Kentucky moves on to Sweet 16; top seed Dayton upset

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