The Clemson Tigers came out of the gate firing in the first NCAA Tournament game of the day and looked poised to run West Virginia out of the building in Tampa. The Mountaineers, however, weathered the storm, mounting a comeback before the half and going on a run of their own in the second to pull away from the Tigers.
Clemson had closed the gap to four after two Tanner Smith free throws, but it was all West Virginia from there. Joe Mazzulla hit two free throws and Dalton Pepper used relentless full-court pressure to force three-straight Clemson turnovers, two of which led to easy buckets. A quick six-point run allowed the Tigers to seal the game and advance to the round of 32 with an 84-76 win.
Darryl Bryant finished with a team-high 19 points to lead the Mountaineers. Andre Young scored a game-high 22 points, but it wasn't enough for Clemson. Kevin Jones had a game-high nine rebounds for West Virginia and Mazzulla finished with a game-high seven assists.
Here's the updated East region bracket after West Virginia's win. You can find a full, printable NCAA bracket at SB Nation.
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 16 Texas-SA
No. 8 George Mason vs. No. 9 Villanova
No. 5 WVU def. No. 12 Clemson, 84-76
No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 13 Princeton
No. 2 UNC vs. No. 15 Long Island
No. 7 Washington vs. No. 10 Georgia.
No. 3 Syracuse vs.No. 14 Indiana State
No. 8 Xavier vs. No. 11 Marquette
For more scores and stats throughout the day, check out our March Madness scores StoryStream. Check out Thursday's full March Madness schedule to figure out when and where to find all the day's games.