Villanova routs Miami; Duke falls

Published 8:02 am Friday, March 25, 2016

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Ryan Arcidiacono and Kris Jenkins each scored 21 points, and No. 2 seed Villanova never trailed in routing third-seeded Miami 92-69 Thursday night in the South Region semifinal of the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats (32-5) are back in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2009, when they reached the Final Four. They turned in quite the offensive performance with former coach Rollie Massimino, who led Villanova to the 1985 national championship, sitting nearby.

Daniel Ochefu added 17 points, and Josh Hart had 11 for Villanova, which shot 62.7 percent (32 of 51).

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Sheldon McClellan scored 26 points for Miami, and Angel Rodriguez added 13.

Oklahoma 77, Texas A&M 63

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jordan Woodard scored 22 points and Buddy Hield had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the second-seeded Oklahoma Sooners to a 77-63 romp over third-seeded and cold-shooting Texas A&M in the NCAA West Regional on Thursday.

The Sooners blew open a close game by going on a 19-4 run during the last 7:42 of the first half to take a 45-26 lead.

Tyler Davis scored 17 for A&M (28-9).

Oregon 82, Duke 68

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Dillon Brooks scored 19 points and Oregon advanced to the brink of its first Final Four in 77 years with an 82-68 victory over defending national champion Duke on Thursday night in the West Region semifinal of the NCAA Tournament.

Elgin Cook had 16 points and nine rebounds for the top-seeded Ducks (31-6), who will meet Oklahoma on Saturday. The second-seeded Sooners routed Texas A&M 77-63.

After a season-long rise in the Pacific Northwest, the Pac-12 champion Ducks emphatically arrived on the national stage with a strong second-half rally to beat the mighty Blue Devils (25-11) for the first time in school history.

Freshman Brandon Ingram scored 24 points. The Blue Devils lost five of their final 10 games.

Kansas 79, Maryland 63

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Perry Ellis scored 27 points to match a season high, Wayne Selden Jr. added 19 and top-seeded Kansas topped No. 5 Maryland for a 79-63 NCAA Tournament South Region semifinal victory Thursday night. The win put the Jayhawks back into the Elite 8 for the first time since 2012.

It took time for the Jayhawks (33-4) to get going, but once they finally seized the lead late in the first half everything else fell into place for their 17th straight victory. They emerged from the break to make their first six shots and steadily take control behind senior forward Ellis, who made 10 of 17 from the field.

Selden was right there with 7-of-16 shooting to help Kansas earn a berth in Saturday’s regional final against Villanova.