Oregon State center Roman Silva, right, fights for a rebound with Loyola Chicago’s Tate Hall, left, and Cameron Krutwig during their Sweet 16 game Saturday in Indianapolis. Oregon State advanced to the Midwest Region final with a 65-58 win. Jeff Roberson/Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Picked to finish dead last in the Pac-12, Oregon State instead might be the last one standing.
Led by unflappable guard Ethan Thompson, whose 20 points included a pair of clinching foul shots with 35 seconds left, the No. 12 seed Beavers and their brilliant defense shut down eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago in a 65-58 victory on Saturday that sent their long-suffering program into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
It’s Oregon State’s first regional final since 1982 – one that was later vacated by the NCAA – and sets up a showdown with second-seeded Houston on Monday night. The Beavers (20-12) are trying to advance to their first Final Four since 1963.
“They just want to keep riding the wave,” said Beavers Coach Wayne Tinkle, whose hungry bunch of underdogs have matched Missouri in 2002 as the lowest-seeded teams to advance past the Sweet 16.
“We did use the fact we were picked 12th in the Pac-12 this year,” Tinkle added, “but we haven’t made a big deal about the 12th seed. I don’t want to throw too much at them. They’ll see it. We just have to keep our feet on the ground.”
That’s getting harder to do with each passing day.
Not even the fervent prayers of Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt could help Loyola deal with the Beavers and the constantly changing defenses that Tinkle rolled out. The Ramblers (26-5), who played with such poise and perfection in toppling top-seeded Illinois, shot 33% from the field and 5 of 23 from beyond the 3-point arc.
All-America forward Cameron Krutwig led Loyola with 14 points. Lucas Williamson and Braden Norris added 10 apiece, though both of them missed 3-pointers in the closing minutes as Loyola tried to mount a comeback.
(2) HOUSTON 62, (11) SYRACUSE 46: Quentin Grimes scored 14 points while Houston’s defense locked down on surging Buddy Boeheim, helping the Cougars (27-3) advanced to the Midwest final.
Justin Gorham added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the second-seeded Cougars, who pushed through to their first trip to a regional final in 37 years.
The Cougars also got a strong all-around effort from DeJon Jarreau, who finished with nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists while leading the defensive effort that kept Boeheim in check – and ultimately derailed the 11th-seeded Orange’s latest postseason push as a double-digit seed.
Houston harassed Syracuse (18-10) into just 28% shooting (14 for 50), including 5 for 23 from 3-point range.
Boeheim, a 6-foot-6 junior who averaged 28.3 points through Syracuse’s first three games in the tournament, finished with 12 points on 3-for-13 shooting, going 1 for 9 from 3-point range.
SOUTH REGION
(1) BAYLOR 62, (5) VILLANOVA 51: Top-seeded Baylor (25-2) overcame frigid outside shooting to move into the Elite Eight, getting 16 points from Adam Flagler in a victory over Villanova (18-7) and its amoeba-like defense.
The Bears came in as the nation’s leading 3-point team, shooting 41.5%, but made only 3 of 19, unable to find room or get into a comfort zone against Villanova’s mix of 2-3 zone and man-to-man. Davion Mitchell, a 46% shooter from 3-point range, went 0 for 3 in a 14-point night.
Baylor is one win from the Final Four for the first time since 2012. The Bears will play the winner of Saturday night’s game between Arkansas and Oral Roberts.
This game changed midway through the second half when Baylor all but abandoned the 3. The Bears took a six-point lead with a 14-2 run during which not a single point came from outside the arc.
The Bears played some defense, too.
Constantly harassing Villanova shooters who’d carved out space in the first half, Baylor held Villanova to 37.5% shooting in the second and 0 for 9 from 3. Jay Wright’s team scored 10 points over the final 11 minutes. During one stretch in the decisive run, Baylor forced five straight turnovers on ‘Nova possessions. Baylor had four of its five blocked shots in the second half.
The Wildcats got 16 points from Jermaine Samuels, but only three from Caleb Daniels on 1-for-11 shooting.
(3) ARKANSAS 72, (15) ORAL ROBERTS 70: Davonte Davis hit a short jumper with 2.9 seconds left, and Arkansas (25-6) advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in 26 years with a win over 15th-seeded Oral Roberts (18-11).
The Razorbacks overcame a 12-point deficit in the second half.
Within reach of becoming the first No. 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight, Oral Roberts stumbled with a series of turnovers and missed shots. Max Abmas scored 25 points, but his 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the front of the rim.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
