Baylor beats Arkansas 81-72 for first Final Four in 71 years
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS – Baylor had been on the cusp of the Final Four twice before under coach Scott Drew, falling to the eventual champion both times. Baylor is headed there for the first time in 71 years, getting 22 points from MaCio Teague and a dominating defensive performance from Davion Mitchell to beat Arkansas 81-72 on Monday night. The top-seeded Bears (26-2) appeared to be barreling toward ending their Final Four drought with a dominating start. That left the Bears short of the Final Four dating back to when the bracket was only eight teams. He gave Arkansas all kinds of trouble on the pick-and-roll in the second half, finishing with 12 points and six assists.
Smith, Arkansas hold off Texas Tech 68-66 in NCAA 2nd round
Arkansas forward Justin Smith (0) grabs a rebound from Texas Tech forward Marcus Santos-Silva (14) in the first half of a second-round game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Sunday, March 21, 2021. The Razorbacks are going back to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 for the first time since the “40 Minutes of Hell” days a quarter-century ago. Justin Smith had 20 points and played a key role in a final defensive stop, helping Arkansas beat Texas Tech 68-66 on Sunday. Ad“Obviously kind of a classic NCAA Tournament game,” Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. After Chibuzo Agbo banked in a straightaway 3-pointer to bring Texas Tech within 58-57 with 5:30 left, Moody answered by banking in his own 3 off a crossover.
Arkansas shuts down Colgate 85-68 in NCAA opener
(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)INDIANAPOLIS – The night before his team's NCAA Tournament opener, Arkansas coach Eric Musselman sat in a hotel room and talked with his son about using full-court pressure against Colgate. Call it “24 Minutes of Hell.”Justin Smith had 29 points and 13 rebounds, and Arkansas shut down high-scoring Colgate to open the NCAA Tournament with an 85-68 win on Friday. Arkansas seemed to have met its revved-up match against Colgate, the small liberal arts school from central New York. Colgate reached the NCAA Tournament in 2019 by picking up the scoring pace and are back again this year after scoring 86.3 points per game, second nationally. Arkansas' athleticism, particularly on defense, turned out to be too much for the Raiders to overcome.
The Latest: 12th-seeded Oregon State upsets No. 5 Tennessee
(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)The Latest on the first round of the NCAA Tournament (all times Eastern):___6:50 p.m.Another first-round upset as 12th-seeded Oregon State defeated No. 9 seed Georgia Tech 71-60 on Friday to mark a triumphant return to the NCAA Tournament. Senior guard Bubba Parham, who is 5-10, got the start instead as Georgia Tech went with a guard-heavy look. AdIllinois will face eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago or ninth-seeded Georgia Tech in the second round of the Midwest Regional on Sunday. Ad___2:10 p.m.Players from several NCAA Tournament teams took a knee during the playing of the national anthem before their first-round games.