The Latest: Butler, Arkansas trade big runs in close game
By The Associated Press, Associated Press
Mar 16, 2018 3:07 PM CDT
Purdue center Isaac Haas (44) falls in front of Cal State Fullerton forward Arkim Robertson during the first half of a first-round game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Friday, March 16, 2018, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)   (Associated Press)

The Latest on the NCAA Tournament (all times Eastern):

4:05 p.m.

Butler went for the knockout. Now Arkansas is punching back.

The 10th-seeded Bulldogs led 21-2 in the East Region in Detroit after an 18-0 run, but the No. 7-seeded Razorbacks responded with a 27-6 spurt of their own to make things close.

Kelan Martin's layup put Butler ahead 31-29 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the first half.

___

3:50 p.m.

Another No. 4 seed has been sent packing.

No. 13 seed Marshall beat Wichita State 81-75 in the first round of the East Region on Friday.

Jon Elmore was spectacular for the Thundering Herd. The senior guard scored 27 points, including a number of deep 3-pointers in the second half. Ajdin Penava added 16 points and had a key basket late.

The key sequence came with about 2 minutes left when Penava scored on a drive to give the Herd a 76-72 lead. C.J. Burks then stole the ball in the backcourt, and his dunk gave Marshall a 78-72 lead.

Wichita State pulled within 78-75 on Conner Frankamp's 3-pointer, but that's as close as the Shockers would get. Frankamp led the Shockers with 27 points.

The final 60 seconds took several minutes after a number of reviews that killed the momentum of the game.

On Thursday, 13th-seeded Buffalo knocked No. 4 seed Arizona out of the tournament.

__ Tim Booth reporting from San Diego.

___

3:43 p.m.

No. 10 seed Butler went on an 18-0 run against seventh-seeded Arkansas and was up 21-5 with 12 minutes left in the first half of their East Region game in Detroit.

The Razorbacks went scoreless for 5 1/2 minutes while falling behind by 19 points early. Daryl Macon broke the drought, and a 3-pointer by Jaylen Barford got the Hogs back to 21-10 midway through the first half.

___

3:33 p.m.

Georgia State is trying to be a giant killer once again and Marshall is trying to become the second No. 13 seed to win in less than 24 hours.

Three years after stunning Baylor as a No. 14 seed, 15th-seeded Georgia State is giving Cincinnati all it can handle.

Georgia State rallied from a 10-point, second-half deficit to take a pair of one-point leads. Cincinnati went back in front 49-47 when Gary Clark hit a baseline 3-pointer with 9:02 left.

Meanwhile in San Diego, No. 13 Marshall holds a three-point lead over fourth-seeded Wichita State with about a 30 seconds remaining in what has been in the most entertaining game of the day so far.

-Steve Megargee reporting from Nashville, Tennessee

___

3:30 p.m.

Kansas coach Bill Self would set a school record for NCAA Tournament wins if the Jayhawks beat Seton Hall in the second round of the Midwest Regional on Saturday.

Self won his 34th tournament game when Kansas topped Penn in the opening round, tying current North Carolina coach Roy Williams. If the Jayhawks lose to the Pirates, he would be 34-14 — the exact same record that his predecessor had at Kansas.

"I did not remotely know that," Self said Friday. "I hope by 8:30 tomorrow night we'll have passed him, but to me, that doesn't even register on the care meter at all."

Earlier this season, Self passed Williams for second on the career wins list. He has 444 victories now, trailing only Phog Allen, who won 590 games during 39 years in Lawrence.

___

3 p.m.

Kansas coach Bill Self says he should have injured 7-footer Udoka Azubuike for "some competitive minutes" when the top-seeded Jayhawks face No. 8 seed Seton Hall in the second round Saturday.

Azubuike hurt a ligament in his left knee last week, taking him out of the Big 12 Tournament. He played just three minutes in the first half of their opening-round win over Pennsylvania.

"He practiced today, he went for an hour and he was out there the majority of the minutes," Self said. "Unless there's some sort of setback, we anticipate him being available in a way that you can actually play him to win the game."

