SLC NCAA Tourney blog: Kansas avoids upset in thriller to cap 1st round games

By KSL.com Sports | Updated - March 22, 2024 at 12:35 a.m. | Posted - March 21, 2024 at 12:51 p.m.

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

SALT LAKE CITY — The NCAA Tournament will make the Delta Center home for the weekend, with several entertaining games slated for action.

Follow along as the KSL.com Sports team documents all that takes place this weekend for the first and second rounds of the men's basketball tournament.

Here's the schedule/results for Thursday's first-round action:

No. 2 Arizona 85, No. 15 Long Beach State 65
No. 7 Dayton 63, No. 10 Nevada 60
No. 5 Gonzaga 86, No. 12 McNeese 65
No. 13 Samford v. No. 4 Kansas (Thurs., 7:55 p.m. MDT)

Thursday, 11:59 pm

Samford relishes historic run after nearly pulling off tourney upset

Samford guard Rylan Jones drives in a for a layup during Samford's 93-89 loss to Kansas in the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament at the Delta Center on Thursday. (Photo: Carter Williams, KSL.com)

Samford may have lost Thursday, but it certainly won over the Delta Center in the final minutes of a near upset.Utah native Rylan Jones — who was left writhing in pain after a violent collision in the final minutes of the game and who played a large chunk of the second half with a nasal plug after another hit — was at the forefront of a comeback effort that began after the Bulldogs trailed by 22 points in the second half.Jones ended up with 9 points and nine assists in a gritty final performance. He tried to hold back emotions as he thought about the atmosphere as all 17,000-plus — minus the Kansas faithful — rooted for Samford. Gonzaga's band event chanted "Let's go Samford" and barked alongside Samford's band in a unified effort among shared mascots."I could feel the whole stadium at the end. They were behind us," he said. "I had a lot of family and friends, Utah family, Utah State family, Logan High, Olympus, everybody supporting. I wish we could have got it done one more time in front of all these people."His teammates, Achor Achor and Jaden Campbell, stepped in and consoled Jones."I'm glad I was able to do it with the guys next to me," Campbell said.Achor, who led the Bulldogs with 23 points and eight rebounds, battled his own injuries Thursday night. He left the court late in the second half with cramps but came back to deliver a massive dunk that cut the Bulldogs' deficit to 2 late in the game.He made sure to keep a memento of the team's historic run, snagging a March Madness-themed name card he had asked if he could keep the day before. He cracked a smile when this time he was allowed to keep it.Head coach Bucky McMillan was also touched by the support. While disappointed with the loss, the young coach said he's optimistic about Samford's future."I do think we'll be back here," he said. "I do think we'll win here."— Carter Williams, KSL.com

Thursday, 11:37 pm

Kansas thwarts Samford Cinderella bid, but not without controversy

During one of the media timeouts in the first half, a young fan held up a sign reading "Cinderella in the house."But it turns out it was not the case at the Delta Center Thursday.The No. 4 seed Kansas — playing without leading scorer Kevin McCullar Jr. — fended off No. 13 Samford's ferocious second-half rally en route to a 93-89 win at the Delta Center Thursday night, albeit not without controversy.After trailing by as much as 22 points early in the second half, the Bulldogs cut it to a 1-point game with less than a minute to play. Then Samford guard A.J. Staton-McCray was whistled for a foul as Kansas guard Nicholas Timberlake came crashing to the ground on a breakaway dunk opportunity.Replays indicated that Staton-McCray had only touched the ball, but Timberlake made both free throws."I was definitely fouled on the breakaway," Timberlake said, after the game.Samford head coach Bucky McMillan sidestepped the ordeal, saying he still believed his team had a shot to win after the free throws. But forward Jermaine Marshall's game-tying attempt rimmed out and went out of bounds to Kansas. The Jayhawks then sealed the game at the line in the final seconds."I'm not faulting the call. ... It is what it is," McMillan said.The win guaranteed that chalk prevailed in all four games of the opening round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament played in Salt Lake City, as all four higher seeds advanced.With the win, Kansas also extends its first-round winning streak to 16 games, leading all Division I men's basketball schools. The Jayhawks were briefly tied with Gonzaga, who won earlier in the evening and whom Kansas will meet on Saturday in the second round.— Carter Williams, KSL.com

