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NCAA Men's Tournament - Sunday Capsules: Williams lifts Arizona past Texas
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Derrick Williams is now 2-for-2 in game-saving plays in the NCAA tournament. The Arizona sophomore and Pac-10 player of the year made his second in as many tournament games Sunday night, completing a three-point play with 9.6 seconds remaining to lift the Wildcats to a 70-69 win over Texas.
Williams also had the saving block with 2 seconds remaining in Arizona's opening 77-75 win over Memphis on Friday. He struggled for much of the game Sunday but finished with 17 points, including the final three.
"I wasn't surprised by the block against Memphis," Williams said. "I am a little surprised by the shot I made today. I haven't seen the replay yet, but I wasn't looking at the basket. I was looking down so I wouldn't have a hard fall.
"I was surprised it went in, but at the same time I'm glad it went in."
The win lifts the No. 5 seed Wildcats (29-7) into a regional semifinal matchup with top-seeded Duke on Thursday. It marks a triumphant return to the second weekend of play in the school's first trip back to the tournament after last season's absence ended its 25-year appearance streak.
"I can't tell you how excited we are to be moving on to the Sweet 16," second-year Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "It's one thing to be a part of this tournament, but when you have the experience of advancing, it's second-to-none as a college basketball program, players, coaches."
The win over the No. 4 seed Longhorns didn't come without its share of controversy. Texas (28-8) trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half before J'Covan Brown scored 21 of his 23 in the second to lead the Longhorns back into the game.
Brown was 13 of 13 on free throws, bringing his two-game tournament total to a perfect 25 of 25. His jumper in the lane with just over a minute remaining gave Texas a 69-67 lead, its first since it was up 12-11 early in the game.
The shot appeared as though it would keep the Longhorns in the lead for good after Williams misfired on a go-ahead attempt with 14.5 seconds remaining. Texas freshman Tristan Thompson blocked the attempt, which Jordan Hamilton corralled before calling a timeout for the Longhorns.
Following the timeout is when the fun began, at least for Arizona. Texas' Cory Joseph struggled to inbound the ball against the swarming Wildcats defense and appeared to call a timeout.
However, referee Richard Cartmell called Joseph for a five-second violation, though replays showed he appeared to make the call before reaching five.
"I had five seconds before the kid turned and signaled a timeout," Cartmell said in a statement. "I had to make a decision whether it was five seconds or a timeout, and I made the decision it was five seconds because I had counted five seconds before he called timeout."
Texas coach Rick Barnes only wished afterward that replays could have been used to determine if the correct call had been made.
"They have rules in other leagues and even on an out-of-bounds play," Barnes said. "There are certain things that can be corrected. In our game, there's not.
"We've got to be willing to make the rules that are right. Because at the very end if you truly want the players to determine it, the officials have to be willing, the NCAA has to be willing to say, OK, we're going to get this right."
The Wildcats took advantage of their second chance. Following the inbound, Williams set a pick for Kyle Fogg and slipped underneath the Texas defense before receiving a pass from Fogg. Williams then drove the baseline and made the blind shot to tie the game at 69 while being fouled by his former AAU teammate Hamilton.
"To be honest, I didn't even feel contact at all," Hamilton said. "But the ref made up his mind and called a foul. There's nothing we can do about it now."
Williams' free throw put Arizona up 70-69 with 9.6 seconds remaining, leaving plenty of time for one final chance for the Longhorns.
Brown brought the ball up the court and drove into the lane and a trio of Wildcats defenders, including Williams. His wild shot went high off the glass and missed, leaving a mad scramble for the ball underneath the basket as time expired.
"Every player's going to think he got fouled in that situation, but it's hard for the refs to call it when the game's on the line," Brown said. "But things happen. I'm just trying to move on from it."
Kansas avoids upset against Illinois
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — One year ago, Kansas' players covered their heads in towels, drooping in the locker room after an upset loss that seemed unfathomable. Now, they're jumping for joy.
In a bracket filled with upsets, the Jayhawks are the last favorite standing after a 73-59 win Sunday night against Illinois ensured they wouldn't make an opening-weekend exit from the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.
"Those guys have been reminded of Northern Iowa every day for the last 365 days," coach Bill Self said. "It was good to get that monkey off our back, so to speak, but there's bigger fish to fry.
"Now it's time to go play."
