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INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Brison Gresham #55 and Tramon Mark #12 of the Houston Cougars fight for possession of the ball with Quincy Guerrier #1 and Kadary Richmond #3 of the Syracuse Orange in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Trevor Brown Jr/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Marek Dolezaj #21 of the Syracuse Orange attempts a shot in the lane over Fabian White Jr. #35 of the Houston Cougars in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Trevor Brown Jr/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Kadary Richmond #3 of the Syracuse Orange drives past Marcus Sasser #0 of the Houston Cougars in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Trevor Brown Jr/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Brison Gresham #55 of the Houston Cougars tries to intercept a pass between Kadary Richmond #3 and Jesse Edwards #14 of the Syracuse Orange in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Trevor Brown Jr/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Oral Roberts vs Arkansas in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Oral Roberts vs Arkansas in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Oral Roberts vs Arkansas in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Oregon State vs Loyola Chicago in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Oregon State vs Loyola Chicago in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Oregon State vs Loyola Chicago in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Oregon State vs Loyola Chicago in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Oregon State vs Loyola Chicago in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: The Oregon State Beavers take on the Loyola (Il) Ramblers take on the in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Brett Wilhelm/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: The Oregon State Beavers take on the Loyola (Il) Ramblers take on the in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Brett Wilhelm/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Brett Wilhelm/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: The Oregon State Beavers take on the Loyola (Il) Ramblers take on the in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Brett Wilhelm/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Baylor plays Villanova in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Trevor Brown Jr/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Baylor plays Villanova in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Trevor Brown Jr/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Baylor plays Villanova in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Trevor Brown Jr/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Baylor plays Villanova in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Trevor Brown Jr/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Baylor plays Villanova in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Trevor Brown Jr/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I MenÕs Basketball Tournament held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Davis’ jumper gives Arkansas 72-70 win over Oral Roberts
Davonte Davis hit a short jumper with 2.9 seconds left, and Arkansas advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in 26 years with a 72-70 win over Oral Roberts in the South Region semifinals Saturday night.
The Muss Bus grinded its gears through the first half into the second, bad shots and even worse defense putting Arkansas in a 12-point hole against the 15th-seeded Golden Eagles.
Eric Musselman’s Razorbacks (25-6) got their Pig Sooie swagger back, turning defensive stops into early offense opportunities and offensive rebounds into points.
It came down to one final shot and Davis made it, sending Arkansas to the Elite Eight for the first time since the Nolan Richardson “40 Minutes of Hell” days.
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Baylor goes inside, muscles past Villanova
Top-seeded Baylor overcame some frigid outside shooting Saturday to move into the Elite Eight, getting 16 points from Adam Flagler in a 62-51 victory over Villanova and its versatile defense.
The Bears (25-2) came in as the nation’s leading 3-point team, shooting 41.5%, but made only 3 of 19 in this one, unable to find room or get into a comfort zone against fifth-seeded Villanova’s mix of 2-3 zone and man. Davion Mitchell, a 46% shooter from 3 this season, went 0 for 3 in a 14-point night.
Baylor, which started the season 18-0 and won its first-ever Big 12 regular-season title, is one win from the Final Four for the first time since 2012. The Bears will play Arkansas in the South regional final.
Houston locks in on defense, beats Syracuse 62-46
Houston contested every 3-pointer, took away clean looks and forced “Buddy Buckets” to work for any sliver of space he could find.
Defense has been the Cougars’ strength all season. Now it’s taken coach Kelvin Sampson’s team somewhere new: the program’s deepest NCAA Tournament run since the days of Olajuwon, Drexler and the famed “Phi Slama Jama.”
Quentin Grimes scored 14 points and Houston’s defense locked down on surging Buddy Boeheim, helping the Cougars beat Syracuse 62-46 on Saturday night in the Sweet 16 while holding the Orange to their lowest point total in an NCAA Tournament game.
That sent the second-seeded Cougars through to their first regional final in 37 years, earning a matchup with No. 12 seed Oregon State for the Midwest Region title and a spot in the Final Four.
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Picked last, Oregon State now Elite after beating Loyola
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 or No. 10 seed Syracuse on Monday night for a spot in its first Final Four since 1963.
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