The Jayhawks could need Azubuike against Seton Hall big man Angel Delgado, one of the more physical post players they've faced all season

___

2:50 p.m.

Carsen Edwards and Vincent Edwards scored 15 points apiece, and second-seeded Purdue shook off a slow start to roll past No. 15 Cal State Fullerton 74-48 in the NCAA East Region.

The Boilermakers (29-6) will play either No. 7 Arkansas or No. 10 Butler in the second round on Sunday.

Kyle Allman Jr. had 21 points to lead the Titans (20-12), who shot 32 percent and committed 17 turnovers in their first NCAA Tournament game since 2008.

Carsen Edwards and Vincent Edwards hit 3-pointers late in the first half to help Purdue start pulling away after a 4-for-23 shooting funk.

Purdue had a scary moment when star center Isaac Haas was pulled to the floor in the second half. He landed on his back and seemed to be in a good deal of pain before getting up to go to the sideline. His right elbow was wrapped in ice after the game.

___

2:40 p.m.

A scary moment for second-seeded Purdue: Isaac Haas, the star center for the Boilermakers, was pulled to the ground during the second half of their game against Cal State Fullerton. He landed on his back and seemed to be in a good deal of pain before getting up to go to the sideline.

The 7-foot-2 Haas at first looked like he'd stay in the game, but he went to the bench with 8:46 remaining and Purdue up big. He grimaced a bit as he held his right arm around the elbow.

He was able to come back in with 7:29 to play, but with Purdue in control Haas rode out most of the rest of the game on the bench.

— Noah Trister in Detroit.

___

2:30 p.m.

No. 7 seed Texas A&M pulled away in the second half to beat 10th-seeded Providence 73-69

T.J. Starks scored 15 points after a scoreless first half and the Aggies advanced to face the winner of North Carolina and Lipscomb in Charlotte on Sunday in a West Region game. A&M big men Tyler Davis and Robert Williams dominated inside, combining for 27 points and 29 rebounds. The Aggies started the game by missing their first 10 shots.

Providence was one of the best teams in the country in tight games this season, going 8-0 in games decided by four points or less. Make that 8-1 now.

___

2:25 p.m.

After trailing for most of the first half, No. 4 seed Wichita State has a 37-34 lead over No. 13 seed Marshall at halftime.

The Shockers finally awoke in the final minutes of the half, closing on an 11-1 run over the final 2:41. Conner Frankamp's corner 3-pointer gave the Shockers just their second lead of the half and Landry Shamet's layup pushed Wichita State's lead to three at the break. Frankamp leads the Shockers with 14 points.

Jon Elmore has 14 points for Marshall. The Thundering Herd led by as many as seven in the first half.

— Tim Booth reporting from San Diego.

___

2:15 p.m.

Georgia State coach Ron Hunter is healthy for this NCAA Tournament run, but the Panthers still have brought along the stool that became an indelible part of their 2015 first-round upset of Baylor.

Hunter coached from a stool in the 2015 tournament after tearing his Achilles while celebrating Georgia State's Sun Belt title. He fell from the stool as his son, R.J., made a game-winning shot in the closing seconds of Georgia State's victory over Baylor.

Hunter is getting to coach from a standing position for Georgia State's first-round matchup with Cincinnati, but Georgia State still brought the stool to Nashville as a good-luck charm. The stool made a brief appearance on the Bridgestone Arena court as the Turner/CBS crew used it as a prop shortly before tip-off.

Sun Belt player of the year D'Marcus Simonds has made the most of his opportunity for a national showcase so far.

The Georgia State sophomore had all eight of his team's points to give the underdog Panthers an 8-3 lead at the first timeout.

Cincinnati, which entered the game as a 13 ½-point favorite, has made just one of its first eight shots.

— Steve Megargee reporting from Nashville, Tennessee

___

1:58 p.m.

Even with no local connections, basketball fans in San Diego showed up on Friday morning.

Most of the seats in Viejas Arena were filled for the opening session which tipped at 10:30 a.m. local time with No. 4 seed Wichita State taking on 13th-seeded Marshall.

