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Walter Clayton Jr. and Florida ended UConn’s pursuit of a third straight national championship, with Clayton burying two key 3-pointers in the final three minutes of a scintillating 77-75 victory for the top-seeded Gators in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Clayton, a first-team All-America guard, finished with 23 points. Florida, one of the favorites for this year’s title, survived a strong challenge from coach Dan Hurley’s Huskies, who came in with modest expectations as a No. 8 seed but led for most of the second half.

Florida advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017.

Tyrese Proctor had career highs of seven 3-pointers and 25 points to continue his recent tear, helping No. 1 seed Duke beat Baylor 89-66 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Freshman star Cooper Flagg had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Blue Devils, the headliner in the East Region and one of the favorites to win it all.

Proctor made 7 of 8 3-pointers — his third straight game with at least six 3s. Freshman V.J. Edgecombe scored 16 points for Baylor.

Koby Brea matched a career high with 23 points and Kentucky beat Illinois 84-75 on Sunday to advance beyond the NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend for the first time since they reached the Elite Eight in 2019.

Kentucky, the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region, faces No. 2 seed and Southeastern Conference rival Tennessee on Friday in Indianapolis.

The Wildcats have already beaten the Volunteers twice this season.

Coach Mark Pope led the Wildcats to the Sweet 16 in his first season after never winning a March Madness game with BYU. He joins the Wildcats' former coach, John Calipari, who's in the Sweet 16 with Arkansas.

Alabama thundered past Saint Mary’s 80-66 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Crimson Tide reached the Sweet 16 for a third consecutive year behind a steady stream of alley-oop dunks that caught the Gaels flat-footed. Chris Youngblood led the second-seeded Crimson Tide with 13 points.

Six players finished in double figures for Alabama, including forward Grant Nelson, who had 12 points and eight rebounds after sitting out the majority of a first-round game against Robert Morris due to a knee injury.

Saint Mary's shot just 25% from the field in the first half and never got closer than eight points over the final 25 minutes.

Derik Queen banked in a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer, and Maryland advanced to the Sweet 16 in a thriller, beating Colorado State 72-71 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Jalen Lake drilled a rainbow 3-pointer with 6 seconds left for No. 12 seed Colorado State, which was seeking to become the lowest-seeded team to advance to a regional semifinal in this edition of March Madness.

The Terrapins advanced to face the West Region’s No. 1 seed, Florida, in San Francisco.

Queen led fourth-seeded Maryland with 17 points, Rodney Rice scored 16 and Julian Reese had 15 as each of Maryland’s starters known as the “Crab Five” scored in double figures.

Sean Pedulla scored 20 points, Jaemyn Brakefield had 19 and Mississippi beat Iowa State 91-78 to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history.

Mississippi is one of seven Southeastern Conference schools still standing, the most teams any conference has sent to the third round in one season.

Ole Miss fans started chanting “SEC!” with over 5½ minutes left and the game well out of reach.

Malik Dia scored 18 points for Ole Miss, and Matthew Murrell had 15. Jaylen Murray finished with 11.

Chris Jones had 26 points for the third-seeded Cyclones.

Joshua Jefferson scored 13 points, and Nate Heise added 11.

Jaden Akins scored 16 points, including a 3-pointer that put Michigan State ahead to stay, and coach Tom Izzo took the Spartans to the Sweet 16 for the 16th time with a 71-63 victory over New Mexico.

Izzo has 58 wins in the NCAA Tournament, tied for fourth in a coaching career. The 70-year-old Hall of Famer has taken the Spartans to March Madness 27 times.

Tre Holloman added 14 points for second-seeded Michigan State, which will face Mississippi in a South Region semifinal in Atlanta on Friday night.

Nelly Junior Joseph scored 16 points for New Mexico.

Caleb Love had 29 points and nine rebounds, and fourth-seeded Arizona advanced to the Sweet 16, surviving a ragged finish to beat former Pac-12 rival Oregon 87-83 in the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats will face top-seeded Duke in the East Region semifinals in Newark, New Jersey.

Three years ago, Love starred for North Carolina in a Final Four victory over the Blue Devils that sent Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski into retirement.

Tobe Awaka added 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Wildcats, who had never faced the Ducks in the tournament.

Jackson Shelstad led fifth-seeded Oregon with 25 points and TJ Bamba had 17.