Sophomore Ryan Nembhard poured in a career-high 30 points and No. 6 seed Creighton converted all 22 of its free throw attempts to earn an 85-76 victory over third-seeded Baylor in South Regional second-round play Sunday night in Denver.
Trey Alexander posted 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Arthur Kaluma added 11 points for the Bluejays (23-12), who claimed their second Sweet 16 berth in three years.
“It’s been a different person every night,” said Creighton coach Greg McDermott. “And our guys’ unselfishness to understand if somebody has got it going, let’s figure out a way to get him the basketball and get out of his way.
Creighton will face No. 15 seed Princeton Friday night in Louisville. The Bluejays and Tigers have met once previously — a 63-54 Creighton home win on Dec. 29, 1961. LJ Cryer recorded a career-high 30 points to pace Baylor (23-11) while Adam Flagler added 15 and Jalen Bridges scored 12.
East
No. 7 Michigan State 69, No. 2 Marquette 60
Tyson Walker scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the second half as the Spartans eliminated the Golden Eagles in their second-round game in Columbus, Ohio.
With Michigan State nursing a 56-55 lead, Walker launched a 10-0 run by beating the shot clock on a left-handed layup over Oso Ighodaro with 3:06 left. His two free throws with 48.2 seconds remaining put the Spartans up 64-55, and his steal and dunk moments later all but sealed Michigan State’s first trip back to the Sweet 16 since advancing to the Final Four in 2019.
Joey Hauser had 14 points and 10 rebounds and A.J. Hoggard added 13 points for the Spartans (21-12). Olivier-Maxence Prosper had 16 points and Kam Jones added 14 for Marquette (29-7), the Big East regular-season and tournament champion.
No. 9 Florida Atlantic 78, No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson 70
Johnell Davis scored 29 points and hauled in 12 rebounds to help the Owls end the Cinderella run of the Knights in their second-round game.
Florida Atlantic (33-3) advances to play No. 4 seed Tennessee on Thursday in an East Regional semifinal at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Demetre Roberts had 20 points for Fairleigh Dickinson (21-16), which shocked Purdue 63-58 on Friday to become just the second No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed.
No. 3 Kansas State 75, No. 6 Kentucky 69
Markquis Nowell recorded 27 points, nine assists and three steals and Ismael Massoud drained the go-ahead 3-pointer as Kansas State eliminated Kentucky in the second round in Greensboro, N.C.
Keyontae Johnson added 13 points for Kansas State (25-9), which advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018. Nae’Qwan Tomlin had 12 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots and Desi Sills also had 12 points as Kansas State prevailed in the battle between two schools that go by Wildcats.
Oscar Tshiebwe had a big outing with 25 points and 18 rebounds for Kentucky (22-12). Cason Wallace had 21 points and nine rebounds before fouling out, and Chris Livingston added 11 points and seven rebounds.
Midwest
No. 3 Xavier 84, No. 11 Pitt 73
Jack Nunge led six Musketeers players in double figures with 18 points as they eased past the Panthers in Greensboro, N.C.
Xavier (27-9) advanced to its first Sweet 16 since 2017 and will face second-seeded Texas (28-8) this week in Kansas City, Mo.
Adam Kunkel went 5-for-5 on 3-pointers in the first half to score his 15 points, while Souley Boum tallied 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Xavier. Pitt (24-12) was led by Blake Hinson’s 18 points. Jamarius Burton added 16, and Guillermo Diaz Graham had 11 points and eight rebounds.
No. 5 Miami 85, No. 4 Indiana 69
Isaiah Wong scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Miami to a victory over Indiana in a second-round game of the Midwest Region at Albany, N.Y.
Jordan Miller collected 19 points, five rebounds and two blocks for fifth-seeded Miami (27-7) and delivered an emphatic dunk on another fast break score in the closing seconds to punctuate the win.
Fourth-seeded Indiana (23-12) came up short in its bid to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016 despite 23 points, eight rebounds and five blocks from All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis.
West
No. 3 Gonzaga 84, No. 6 TCU 81
Drew Timme recorded 28 points and eight rebounds and the Bulldogs reached the Sweet 16 for the eighth consecutive time by edging the Horned Frogs in West Region play at Denver.
Rasir Bolton added 17 points for Gonzaga (30-5), which will face second-seeded UCLA (31-5) on Thursday in Las Vegas. Malachi Smith scored 11 points and Julian Strawther had 10 points and nine rebounds for Gonzaga.
Mike Miles Jr. scored 24 points for TCU (22-13). Damion Baugh registered 15 points and eight rebounds, and Emanuel Miller scored 14 points. Both teams shot 44.8 percent from the field. Gonzaga was 8 of 25 from 3-point range, compared to 9 of 25 for TCU.
No. 4 UConn 70, No. 5 Saint Mary’s 55
Adama Sanogo collected 24 points and eight rebounds to lift the Huskies over the Gaels in a second-round game in Albany, N.Y.
Tristen Newton scored 13 points and Jordan Hawkins drained four 3-pointers after intermission to finish with 12 points for UConn (27-8). The Huskies advanced past the second round for the first time since their national title run in 2014.
Aidan Mahaney answered a zero-point performance in the first round by joining Logan Johnson with nine points for the Gaels (27-8). Saint Mary’s guard Alex Ducas scored eight points before sustaining a back injury with 4:52 remaining in the first half. He did not return.
–Field Level Media