ASHLAND, Ky. – How sweet it is!!!
East No.3 seed Kentucky overwhelmed East Tennessee State 87-57 in the second round of the MARK MADNESS NCAA Tournament. The Cats are headed to the Sweet 16.
EJ Montgomery scored 17 and Nick Richards collected 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead five in double figures. The game was never in doubt as the third-seeded Wildcats became the highest seed remaining in the East bracket.
Top-seeded Dayton and No. 2 seed Villanova were both stunned. Marquette defeated Dayton 69-59 and Illinois shocked Villanova 70-63.
Kentucky will play Illinois in the Sweet 16 game.
The Cats were a sizzling 58 percent from the fiel and held a whopping 37-28 rebounding advantage. Ashton Hagans, Immanuel Quickley and Keion Brooks Jr. scored 11 apiece.
Kentucky led 49-27 at the half.
Elsewhere in the tournament, top overall seed Kansas crushed USC 80-42, Duke defeated WVU 81-63, and Rutgers upset high-scoring and second-seeded San Diego State, 63-60.
Below is a complete list of second-round scores and the schedule for the Sweet 16.
(Games are being played through Dave Koch Sports computer game. It’s computer vs. computer except for Kentucky when I’m stepping in for Coach Cal.)
Second-round scores
MIDWEST
Kansas 80, USC 42
Stanford 58, Liberty 40
Creighton 94, Iowa 92
Duke 83, West Virginia 71
EAST
Marquette 69, Dayton 59
Maryland 69, Akron 53
Illinois 70, Villanova 63
Kentucky 87. East Tennessee State 57
SOUTH
Baylor 80, St. Mary’s 75
Auburn 79, Bradley 69
Florida State 76, Providence 63
Texas Tech 77, Michigan State 74
WEST
Gonzaga 83, Houston 68
Penn State 83, Oregon 72
Rutgers 63, San Diego State 60
Michigan 73, North Texas 54
SWEET 16 SCHEDULE
Midwest
Kansas vs. Stanford
Creighton vs. Duke
East
Marquette vs. Maryland
Illinois vs. Kentucky
South
Baylor vs. Auburn
Florida State vs. Texas Tech
West
Gonzaga vs. Penn State
Rutgers vs. Michigan
