HORNETS-TIMBERWOLVES
Hornets upend Timberwolves 109-98
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) β Mo Williams scored 24 points and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Al Jefferson each added 18 and the Charlotte Hornets snapped their three-game skid by beating Minnesota 109-98 on Sunday night.
Gerald Henderson added 17 points for the Hornets.
Gorgui Dieng led Minnesota with 16 points and Kevin Martin had 15 points and nine assists.
His team down by 13 in the first half, Williams provided a spark off the bench with his smooth shooting, just as he did in many of his 41 games with the Timberwolves this season.
Williams shot 10 for 16 from the floor in his first game at Target Center since the Wolves traded him to Charlotte on Feb. 10.
NCAA-SAN DIEGO STATE-DUKE
Duke beats San Diego State 68-49 to reach NCAA Sweet 16
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) β Jahlil Okafor scored 18 of his 26 points in a dominating first half and Duke beat San Diego State 68-49 on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament, sending the top-seeded Blue Devils back to the Sweet 16.
Fellow freshman Justise Winslow added 13 points and 12 rebounds for Duke (31-4), which for the second straight tournament game ran out to a quick lead and stayed in control the rest of the way.
Duke β holding a No. 1 seed for the 11th time in 18 seasons but its first since 2011 β advanced to face fifth-seeded Utah in Houston’s South Region semifinals.
Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils are pushing for their 12th Final Four and completed their two-game stay in their home state with a pair of hot-shooting wins.
Duke shot 55 percent against the eighth-seeded Aztecs (27-9), two days after shooting 63 percent against Robert Morris.
SDSU-STOMACH BUG
San Diego State players, coaches fighting stomach bug
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) β San Diego State is battling a lot more than just Duke and star freshman Jahlil Okafor.
Team spokesman Mike May said several players and coaches are battling a stomach bug, including head coach Steve Fisher.
The trouble began when senior guard Aqeel Quinn came down with what the team thought was a case of food poisoning after eating a turkey sandwich on Thursday.
But May said several members of the Aztecs began feeling off by Saturday evening and into Sunday. The list included: junior Angelo Chol, and freshmen Kevin Zabo and Malik Pope; as well as assistants Brian Dutcher and David Velasquez, and director of basketball operations Matt Soria.
San Diego State started 4-for-19 from the field and fell behind quickly against a top-seeded Blue Devils team that came out sharp.
NCAA-MICHIGAN STATE-VIRGINIA
Trice leads Michigan State over Virginia again 60-54
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) β Travis Trice scored 23 points, and Michigan State knocked second-seeded Virginia out of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, 60-54 on Sunday.
Branden Dawson added 15 points and nine rebounds for the seventh-seeded Spartans, who advanced to the Sweet 16 for the seventh time in the last eight seasons under coach Tom Izzo. The Spartans will play the winner of the Oklahoma-Dayton game in Syracuse, New York on Friday.
With top seed Villanova having lost Saturday, it is the first time a No. 1 and 2 seed from the same region didn’t advance to the Sweet 16 since Kentucky and Gonzaga in 2004.
The Spartans stole a page from last year’s regional semifinal win, limiting the Cavaliers to 29.8 percent shooting. Virginia finished 2 of 17 from 3-point range.
Last year, the Spartans upset the top-seeded Cavaliers in the regional semifinal by holding Virginia to 35.1 percent shooting.
The Cavaliers (30-4) were led by Anthony Gill’s 11 points and Darion Atkins’ 10 points and 14 rebounds.
NCAA-OHIO STATE-NORTH CAROLINA
UNC women host Ohio State with Sweet 16 on the line
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) β Speed will be at a premium when Ohio State takes on North Carolina.
The fourth-seeded Tar Heels (25-8) face the fifth-seeded Buckeyes (24-10) on Monday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament’s Greensboro Region.
The Tar Heels have an established identity of running under Hall of Fame coach Sylvia Hatchell.
The Buckeyes have a powerful offense that ranks fifth nationally in points per game (80.9) and features the nation’s leading scorer.
The winner will need the three-day break before the regional semifinals.
Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff quipped Sunday that “the shot clock operator tomorrow could probably stay home.”
NCAA-MISSISSIPPI STATE-DUKE
Duke women earn Sweet 16 berth by beating Miss State 64-56
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) β Freshman Azura Stevens had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Duke beat Mississippi State 64-56 on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Elizabeth Williams scored 12 points in her final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium and Rebecca Greenwell added 17 with three 3-pointers for fourth-seeded Duke (23-10).
The Blue Devils shot 52 percent, used a timely 26-5 run to build a 15-point lead and held on to earn a spot in the round of 16. They will play the Princeton-Maryland winner on Saturday in the Spokane Region semifinals.
Victoria Vivians scored 15 points and Kendra Grant added 12 for the fifth-seeded Bulldogs (27-7). They clawed within 58-52 on Morgan William’s free throw with 1:21 left.
But Dominique Dillingham was called for a blocking foul with 1:02 left, and coach Vic Schaefer received a technical foul for arguing the call. Greenwell then hit 3 of 4 free throws.
