NCAA Sweet 16 Recap: Xavier, Kansas, Gonzaga & Oregon Advance
Xavier, Kansas, Gonzaga and Oregon each won their respective regional semifinals on Thursday night and advanced to the Elite Eight. Here's a recap of the action:
West Region
Xavier 73, Arizona 71
Trevon Bluiett scored 25 points, and Xavier knocked off Arizona, 73-71, in the semifinals of the West Region at the SAP Center in San Jose on Thursday night. The Cinderella Musketeers advanced to play top-seed Gonzaga in the regional final on Saturday with a Final Four spot on the line.
Eleventh-seeded Xavier (30-13) finished Thursday’s game on a 9-0 run, including Sean O'Mara’s layup with 44 seconds left that gave the Big East power team the lead for good.
The Wildcats (32-5) didn’t score after Kadeem Allen’s layup increased their lead to 71-64 with 2:52 left. Allonzo Trier, who scored 15 consecutive points for Arizona earlier, finished with a team-high 19 points and 9 rebounds. Teammate Dusan Ristic added 17.
Gonzaga 61, West Virginia 58
Jordan Mathews hit a go-ahead three-point shot with 50 seconds left, and top-seeded Gonzaga hung on to beat upset-minded West Virginia, 61-58, in the semifinals of the West Region at the SAP Center in San Jose on Thursday night. The Bulldogs (35-1) advanced to face Xavier on Saturday with a berth in the 2017 Final Four at stake.
The fourth-seeded Mountaineers took a 58-55 lead on Jevon Carter’s three-pointer with 1:48 to play, but seasoned Gonzaga battled back, taking the lead for good on Mathews shot with under a minute left.
Mathews, Przemek Karnowski and Johnathan Williams each had 13 for the Bulldogs.
Carter led all scorers with 21 points. West Virginia (28-9) shot just 26.7 percent from the field. They had several chances to tie the game late, but could not convert.
Midwest Region
Kansas 98, Purdue 66
Frank Mason III and Devonte Graham scored 26 points each, and top-seed Kansas routed Purdue, 98-66, in the semifinals of the Midwest Region at the Sprint Center in Kansas City on Thursday night. The victory allowed the Jayhawks to advance to play third-seed Oregon in the regional final on Saturday.
Josh Jackson added 15 points and 12 rebounds for Kansas (31-4), which exploded in the second half after leading by just seven points at intermission.
Caleb Swanigan had 18 points and seven rebounds for the fourth-seeded Boilermakers (27-8).
Oregon 69, Michigan 68
Tyler Dorsey’s layup with 1:09 to play lifted Oregon over Michigan, 69-68, in the semifinals of the Midwest Region at the Sprint Center in Kansas City on Thursday night. With the victory, the third-seeded Ducks (32-5) advanced to face Kansas on Saturday for the right to go to the 2017 Final Four.
His team’s hero for the second consecutive game, Dorsey led Oregon with 20 points. Jordan Bell chipped in 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Derrick Walton Jr. had 20 points and eight assists for the Wolverines (26-12). He had a chance to win the game, but his last-second shot was off the mark. Guard Zak Irvin tossed in 19 points for Michigan.