's Admiral Schofield's has 11, tops in scoring for his team. The Volunteers have only made 10 of 26 fiel-goal attempts (38.5 percent). 

First half 

15:38—Admiral Schofield throws down a dunk and Tennessee jumps out to a 15-6 lead. 

 

No. 1 Kansas 83, No. 8 Seton Hall 79

Kansas redshirt sophomore Malik Newman matches Seton Hall's Khadeen Carrington's 28-point effort as the Jayhawks hold off the Pirates and move on to the Sweet 16 where they'll face the Auburn-Clemson winner next week. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk added 16 points and Lagerald Vick contributed with 13 for Kansas. Seton Hall center Angel Delgado had 24 points and 23 rebounds in his final collegiate game. 

Second half

6:32: Kansas is getting it done with a balanced scoring attack. Four Jayhawks have scored in double figures and they lead 61-52. 

13:05—The Jayhawks are up 49-39. They're also winning the assist battle 13-5. 

Halftime 

Kansas leads Seton Hall 31-26 at the half. Angel Delgado's 12 points and 12 rebouns lead the way for the Pirates. Malik Newman has 10 points and three rebounds for the Jayhawks. 

First half 

2:19—Seton Hall's Angel Delgado already has a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds but the Jayhawks lead the Pirates 25-24. 

8:49—Kansas holds a narrow 15-13 lead. 

Time (TV) 7:10 p.m. TBS

No. 4 Gonzaga 90, No. 5 Ohio State 84

Gonzaga is headed to the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive after allowing a double-digit lead to evaporate before regaining it for good. The Bulldogs got 28 points and 12 rebounds from redshirt freshman Zach Norvell and 25 from sophomore Rui Hachuimura. Ohio State's Keita Bates-Diop scored 28 to lead the Buckeyes. Kam Williams dropped 19 and CJ Jackson contributed with 18. Gonzaga will face the Florida State-Xavier winner in the Sweet 16. 

Second half 

3:45—Gonzaga sophomore Rui Hachimura sinks just his fourth 3-pointer all season to give the Bulldogs a 73-67 lead. 

10:35—Ohio State's Kam Williams sinks a 3-pointer to give the Buckeyes their first lead of the game at 56-54. 

Halftime 

After an abysmal start for Ohio State, Buckeyes big man has 14 points to lead his team into the break. However, they trail the Bulldogs 44-33. Zach Norwell has 15 for Gonzaga.  

First half 

15:24—Everything that can go wrong for the Buckeyes is. Gonzaga's leads 13-0. Ohio State calls timeout. 

No. 3 Texas Tech 69, No. 6 Florida 66

Down five in the game's waning stages, Gators point guard Chris Chiozza scores on a layup with 26 seconds to go. Florida comes up with a steal on the Red Raiders' next possession but both Egor Koulechov and Jalen Hudson miss 3-pointers that would've sent the game into overtime. Hudson finishes with a game-high 23 points while Chiozza (11) and Koulechov combined for as many in the loss. Texas Tech senior Keenan Evans led his team with 22 points. Red Raiders freshman Zhaire Smith almost messed around and got a triple-double with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and Jarrett Culver filled out the stat sheet with 11 points, nine rebounds an four assists. Texas Tech wil play the Butler-Purdue winner in the Sweet 16 on March 23. 

Second half

Texas Tech's Zhaire Smith has major bounce.

 

 

11:58—A layup by Texas Tech's Zhaire Smith evens the score at 48. 

Halftime 

Florida holds a 33-32 led by Egor Koulechov's 10 points. Texas Techs star guard Keenan Evans has scored eight for the Red Raiders. 

First half 

9:48—Florida's Egor Koulechov nails a 3-pointer to give the Gators their biggest lead of the game. 

No. 3 Michigan 64, No. 6 Houston 63

Michigan freshman Jordan Poole, who hadn't scored at all in the second half, hit a perfectly contested 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Wolverines into the Sweet 16 and end Houston's season in devestating fashion. 

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Moritz Wagner had a dozen points apiece and Duncan Robinson chipped in with 11 points for Michigan. Houston senior Rob Gray had a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds and Devin Davis added 17 points. 

Second half 

11:14—Houston guard Robert Gray goes on a personal five-point spurt, scoring a layup which was preceded by a 3-pointer, to give the Cougars a 49-43 advantage. 

Halftime 

Michigan and Houston are tied at 28 at the break. 

First half 

6:33—A 3-pointer from Houston's Corey Davis gives the Cougars a 22-21 lead in a nip-and-tuck game. 

Nick Birdsong