Kobe Brown hit three three-pointers in the second half, on the way to a personal 12-0 scoring spurt, to break open a close game and lead the Tigers to a 76-65 victory over Utah State in the first round of the South Region.
Brown finished with 19 points for Missouri, who which will take on the winner of Arizona and Princeton on Saturday. D’Moi Hodge led the way with 22 points, hitting five three-pointers of his own.
Utah State had a 49-47 lead in the second half but could not sustain it due to poor shooting and turnovers. The Aggies were led by Taylor Funk’s 16 points and seven rebounds.
The South’s No. 8 seed Maryland used a late spurt to pull away with a 67-65 victory over No. 9 West Virginia, in a game that featured nine ties and 11 lead changes. The Terrapins now move on to play the winner of Alabama and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday. Maryland lost to Alabama in the second round in their last NCAA tournament appearance in 2021.
The Mountaineers had a chance to win the game but Kedrian Johnson’s final-second 3-point attempt was short.
Julian Reese led four Terrapins, who were down by 13 points in the first half in double figures with 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. Hakim Hart added 15 and Donta Scott had 11 points and eight rebounds.
West Virginia was led by Johnson, who scored 27 points.
Virginia guard Kihei Clark threw away a pass that was intercepted by Furman’s Garrett Hien, leading to JP Pegues drilling a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left to give No. 13 seed Furman the first upset of the tournament over the fourth-seeded Cavaliers.
The Paladins, who rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit, will play the winner of Charleston and San Diego State on Saturday.
After Hien made two free throws with 12 seconds left to cut the Virginia lead to two, Furman trapped Clark, who tried to throw it to a teammate where it was picked off by Hien near midcourt. Reece Beekman’s three-point attempt at the buzzer missed, setting off a wild celebration by Furman.
Jalen Slawson led the Paladins, who made their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 43 years, with 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists and was one of four Furman players in double figures.
Virginia exits the tournament early once again, reminiscent of their 2018 upset at the hands of UMBC. The Cavaliers were paced by Kadin Shedrick who had 15 points and 13 rebounds.