Twin brothers Marcus and Markieff Morris combined for 41 points and 24 rebounds, powering the Jayhawks ahead in the second half against an opponent that was no mid-major upstart. Demetri McCamey and Mike Davis both put their names into the NBA draft before returning for one last season with the senior-laden Fighting Illini (20-14), who were once ranked as high as No. 12.
The Morris twins scored 24 of Kansas' first 29 points in the second half, punctuated by consecutive two-handed slams by Markieff that made it 62-51 with 3:51 to play. After an Illinois turnover at the other end, the twins each followed Tyshawn Taylor in making leaping spins into teammates to start a timeout.
In the final minute, Self pulled his veterans, and they were able to give fist bumps to teammates all down the bench, and even the mascot.
"It feels good. It feels like we've got a lot of pressure off our shoulders," said Markieff Morris, who had 24 points and 12 rebounds. "It feels good to go to San Antonio. ... Now that we got past this weekend, we got over the hump and we're ready for next weekend."
Kansas will play 12th-seeded Richmond on Friday in the Southwest regional semifinals, which will feature No. 11 seed VCU against 10th-seeded Florida State on the other side.
"There's a reason they're in the Sweet 16," Kansas guard Tyrel Reed said. "They're good teams. It doesn't matter what the number next to them said in the beginning, they're here now."
The Jayhawks (34-2) avoided revisiting their loss to another No. 9 seed, Northern Iowa, exactly a year earlier and also on Oklahoma soil.
"I think there was a little bit of extra pressure today. I think in large part, we had the same exact record as last year, you go in as a No. 1 seed and last year's team didn't get it done," Self said. "This year's team had an opportunity to do something that last year's team didn't do."
Davis led the Fighting Illini (20-14) with 17 points, D.J. Richardson scored 15 and Mike Tisdale chipped in 13 points and 11 rebounds for Illinois. McCamey was hardly a factor, finishing with just six points and seven assists. The Illini had been 15-0 when he had at least seven assists this season.
"I think he got frustrated, he got down on himself," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "We just kept saying, 'Hang in there, hang in there, you're going to make a play.'"
McCamey didn't make his first basket of the second half until there was 2:15 left, after Markieff Morris followed his earlier throwdowns with another two-handed alley-oop slam that he had to reach down and retrieve before dunking to make it 66-51.
That completed a 10-0 surge that finally put away the Fighting Illini.
"Down the stretch, they just kind of took over. Too many dunks, too many easy shots," said Weber, who lost the first meeting between the schools since he replaced Self as Illinois' coach in 2003.
Weber had held a mock funeral in his first season with the Illini to encourage everyone in Champaign to move on after Self did exactly that.
Kansas' players noticed all the hubbub, and Marcus Morris broke the pregame huddle by telling the Jayhawks to win this one for Self. After all, Self had told the Jayhawks to win for the Morris twins when they played against Temple this season in their hometown of Philadelphia.
"I felt like we just needed to return the favor," said Marcus Morris, who had 17 points and 12 boards.
The Jayhawks raged out to an 18-6 advantage in the first 6½ minutes and didn't trail again. Markieff Morris nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key, giving a confident nod of his head after it went through, and Reed followed with his own 3. After a timeout, Elijah Johnson skied for a two-handed throwdown of Marcus Morris' alley-oop pass and the Jayhawks were up by a dozen with 13:39 still left before halftime.
The Illini, retreating toward midcourt with the shot clock running out, got a lift when Brandon Paul's 25-footer from the top of the key dropped in for 3 and eventually pulled back within 28-25 when Richardson finished off a 10-2 comeback with a 3-pointer from the right wing.
The Illini were within two after Tisdale's jumper to open the second half, and again after Davis' hook shot a few moments later, but never could find out if the Jayhawks would get nervous if they got behind.
The Jayhawks had been down this road before, and never liked it much. Before Northern Iowa, they had another bad experience in Oklahoma City back in 1998, heading home early after a loss to eighth-seeded Rhode Island. Back in 1992, Kansas lost to No. 9 seed UTEP in Dayton, Ohio. All time, the Jayhawks were just 3-2 against No. 9 seeds in their second tournament game.
Stanford is the only other team that's failed even twice to make it to the round of 16 as a top seed.
There's nothing more to add to that dubious history now.
-- Jeff Latzke
Charlotte, N.C.
