<
        >

          Best of NCAA Tournament 2019: Saturday

          • ESPN
          Mar 23, 2019, 04:00 PM

          BRACKET | SCOREBOARD | TV CHANNELS AND TIMES

          As the second round of the NCAA tournament played out on Saturday, we compiled the best sights and sounds of the day. If you missed anything from Friday -- from Zion to Tacko to victorious Anteaters -- here's what you need to know:

          + Reseeding the tournament's 32 remaining teams

          + What you need to know about UC Irvine

          + The unlikely sharpshooter who led Liberty's upset

          + ICYMI: The rise of Ja Morant

          Saturday's results

          No. 5 Auburn 89, No. 4 Kansas 75

          Auburn stayed hot Saturday, winning its 10th game in a row. Meanwhile, Kansas' roller-coaster of a season that started as the preseason No. 1 team back in the fall came to an end. Dedric Lawson led the Jayhawks with 25 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn't nearly enough. Auburn scored 51 points in the first half and looked like an easy bet to hit 100 points until it took its foot off the gas in the final 10 minutes. Bryce Brown finished with 25 points for the Tigers. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 3 Purdue 87, No. 6 Villanova 61

          Villanova won't win its third national title in four years -- not after Carsen Edwards put on an absolute show offensively. The Purdue guard finished with 42 points on 12-for-21 shooting, including 9-for-16 from 3-point range. When Edwards is efficient and filling it up, the Boilermakers can hang with anyone in the country. Villanova's 26-point loss caps a brutal NCAA tournament performance for the Big East. -- Jeff Borzello

          Tournament Challenge update: It took 39 games, but the final perfect bracket has been busted.

          No. 2 Michigan State 70, No. 10 Minnesota 50

          Six weeks after beating the Golden Gophers by 24, Michigan State handled its business once again. Minnesota led for just 13 seconds in the early part of the first half, and the Spartans -- cued by Cassius Winston's 13 points and nine assists -- were in control the rest of the way. Amir Coffey, who has been on a tear to finish the season, led Minnesota with 25 points. This is Michigan State's first Sweet 16 since 2015. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 1 Gonzaga 83, No. 9 Baylor 71

          Brandon Clarke had one of the best performances of the NCAA tournament, finishing with 36 points, eight rebounds, three assists, five blocks and two steals while shooting 15-for-18 from the field. He thoroughly dominated at both ends of the floor. Baylor stayed within striking distance for most of the second half, with Mark Vital and Makai Mason both scoring 17 points. -- Jeff Borzello

          Brandon Clarke's 36 points and 5 blocks, which led Gonzaga to the Sweet 16 for the fifth consecutive year and set up a rematch with Florida State, came on 15 of 18 shooting. Clarke joined Shaquille O'Neal as the only players to score that many points and block that many shots in the NCAA Tournament. "It's actually a pretty crazy stat; I don't think I even knew that," Clarke said in an interview with ESPN. "Shaq is obviously an all-time great. To even have my name up there by his is something that's really cool."

          Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer5y ago

          No. 4 Florida State 90, No. 12 Murray State 62

          The Ja Morant Show is over. The future top-five pick likely ended his college career on Saturday with a 28-point, five-rebound, four-assist performance. Florida State stole the headlines quickly. The Seminoles' length, size and depth presented problems for Murray State, and they essentially ran the Racers out of the gym in the opening 20 minutes. Florida State has lost just two games in the past two months. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 2 Michigan 64, No. 10 Florida 49

          Jordan Poole didn't need a buzzer shot to lift Michigan to the Sweet 16 like he did last year, but the sophomore guard still led the Wolverines with 19 points to help them advance. Florida struggled to get anything going offensively in the second half, shooting just 28.6 percent from the field and making only three 3-pointers after halftime. This is the third straight Sweet 16 appearance for Michigan. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 2 Kentucky 62, No. 7 Wofford 56

          The Terriers' dream season comes to an end, with Kentucky advancing to the Sweet 16. Wofford star guard Fletcher Magee really struggled, shooting 4-for-17 from the field and missing all 12 of his 3-point attempts. Kentucky was once again without PJ Washington, who was on the bench in a boot. Reid Travis stepped up again on the interior, notching 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats. -- Jeff Borzello

          • Stat blast: Fletcher Magee finished 0-for-12 from 3, the most 3-point attempts without a make in a game in NCAA tournament history.

          It doesn't get much worse than that for Wofford +5.5 backers. Kentucky wins 62-56 and covers with two FTs in the final 4.2 seconds. Fletcher Magee goes 0-of-12 from 3-point range.

          Ben Fawkes, ESPN Staff Writer5y ago

          No. 3 LSU 69, No. 6 Maryland 67

          In arguably the best game of the NCAA tournament thus far, Tremont Waters' layup with 1.6 seconds remaining gave LSU a two-point win. LSU jumped to an early lead and had a 15-point advantage four minutes into the second half. But Maryland, behind Bruno Fernando, Jalen "Stix" Smith and a switching zone defense, came back to take the lead with just under six minutes remaining. Skylar Mays led LSU with 16 points, and Waters finished with 12 points and five assists. Smith had 15 points for the Terps. -- Jeff Borzello

          Saturday stuff

          Honoring Michael Cofer

          Whom are you rooting for?

          Tennessee players checking out the end of Maryland-LSU. They didn't seem overly thrilled that the Tigers had come back to take the lead. Asked who he's rooting for, Admiral Schofield said, "The Vols."

          Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer5y ago

          Zion vs. Tacko!

          With Duke's 85-62 win over North Dakota and UCF's 73-58 win over UCF, the second-round matchup of Zion Williamson and 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall is set. Fall promises that Zion won't dunk on him, but who wins when these two get together?