The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Ric Hanson.

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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Ohio State upset sixth-seeded Iowa State in the opening round of the Midwest Region. The 62-59 victory earned the 11th-seeded Buckeyes a second-round game against Houston. Kaleb Wesson had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead Ohio State. Keyshawn Woods added 19 points. Iowa State led just once in the second half but had a chance to send the game into overtime when Nick Weiler-Babb missed an open 3.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Jordan Roundtree hit a free throw after being fouled with 1.1 seconds left in overtime and seventh-seeded Missouri beat Drake 77-76 to advance to the NCAA Tournament’s round of 32 for the third time in four years. Sophie Cunningham scored 21 points and Cierra Porter had 18 for the Tigers (24-10), who can advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001 with a win over second-seeded and host Iowa on Sunday.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Luka Garza scored 20 points, Jordan Bohannon made a three-point play during Iowa’s closing surge, and the 10th-seeded Hawkeyes rallied for a 79-72 victory over No. 7 Cincinnati. The Big Ten sent eight teams into the field, the most in its history, and won seven of its first eight games, Wisconsin’s loss to Oregon the only blemish in the opening round.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Evan Leonard hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start a run of 12 straight points in the second half that sent No. 13 seed UC Irvine to a 70-64 upset over fourth-seeded Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Anteaters held on after that run and stunned the regular-season co-champions of the Big 12 for the first tournament win in school history.

UNDATED (AP) — A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press the Cardinals and slugging first baseman Paul Goldschmidt are nearing completion of a $130 million, five-year deal that will make him the highest-paid player in club history. The Cardinals acquired the 31-year-old Goldschmidt in a trade with Arizona. He had just one year left on his contract, though, and his new deal would keep him with St. Louis through 2024.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Ohio State went from barely making the NCAA Tournament to a spot in the second round. Kaleb Wesson had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the 11th-seeded Buckeyes to a 62-59 upset of sixth-seeded Iowa State in the Midwest Region on Friday night. Keyshawn Woods added 19 points for Ohio State (20-14), which will play No. 3 seed Houston on Sunday for a spot in the round of 16. Musa Jallow added 11 points for Ohio State.

Iowa State (23-12) led just once in the second half but had a chance to send the game into overtime when Nick Weiler-Babb had an open attempt at a game-tying 3. His shot missed and ended the season for the Cyclones, who won the Big 12 Tournament to earn a spot in the NCAAs.

“We just weren’t good enough tonight,” Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said. “We still had opportunities down the stretch. We couldn’t get it done. I hate it for these guys because the finale came a lot quicker than I was thinking. I really thought we had a chance to do something.”

Marial Shayok scored 23 points and Lindell Wigginton added 14 for Iowa State. The Cyclones fell back into some of their inconsistency — they lost three straight heading into the Big 12 Tournament before winning it. It’s a disappointing finish for a team that started the season 12-2.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — For second-seeded Iowa, Friday’s win over 15th-seeded Mercer felt more like survival than vindication after nearly making the worst kind of history imaginable. Megan Gustafson scored 30 points with 16 rebounds and the second-seeded Hawkeyes narrowly avoided a monumental upset, holding off No. 15 Mercer 66-61 for their first NCAA Tournament win in four years.

Iowa coach Lisa Bluder thought the idea that a Mercer team on a 17-game winning streak would be a 15 seed was “kind of crazy” — and the Bears proved her right.
“We personally liked our seed. We didn’t love our opponent,” Bluder said. “We played against somebody that was much more difficult than a 15 seed. Everybody can recognize and understand that.”

Makenzie Meyer added 16 for the Hawkeyes (27-6), who pushed the record for two seeds in the opening round since the field expanded to 64 teams to 101-0. This was the second time in three years that a No. 15 seed almost beat a 2 seed. Oregon State staved off Long Beach State 56-55 in 2017.

“There might have been a little (bit of) jitters collectively,” Gustafson said. “I feel like it was good to be able to get the win no matter how ugly it was.” UP NEXT:
Iowa will face seventh-seeded Missouri, which edged Drake 77-76 in OT.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Just moments after the worst foul of her career, Drake’s Becca Hittner got her chance for redemption. Hittner’s wide-open jumper as time expired instead clanked off the back of the rim, a cruel reminder that for every March buzzer-beater there’s a potential game winner that ends in anguish.

Jordan Roundtree hit a free throw after being fouled with 1.1 seconds left in overtime and seventh-seeded Missouri held off Drake 77-76 on Friday to advance to the NCAA Tournament’s round of 32 for the third time in four years.

