March Madness bracket updates, live scores: Kentucky taking on Iowa State; Purdue advances to Sweet 16; Florida, UConn return in NCAA tournament action

Nate Heise hits a corner 3 in the closing seconds of the half to give the Cyclones a lead at the break. Despite shooting just 29%, ISU is in front.

Iowa State is shooting 25% overall and 1 of 14 from 3-point range. The Wildcats are taking advantage, leading 28-23 late in the 1st half.

A sloppy stretch for Kentucky (8 turnovers so far) has helped Iowa State get back in this one.

Kentucky leads 22-20 at the under-8 timeout.

Just when things were looking dire for Iowa State, it goes on a 9-0 run to cut Kentucky’s lead to 20-18. Timeout UK with 9:33 in the 1st half.

Denzel Aberdeen is 3 of 3 with two 3s and 8 points already. Kentucky is rolling 20-9 midway through the 1st half.

The Wildcats are finding some success with a few backdoor cuts early, and Iowa State is just 2 for 8 from the field.

Kentucky leads 10-4 at the first commercial break.

Iowa State is without big man Joshua Jefferson, who was injured during the first round on Friday. Can the Cyclones win without one of their key players?

No conference is having a better tournament than the Big Ten so far. With Purdue winning, that makes five teams from the league advancing to the Sweet 16.

Two more Big Ten teams have a chance to join the group as No. 9 Iowa faces No. 1 Florida and No. 7 UCLA faces No. 2 UConn later today.

Braden Smith had a bit of an off game with 8 turnovers, but he also had 8 assists and 12 points. Fletcher Loyer was perfect from 3-point range and only missed one shot. Trey Kaufman-Renn got his underneath.

The Boilermakers advance to the Sweet 16 where they’re face No. 11 Texas.

It’s been a tournament full of favorites winning — and 2-seed Purdue continued the trend in a 79-69 win over 10-seed Miami (FL).

The Boilermakers covered the 7.5-point spread and the game just went over the total of 147.5.

The Boilermakers hold on for the win and advance to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year!

Fletcher Loyer led the way for a red-hot Purdue with 24 points; Trey Kaufman-Renn had 19 points and 9 rebounds. Shelton Henderson led Miami with 18 and 8.

Miami got away with a travel and ended up getting some points out of the possession. We have a good one coming down to the wire!

Purdue 73, Miami 69 | 57.7 seconds left

The Hurricanes are trying to work their way back into this with 2 minutes left and it’s now a 6-point game.

Purdue 73, Miami 67 | 2:01 left

The Boilermakers have a 10-point lead with just 4:30 left. Fletcher Loyer is still on fire; he now has 22 points.

Purdue 70, Miami 60

Cox has returned to the bench and, per the broadcast, is trying to work his leg to a point where he’s comfortable to return to the game.

He had 11 points for the Boilermakers before the injury sent him to the locker room.

The Hurricanes are in a bit of a scoring drought and the Boilermakers are creating a little bit of separation.

Purdue 6, Miami 54 | 7:38 left

We’re at a stoppage in play for another media timeout and the Boilermakers are out in front again. Fletcher Loyer is a perfect 5-for-5 shooting with 4 of those being 3-pointers. He has a game-high 16 points.

Purdue 55, Miami 50 | 11:12 left

The Boilermakers’ fifth-leading scorer planted awkwardly while going up for a layup and went to the floor. He was down for several minutes and went to the locker room, but did walk off under his own power.

He’s questionable to return to the game.

We are back and the two teams are still trading offensively, but the Boilermakers are on a bit of a rally (7-0 run) and Miami has hit a cold stretch.

There isn’t much between the two teams at halftime. They’re both shooting 50% or better from the field and behind the arc.