Iona forward Nelly Junior Joseph (23) blocks the shot of Alabama guard Jahvon Quinerly (13) in the first half of a first-round game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Saturday. (AP photo)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Everybody knew Rick Pitino would come prepared.

That he won’t get to use any more of the eight designer suits he packed for the NCAA Tournament is only because of an Alabama team that came at Iona in waves Saturday and finally pulled away for a 68-55 win to end Pitino’s dreams as a No. 15 seed.

The other major story out of yesterday’s tournament play was the fact VCU had to vacate its chance to play Oregon last night due to COVID-19 protocols. The Ducks now advance to the round of 32.

Meanwhile, Pitino and his team had all the confidence going in.

“To be honest, we thought we could win tonight,” the coach said.

Of course they did. It’s why Pitino packed for the long haul on this trip to Indianapolis, figuring it could be like so many of his other 21 trips to March Madness — maybe like the time he took underdog Providence and Billy Donovan to the Final Four back in 1987 as a 6.

This time, Pitino had his worst seed ever and second-seeded Alabama (25-6) was too much.

Herb Jones led the Crimson Tide with 20 points, including a steal and layup that highlighted an 11-0 run and gave Alabama breathing room at 58-46 with 6:36 left after the teams seesawed the lead through much of the second half.

“I thought their kids came ready to play,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “They’ve got some good players. Obviously, coach Pitino had them well prepared.”

This is the fifth, and maybe most unlikely, program Pitino has brought to the tournament, in large part because the Gaels (12-6) went 50 days without playing a game in midseason due to COVID-19.

But they won their conference tournament as a 9 seed, and felt as if they were rolling coming into Indy.

VCU LEAAVES TOURNAMENT

VCU has been pulled from the NCAA Tournament because of COVID-19 protocols.

The NCAA says the 10th-seeded Rams’ first-round game Saturday against Oregon has been declared a no-contest.

The seventh-seeded Ducks will advance to the second round without playing.

The announcement came a little more than three hours before the teams were set to play in the West Region. The NCAA didn’t offer specific details, citing privacy concerns, and said that the decision came after consultation with the Marion County Public Health Department.

“The NCAA and the committee regret that VCU’s student-athletes and coaching staff will not be able to play in a tournament in which they earned the right to participate,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, in other key games Saturday

OHIO 62, VIRGINIA 58

Virginia’s unusual title defense ended with another upset loss in the NCAA Tournament, falling to Jason Preston and Ohio on Saturday.

Some familiar problems showed up again for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, who struggled to score during a key stretch in the second half and shot 35% from the field for the game. Virginia became the first No. 1 seed to drop its opening game in the NCAA Tournament when it lost to UMBC in 2018, but it used the setback as motivation in its run to the championship in 2019.

Ben Vander Plas and Jason Preston delivered for Ohio after leading the Bobcats to the Mid-American Conference Tournament title.

Vander Plas scored eight of his game-high 17 points during an 18-4 second-half run that erased a 38-31 deficit and gave the Bobcats a 49-42 lead. Ohio (17-7) never trailed again.

GONZAGA 98, NORFOLK STATE 55

Corey Kispert scored 15 of his 23 points by halftime and No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga rolled in its NCAA Tournament opener.

Anton Watson had 17 points on 7-for-7 shooting for the Bulldogs (27-0), who shook off a slow few opening minutes and easily handled the 16th-seeded Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions.

Next up for the undefeated Zags is Oklahoma in the second round of the West Region.

MARYLAND 63, UCONN 54

Eric Ayala scored 23 points and the 10th-seeded Terrapins clamped down on defense to snag a victory over No. 7 UConn

Maryland held UConn to 32% shooting to overcome the Huskies’ strong physical game. Maryland was outrebounded 40-29 — including a whopping 22-4 deficit offensively — but its defense carried the Terps to a second round matchup against No. 2 Alabama.

OKLAHOMA 72, MISSOURI 68

Trying to defend a three-point lead with under 6 seconds left, Oklahoma’s Elijah Harkless played it perfectly.

Harkless fouled Missouri’s Drew Buggs as he dribbled, putting him at the line with 2.1 seconds remaining — which wasn’t enough — and the Sooners slipped by the ninth-seeded Tigers.