Sophie Cunningham scored 21 points and Cierra Porter had 18 for the Tigers (24-10), who can advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001 with a win over second-seeded and host Iowa on Sunday. Hittner had 19 and Rhine chipped in with 18 points for Drake (27-7), which bowed out of the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row.

“This one is really painful,” Drake coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “This is a tough one. It’s a really tough one.” The Bulldogs were given an at-large bid after getting upset by Missouri State in the Valley final. They can argue about being under-seeded despite being ranked 21st before that defeat, but at some point Drake has to come through and win an NCAA Tournament game. The Bulldogs were within an inch of doing so at the overtime buzzer though.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Luka Garza scored 20 points, Jordan Bohannon made a three-point play during Iowa’s closing surge, and the 10th-seeded Hawkeyes kept the Big Ten perfect in the NCAA Tournament by rallying for a 79-72 victory over No. 7 seed Cincinnati on Friday. Make it 6-0 for the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes (23-11) got their first NCAA Tournament win in four years despite what amounted to a home crowd for the Bearcats, who couldn’t overcome a subpar game by Jarron Cumberland. Bohannon’s big play with 1:07 left put Iowa up 73-64. Then Bohannon, who has missed only nine free throws all season, made one of two with 18 seconds left to help finish off another Big Ten win.

The league sent eight teams into the field, the most in its history, and five of them won their opening games Thursday. Iowa was the first of three Big Ten teams playing Friday, along with Ohio State and Wisconsin. For Cincinnati (28-7), it was another early flameout. The Bearcats haven’t made it past the opening weekend for seven straight years.

The Hawkeyes were second in the league in scoring but prone to getting blown out when their shots weren’t falling. They had three losses of at least 20 points this season. This one started down that path, too. A trip to the Sweet 16 is up for grabs, as Iowa and #2 seed Tennessee are now set to clash. Tennessee earned a 77-70 win over Colgate in its most recent game, while Iowa won 79-72 against Cincinnati in its last outing. Tennessee beat Colgate 77-70. They’re 2-2 all-time, with Tennessee winning their most recent game, 78-65 in the 2014 First Four in Dayton. Tip-time for Sunday’s game is 11:10-a.m.

CAM star basketball forward Madison Gettler signed on Thursday to continue her academic and basketball career at Morningside College in Sioux City. Gettler is coming off a stellar senior season in which she led the Cougars to the State Basketball Tournament for the first time since 1997.

Gettler announced the signing on social media and said, “Excited to announce that I’m officially a Mustang! Can’t wait to continue my academic and athletic career at Morningside!!”

Gettler finished her CAM career with 1,480 points. She dropped in 467 points this season and averaged 19.5 per contest to lead the team.

Gettler will join a Mustangs team coached by Jamie Sale that went 19-13 during the 2018-19 season. Gettler will join a couple of other area athletes on the Mustangs roster with Exira-EHK alum Sophia Peppers and Harlan alum Jordyn Moser.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior Megan Gustafson has been named one of four finalists for the 2019 Citizen Naismith Trophy, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Friday. The award recognizes the most outstanding women’s college basketball player.

Louisville’s Asia Durr, Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu, and Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale round out the four finalists.

Gustafson has led the Hawkeyes to a 26-6 overall record. Iowa captured its first Big Ten Tournament Title since 2001 on March 10 behind Gustafson’s 45 point and 10 rebound performance against top-seeded Maryland. The tournament title secured a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the Hawkeyes, marking Iowa’s highest seed since 1996.

The ESPNW Player of the Year ranks in the top-four nationally in eight categories. She leads the country in field goal percentage (69.6), points per game (28.0), total points (897), and field goals made (369), ranks second in double-doubles (30) and defensive rebounds per game (10), third in total rebounds (424), and fourth in rebounds per game (13.3).

A native of Port Wing, Wisconsin, Gustafson is the only Hawkeye in program history to win the Big Ten Conference’s Player of the Year award twice. She is the ninth two-time recipient in conference history.

Gustafson looks to become the first from the Big Ten to win the Naismith Trophy.

Beginning today, fans will have a chance to vote for their favorite finalist through April 3, by visiting naismithfanvote.com to cast their ballot. The fan vote will account for five percent of the overall vote. The 2019 Citizen Naismith Trophy for Women’s Player of the Year will be announced on April 6, and the winner will be honored at her school on a later date.

