INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The state is set for the Elite Eight round (quarterfinals) of the 2021 NCAA March Madness tournament.
On Tuesday, #1 seed Gonzaga will play #6 USC in the West region, while #1 Michigan faces #11 UCLA in the East.
The next day, #1 Baylor and #3 Arkansas will face off in the South, with #2 Houston and #12 Oregon State in the Midwest.
Recaps of the weekend’s Sweet Sixteen games:
SATURDAY
Oregon State's stunning run in the NCAA Tournament will continue.
The 12th-seeded Beavers have reached the regional finals for the first time in 39 years by downing Loyola Chicago, 65-58.
Ethan Thompson scored 20 points, including a pair of clinching foul shots with 35 seconds left. Warith Alatishe (WAHR'-ihth al-ah-TEE'-shee) added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Beavers, who were picked to finish last in the Pac-12 but won the conference tournament to reach the NCAA Tourney.
The eighth-seeded Ramblers missed 12 of their first 13 3-point attempts and cored just 16 points by halftime. All-America forward Cameron Krutwig led Loyola with 14 points.
Top-seeded Baylor overcame some frigid outside shooting to move into the Elite Eight, getting 16 points from Adam Flagler in a 62-51 victory over No. 5 Villanova.
The Bears came in as the nation's leading 3-point team before making just only 3 of 19 in this one, unable to find room or get into a comfort zone against the Wildcats' mix of 2-3 zone and man.
Davion (DAY'-vee-ahn) Mitchell went 0 for 3 in a 14-point night after entering the game shooting 46% from downtown.
The Wildcats led by seven at halftime before committing an inordinate amount of turnovers.
The Bears took a six-point lead with a 14-2 run during which not a single point came from outside the arc.
Like Baylor, Arkansas overcame a seven-point, halftime deficit to beat No. 15 seed Oral Roberts, 72-70.
Davonte Davis hit a short jumper with 2.9 seconds left to send the Razorbacks to the Elite Eight for the first time in 26 years.
Jalen Tate dropped in 22 points to help Arkansas overcome a poor shooting night by Moses Moody, who was 4-for-20 in scoring 14 points.
Quentin Grimes scored 14 points while Houston's defense locked down on surging Buddy Boeheim (BAY'-hym), helping the Cougars beat Syracuse 62-46. Justin Gorham had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the second-seeded Cougars, who pushed through to their first trip to a regional final in 37 years.
The Cougars also got a strong all-around effort from DeJon Jarreau, who finished with nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists while leading the defensive effort that kept Boeheim in check. Boeheim finished with 12 points on 3 of 13 shooting.
SUNDAY
Gonzaga remains in line for an historic season after advancing in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
The first overall seed continued its march toward perfection with a 83-65 rout of Creighton, putting the Bulldogs in the Elite Eight.
he Zags improved to 29-0, won their 33rd in a row since last season and extended their Division record of double-digit wins to 26.
Drew Timme (TIH'-mee) scored 22 points and Andrew Nembhard had 17 with eight assists for Gonzaga.
The Bulldogs led 22-12 seven minutes in, carried a 43-33 lead into halftime and spent most of the second half pulling away.
Marcus Zegarowski finished with 19 points to lead the Bluejays.
Joining Gonzaga in the regional finals is fellow No. 1 seed Michigan, which had a surprisingly easy time knocking off No. 5 Florida State.
The Wolverines scored their first 30 points of the second half from close range and coasted to a 76-58 rout of the Seminoles. Hunter Dickinson scored 14 points and Franz Wagner had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Michigan.
The Wolverines improved to 23-4 and moved to the regional finals for the first time since 2018.
The Seminoles committed 10 of their 14 turnovers by halftime and shot 5-for-20 from 3-point range for the game. FSU didn't hit the 20-point mark until the waning moments of the first half and went 24 minutes without nailing a 3-pointer.
UCLA still hasn't lost since being relegated to the First Four round.
Jaime Jaquez (HY'-may HAH'-kehz) Jr. hit two big jumpers early in overtime and finished with 17 points as the 11th-seeded Bruins downed No. 2 Alabama, 88-78. Jacquez and David Singleton took control in overtime after star guard Johnny Juzang (JOO'-zang) fouled out. Singleton's two free throws made it 79-70 with under a minute to go.
The Bruins led by three until Alex Reese drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of regulation, giving the Crimson Tide new life.
UCLA is in the Elite for the first time since 2008 and will take on Michigan.
Sixth seed Southern Cal became the third Pac-12 team to reach the Elite Eight as the Trojans knocked off conference rival Oregon, 82-68.
Isaiah White scored 22 points and the Trojans shot 10 of 17 from -point range to reach the regional finals for the first time since 2001.
USC used an early 17-2 run to go up 14 before settling for a 41-26 halftime lead.
Tahj Eaddy finished with 20 points and Evan Mobley added 10 with six assists and eight rebounds.
Next up for the Trojans is another West Coast matchup at Indianapolis, this time against first overall seed Gonzaga.