Duke holds off Michigan for Coach K's 900th win
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Duke is no stranger to this situation: Facing an underdog with uncanny touch from 3-point range, one that's racing downcourt in the closing seconds, scrambling for one last shot at some NCAA tournament magic.
This time, it was Michigan's turn to miss.
Nolan Smith scored 24 points and the top-seeded Blue Devils held their breath as the Wolverines' last shot clanged off the iron, sealing a 73-71 win Sunday that marked the 900th victory of coach Mike Krzyzewski's Hall of Fame career.
"The 900, it means that we're advancing," Krzyzewski said. "That's the main thing."
Kyle Singler added 13 points for the Blue Devils (32-4), who shot 51 percent, never trailed in the second half and advanced to the round of 16 for the 12th time in 14 years. Next stop: Anaheim, Calif., for the West regional semifinals against fifth-seeded Arizona on Thursday night.
Parts of this game felt awfully familiar for Duke, which capped its run to the national championship last year with a dramatic two-point victory over Butler that wasn't settled until Gordon Hayward's halfcourt heave ricocheted off the glass and the iron at the buzzer.
"We told our kids it would be like playing Butler in the national championship — a very similar, tough-minded, really, really good basketball team," Krzyzewski said. "I'm proud of our effort and obvious ecstatic that we're moving on."
One key difference: The eighth-seeded Wolverines (21-14) gave themselves a much cleaner look on their final shot.
Michigan, which trailed by 15 with 10:51 to play, clawed within one point twice in the final 90 seconds before Smith missed a free throw with 8.7 seconds left to give the Wolverines one last chance.
Darius Morris zipped downcourt and put up a runner in the lane with 2 seconds left, but the shot bounced off the back iron and the rebound went to Smith at the buzzer.
Morris finished with 16 points to lead Michigan, which made seven 3-pointers — the most allowed by Duke in a month.
Kyrie Irving and Ryan Kelly scored 11 points apiece for the Blue Devils, who won their eighth straight game in the NCAA tournament.
"I don't want to take this Duke jersey off. As simple as that," Smith said. "Every game could be my last."
Krzyzewski improved to 900-283 in his 36th season and can catch his mentor and college coach for first on the career list next weekend. He would match Bob Knight with a victory in the regional final, and would pass him with one win in Houston that also would put the reigning national champions back in the title game.
"There will be a lot of guys who will win 900 games eventually, but to be the first two and for it to be a coach and his player to do it, it's something very unique," Krzyzewski said.
Still, Michigan nearly made Coach K wait until next year — or at least work overtime — to try for No. 900.
Coach John Beilein frustrated Duke by mixing his defenses, and Tim Hardaway Jr. reeled off seven consecutive points down the stretch, capped by a 3-pointer that made it 70-69 with 1:27 remaining.
"That's all we needed to do was make a shot," Beilein said "This has been (a) pretty common thread with us this year, that we've been able to get back because we play pretty sound defense and we can hit a couple 3s back to back and change a game."
Duke milked the clock before Irving's banked-in jumper with 32 seconds left, but Morris followed that with a layup that cut it to 72-71 with 10 seconds to go.
The Wolverines fouled Smith with 8.7 seconds left, and he made his first attempt but missed the second. Zack Novak got the rebound and got it to Morris, who headed straight for the lane and put up Michigan's last shot. After the horn sounded, Morris lay face-down on the floor and repeatedly slapped the court with his palm in frustration.
"Darius got a great shot off, (a) shot he hits a lot in practice," teammate Stu Douglass said. "When it was in the air, I thought it was going down."
Hardaway scored 15 points, Evan Smotrycz had 13, Novak scored 12 and Jordan Morgan finished with 10 for the Wolverines, who don't have a senior on the roster. They were denied their first trip to the round of 16 since 1994.
"It's a group that never gave up the whole year," Novak said of a team that came back from a 1-6 start to Big Ten play to finish "an inch away from the Sweet 16 (and) defeating the defending national champion."
This was the first postseason meeting between the two big-name schools since the 1992 national championship game, won by Christian Laettner and the Blue Devils over the Wolverines and the Fab Five.
That became especially relevant in the wake of a recent ESPN documentary in which Jalen Rose said Duke "only recruited black players that were 'Uncle Toms'" and former Blue Devils star Grant Hill criticized him for those comments. Krzyzewski spent much of this week downplaying that story line while repeatedly declining comment on that era, saying it had no bearing on the present-day team.