🤯 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/vUUPmZlcZi

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 22, 2024

Thursday, 08:23 pm

Gonzaga wins 15th consecutive first-round matchup in win over McNeese

Gonzaga and March Madness seem inseparable at this point.The Bulldogs won their 15th-straight NCAA first-round game with an 86-65 victory over McNeese State to match Kansas for the longest active streak."I thought we were as dialed in as we've been on the scouting reports and really executing the plan," head coach Mark Few said. "We beat a really, really good team ... and I think one of the hardest things to do is win a game in the NCAA Tournament, so to do it 15-straight times, this is amazing, and the guys deserve all the credit for that."The game was never really in question as the Zags led from the start and continued to just pile it on for a 48-25 halftime lead. Senior Anton Watson had a near triple-double with 13 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists as Gonzaga shot 10-of-21 from three en route to the statement win.The fifth-seeded Bulldogs move on to Saturday where they will take on the winner of the 4/13 matchup between Kansas and Samford to close out the opening day at the Salt Lake City regional.— Caleb Turner, KSL.com

Thursday, 07:52 pm

Delta Center crowd captivated by Oakland upset on Jumbotron as Gonzaga beats down McNeese

Using multiple screens to watch multiple games is not new to March Madness, but it does make it a little weirder when one screen is a Jumbotron showing an upset bid that's much more interesting than the 30-point blowout happening on the court in front of you.Delta Center fans certainly confused more than a couple of players on the court in the Gonzaga-McNeese State game when suddenly the big screen started showing a live look at the Oakland upset brewing over 3-seed Kentucky.

Very weird situation here in Salt Lake lol. With Gonzaga up by 30, the attention of the Delta Center has turned to the upset brewing in Oakland vs. Kentucky. The players must be so confused when cheers erupted during the middle of a play on the court pic.twitter.com/nnbtzh6K2e

— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) March 22, 2024A made basket by Oakland or a miss by Kentucky elicited some of the biggest cheers of the day so far, and most of them came during timeouts or normal run of play on the court.The 14-seeded Golden Grizzlies completed the upset with an 80-76 win over the Wildcats and the Salt Lake City crowd made their satisfaction known with raucous applause when the final score appeared.Gonzaga head coach Mark Few was asked about the Jumbotron situation after the game and said, "We don't need that.""Everybody just needs to enjoy the game and it doesn't need to be like the Few house where we're flipping channels every 15 seconds and not watching the show you're supposed to be watching," Few said. "I really think that needs to change. It was impacting the game. It's the NCAA tournament. If you're not entertained get out and let's get somebody else in your seat. Plain and simple."— Caleb Turner, KSL.com

Thursday, 06:40 pm

Pair of Wasatch products get hometown highlights, Gonzaga dominates first half vs. McNeese

The basketball prep powerhouse in Mount Pleasant has produced plenty of college basketball stars in recent years, and two of them had highlight plays back in their one-time home state to start Thursday's Gonzaga vs. McNeese State 5/12 matchup in Salt Lake City.Gonzaga junior Nolan Hickman made three of his first four 3-pointers to help the Bulldogs get out to a hot start, while graduate transfer Mike Saunders Jr. completed a tough and-one to bring the underdog Cowboys within five, 20-15, midway through the opening period.The Zags finished the first half with a 28-10 run, however, to take a dominant 48-25 lead at halftime of the penultimate game of the day at the Delta Center.— Caleb Turner, KSL.com

