NCAA tournament: West Virginia squeezes past Buffalo, 68-62, to advance

Tarik Phillip hit a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left while the shot clock was winding down, adding the clinching points as fifth-seeded West Virginia held off No. 12 Buffalo 68-62 on Friday in their NCAA Tournament opener.

The Mountaineers (24-9) advance to Sunday’s game against the winner of 13th-seeded Valparaiso (28-5) and No. 4 Maryland (27-6).

Devin Williams, who led the Mountaineers with 17 points and nine rebounds, hit two free throws with 2:10 left to give his team the lead for good.

Mid-American Conference Tournament champion Buffalo (23-10) did not score over the final 2:42 against the physical Mountaineers.

Juwan Staten had 15 points and seven assists for West Virginia, with Daxter Miles Jr. adding 10 points.

Xavier Ford had 11 of his 16 points in the second half for the Bulls, with Shannon Evans adding 15 points.