Kentucky beats Illinois 84-75 for first Sweet 16 appearance since 2019

MILWAUKEE>> Koby Brea matched a career high with 23 points and Kentucky beat Illinois 84-75 on Sunday to advance beyond the NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend for the first time since they reached the Elite Eight in 2019.

Kentucky (24-11), the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region, faces No. 2 seed and Southeastern Conference rival Tennessee on Friday in Indianapolis. The Wildcats have already beaten the Volunteers twice this season.

Mark Pope, who never won an NCAA Tournament game in five seasons at BYU, broke through in his first season at Kentucky. Pope, a forward on Kentucky’s 1996 national championship team, took over when John Calipari left for Arkansas in the wake of a first-round loss to Oakland last year.

Now both Pope and Calipari are in the Sweet 16. Calipari got there when Arkansas upset St. John’s 75-66 in the West Region on Saturday.

No. 1 Duke 89, No. 9 Baylor 66>> Tyrese Proctor made seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points to continue his recent tear, helping Duke beat Baylor in Raleigh, N.C.

Freshman star Cooper Flagg had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Blue Devils (33-3), the headliner in the East Region and one of the favorites to win it all. They will face either Oregon or Arizona in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Newark, N.J.

Proctor, a junior, made 7 of 8 3-pointers — his third straight game with at least six 3s and an abrupt turnaround after going 0 for 10 in his first two Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament games. He made 9 of 10 shots overall Sunday.

Duke shot 64.4%, hit 12 3-pointers and turned it over just six times.

Freshman V.J. Edgecombe scored 16 points for the ninth-seeded Bears (20-15).

No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 5 Oregon>> Late game.

No. 2 Alabama 80, No. 7 Saint Mary’s 66>> Alabama thundered past Saint Mary’s in Cleveland, using a steady stream of alley-oop dunks to reach the Sweet 16 for a third consecutive year.

Chris Youngblood led the second-seeded Crimson Tide (27-8) with 13 points. Six players finished in double figures for Alabama, including forward Grant Nelson, who had 12 points and eight rebounds after sitting out the majority of a first-round game against Robert Morris due to a knee injury.

All-American guard Mark Sears had 12 points and three assists, including a pretty lob that Clifford Omoruyi slammed through for a reverse dunk that put the Tide up 14 with just under 8 minutes to play.

Omoruyi had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Crimson Tide.

Alabama will play sixth-seeded BYU in the East Regional semifinals in Newark, N.J., on Thursday.

No. 2 Michigan State 71, No. 10 New Mexico 63>> Jaden Akins scored 16 points, including a 3-pointer that put Michigan State ahead to stay, and coach Tom Izzo took the Spartans to the Sweet 16 for the 16th time with a victory over New Mexico in Cleveland.

Izzo has 58 wins in the NCAA Tournament, tied for fourth in a coaching career with John Calipari and the retired Jim Boeheim of Syracuse. The 70-year-old Hall of Famer has taken the Spartans to March Madness 27 times.

Tre Holloman added 14 points for second-seeded Michigan State (29-6), which will face Mississippi in Atlanta on Friday night.

Nelly Junior Joseph scored 16 points and Mustapha Amzil and Donovan Dent added 14 apiece for No. 10 seed New Mexico (27-8).

No. 6 Mississippi 91, No. 3 Iowa State 78>> Sean Pedulla scored 20 points, Jaemyn Brakefield had 19 and Mississippi beat Iowa State in Milwaukee to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history.

Mississippi (24-11) is one of seven Southeastern Conference schools still standing.