Joel Scott scores 23 as Colorado State routs Virginia 67-42 to cap Day 1 of March Madness

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Joel Scott had 23 points and 11 rebounds as Colorado State won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in 11 years, blowing out Virginia 67-42 in the First Four on Tuesday night.

Nique Clifford scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Rams (25-10), who advance as a No. 10 seed to play seventh-seeded Texas in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday.

Reece Beekman had 15 points on 4-of-16 shooting for Virginia, which hasn't won an NCAA Tournament game since it won the national title in 2019. That stretch includes two first-round losses as a No. 4 seed.

The Cavaliers' ugly performance ignited more debate about whether they should have made the tournament field. Although Virginia finished third in the Atlantic Coast Conference, it had just two Quad 1 wins and struggled offensively all season.

Colorado State dominated the boards and the Cavaliers couldn’t keep up, shooting 25% for the game. The Rams shot 55%, out-rebounded the Cavaliers 43-24 and scored 36 points in the paint.

Virginia finished with the second-fewest points by an ACC team in the NCAA Tournament, trailing only coach Tony Bennett's 2017 Cavaliers squad, which lost 65-39 to Florida in the second round.

Virginia shot terribly from the beginning, with Colorado State building a 27-14 lead at the break.

The Cavaliers hit 5 of 29 shots — 17% — in the first half, failing to get a basket in the last 9:20. Beekman was 1 of 9, while Scott had 10 points for the Rams at the break.

The Rams scored the first eight points of the second half before Virginia got another basket.

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Colorado State will play Texas at 6:50 p.m. EDT on Thursday.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness