Liberty pulls off upset, 12-seeds go 3-1 in the NCAA tournament

It’s always a smart bet to pick at least one 12-seed in your March Madness bracket, and the quartet of Murray State, Oregon, Liberty and New Mexico State very nearly went a perfect 4-0 in 2019.

Murray State’s Ja Morant posted a rare NCAA tournament triple-double to lead the Racers past Marquette on Thursday, and No. 5 Auburn avoided a total collapse and eked out a 78-77 win over New Mexico State.

On the second day of the first round, Pac-12 tournament champion Oregon dominated No. 5 Wisconsin, 72-54, and the Liberty Flames won the first tournament game in program history in a thriller.

Liberty trailed Mississippi State 67-59 with six minutes remaining, but the Flames hit three crucial shots from long range to take control of the game. After cutting the deficit to a single point with a three-pointer and a dunk, Liberty’s Caleb Homesley capped a personal 8-0 run and gave Liberty the lead with a deep three over two defenders.

Mississippi State regained the lead at the free-throw line, but Lovell Cabbil Jr. hit an unguarded three with 1:17 remaining to regain the lead.

Liberty went on to close the game out at the line, and will move on to play either No. 4 Virginia Tech or No. 13 Saint Louis.