Gustafson and the No. 8/8 Hawkeyes open NCAA Tournament action today, hosting 15th-seeded Mercer at 1 p.m. (CT). The game will be broadcast locally on ESPN2 and streamed nationwide on WatchESPN.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – After one day of action at the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championships, the Iowa State wrestling team (10-4, 6-2 Big 12) is in 11th place with 14.5 team points. Penn State paces the field with 32.5 team points.

Eighth-seeded Jarrett Degen and 10th-seeded Sam Colbray both went 2-0 on day one and have advanced to the quarterfinals at 149 and 184 pounds, respectively. The Cyclones brought nine wrestlers to Pittsburgh and all have advanced to day two of the NCAA Championships.

Championship Second Round
Jarrett Degen was locked in a barnburner with N.C. State’s No. 9 Justin Oliver with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. The two were knotted at 8-8 late in the third before Degen used his patented unconventional offense to secure a late takedown and push his riding time to over a minute to take the match by 11-8 decision.

Sam Colbray was in complete control of his match against No. 26 Dakota Geer of Oklahoma State. Colbray notched three takedowns and rolled to a 7-4 decision and into the quarterfinals.

No. 13 Austin Gomez was the aggressor in his match against No. 4 Micky Phillippi. In the third period, Gomez trailed 1-0 and elected to take neutral. Despite his persistent attack, Phillippi was only called for stalling once. As time expired, Gomez was in on a single leg, but ultimately fell to the Panther, 1-0.

At 197 pounds, No. 11 Christian Brunner got a first period takedown to jump out ahead of No. 6 Willie Miklus. The Boilermaker held on to that lead to push Miklus to the backside of the bracket, 6-2.

Consolation First Round
In session two, the Cyclones wrestling on the backside of the bracket combined to go 5-0 to all reach the second day of competition in Pittsburgh.

No. 23 Chase Straw put on display his toughness and grit on Thursday night. Straw trailed Princeton’s No. 26 Quincy Monday in the third period, 12-5. Straw then reversed Monday and earned a four-point near fall. Monday was dinged for stalling to tie the match at 12-12, sending it to sudden victory. After a scoreless first overtime stanza, the two went to tiebreaker one. Straw rode Monday for the first 30 seconds of TB-1 and then earned and escape to secure a 13-12 victory over the Tiger.

After dropping his first match of the day, No. 19 Alex Mackall bounced back. He surrendered the first takedown to No. 30 Bryce West, but he got to his feet, took the Huskie down and turned him to his back for a fall in 2:54.

No. 17 Ian Parker dominated in his first consolation match. He held an 11-0 lead with over three minutes of riding time before he cranked Rutgers’ No. 33 Peter Lipari for the fall in 5:35.

No. 21 Marcus Coleman made light work of No. 28 Jacob Oliver of Edinboro in the 174-pound consolations. He used three takedowns and over a minute of riding time to beat the Fighting Scott by 9-4 decision.

No. 25 Gannon Gremmel capped off the second session of day one for the Cyclones with a 7-4 victory over Standord’s No. 26 Haydn Maley. The redshirt sophomore tallied three takedowns in the victory.

Championship First Round
The Cyclones went 4-5 in the opening session of the NCAA Championships. Gomez, Degen, Colbray and Miklus all posted dominant victories to advance to the second round.

At 133 pounds, Gomez defeated No. 20 Brandon Paetzell of Lehigh by 11-0 major decision. Degen also scored bonus points for ISU, tacking on a 14-3 major decision against CSU-Bakersfield’s No. 25 Russell Rohlfing, 14-3.

Toward the end of the session, Colbray rolled through No. 23 Jackson Hemauer of Fresno State by 8-2 decision, and Miklus opened his final NCAA tournament with a 6-1 win against Navy’s No. 27 Josh Roetman.

A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press the St. Louis Cardinals and slugging first baseman Paul Goldschmidt are nearing completion of a $130 million, five-year deal that would make him the highest-paid player in club history. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Goldschmidt must still pass a physical, which was expected to take place Friday. An announcement could come Saturday. The Athletic was first to report that a deal was close.

The Cardinals acquired the 31-year-old Goldschmidt in a trade with Arizona, a move that club president John Mozeliak hoped would put the club over the top. Goldschmidt had just one year left on his contract, though, and his new deal would keep him with St. Louis through 2024.

Mozeliak acknowledged to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that “we are working toward something,” but club officials otherwise declined to comment on Goldschmidt’s contract.