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Kansas State, Texas A&M pull off only upsets on day 1

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Also by Associated Press:

Kansas State, Texas A&M pull off only upsets on day 1 (March 21, 2008)
Known for baseball prominence, Titans looking to make mark in basketball tournament (March 20, 2008)
Badgers ready for Cal State Fullerton (March 19, 2008)

by Associated Press

Friday, March 21, 2008

WASHINGTON — Mighty, mighty Duke let teeny, tiny Belmont play with the big boys. And, for stretches, get the better of them.

No. 2-seeded Duke actually trailed in the final 15 seconds before barely avoiding the monumental upset, using every last one of Gerald Henderson’s 21 points to edge No. 15 Belmont 71-70 in the first round of the West Regional on Thursday night.

While Belmont couldn’t quite pull off the stunner, it was surprising enough how close this game was. In a matchup between a school with three NCAA titles — that would be Duke, of course — and another that never has won a game in the tournament, it was Henderson’s driving basket with 11.9 seconds left that erased Belmont’s final lead.

After ACC defensive player of the year DeMarcus Nelson stole the ensuing inbounds pass, he was fouled, but he missed at the line. Belmont got the rebound, and one final chance to make history, with 2.2 seconds left. The Bruins’ leading scorer, Justin Hare, got a good look at the basket from about 35 feet away, but his shot clanged off the iron. He winced, and Duke celebrated as though it had won far more than an opening-round game — something it actually failed to do a year ago.

Duke (28-5) advanced this time to face West Virginia on Saturday.

And Belmont (25-9) can go home with heads held high.

West Virginia 75, Arizona 65

WASHINGTON — West Virginia’s prowess from long range made Arizona’s 24th consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament another one-and-done performance.

Alex Ruoff scored 21 points, Da’Sean Butler had 19, and the Mountaineers won.

West Virginia (25-10) took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Ruoff with 17:43 left, and another jumper by Rouff from beyond the arc made it 48-39. After Arizona closed to 60-59, two 3-pointers by Darris Nichols and another by Ruoff sealed the victory.

Chase Budinger led Arizona (19-15) with 23 points, and Jordan Hill had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Xavier 73, Georgia 61

WASHINGTON — Derrick Brown’s 19 points and 11 rebounds led a balanced-as-usual offense, and No. 3-seeded Xavier avoided a big upset by rallying to overcome fading Georgia.

Super-sub Josh Duncan scored 20 for the Musketeers (28-6), who trailed by as many as 11 in the second half but conjured up a 22-6 run to come back.

Xavier will play Purdue on Saturday in the second round.

Terrance Woodbury had 16 points and do-everything guard Sundiata Gaines’ finished with 13 for Georgia (17-17), which could not sustain the energy it summoned during last week’s run to the SEC tournament title.

Purdue 90, Baylor 79

WASHINGTON — Keaton Grant scored 17 points and Purdue built a 19-point halftime lead, then cruised to its 10th straight in the first round since 1993.

E’Twaun Moore added 16 for the sixth-seeded Boilermakers (25-8), who have won 15 of 18.

Baylor, meanwhile, will have to wait another year before seeking to end a 58-year winless drought in the NCAA tournament. The Bears (21-11) were making their first trip to the tournament since 1988 and second since 1950.

Texas A&M 67, BYU 62

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Josh Carter scored 26 points, matching his career high, as Texas A&M defeated Brigham Young, handing the Cougars their sixth straight opening-round loss.

Joseph Jones added 10 points and 12 rebounds for the ninth-seeded Aggies.

Jonathan Tavernari led BYU with 15 points. The Aggies (25-10) advanced to face top-seeded UCLA.

UCLA 70, Mississippi Valley St. 29

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Freshman Kevin Love scored 20 points as top-seeded UCLA (32-3) cruised to victory against overmatched Mississippi Valley State.

Mississippi Valley State (17-16) scored the fewest points in the tournament since 1946, when Baylor had 29 in a loss to Oklahoma State. The Delta Devils also set a tournament record for fewest points in a first-round game, breaking the mark of 32 by Wisconsin against Missouri State in 1999.

South Regional

Marquette 74, Kentucky 66

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jerel McNeal scored 20 points and Wesley Matthews hit eight free throws in the final 31 seconds to help Marquette beat Kentucky in the first round of the South Regional.

The Golden Eagles overcame 35 points by Kentucky senior Joe Crawford, who matched a career high before fouling out. Ramel Bradley added 19 for the Wildcats (18-13).

