Kentucky Survives March Madness Thriller with Incredible Buzzer-Beater

Otega Oweh hit a stunning 35-foot shot at the buzzer to send Kentucky's game against Santa Clara into overtime. The Wildcats then dominated the extra period to advance 89-84 in the NCAA Tournament's opening round.

Kentucky’s March Madness hopes appeared finished until Otega Oweh launched a miraculous 35-foot shot that banked in at the final buzzer, sending the Wildcats’ first-round matchup with Santa Clara into overtime on Friday in St. Louis.

The seventh-seeded Wildcats then controlled the extra period, outpacing the 10th-seeded Broncos 16-11 in overtime to claim an 89-84 victory in Midwest Region play.

Santa Clara seemed to have sealed the win when Allen Graves connected on a three-pointer from the right side with just 2.4 seconds remaining. However, Oweh caught the inbound pass and launched his desperation heave just in time to extend the game. During overtime, he converted all four of his free throw attempts to help Kentucky pull away.

Oweh recorded career-best numbers with 35 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Mouhamed Dioubate contributed 17 points and eight rebounds for Kentucky (22-13). The Wildcats shot 50.8% in a back-and-forth contest that saw the lead change hands 20 times with 12 ties.

Elijah Mahi topped Santa Clara (26-9) with 20 points in the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in three decades. Graves finished with 17 points and seven rebounds for the Broncos.

No. 2 Iowa State 108, No. 15 Tennessee State 74

The Cyclones controlled the final 38 minutes, crushing the Tigers in St. Louis despite losing All-American forward Justin Jefferson to a knee injury.

Iowa State will face No. 7 Kentucky in Sunday’s second round. Coach T.J. Otzelberger reported that X-rays came back negative and Jefferson will undergo another evaluation Saturday to determine his availability against the Wildcats.

Freshman Killyan Toure posted 25 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, Nate Heise contributed 22 points and Milan Momcilovic added 17 for Iowa State, which created 16 turnovers. Aaron Nkrumah paced Tennessee State (23-10) with 21 points, while Antoine Lorick III added 20 points and eight rebounds.

No. 3 Virginia 82, No. 14 Wright State 73

Jacari White tallied a season-high 26 points and scored the decisive floater with 4:07 remaining as the Cavaliers weathered a strong challenge from the Raiders in Philadelphia.

White connected on 6 of 8 three-point attempts, Sam Lewis scored 12 points, Malik Thomas contributed 11 and Thijs De Ridder added 10 for Virginia (30-5), which used a crucial 11-0 surge late to pull away and earn its first NCAA Tournament victory since capturing the 2019 national title.

Michael Imariagbe recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds for Wright State (23-12). Solomon Callaghan contributed 18 points and teamed with Imariagbe to hit 9 of 15 three-pointers. The Raiders made 13 shots from beyond the arc, the most Virginia has surrendered all season.

No. 4 Alabama 90, No. 13 Hofstra 70

Labaron Philon Jr. dominated the second half with 21 of his game-high 29 points as the Crimson Tide overcame an early 10-point deficit to defeat the Pride in first-round action in Tampa, Florida.

Philon, who wore a bandage on his injured chin during the second half, shot 10 of 18 and grabbed eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. Alabama (24-9) played without second-leading scorer Aden Holloway, who received a suspension for first-degree felony marijuana possession, but Aiden Sherrill responded with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Taylor Bol Bowen contributed 15 points while Amari Allen and Latrell Wrightsell each scored 11 points.

Hofstra (24-11) established a 28-18 advantage hoping to continue its seven-game winning streak, but Alabama rallied to hold a 37-35 halftime lead. Preston Edmead led the Pride with 24 points, four rebounds and four assists. Cruz Davis contributed 14 points and six assists while German Plotnikov scored 12 points.

No. 5 Texas Tech 91, No. 12 Akron 71

Jaylen Petty scored 24 points to lead five Red Raiders in double figures as they pulled away late for a victory over the 12th-seeded Zips in Tampa, Florida.

Petty made 9 of 14 shots, leading an exceptional shooting display that saw No. 5 Texas Tech (23-10) connect on a season-best 64.2% of its attempts to end a three-game losing streak and capture its NCAA Tournament opener for the sixth time in seven tries. The Red Raiders will meet Alabama on Sunday.

Amani Lyles (26 points) and Shammah Scott (20 points) were the only Akron players to reach double figures for the Zips (29-6), who saw their 10-game winning streak end and fell to 0-8 in NCAA Tournament play. The Zips entered ranked 21st nationally in three-point shooting at 37.9%, but managed just 5 of 19 from long distance (26.3%).

No. 6 Tennessee 78, No. 11 Miami (OH) 56

Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 22 of his 29 points in the opening half and J.P. Estrella added 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Volunteers ended the remarkable season for the RedHawks in Philadelphia.

Felix Okpara contributed 12 points and five rebounds for Tennessee (23-11), which advanced to Sunday’s second round against No. 3 Virginia. Gillespie shot 8 of 12 in the first half, including 5 of 6 from three-point range, and finished with a game-high nine assists.

Peter Suder scored 27 as Miami’s only double-figure scorer for the RedHawks (32-2), who lost two of their final three games after establishing school and Mid-American Conference records with a 31-0 regular season. The RedHawks entered leading the nation in field goal percentage at 52.2%, but the Volunteers held them to a season-low 35.2% (19 of 54).

West Region

No. 1 Arizona 92, No. 16 Long Island 58

The Wildcats used an unusual three-point explosion in the opening half to overpower the underdog Sharks and cruise to an easy first-round victory in San Diego.

Arizona (33-2) entered the postseason averaging 5.9 three-pointers per game, but Tommy Lloyd’s squad surpassed that mark before the final media timeout of the first half by hitting 6 of 9 from long range. Brayden Burries connected on four first-half three-pointers en route to a game-high 18 points. Koa Peat added 15 points while Ivan Kharchenkov posted 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Long Island (24-11) also shot well from deep, with Mason Porter-Brown (15 points) and Jamal Fuller (11 points) combining for five three-pointers by halftime, and six of the team’s eight for the game. However, the Sharks’ inability to stop Arizona inside proved decisive. The Wildcats scored 50 points in the paint, including 22 second-chance points. Arizona’s size advantage showed on the boards, 52-31, with 16 offensive rebounds.

No. 9 Utah State 86, No. 8 Villanova 76

MJ Collins Jr. scored seven of his 20 points in the final three minutes as the Aggies outscored the Wildcats 15-3 down the stretch to rally for the first-round victory in San Diego.

Mason Falslev, the Mountain West Player of the Year, delivered 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Utah State (29-6), which will meet top-seeded Arizona on Sunday. Adlan Elamin added 13 points and seven rebounds while Drake Allen contributed 11 points, six assists and three steals.

Bryce Lindsay led all scorers with 25 points for Villanova (24-9), which built a 10-point lead early in the second half. Duke Brennan and Tyler Perkins each added 15 points. The Wildcats held their final lead, 73-71, with 6:04 remaining on Lindsay’s sixth and final three-pointer.

Utah State answered with a 9-0 run highlighted by two Collins layups, then he delivered a breakaway dunk that made it 84-74 with 1:13 left.