Calipari guides Arkansas past Pitino, St. John’s in second round

MEN’S TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP

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Arkansas guard Johnell Davis (1) celebrates with his teammates after defeating St. John’s in the NCAA Men’s Tournament on Saturday in Providence, R.I. CHARLES KRUPA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Providence, R.I. >> John Calipari is heading to the Sweet 16 for the 16th time, guiding the Arkansas Razorbacks past nemesis Rick Pitino and second-seeded St. John’s 75-66 to bring his fourth school to the NCAA Tournament’s second week.

Billy Richmond III scored 16 points and Karter Knox had 15 for the 10th-seeded Razorbacks, who sent Kansas and their Hall of Fame coach Bill Self home from the “Region of Coaches” in the first round.

But the victory over his longtime rival was especially sweet for Calipari.

Zuby Ejiofor had 23 points and 12 rebounds for Big East champion St. John’s (31-5) — an unprecedented sixth school Pitino has taken to the tournament. His history in Providence — the Friars reached the 1987 Final Four in his tenure — gave him a home-court advantage.

Auburn 82, Creighton 70 >> Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said a trip to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament was no sure thing, and experienced Creighton made his top-seeded team work for it before the Tigers found their defensive mojo in the second half and closed out the ninth-seeded Bluejays.

Tahaad Pettiford scored 16 of his 23 points after halftime and Chad Baker-Mazara added 17 points for Auburn, which held Creighton scoreless for more than six minutes during a 10-0 second-half run. Pettiford scored six points during that burst to push the Tigers to a 68-54 lead.

BYU 91, Wisconsin 89 >> BYU withstood a ferocious charge from Wisconsin’s John Tonje to hold off the Badgers for a victory that sends the program to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2011.

Tonje finished with 37 points, including eight during a desparate comeback down the stretch. But trailing by two, he shot a fadeaway air ball just before the buzzer that allowed the Cougars to escape.

Purdue 76, McNeese 62 >> Trey Kaufman-Renn had 22 points and 15 rebounds, and the Purdue Boilermakers used a fast start to roll to a win over McNeese in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Fletcher Loyer added 15 points. C.J. Cox finished with 11 points for the Boilermakers (24-11), who advanced through the Midwest Region to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season.

Michigan 91, Texas A&M 79 >> Michigan is going back to the Sweet 16 a year after a 24-loss season, using Roddy Gayle’s surge to beat Texas A&M.

Gayle scored 21 of his season-high 26 points in the second half to help the restocked Wolverines overcome a 10-point deficit and advance to Atlanta to face the Auburn-Creighton winner in the South Region.

Texas Tech 77, Drake 64 >> Darrion Williams scored a season-high 28 points, JT Toppin had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 3 seed Texas Tech dominated No. 11 seed Drake in the paint on its way to a victory.

Elijah Hawkins added 16 points for the Red Raiders (27-8), who denied the Bulldogs their first Sweet 16 trip in more than five decades and will play No. 10 seed Arkansas in the West Region semifinals Thursday night in San Francisco.