Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman celebrates with fans after Arkansas' win over Kansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday. (AP photo)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Kansas’ national title defense ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday when Arkansas’ Ricky Council IV made five free throws in the closing seconds and the eighth-seeded Razorbacks beat the No. 1 seed Jayhawks 72-71.

Davonte Davis scored 25 points and Council added 21 as Arkansas rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit. Kansas, playing without ailing coach Bill Self, became the second top seed not to escape the tournament’s first weekend after Purdue lost on Friday night to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson.

Arkansas (22-13) and coach Eric Musselman return to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year. The Razorbacks will play either Saint Mary’s or UConn in the West Region semifinals in Las Vegas on Thursday. Musselman was so happy about the win he took his shirt off and twirled it facing the crowd.

Self has been with the Jayhawks (28-8) since they arrived in Des Moines and has attended practices and meetings, but he still didn’t feel well enough to coach a game after having a heart procedure March 8 to clear clogged arteries.

Davis scored 21 of his points in the second half. He fouled out with 1:56 left, turning things over to the veteran Council, a transfer from Wichita State who scored nine of the Razorbacks’ final 11 points.

Jalen Wilson led the Jayhawks with 20 points.

EAST REGION

TENNESSEE 65, DUKE 52

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Olivier Nkamhoua tied his career high with 27 points, including 13 straight for Tennessee during a decisive span in the second half, and the fourth-seeded Volunteers beat Duke to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.

Tennessee (25-10) ended Duke’s 10-game winning streak and sent first-year coach Jon Scheyer, charged with replacing Mike Krzyzewski, home after two NCAA Tournament games. These Vols used a brand of “bully ball” to send the fifth-seeded Blue Devils (27-9) packing.

Tennessee advanced to face Florida Atlantic or Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday in the East Region semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Proctor led Duke with 16 points. Roach and Filipowski chipped in 13 apiece.

SOUTH REGION

NO. 1 ALABAMA 73, MARYLAND 51

Brandon Miller heated up and so did Alabama, which avoided the fate of two other top NCAA Tournament seeds and brushed aside Maryland 73-51 behind a dominant second half on Saturday night.

The Crimson Tide (31-5) advanced to their second Sweet 16 in the past three tournaments and ninth overall. Alabama will face fifth-seeded San Diego State in the South Region semifinals in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday.

Before the game even tipped off, two top seeds — Purdue and defending national champion Kansas — had gone down, and No. 1 seed Houston trailed Tide rival Auburn by 10 points at halftime earlier at Legacy Arena before pulling away.

Alabama and Miller got off to a slow start but the All-America freshman and top NBA prospect wound up with 19 points after going scoreless in the first-round game. Miller is nursing a groin injury and missed his first nine shots of the tournament.

SAN DIEGO STATE 75, FURMAN 52

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — San Diego State had little trouble ending the run of March Madness darling Furman, getting 16 points from Micah Parrish to pace a balanced scoring attack.

Darrion Trammell had 13 points, Lamont Butler added 12 and leading scorer Matt Bradley finished with 10 for San Diego State (29-6), which is heading to its first Sweet 16 since 2004. The Aztecs have won 11 of their past 13 games and will play either Alabama or Maryland next week in the South Region semifinals in Louisville, Kentucky.

San Diego State is the first Mountain West Conference team to reach the Sweet 16 since Nevada in 2018.

PRINCETON 78, MISSOURI 63

Blake Peters made five 3-pointers in the second half and Princeton shocked another power conference team in Sacramento to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in 56 years.

No. 15 seed Princeton (23-8) followed up a first-round win over Pac-12 tournament champion Arizona by dominating seventh-seeded Missouri (25-10) of the Southeastern Conference from the start.

The Ivy League school reached the regional semifinals for the first time since 1967 when only 23 teams even made the tournament. Princeton will play either Baylor or Creighton in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday night.

This marks the third straight year a team seeded 15th made it to the Sweet 16, following Oral Roberts in 2021 and Saint Peter’s last year. The only other time a 15 seed made it this far came in 2013 when Florida Gulf Coast did it.

Ryan Langborg led Princeton with 22 points and Peters added 17.

HOUSTON 81, AUBURN 64

Marcus Sasser looked just fine, scoring 22 points, and top-seeded Houston stifled local favorite Auburn in the second half for as the Cougars (33-3) overcame a 10-point halftime deficit, returning after the break with a chip on their shoulders.

Essentially shutting down the lane, Houston played with the desperation of a national championship contender that wasn’t ready to suffer the same fate as Purdue and Kansas — No. 1s that already were sent home.

Led by Tramon Mark with 26 points, Houston advanced to face either No. 4 Indiana or No. 5 Miami, which play Sunday, at the Sweet 16 in Kansas City, Missouri.

TEXAS 71, PENN STATE 66

Dylan Disu had a season-high 28 points on 14-for-20 shooting, steadying Texas down the stretch after a late Penn State surge and leading the Longhorns to their first regional in 15 years.

The second-seeded Longhorns (28-8) made just one of 13 shots from 3-point land, so Disu turned this one into a mid-range game. He went 5 for 5 over the final 4 1/2 minutes and grabbed 10 rebounds for good measure.

Sir’Jabari Rice scored 13 points for Texas, which will play the Pittsburgh-Xavier winner on Friday in the Midwest Region semifinals in Kansas City, Missouri. The 11th-seeded Panthers and third-seeded Musketeers meet on Sunday.

UCLA 67, NORTHWESTERN 63

Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 24 points and UCLA withstood a second-half push from Northwestern to get back to the Sweet 16.

The second-seeded Bruins (31-5) turned up the defensive intensity late, holding the seventh-seeded Wildcats to 1-for-12 shooting during a key late-game stretch to seal the win.

The win was marred when David Singleton went down in extreme pain with a right leg injury with 20.3 seconds remaining. He stayed down on the court for a few minutes before getting helped off by teammates and going straight to the locker room. There was no immediate word on the extent of the injury.

UCLA made it to a third straight Sweet 16 for the first time in 15 years. The Bruins will play the winner of Sunday’s game between Gonzaga and TCU in the West Region semifinals in Las Vegas, on Thursday night.

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