DENVER — Ryan Nembhard had a career-high 30 points and the No. 6 seed Creighton Blue Jays shot its way to a 85-76 win over the third-seeded Baylor Bears on Sunday night and earn a spot in the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons.
The Bears came into the contest focused on containing big man Ryan Kalkbrenner, but Nembhard and the rest of Bluejays went to work from outside.
The Blue Jays shot 45 percent from 3-point range and also went 22 of 22 from the free throw line, including a perfect 10-of-10 from Nembhard.
LJ Cryer finished with 30 points to lead all scorers for Baylor (23-11). Keyonte George, the Big 12 Conference's freshman of the year, was held to seven points. George is projected as a possible lottery pick if he choses to head to the NBA.
Already leading by double digits, the Bluejays extended their lead even further — and pumped up the crowd —with back-to-back 3-pointers from Francisco Farabello and Nembhard.
The Bears managed to rally and cut it to 79-70 with around 3 minutes remaining, but turnovers kept them from getting any closer.
Trey Alexander scored 17 points, Arthur Kaluma 11 and Kalkbrenner had 10 for the Blue Jays.
Creighton (23-12) will now face 15th-seeded Princeton in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday in the South Region semifinals. Princeton advanced with wins over Arizona and Missouri.
Michigan State 69, Marquette 60
Tyson Walker scored 23 points, including steal and his first ever collegiate dunk to put the finishing touches on Michigan State's 69-60 win over the Marquette Golden Eagles on Sunday night.
Joey Hauser — a Marquette transfer — scored 14 points and A.J. Hoggard chipped in 13 as seventh-seeded Michigan State (21-12) took over in the last three minutes to secure the win.
Michigan State led to as many as 12 during the first half, but Ben Gold and Olivier-Maxence Prosper made back-to-back 3-pointers to help the Golden Eagles close the gap to within 33-28 at halftime.
Prosper would give Marquette their first lead of the game in the opening minute of the second half, as he drained two more from behind the arc.
Michigan State would respond with an 8-0 run and never look back.
Hoggard would score back-to-back baskets in the paint and then Walker would add two scores as the shot clock expired, to give the Spartans a 60-55 lead with 2:20 left in the game.
Mady Sissoko then blocked shots on consecutive Marquette possessions, and Walker sealed the game with his steal and slam with 39 seconds left.
The Golden Eagles committed 11 of their 16 turnovers during the second half, and those costly giveaways led to 19 points for the Spartans.
Prosper led all scorers for Marquette (29-7) with 16 points and Kam Jones added 14 points, including three 3-pointers, for the Big East champions.
Tom Izzo and the Spartans will be making their first appearance in the Sweet 16 for the first time in four years.
Michigan State faces the third-seeded Kansas State Wildcats at Madison Square Garden in the East Region semifinals on Thursday.
Miami FL 85, Indiana 69
Isaiah Wong and Jordan Miller ignited a second-half spurt to lead the Miami Hurricanes to a 85-69 win over the Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to reach the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.
Wong scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds as fifth-seeded Hurricanes (27-7) who are now the last remaining ACC team alive in the tournament.
Miller scored 19 and Nijel Pack had 10 of his 12 points in the first half, to help Miami get off to a fast start and hold a lead most of the game and dash Indiana's hopes of a sixth national title.
All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis had 23 points and eight rebounds to lead the Hoosiers (23-12), who haven't made an appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2016.
Freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino added 19 points and Race Thompson had 11 for Indiana.
Despite trailing for most the of first half, Indiana would use 13-0 run that bridged both halves to take a 43-40 lead.
With the game tied at 49-all, Miller would roll in a layup to ignite a 16-4 burst for the Hurricanes. Wong hit two 3-pointers and Miller accounted for seven points during the run.
Miami led 69-60 when Wong buried a 3 late as the shot clock wound down. Then Bensley Joseph followed with a steal, and Miller fed Joseph in the corner for a wide-open 3 that made it 75-60 with 3:23 left.
Miami will face top-seeded Houston in the Midwest Region semifinals in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday.
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