The NCAA sent a random assortment of teams to San Diego for the tournament this time. The closest team sent here was New Mexico State — about a 10-hour drive away. The last time the tournament was held in San Diego in 2014, the group of teams included UCLA, Arizona and Gonzaga.

The fans are being treated to a good first game. No. 13 seed Marshall is leading the Shockers 22-21 with 7 ½ minutes left in the half.

__ Tim Booth reporting from San Diego.

___

1:47 p.m.

That 0-for-10 start seems like a long time ago for Texas A&M. The Aggies used a 10-0 run, including 3s by T.J. Starks and D.J. Hogg, to go up 45-37 on No. 10 seed Providence with 13 minutes left in the second half at Charlotte. Texas A&M was shooting 60 percent in the second half after hitting on 33 percent in the first.

__

1:38 p.m.—

Carsen Edwards has 13 points, and second-seeded Purdue finished the first half strong to take a 30-21 lead over 15th-seeded Cal State Fullerton.

The Boilermakers, one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country, are just 3 of 11 from long distance. The Titans kept it close for much of the half, but Purdue closed with an 8-1 run.

Kyle Allman has nine points and Khalil Ahmad has seven for Cal State Fullerton, but the Titans are just 8 of 25 from the field, and they have eight turnovers.

— Noah Trister reporting from Detroit.

___

1:25 p.m.

Texas A&M and Providence are getting ready to start the second half after an ugly first in Charlotte.

The seventh-seeded Aggies lead the 10th-seeded Friars 28-27 at halftime in the West Region first round. Texas A&M missed its first 10 shots and made just 9 of 27 (33 percent) for the first 20 minutes, while Providence wasn't a lot better at 39 percent (11 of 28).

No surprise: Texas A&M is dominating the boards. The bigger Aggies are up 23-16 on the glass, including eight offensive boards.

— Aaron Beard reporting from Charlotte, North Carolina.

___

1:05 p.m.

Remember the tear-away jersey in football? Cal State Fullerton freshman basketball player Josh Pitts has one, too.

As he and Purdue's Isaac Haas battled in a first-round game in Detroit, Haas grabbed a handful of Pitts' jersey while falling down.

Pitts went to the bench with a piece from the side and back of his No. 24 jersey torn away. Moments later he changed into No. 41.

The 15th-seeded Titans were hanging tough with No. 2 Purdue, trailing 13-12 in the middle of the first half.

___

12:58 p.m.

After a rough start, missing 10 straight shots, Texas A&M righted itself and briefly took a lead Providence in West Region game in Charlotte. The Friars are up 24-23 with three minutes left. And in Detroit, No. 2 seed Purdue is underway against Cal State Fullerton.

__

12:25 p.m.

The second full day of NCAA Tournament games is underway, with No. 7 seed Texas A&M facing No. 10 Providence in a West Region game at Charlotte, North Carolina.

It's off to an ugly start for the Aggies, who had 10 straight offensive possessions with no point in the first six minutes. The Friars are up 6-0, and so far so good for Providence coach Ed Cooley's pants.

Cooley ripped his pants during the Big East championship game and had to wear a towel to cover up.

___

Virginia, the overall top seed, starts its NCAA Tournament Friday in Charlotte, North Carolina, the day after double-digit seeds Buffalo and Loyola-Chicago provided first-round upsets.

Day two of round of 64 begins at 12:15 p.m. ET with No. 7 seed Texas A&M playing No. 10 Providence in a West Region game in Charlotte.

No. 2 Purdue tips off against No. 15 Cal State Fullerton 25 minutes later in the East Region in Detroit. No. 4 Wichita State meets No. 13 Marshall in San Diego at 1:30 p.m. in another East game

Virginia opens against No. 16 UMBC in the South Region in the late game in Charlotte.

On Thursday, No. 13 Buffalo knocked out No. 4 Arizona 89-68, leaving the Pac-12 without a win in the tournament for the first time since 1986.

No. 11 Loyola-Chicago used a long 3-pointer right before the buzzer to eliminate No. 6 Miami.

___

More AP college basketball: https://collegebasketball.ap.org ; https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 and https://www.podcastone.com/ap-sports-special-events

See 12 more photos