Kentucky's overtime win 'tough one to swallow' for Santa Clara

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Santa Clara thought it had knocked Kentucky out of the NCAA Tournament when freshman Allen Graves answered a tying basket by Wildcats star Otega Oweh with a 3-pointer in front of his own bench with 2.4 seconds left in regulation. The problem for the Broncos: There were still 2.4 seconds left in regulation.As coach Herb Sendek tried to call timeout, Kentucky quickly got the ball into the hands of Oweh, who raced across the midcourt line and heaved up a 3-pointer, which banked through the bucket to tie the game at 73-all. The buzzer sounded when the ball was in midair.The kind of shot that puts the madness into March Madness didn't exactly end Santa Clara's postseason hopes — that didn't come until Kentucky scored eight consecutive points in OT to pull away. But the sequence of shots in those wild last few seconds of regulation will be remembered much longer than the 89-84 final score Friday, which sent the No. 7 seed Wildcats into a matchup with No. 2 seed Iowa State or No. 15 seed Tennessee State in the Midwest Region."You know," Sendek said afterward, "it was a really euphoric high followed by a tough one to swallow."The No. 10 seed Broncos certainly gave everything they had — everything built up over the 30 years since Steve Nash last led them to the NCAA Tournament — in trying to knock off one of college basketball's bluebloods inside the packed Enterprise Center.The game was tied 12 times. The lead changed hands 20 times. Santa Clara led by two at halftime as the West Coast Tournament runner-up went toe-to-toe with Kentucky, which was making its record-extending 63rd NCAA Tournament appearance.Yet the first 59 minutes merely set the stage for the dramatic conclusion.It began when Oweh, who scored a career-high 35 points, tied the game at 70-all with a runner in the lane with 9.9 seconds left. Sendek, who'd spent a decade trying to get the Broncos back to the NCAA tourney, chose to let the game play out rather than call timeout, and it looked like a wise move when Graves took a pass from Sash Gavalyugov and drilled his 3 from the wing.The clock stopped at 2.4 for a fraction of a second."I unequivocally called timeout," Sendek said, "but they didn't grant it. I think the video evidence was clear, and anybody is able to pull it up. Which is a likely response after Allen hits the 3 that the coach would be calling timeout to set the defense, which I tried to do, and was successful in doing, other than it wasn't acknowledged or recognized."The clock began rolling again as Kentucky inbounded the ball. Oweh raced across the half-court line, elevated right in front of Wildcats coach Mark Pope, and knocked through another shot that will go down in NCAA Tournament history.Santa Clara recovered to lead twice early in overtime. But Oweh's foul shots with just over a minute left in the extra session gave the Wildcats an 81-79 lead, and Brandon Garrison provided a pair of crucial blocks from there, keeping Gavalyugov and the rest of the Broncos from getting off the 3-point looks it needed to avoid going home.MIDWESTIowa St. 108, Tennessee St. 74 — Iowa State star Joshua Jefferson left in the first half of the Cyclones' romp past Tennessee State with a left ankle injury Friday, leaving the All-American's status for the remainder of the NCAA Tournament in doubt.Jefferson landed awkwardly after a layup just 2 1/2 minutes into the first-round matchup in St. Louis. The 6-foot-9 senior had to be helped by trainers to the X-ray room, emerged about 10 minutes later using crutches, and watched the second half from the end of the Iowa State bench with his ankle in a bulky gray boot.Nate Heise had eight of his season-high 23 points during a 23-0 run for the second-seeded Cyclones (28-7), who will play seventh-seeded Kentucky on Sunday.Virginia 82, Wright St. 73 — Jacari White hit six 3-pointers and scored 26 points, and Virginia avoided yet another early NCAA Tournament exit, beating a resolute Wright State in the first round in Philadelphia.The Cavaliers (30-5) will face sixth-seeded Tennessee in the second round on Sunday.Virginia won its first NCAA Tournament game since it won the 2019 national title.Alabama 90, Hofstra 70 — Labaron Philon Jr. scored 29 points and Alabama rallied from an early double-digit deficit to beat Hofstra in a first-round game in Tampa, Fla.The Crimson Tide (24-9) advanced to a second-round matchup against fifth-seeded Texas Tech (23-10) Texas Tech 91, Akron 71 — Jaylen Petty scored 24 points, Christian Anderson added 18 and Texas Tech beat Akron in Tampa. Playing without All-America guard JT Toppin, who tore the ACL in his right knee last month, Texas Tech (23-10) got double-figure scoring from five players.Akron (29-6) became first team to win the Mid-American Conference Tournament three straight years. WEST Arizona 92, LIU 58 — Brayden Burries hit four 3-pointers while scoring 18 points, Koa Peat added 15 points and top-seeded Arizona opened its NCAA Tournament run with a over Long Island in San Diego. Ivan Kharchenkov had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Big 12 regular-season and tournament champion Wildcats (33-2), who quickly showed why they're the tournament's second overall seed behind Duke.Utah State 86, Villanova 76 — MJ Collins' steal and emphatic one-handed slam dunk with 1:13 left gave him 20 points and Utah State opened its fourth straight NCAA Tournament by beating Villanova in San Diego. Mason Falslev, the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, scored 22 and helped bring the Aggies back from a 10-point deficit early in the second half. Utah State (29-6), the No. 9 seed in the West Region, will play No. 1 seed Arizona in the second round Sunday.