NCAA Tournament roundup: Oregon State Elite after beating Loyola

INDIANAPOLIS — Picked to finish dead last in the Pac-12, Oregon State instead might be the last one standing.

Led by unflappable guard Ethan Thompson, whose 20 points included a pair of clinching foul shots with 35 seconds left, the No. 12 seed Beavers and their brilliant defense shut down eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago in a 65-58 victory Saturday that sent their long-suffering program into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

It’s Oregon State’s first regional final since 1982 — one that was later vacated by the NCAA — and sets up a showdown with second-seeded Houston or No. 10 seed Syracuse on Monday night for a spot in its first Final Four since 1963.

“They just want to keep riding the wave,” said Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle, whose hungry bunch of underdogs matched Missouri in 2002 as the lowest-seeded teams to advance past the Sweet 16.

“We did use the fact we were picked 12th in the Pac-12 this year,” Tinkle said, “but we haven’t made a big deal about the 12th seed. I don’t want to throw too much at them. They’ll see it. We just have to keep our feet on the ground.”

Not even the fervent prayers of Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt could help Loyola deal with the Beavers (20-12) and the constantly changing defenses that Tinkle rolled out.

Baylor 62, Villanova 51 — Top-seeded Baylor overcame some frigid outside shooting to move into the Elite Eight, getting 16 points from Adam Flagler in a victory over Villanova and its amoeba-like defense.

The Bears (25-2) came in as the nation’s leading 3-point team, shooting 41.5%, but made only 3 of 19 in this one, unable to find room or get into a comfort zone against fifth-seeded Villanova’s mix of 2-3 zone and man. Davion Mitchell, a 46% shooter from 3 this season, went 0 for 3 in a 14-point night.

Baylor, which started the season 18-0 and won its first Big 12 regular-season title, is one win from the Final Four for the first time since 2012.

Arkansas 72, Oral Roberts 70 — Davonte Davis hit a short jumper with 2.9 seconds left, and Arkansas advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in 26 years.

The Muss Buss grinded its gears through the first half into the second, bad shots and even worse defense putting Arkansas in a 12-point hole against the 15th-seeded Golden Eagles.

Eric Musselman’s Razorbacks (25-6) got their Pig Sooie swagger back, turning defensive stops into early offense opportunities and offensive rebounds into points.