Thursday, 05:40 pm

'Just March Madness basketball': Dayton explains its late rally to beat Nevada

The origins of Dayton's epic comeback on Thursday occurred on Nov. 16, 2023.With nine minutes remaining in an early-season tournament game against LSU, the Flyers found themselves down by 15. They won by 3.So when they looked up and saw they were down 56-39 with 7:39 to play, there was belief. Sure, it was a bigger stage and a much bigger tournament, but they had done it before — why not now?A 24-4 run later and Dayton was storming off the bench celebrating a 63-60 over Nevada."I think we're comfortable in those situations," said Koby Brea, who hit 4 3-pointers in the second half. "When we look at our captain, our coach, we see that he's not worried, he believes in us, everybody from the last player on the bench, every coach, they all believe in us. We believe in each other. We trust each other. We're capable of doing those type of things."Dayton went to a full-court press, which seemed to zap Nevada's rhythm. Even when the pressure didn't create a turnover, it caused the Wolf Pack to simply pound the rock until they were forced to a bad possession.It was if Nevada was daring Dayton — which had gone on a 10-minute stretch where it scored only 4 points — to find enough offense to make a comeback bid.The Flyers did just that.Daron Holmes II got going down low, Brea and Nate Santos started connecting from deep, and soon it was a one-possession game with 3:40 left."We felt really good," coach Anthony Grant said. "We felt like we could continue to make the plays we needed to make. The guys made the plays offensively, and we were able to be disruptive defensively."And soon enough, it was Nevada that was playing catchup. A team that had its fans thinking ahead to a matchup with Arizona was suddenly going home."Just March Madness basketball really," Nevada's Kenan Blackshear said. "It was just electric in there. I'll never forget this. It's crazy."— Ryan Miller, KSL.com

Thursday, 05:43 pm

New nets, new problems?

Multiple times during the first game of the day on Thursday between Arizona and Long Beach State, the ball got stuck in the net following a made basket. The net in front of the visiting bench proved to be especially problematic so between games, Delta Center staff grabbed a ladder and attempted to stretch the net out.It appears to have worked — at least initially. While the net hugged the ball during pre-game warm-ups, no shot ever got stuck. Thrilling stuff at the Delta Center.Update: It's still getting stuckUpdate No. 2: They brought the ladder back out at halftime of the Dayton-Nevada game to once again try and stretch the net.And, yes, the players noticed, too."We try to look past things like that. It can slow the game down," Dayton's Daron Holmes II said. "You have to tap the ball out of the net, take it out. Those seconds do matter. At the end of the day we try to play through everything. Yeah, it can get like that. At the end of the day we have to just look past it."

Officials fix the nets at the Delta Center during halftime of the NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City. (Photo: Carter Williams, KSL.com)

Thursday, 04:49 pm

Dayton overcomes 17-point deficit in final 8 minutes to beat Nevada

With 7:39 left in the game, Nevada led 56-39. Dayton looked done. The Flyers had already endured a 10-minute span where they scored just 4 points, and Nevada's Jaron Lucas had just buried a one-footed 3-pointer to beat the shot clock. Everything was going Nevada's way. Until it wasn't. Dayton went on a 24-4 run to end the game — including a 17-0 burst — to steal a 63-60 victory over Nevada. DaRon Holmes had 18 points and nine rebounds and Koby Brea caught fire in the second half with four 3-pointers to lead the comeback.

Thursday, 04:23 pm

'What a great life I've had': Dan Monson grateful as he leaves Long Beach State

Dan Monson declared he would see the media again on Friday in his Wednesday press conference.He will — just not in a formal setting.The 62-year old former Gonzaga head coach's 17-year tenure with Long Beach State came to an end Thursday in an 85-65 loss to his friend and current Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd at the Delta Center."I absolutely soaked up every minute of it today," Monson said. "I'm going to remember it for a lifetime."He certainly did, especially with his family in attendance throughout the game and in the press conference, joined by Big West conference commissioner Dan Butterly.Monson discussed the success he had seen on and off the court with his team at length in the interview room. The Beach as a team achieved a 3.2 team GPA last semester, all the while having no benefits from name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals at the school. He also gave much credit to his wife, Darci, who stood arm in arm with their two children in the back of the press room."This university gave us an opportunity, and we didn't let them down," he said, referencing the Big West's mantra 'only the bold'. "It's been a heck of a ride; these guys truly have played the right way for the right reasons."— Alex Tumalip

Thursday, 03:54 pm

'Here because of him': Long Beach State players pay tribute to departing coach Dan Monson

