INDIANAPOLIS - (AP) Oregon wove its way through a pandemic-altered season filled with injuries, pauses and uncertainty to win a conference title.
When another kink surfaced in the NCAA tournament, the resilient, adaptable Ducks shook it off and soared.
Off to another Sweet 16.
Chris Duarte scored 23 points and Oregon showed no signs of rust after a long layoff, beating No. 2 seed Iowa 95-80 on Monday to reach the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the past five NCAA tournaments.
"The guys fought through it, they stayed together," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "I'm proud of the way they responded."
The seventh-seeded Ducks (21-6) were put in an unprecedented spot, advancing to the West Region's second round without playing a game. Virginia Commonwealth's multiple positive COVID-19 tests took care of that, leaving Oregon with a nine-day break since losing in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals.
Oregon's offense hummed like it was fresh off the line once the ball went up, kicking off the NCAA Tournament's first Monday of second-round games with a masterpiece.
The Ducks flowed on the floor and glowed on the scoresheet, shooting 56% and hitting 11 3-pointers. LJ Figueroa hit five 3s while scoring 21 points and Will Richardson added 19 points in an offensive domination.
Oregon moves on to face either Kansas or Southern Cal in the Sweet 16.
"We just said keep our foot on the gas," Duarte said. "We did and it was a lot of fun."
The Ducks' sweet offensive movements left the Hawkeyes (22-9) flailing, one game short of the Sweet 16 for the fourth time under Fran McCaffery.
Luka Garza played like a two-time All-American, bulling in for three-point plays, hitting mid-range jumpers and dropping in the occasional 3. He capped his stellar college career by tying the Iowa tournament record with 36 points and grabbing nine rebounds before receiving a nice ovation from the limited crowd.
Joe Wieskamp added 17 points.
Iowa's Luka Garza (55) hugs a teammate following a second-round game against Oregon in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Monday, March 22, 2021, in Indianapolis. Oregon won 95-80. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Michigan 86, LSU 78
INDIANAPOLIS - Top-seeded Michigan salvaged the Big Ten's best hope for NCAA tournament glory Monday, getting 21 points each from Chaundee Brown and Eli Brooks in a a roller-coaster win over LSU.
In a game full of big runs, the Wolverines (22-4) used the biggest - 14-1 over the decisive stretch midway through the second half - to pull away and preserve a glimmer of hope for a conference that has mostly tanked these four days in Indianapolis.
After the win, Michigan and Maryland - which played later Monday - were the only teams left for the Big Ten after it placed a nation-leading nine in the bracket.
Michigan moved on to its fourth straight Sweet 16, where it will play Florida State next weekend.
After Michigan took a one-point lead into halftime, this game had massive momentum swings: an 8-0 run early for LSU (19-10); a 10-0 streak for Michigan; another 5-0 run for the Tigers.
But during the stretch that opened things up, Michigan did what typical Big Ten teams are supposed to do - wore down smaller, less-deep opponents with height and shooting.
Brown, the 6-foot-5 guard, did the most-lasting damage, making six free throws and a 3-pointer during the decisive stretch that gave the Wolverines a 72-64 lead with 5:55 left.
Then it was 7-1 freshman Hunter Dickenson (12 points, 11 rebounds) and 6-9 projected first-round NBA pick Franz Wagner (15 and seven) who shut down LSU with defense.
LSU's Cameron Thomas finished with 30 points but it took 23 shots, and he went 3 for 10 in the second half.
One of the misses came on a rejection underneath by Dickenson, and moments later, Javonte Smart suffered the same fate. His 27 points kept LSU in range in the second half, but Wagner rejected him underneath at the end of that stretch.
UCLA 67, Abilene Christian 47
INDIANAPOLIS - Johnny Juzang scored 17 points and 11th-seeded UCLA carefully brushed off pesky Abilene Christian to become the fifth team to go from First Four to Sweet 16.
The Bruins (20-9) meet the winner of Maryland-Alabama in their first regional semifinal appearance since 2017 - and their first with second-year coach Mick Cronin.
UCLA started its tournament Thursday by rallying to beat Michigan State in overtime and is the first team to rise from First Four to the round of 16 since Syracuse in 2018. VCU in 2011 is the only First Four team to advanced past the regional semifinals, when the Rams went to the Final Four.
Abilene Christian (24-5) pulled off one of the most surprising victories in a tournament filled with them, beating third-seeded Texas for the school's first Division I NCAA victory Saturday.
Creighton 72, Ohio 58
INDIANAPOLIS - Marcus Zegarowski scored 20 points to help Creighton beat Ohio, securing the program's first trip to the round of 16 in 47 years.
Damien Jefferson added 15 points for the Bluejays (22-8), the fifth seed in the West Region. They had a cold opening few minutes before the offense - and Zegarowski in particular - got rolling with a strong performance that built a double-digit lead by halftime against an upstart trying to spring a second straight tournament upset.
That lead grew to 21 points in the opening minutes of the second half, and the Bluejays never let the 13th-seeded Bobcats (17-8) get closer than nine from there.
Dwight Wilson III scored 12 points to lead Ohio, the Mid-American Conference champion.
Florida State 71, Colorado 53
INDIANAPOLIS - Anthony Polite scored a career-high 22 points and No. 4 seed Florida State pulled away in the second half to beat Colorado and advance to the Sweet 16 for the third straight time.
Polite had never scored more than 15 points in a game, but the junior made 8 of 12 shots, including 4 of 7 3-pointers. Florida State (18-6) advanced to face East region No. 1 seed Michigan, which knocked out the Seminoles in the 2018 Elite Eight.
D'Shawn Schwartz scored 13 points for fifth-seeded Colorado (23-9), which shot 36% overall.