March Madness live updates, scores, bracket: Florida ousts defending champ UConn in men’s NCAA tournament
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The opening weekend of March Madness reaches its endpoint on Sunday.
But we’ve still got an exciting slate of eight games on tap to decide the final spots in the Sweet 16.
Will No. 1 seeds Florida and Duke move on? And will the remaining double-digit seeds — No. 12 Colorado State and No. 10 New Mexico — continue their surprising runs?
5:15 p.m.: No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 6 Illinois (CBS)
6:10 p.m.: No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 7 Saint Mary’s (TNT)
7:10 p.m.: No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 12 Colorado State (TBS)
*7:45 p.m.: No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 6 Ole Miss (truTV)
*8:40 p.m.: No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 10 New Mexico (TNT)
*9:40 p.m.: No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 5 Oregon (TBS)
Follow along below for live reaction, highlights and more from Yahoo Sports:
Live47 updates
Halftime: Duke 47, Baylor 30
What a finish to the first half for the Blue Devils! Cooper Flagg and Tyrese Proctor are leading the way with a combined 26 points, but they’re getting contributions from everyone.
As a whole, Duke is shooting 65% from the field and attacking the rim with conviction. It’s led to 19 first-half free throws, and the Blue Devils have made 16 of them.
Cooper Flagg throws down big dunk
The Blue Devils are rolling just before halftime. The latest surge has put them up 45-30 with a minute left in the first half.
Flagrant foul on Baylor’s Marino Dubravcic
Baylor’s Dubravcic appeared to hook Duke’s Patrick Ngongba under the basket, so Duke got a pair of free throws and the ball to extend their lead again.
Duke up double digits
The Blue Devils are starting to create some separation just before halftime. Cooper Flagg just hit a 3-pointer to put them up 40-30.
Dan Hurley heated in tunnel
Dan Hurley put his emotions on display after UConn’s loss to Florida earlier in Raleigh — in more ways than one.
He held back tears in a postgame interview with CBS. He also shared some choice, heated words with Baylor in the tunnel, apparently unhappy with the officiating.
Tyrese Proctor hits another 3
Tyrese Proctor’s now 3 of 4 from deep. He was 6 of 8 from 3 in the first round. His latest 3 extended Duke’s lead to 28-24. The Blue Devils extended the lead again to 31-24 before a timeout with 4:23 remaining in the half.
Cooper Flagg picks up second foul on offense
Cooper Flagg has two fouls, neither of them good. He picked up his first early in the backcourt and just picked up his second on a charge. He’s headed to the bench with 6:42 remaining in the half.
The good news for Duke? Kon Knueppel is Flagg’s replacement off the bench.
Baylor’s not backing down
Duke’s the juggernaut playing close to home. But Baylor’s not shrinking to the moment. The Bears have a 24-23 lead at the TV timeout with 7:39 remaining in the first half. Baylor’s shooting 50% from the field and from 3 (3 of 6) and controlling the boards early with an 11-6 rebounding advantage.
Duke’s relying heavily on the 3 early with 8 of its 13 field goal attempts from long distance. The Blue Devils are 3 of 8 from deep and 4 of 5 from inside the arc.
VJ Edgecombe shows off
Elite athleticism is part of why VJ Edgecombe’s a projected lottery pick.
Elite NBA prospects Cooper Flagg, VJ Edgecombe square off
Cooper Flagg vs. VJ Edgecombe is a battle of projected high NBA lottery picks. Flagg got the best of Edgecombe in this early matchup.
Tyrese Proctor hot again from 3
Duke junior Tyrese Proctor is off to a scorching start to the NCAA tournament. Proctor was 6 for 8 from 3 in Duke’s first-round win over Mount Saint Mary’s. He’s 2 for 3 from deep early against Baylor as Duke takes a 15-13 edge into the second TV timeout.
UConn’s Dan Hurley: ‘This bracket could have really opened up for us.’
UConn coach Dan Hurley was still fighting back tears when he spoke to reporters after his team’s narrow 77-75 loss to Florida.
When asked why he was so emotional, Hurley pointed to UConn’s tumultuous season and to how close the Huskies came to advancing to the NCAA tournament’s second weekend.
“There’s a lot of emotion, man,” Hurley said. “Players play with it. I coach with it. And you’re always f—— drained when it’s over.”
UConn led by as many as six points in the second half and did not relinquish the lead until a Walter Clayton Jr. 3-pointer with less than three minutes to go. Had the Huskies been able to hold on, they would have advanced to a West Regional that would not have included either top seed Florida or No. 2 seed St. John’s.
“To be that close to getting to a Sweet 16 and knowing that the 2 seed lost yesterday, this bracket could have really opened up for us,” Hurley said.
Cooper Flagg still in after eye poke
Cooper Flagg got poked in the right eye before the latest timeout, but remains in the game. He received treatment on the sideline during the break and is squinting as action resumes, but he’s out there.
Duke leads at first break
As expected 20 miles from Durham, the crowd in Raleigh favors Duke. The Blue Devils lead, 7-6 at the first TV timeout.
Bad early foul for Cooper Flagg
Duke struck first with a Tyrese Proctor 3, but Cooper Flagg picked up a bad early foul deep in the backcourt on the ensuing inbounds pass.
Duke, Cooper Flagg face Baylor with Sweet 16 at stake
After a great Florida-UConn game, Duke and Baylor are ready to tip off in Raleigh with a Sweet 16 berth on the line.
Cooper Flagg, Duke take on Baylor next
The Blue Devils are back in action in the next game of the afternoon window. We saw the return of Cooper Flagg in their blowout win over Mount Saint Mary’s on Friday, and it went off without a hitch.
Flagg finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks in just 22 minutes, putting to rest any concern that his sprained left ankle would impact him in the NCAA tournament.
Counted out after a turbulent, underwhelming season, UConn made it clear Sunday that it wouldn’t surrender the crown without a fight.
Walter Clayton Jr. had to pry it from the Huskies’ white-knuckle grip.
Clayton scored eight points in the final three minutes including a dagger of a contested 3-pointer as top-seeded Florida escaped with an 77-75 victory in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Gators trailed by as many as six points and did not take their first lead until there was less than three minutes to go.
Clayton, an All-American this season, finished with 23 points. Not bad for a kid who started only four games as a true freshman at Iona four years ago.
Final: Florida 77, UConn 75
The Gators survive after a TOUGH 40-minute battle with the back-to-back defending champs.
The hero of the day for Florida is Walter Clayton Jr. The All-American hit two clutch 3-pointers in crunch time to lift the Gators to the win. He finished with a game-high 23 points with five treys.
The Huskies’ record-tying streak of 13 straight tournament wins is over. The Gators advance to take on the winner of Colorado State and Maryland in the Sweet 16.
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