There was no hiding the emotion in the Long Beach State press conference, but there was no shortage of gratitude from those gathered for coach Dan Monson.The 62-year old, who agreed to a mutual separation the Monday before the Big West Tournament in Las Vegas, coached his final game at the helm of the Beach Thursday at the Delta Center, an 85-65 loss to No. 2 Arizona."We had a lot of adversity, but we stayed a family through everything," guard Jadon Jones said. "We're all a family because of coach Monson."And that family didn't go down without a fight, especially behind another 14-point, 15-rebound double-double from junior forward Aboubacar Traore. The Ivory Coast native said while disappointed in the result, he was proud of how the Beach showing who they were after Monson's departure was announced."A lot of people didn't think we'd even make it to this moment," guard AJ George said. "I'm proud of the fans, too, for believing in us."The Beach finishes their season 21-15, having won three of their last four games to end the season, including beating the top two seeds in the Big West tourney in UC Irvine and UC Davis in back-to-back days."There is no good-bye," Jones said. "It's not even to be continued, it's just thank you to coach Monson for everything."— Alex Tumalip

Thursday, 03:37 pm

Nevada takes halftime lead over Dayton

In a pod with Kansas, Gonzaga and Arizona, the best player may just hail from Dayton.DaRon Holmes certainly looked like it in the first half against Nevada.The potential first-round pick had 8 points and seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes. That looked like it would be good enough for a halftime lead, but then Nevada surged in the final minutes of the half.Kenan Blackshear hit a baseline jumper at the first-half buzzer to cap off a 16-0 run to give Nevada a 34-25 lead.Nick Davidson had 10 points to lead Nevada, which is shooting 48% from the field and 44% from 3-point range.— Ryan Miller, KSL.com

Thursday, 03:30 pm

No. 2 Arizona uses big 2nd half to end No. 15 Long Beach State's season, Dan Monson's tenure

Behind a red-hot shooting performance from 3-point range, the second-seeded Arizona Wildcats exorcised their first-round demons in an 85-65 rout of No. 15 and Big West Tournament champion Long Beach State in front of a sold-out Delta Center Thursday afternoon.After leading just 41-35 at halftime, the Wildcats (26-8) stormed out of the gates for 44 second-half points, led by a game-high 20 points from guard Kylan Boswell. It was part of a starting five that scored 77 of the 85 Arizona points, 13 more than the Beach (21-15) scored the entire afternoon."The message at halftime was just to take it one task at a time," Boswell said. "We just did a great job at coming out strong in the second half and staying that way."It was a marked difference from last season, where the Wildcats wilted under the pressure on the same seed line to Princeton in the first round. This time, Arizona left no doubt whatsoever about who was the better team."These games are hard," Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd said. "You have to be willing to deal with hard things and get comfortable with hard things."Arizona certainly did that. They were out-battled for rebounds all afternoon, especially on the offensive glass, instead using their 3-point shooting as their way to get out of jail. The Wildcats went 13-of-35 from behind the arc while holding the Beach to a 3-of-17 mark."The funny thing about zone defense is they're all different," Lloyd said. "We knew we'd have to take and make a lot of 3-pointers just because that's what the game called for."The Wildcats now advance to Saturday's second-round game against the winner of Nevada and Dayton, who are currently in progress on TBS and Max, with the Wolf Pack leading the Flyers 34-25 at halftime.— Alex Tumalip, KSL.com

Thursday, 01:33 pm

Arizona takes full control over Long Beach State

With 2:34 left in the first half, Aboubacar Traore put Long Beach State up 35-34 with a layup. Hopefully, Beach fans savored that moment because it was all downhill from there.Arizona went on a 24-2 spanning the end of the first half and the beginning of the second to take full command of the first-round game.It looks like the Dan Monson era at Long Beach is finally going to be over.— Ryan Miller, KSL.com

Thursday, 01:02 pm

No sympathy in Salt Lake City for BYU

As No. 2 Arizona looks to pull away from pesky No. 15 Long Beach State, with the Wildcats leading 41-35, a hometown team has fallen.The 11-seed Duquesne Dukes pulled off the shocker over No. 6 seed BYU 71-67 in Omaha, eliciting some strong cheers from the Arizona and Long Beach State contingents — and the neutrals waiting for the other games — here at Delta Center. The Cougar contingent, of which there is relatively few, were left stunned silent as the finish played out on the big screens.A heartbreaking end to the season for Mark Pope, whose teams just can't seem to find the magic in March.— Alex Tumalip, KSL.com

