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          Best of Sunday's NCAA tournament action

          • ESPN
          Mar 25, 2019, 03:00 AM

          BRACKET | SCOREBOARD | TV CHANNELS AND TIMES

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

          + Villanova and Kansas both eliminated

          + Auburn back in the Sweet 16

          + Tale of the tape: Zion vs. Tacko

          + What's next for Ja Morant?

          + The unlikeliest coach in the Sweet 16

          Sunday's results

          No. 12 Oregon 73, No. 13 UC Irvine 54

          Oregon is the lone seed lower than a 5 to advance to the Sweet 16, but the Ducks are playing as well as anyone in the country right now. They've now won 10 games in a row, and they ended Sunday's game on a 38-17 run -- after ending Friday's game against Wisconsin on a 20-7 run. Payton Pritchard led Oregon with 18 points and seven assists, and Robert Cartwright had 14 points for Irvine. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 3 Houston 74, No. 11 Ohio State 59

          The Cougars lost on a heartbreaking buzzer-beater to Michigan in last year's second round, but they handled their business against Ohio State on Sunday. Corey Davis Jr. led the way with 21 points, but Houston also held Ohio State to just eight field goals and a 2-for-11 3-point effort in the second half. C.J. Jackson led Ohio State with 18 points. Kelvin Sampson's team advanced to face Kentucky in Kansas City. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 1 Virginia 63, No. 9 Oklahoma 51

          The Sooners didn't quite strike fear into Virginia the way North Dakota State did in the first round, with the Cavaliers taking a nine-point lead into halftime and cruising to victory in the second half. Mamadi Diakite had perhaps his best game of the season, finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, and Virginia moves on to the Sweet 16. Christian James and Brady Manek had 13 points apiece for Oklahoma.

          • Stat blast: Virginia outscored Oklahoma 32-12 in the paint (16-4 in the second half). Diakite outscored the Sooners in the paint himself, with all of his game-high 14 points coming in the paint.

          No. 4 Virginia Tech 67, No. 12 Liberty 58

          The upset ride for Liberty came to an end in the second half against the Hokies, who outscored the Flames by 12 points after halftime and held them to just six field goals in the final 20 minutes. Justin Robinson looked a bit more effective in his second game back from injury, scoring 13 points and dishing out four assists in 29 minutes. Kerry Blackshear dominated inside with 19 points and nine boards. The Hokies now get another shot at Duke -- which they already defeated this season.

          • Stat blast: Virginia Tech outscored Liberty 30-10 in the paint, the third time this season the Hokies have held an opponent to 10 or fewer paint points. The Hokies entered tonight allowing 20.6 paint PPG, fewest among major conference teams.

          No. 3 Texas Tech 78, No. 6 Buffalo 58

          Texas Tech put on an absolute clinic in the second half against the Bulls, extending its lead to as many as 29 points in the final 10 minutes. The Red Raiders held Buffalo to 36.5 percent shooting, and that number was boosted by Buffalo's hitting a number of shots late in garbage time. Jarrett Culver led Texas Tech with 16 points, and Nick Perkins paced Buffalo with 17 points. This is Texas Tech's first back-to-back Sweet 16 appearance since 1961-62.

          Texas Tech delivered yet another dominant defensive performance, holding Buffalo to 27 points below its scoring average. During one smothering stretch, the Bulls went more than 11 minutes without a field goal. As a result, Chris Beard and the Red Raiders are back in the Sweet 16 for a second consecutive year.

          Jake Trotter, ESPN Senior Writer6y ago

          No. 1 Duke 77, No. 9 UCF 76

          Had UCF's buzzer tip-in rolled 1 inch the other way, the top-seeded Blue Devils would be headed back to Durham, North Carolina. Instead, Duke survived perhaps the best game of the NCAA tournament. Zion Williamson carried the Blue Devils on his shoulders, but it was RJ Barrett's offensive rebound and putback that gave Duke a one-point lead with 11 seconds left. UCF had two chances to tie, but B.J. Taylor's runner didn't fall and Aubrey Dawkins' follow rolled off. Dawkins was terrific, finishing with 32 points.

          • Fast fact: Duke now has seven one-point wins in the NCAA tournament, the most of all time.

          • According to ESPN's in-game win probability, UCF had a 79.4 percent chance to win following the defensive rebound after Tre Jones' missed 3-pointer. That fell to 73.6 percent after the turnover and then to 62.3 percent after Cam Reddish's 3-pointer.

          "Obviously, Johnny [Dawkins]'s team was magnificent. That's as high a level of any team we've played against all year. I feel bad they lost. I'm exhilarated, happy; [but] it's like a yin and a yang here, because they were deserving of winning. They were so good. I'm so proud that those kids played at the level of their coach. It's hard to describe. That's why I hate ... obviously we're happy we won. Tough moment. It will take me a little way to get through it, to be quite frank with you." Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski

          No. 1 North Carolina 81, No. 9 Washington 59

          Washington's hot shooting and stifling defense from the first round didn't carry over against the Tar Heels. Coby White came out on fire for North Carolina, hitting four first-half 3s, and fellow freshman Nassir Little had one of his best games in a Tar Heel uniform, finishing with 20 points and six rebounds. Jaylen Nowell led Washington with 12 points. Carolina next plays Auburn in what should be a high-scoring Sweet 16 affair. -- Jeff Borzello

          Duke's freshmen continue to get more attention, but North Carolina's tandem of Coby White and Nassir Little performed very well in their first NCAA tournament weekend. White sparked UNC with 17 points, six rebounds and two assists in the win over Washington, while Little had 39 points in 39 minutes during the two games.

          Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer6y ago

          No. 2 Tennessee 83, No. 10 Iowa 77

          In the first overtime game of this year's NCAA tournament, Iowa nearly completed one of the greatest comebacks in tourney history. The Hawkeyes trailed by as many as 25 points and came back to force overtime -- but Grant Williams carried the Volunteers to a win in the extra period. Williams finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Jordan Bohannon paced Iowa with 18 points.

          • Big year for the SEC: Tennessee becomes the fourth SEC team in the Sweet 16, tying the conference record set in 1986 and 1996.

          Sunday stuff

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          Ja heartbroken

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