Sixth-seeded Marquette (25-9) earned its first NCAA tournament victory since 2003. Marquette gets third-seeded Stanford next.

Stanford 77, Cornell 53

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Kenny Brown scored 18 points and third-seeded Stanford earned its first NCAA tournament win since 2004, routing Cornell in a matchup of players as good with the books as they are with a basketball.

Lewis Dale, the Ivy League player of the year, scored 12 points, Adam Gore had 11 and Alex Tyler 10 for 14th-seeded Cornell (22-6), which had its 16-game winning streak snapped. The Ivy League hasn’t won an NCAA tournament game since 1998.

The Cardinal (27-7) outscored Cornell 43-11 over both halves for a 58-23 lead.

Pittsburgh 82, Oral Roberts 63

DENVER — Levance Fields scored 23 points, Sam Young finished with 14 and Pittsburgh won its sixth straight game.

Fourth-seeded Pitt (27-9) is making its seventh straight NCAA tournament appearance, though none of those previous teams have made it past the third round.

Next up, an intriguing matchup Saturday against fifth-seeded Michigan State, a team with a big-and-brawny reputation much like Pitt’s.

Robert Jarvis had 16 points for the Golden Eagles (24-9), who won the Summit League tourney to make their third straight trip to the NCAAs.

Michigan State 72, Temple 61

DENVER — Raymar Morgan led a balanced attack with 15 points and Michigan State advanced despite a sudden shooting slump from spark plug Drew Neitzel.

Last year, Neitzel was the Spartans’ only option on offense. Now, he’s got scorers swarming all around. Chris Allen scored 12 points and fellow freshmen Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers each added eight for fifth-seeded Michigan State (26-8).

Mark Tyndale scored 16 points for Temple (21-13).

Midwest Regional

Kansas 85, Portland State 61

OMAHA, Neb. — Brandon Rush scored 18 points and everyone wearing blue had a blast, as top-seeded Kansas began its NCAA tournament with a rout of overmatched Portland.

Kansas will play eighth-seeded UNLV in the second round on Saturday.

The Jayhawks (32-3) led all the way against the Vikings (23-10), 22-point underdogs who simply didn’t have enough weapons to cope with the size, depth and skill of a Big 12 power.

UNLV 71, Kent St. 58

OMAHA, Neb. — Joe Darger scored 18 points and UNLV tied an NCAA tournament record by holding Kent State to just 10 points in the first half.

The Mid-American Conference champions averaged a turnover a minute the better part of the first half, went almost 8 minutes without a point and trailed 31-10 at halftime. And that was with UNLV shooting under 40 percent and committing nine turnovers of its own.

The 10 points were the fewest since Wake Forest scored that many against Butler in 2001.

Darger made four 3-pointers and Wink Adams scored 17 for UNLV (27-7).

Mike Scott led Kent State (28-7) with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Kansas State 80, USC 67

OMAHA, Neb. — Turns out, Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo weren’t the only freshmen on the court.

Redshirt freshman Bill Walker scored 22 points, true freshmen Jacob Pullen and Ron Anderson also reached double figures, and Kansas State’s Kiddie Corps moved on in the NCAA tournament, beating Mayo-led USC.

Beasley overcame early trouble to have another big game for the Wildcats (21-11), scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for the 27th double-double of his brilliant — and likely only — college season.

The Wildcats moved on to face third-seeded Wisconsin.

East Regional

Washington State 71, Winthrop 40

DENVER — Washington State broke away from a halftime tie to whip Winthrop (22-12) behind 19 points and eight rebounds from Aron Baynes.

Kyle Weaver and Robbie Cowgill each had 14 and Derrick Low scored 11 for Washington State (25-8), which will play Notre Dame in the second round on Saturday at the Pepsi Center.

The Cougars, who are 51-16 under Tony Bennett, broke open a 29-29 halftime tie with a 23-4 run to cruise to their second straight opening-round win in the NCAA tournament.

Notre Dame 68, George Mason 50

DENVER — Luke Harangody had 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead fifth-seeded Notre Dame (25-7) to its first tournament victory in five years.

The 12th-seeded Patriots (23-11) had two starters left from their magical run to the Final Four in 2006, a string of games that showed little guys still can break through and turn March Madness into a true free-for-all for more than just a game or two.

One of those players, Will Thomas, had a great game — 10-for-14 for 25 points and seven rebounds, and had his head buried in a towel as the clock ran down. But really, this George Mason was nothing like that George Mason, and the first day of the tournament ended with its big-name underdog on the way home.

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