Thursday, 12:57 pm

Long Beach State AD wants some credit for run to tourney

The Long Beach State athletic director would like some credit for his basketball team's magical run to the NCAA tournament.Bobby Smitheran said that the decision to fire Dan Monson was made, in part, to help inspire the team."My belief and hope is that by doing what I did and the timing of it, they would play inspired, and that's what they did," Bobby Smitheran told The Associated Press on Thursday ahead of Long Beach State's tournament game against Arizona. "I'm not trying to pat myself on the back, but it worked."Well, something worked, at least.The team responded to the news their coach was gone by capturing the Big West Tournament to earn an unexpected trip to the NCAA tournament.The surprises kept on coming in the first half against the Wildcats, too. The Beach used an 11-0 run to even take a lead. They went into halftime trailing Arizona 41-35.As for the firing, Smitheran said too much has been made out of the story."I don't buy into that narrative," he said. "I think this is really getting lost on people, that we agreed that a change in leadership was necessary. This was something Coach Monson brought to me."— Ryan Miller, KSL.com

Thursday, 12:38 pm

Not your typical Beach day

We may have another 15-over-2 upset in the making.The Big West tourney champion Long Beach State has come to play, keeping Arizona off the rebounding glass and swarming defensively, as the game is tied 33-33 late in the first half.They are proving the mantra "only the bold" right so far, as punctuated with a ferocious swat of Pelle Larsson by Aboubacar Traore prior to the six-minute mark.See the game now on TBS and Max.— Alex Tumalip, KSL.com

SLC NCAA Tourney blog: Kansas avoids upset in thriller to cap 1st round games

By KSL.com Sports | Updated - March 22, 2024 at 12:35 a.m. | Posted - March 21, 2024 at 12:51 p.m.

Samford relishes historic run after nearly pulling off tourney upset

Kansas thwarts Samford Cinderella bid, but not without controversy

Gonzaga wins 15th consecutive first-round matchup in win over McNeese

Delta Center crowd captivated by Oakland upset on Jumbotron as Gonzaga beats down McNeese

Pair of Wasatch products get hometown highlights, Gonzaga dominates first half vs. McNeese

'Just March Madness basketball': Dayton explains its late rally to beat Nevada

New nets, new problems?

Dayton overcomes 17-point deficit in final 8 minutes to beat Nevada

'What a great life I've had': Dan Monson grateful as he leaves Long Beach State

'Here because of him': Long Beach State players pay tribute to departing coach Dan Monson

Nevada takes halftime lead over Dayton

No. 2 Arizona uses big 2nd half to end No. 15 Long Beach State's season, Dan Monson's tenure

Arizona takes full control over Long Beach State

No sympathy in Salt Lake City for BYU

Long Beach State AD wants some credit for run to tourney

Not your typical Beach day

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SLC NCAA Tourney blog: Kansas avoids upset in thriller to cap 1st round games

By KSL.com Sports | Updated - March 22, 2024 at 12:35 a.m. | Posted - March 21, 2024 at 12:51 p.m.

Samford relishes historic run after nearly pulling off tourney upset

Kansas thwarts Samford Cinderella bid, but not without controversy

Gonzaga wins 15th consecutive first-round matchup in win over McNeese

Delta Center crowd captivated by Oakland upset on Jumbotron as Gonzaga beats down McNeese

Pair of Wasatch products get hometown highlights, Gonzaga dominates first half vs. McNeese

'Just March Madness basketball': Dayton explains its late rally to beat Nevada

New nets, new problems?

Dayton overcomes 17-point deficit in final 8 minutes to beat Nevada

'What a great life I've had': Dan Monson grateful as he leaves Long Beach State

'Here because of him': Long Beach State players pay tribute to departing coach Dan Monson

Nevada takes halftime lead over Dayton

No. 2 Arizona uses big 2nd half to end No. 15 Long Beach State's season, Dan Monson's tenure

Arizona takes full control over Long Beach State

No sympathy in Salt Lake City for BYU

Long Beach State AD wants some credit for run to tourney

Not your typical Beach day

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