ABILENE CHRISTIAN 53, TEXAS 52

Abilene Christian and its frantic, havoc-causing defense sent Shaka Smart and Texas out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round yet again as the 14th-seeded Wildcats stunned the third-seeded Longhorns.

Joe Pleasant, a 58.8% foul shooter on the season, made a pair of free throws with 1.2 seconds left as the Wildcats shocked their in-state rivals in the first meeting ever between the two schools.

UCLA 73, BYU 62

UCLA is suddenly one of the hottest teams in the NCAA Tournament after backing into it with four straight losses.

Johnny Juzang is suddenly one of its hottest players, too.

After helping the No. 11 seed Bruins rally past Michigan State in the First Four, Juzang poured in 27 points against sixth-seeded BYU, carrying the Bruins into the second round of the East Region.

CREIGHTON 63, UC SANTA BARBARA 62

Creighton’s Christian Bishop is not a good free-throw shooter.

You never would have known it when he went to the line with 16 seconds left for a one-and-one with the BlueJays down a point to UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The 57% shooter barely touched the rim while sinking two shots to give fifth-seeded Creighton the lead, and the Bluejays hung on to beat the 12th-seeded Gauchos.

MICHIGAN 82, TEXAS SOUTHERN 66

Juwan Howard got the win in his first NCAA tourney game since taking over at Michigan, guiding Mike Smith and the top-seeded Wolverines to an 82-66 victory over Texas Southern on Saturday.

Smith scored 18 points and Hunter Dickinson added 16 as Michigan rolled into the second round without Isaiah Livers, who is out with a foot injury. Eli Brooks and Brandon Johns Jr. had 11 points apiece.

USC 72, DRAKE 56

Evan Mobley had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 6 seed Southern California used smothering defense in a victory over Drake.

Mobley, a 7-foot freshman forward and AP second-team All-American expected to be a lottery pick if he declares for the draft, made 7 of 15 field goals and blocked three shots.

Isaiah Mobley scored 15 points and Drew Peterson added 14 for USC (23-7), which advanced to play No. 3 seed Kansas in the second round on Monday.

KANSAS 93, EASTERN WASHINGTON 84

David McCormack gave third-seeded Kansas a spark when the big man returned from his COVID-19 quarantine in time to practice for its NCAA Tournament opener.

When the first round game against Eastern Washington began, McCormack gave the Jayhawks much more than a boost of energy.

Put on the ropes early by Tanner Groves and the Big Sky champs, McCormack responded by piling up 22 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes of work to help slow-starting Kansas rally from a 10-point second-half deficit and beat the No. 14 seed Eagles to advance to the second round.

LSU 76, ST. BONAVENTURE 61

Freshman Cameron Thomas scored 27 points in another impressive performance and his LSU teammates provided the rebounding muscle, leading the eighth-seeded Tigers past ninth-seeded St. Bonaventure and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

LSU (19-9) can reach its second straight Sweet 16 if it beats Michigan, the top seed in the Midwest Region.

COLORADO 96, GEORGETOWN 73

The Buffaloes used an early 3-point barrage to parlay their highest seeding ever at March Madness into a first-round win over one of the biggest names in the game. It was a thumping of Georgetown, the program Ewing starred for in the 1980s and now coaches.

Led by Jabari Walker’s 5-for-5 shooting clinic from 3-point range, the fifth-seeded Buffs (23-8) made 16 3-pointers and shot 64% from long range.

FLORIDA STATE 64, UNC GREENSBORO 54

RaiQuan Gray scored 17 points and No. 4 seed Florida State began what it hopes will be another deep NCAA Tournament run under coach Leonard Hamilton, holding off 13th-seeded UNC Greensboro in the East Region.

The Seminoles, who reached the Elite Eight and the Sweet 16 in the previous two tournaments, allowed the Spartans to hang around deep into the second half thanks to an uneven offensive performance. They will play Colorado in the second round on Monday.

IOWA 86, GRAND CANYON 74

Iowa got 24 points from Luka Garza and avoided the early NCAA Tournament exit that befell other high seeds with a victory over Grand Canyon in the West Region.

Joe Wieskamp added 16 points to help lead the Hawkeyes into the next round Monday against Oregon, which advanced after Virginia Commonwealth became the first team to bow out of the bracket due to a positive COVID-19 test.

For an updated bracket, go to https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket