NCAA TOURNAMENT RECAPS

NCAA Tournament Recaps: Badgers down Villanova

The Sports Xchange

March 18, 2017 at 8:46 pm.

Mar 18, 2017; Buffalo, NY, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Nigel Hayes (10) drives to the basket against Villanova Wildcats guard Mikal Bridges (25) in the second half during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at KeyBank Center. Photo Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Mar 18, 2017; Buffalo, NY, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Nigel Hayes (10) drives to the basket against Villanova Wildcats guard Mikal Bridges (25) in the second half during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at KeyBank Center. Photo Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Nigel Hayes scored 19 points and made the winning layup with 11.4 seconds remaining as No. 8 seed Wisconsin upset top-seeded Villanova 65-62 on Saturday in an NCAA Tournament second-round game at KeyBank Center.

Bronson Koenig added 17 points, including two late 3-pointers, for the Badgers (27-9), who are returning to the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season. Ethan Happ added 12 points and eight rebounds and Vitto Brown scored 10.

Josh Hart had 19 points for defending national champion Villanova, which finished the season at 32-4. Donte DiVincenzo added 15 points and Jalen Brunson had 11.

Hayes drove the baseline and scored on a reverse layup to put Wisconsin ahead 64-62 with 11.4 seconds left. After Hart lost the ball on the ensuing possession, Brown was fouled and missed the second of two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining. DiVincenzo grabbed the rebound but Villanova was unable to get off a shot.

No. 4 West Virginia 83, No. 5 Notre Dame 71

BUFFALO, N.Y. — No. 4 West Virginia dictated tempo with its full-court pressure defense and was efficient at the offensive end in defeating fifth-seeded Notre Dame in a second-round game at KeyBank Center.

West Virginia (28-8) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the seventh time in 11 years and will face No. 1 seed Gonzaga at the West regional in San Jose, Calif.

Jevon Carter led the Mountaineers with 24 points, matching a season high. Daxter Miles Jr. (18 points), Tarik Phillips (12 points off the bench) and Carter combined for 54 of West Virginia’s 83 points on 17-of-29 shooting.

Notre Dame, the only team to reach the Elite Eight round of the last two NCAA tournaments, finished the season at 26-10. Bonzie Colson led the Irish with 27 points and eight rebounds, including a career-high four 3-pointers.

No. 1 Gonzaga 79, No. 8 Northwestern 73

SALT LAKE CITY — Nigel Williams-Goss scored 20 points while Jordan Mathews and Zach Collins added 14 apiece to help No. 1 seed Gonzaga survive a late rally and beat Northwestern in the second round of the West Region.

The Bulldogs (34-1) prevailed despite scoring just four baskets over the final 13 minutes of the second half. Gonzaga advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season.

Bryant McIntosh scored 20 points and Vic Law added 18 and eight rebounds to lead the eighth-seeded Wildcats. Northwestern (24-12) rallied from a 21-point deficit in the second half but ultimately couldn’t overcome a sluggish start on offense.

No. 11 Xavier 93, No. 3 Florida State 66

ORLANDO, Fla. — Xavier used a harassing zone defense to stifle Florida State on one end of the floor and rode a balanced scoring attack to put the Seminoles away on the other end.

Once a bubble team that was the last to hear its name called on Selection Sunday, No. 11 seed Xavier is headed back to the Sweet 16 after a convincing victory over third-seeded Florida State at Amway Center.

Trevon Bluiett had a game-high 29 points for the Musketeers (23-13), who will play Arizona next week at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. It will be their sixth appearance in the Sweet 16 over the past decade.

Kaiser Gates had 14 points, including a pair of critical 3-pointers, to help Xavier pull away in the second half. Dwayne Bacon led the Seminoles (26-9) with 20 points but missed all five of his 3-pointers.

No. 4 Butler 74, No. 12 Middle Tennessee 65

MILWAUKEE — Kelan Martin scored 19 points and Andrew Chrabascz added 15 as Butler won a second-round game at Bradley Center and advanced to the Sweet 16.

After shooting 49 percent in their opening game against Winthrop on Thursday, the Bulldogs stayed hot against the Blue Raiders. Butler connected on 51.1 percent, including 8 of 15 from beyond the arc.

Butler (25-8) will face either top seed North Carolina or No. 8 Arkansas in the South Regional semifinal Friday in Memphis.

Jacorey Williams led the Blue Raiders (31-5) with 20 points and Antwain Johnson added 19. Giddy Potts, the Blue Raiders’ second-leading scorer this season at 15.8 points per game was held scoreless on 0-of-8 shooting.

No. 2 Arizona 69, No. 7 Saint Mary’s 60

SALT LAKE CITY — Freshman center Lauri Markkanen scored 16 points and collected 10 rebounds to help Arizona rally after halftime.

Allonzo Trier added 14 points — all in the second half — for the Wildcats (32-4), who will play No. 11 seed Xavier in the Sweet 16. Arizona coach Sean Miller coached the Musketeers from 2004 to 2009 before taking over in Tucson.

Jock Landale finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds and Calvin Hermanson added 14 points for the Gaels (29-5), who have advanced to the Sweet 16 just one time during coach Randy Bennett’s tenure.

No. 4 Florida 65, No. 5 Virginia 39

ORLANDO, Fla. — Playing maybe its most complete game of the season, Florida dismantled Virginia at Amway Center.

The Gators (26-8) advanced to the Sweet 16 to face No. 8 Wisconsin next Friday at Madison Square Garden.

Devin Robinson (14 points and 11 rebounds) and Justin Leon (14 points and 10 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles against a Virginia defense that came in allowing just 56.1 points per game.

The Gators held the Cavaliers (23-11) to a season-low 17 points in the first half.

No. 4 Purdue 80, No. 5 Iowa State 76

MILWAUKEE — The Cyclones rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit but couldn’t find a way to stop Caleb Swanigan, who scored 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out seven assists as Purdue advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010.

Purdue moves on to Kansas City, where it will face either top-seeded Kansas or No. 9 Michigan State in a Midwest Regional semifinal.

Vincent Edwards led No. 4 Purdue (27-7) with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting, while Isaac Haas added 14 points in 15 minutes.

Deonte Burton scored 17 of his team-high 25 points in the second half for Iowa State (24-11)