This time, the Blue Devils slogged through a largely uninspired afternoon and allowed the scrappy Wolverines to hang around.
And with 16:59 to play, Krzyzewski had seen enough.
After Smith missed a layup and the rebound went out of bounds, Coach K called a timeout and could be seen zipping from side to side in the Duke huddle. At some point during the break, Krzyzewski took off his suit coat — a clear sign that he meant business — and coached the rest of the game without it.
"I just thought we needed more energy," Krzyzewski said.
-- Joedy McCreary
North Carolina edges Washington
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's Roy Williams woke up Sunday morning feeling ill. The Hall of Fame coach then had to endure one stomach-turning play after another in a dramatic and confusing finish that left the Tar Heels in a familiar spot: the NCAA tournament's round of 16.
Tyler Zeller scored 23 points, Harrison Barnes added 22 and North Carolina survived a closing minute that included numerous questionable calls to beat Washington 86-83 in the East regional. The Tar Heels are into the second weekend for a record 24th time.
"I told the kids to take care of the old man and they did a good job," Williams said. "I feel a heck of a lot better now."
Rallying from deficits of 11 points in the first half and five in the second, the second-seeded Tar Heels (28-7) went ahead for good on Barnes' 3-pointer with 4:06 left.
But they needed two late free throws from Dexter Strickland and two defensive stops in the final second to advance to play No. 11 seed Marquette on Friday in Newark, N.J.
"For our lack of experience," Barnes said, "we make up for that with heart."
Terrence Ross scored 19 points and Matthew Bryan-Amaning added 14 for the seventh-seeded Huskies (24-11), who couldn't overcome a subpar game from star guard Isaiah Thomas and a hostile crowd to pull the upset in a fast-paced game full of entertaining plays and mental miscues.
"All of our guys fought and did so many things right that could have enabled us to win the ballgame," coach Lorenzo Romar said, "but we didn't get it done."
Washington, which came in with as many NCAA tournament wins (18) as North Carolina has Final Four appearances, nearly pulled off a dramatic comeback in a virtual road game 2,800 miles from home.
Washington got within 84-83 on Ross' 3-pointer with 17.3 seconds left before North Carolina's Kendall Marshall — who set a school NCAA tournament record with 14 assists — missed the front end of a 1-and-1 at the foul line.
Washington's Venoy Overton then missed a runner in the lane, but the ball bounced off North Carolina and out of bounds with 7.4 seconds left. On the inbound play, 6-foot-10 John Henson knocked away Justin Holiday's pass under the basket and the ball landed in Strickland's hands, and he hit two free throws with 5.4 seconds left.
Moments later, Overton launched a premature halfcourt shot with about 3 seconds remaining that fell well short. Romar indicated that Overton was anticipating getting fouled, something Williams said the Tar Heels planned to do to prevent a tying 3-point attempt.
That wasn't the end of it, though. Not at all.
Instead of letting the errant shot go harmlessly out of bounds, Henson touched the ball on the way down to give the Huskies yet another chance.
"I told John I wished he just caught that ball," Williams said.
But how much time was left? Replays with the official game clock superimposed on the screen showed there should have been 1.1 or 1.2 seconds to go, giving Washington more time for a final shot. Romar said after the game that his staff asked the referees to review how much time should have been left, but the officials stuck with half a second.
"There's always a lag time between the time the play occurs and the whistle is blown and the clock stops," official Doug Shows told a pool reporter. "By rule, the clock stops when the whistle blows. We were asked to check the time and we verified that it was accurate with the standby official and the clock operator."
Needing to hurry, the Huskies then inbounded the ball to Thomas, who unloaded a shot from the corner. Henson inexplicably touched the ball just before it would have hit the rim and the Washington bench erupted for a goaltending call — not that it would have mattered.
It turned out Thomas had his foot on the 3-point line.
"I kind of felt like it was going to be short because I had to fade away and had to get if off quickly," Thomas said. "I might have had my left foot on the line."
It was a frustrating end to a frustrating day for the star of the Pac-10 tournament. With Strickland in Thomas' jersey all game, the dynamic point guard finished with 12 points and eight assists on 5-of-15 shooting for Washington.
"It's not like they did anything out of the ordinary," Thomas said. "I just didn't make shots that I usually make."
Ross, coming in averaging 7.7 points, tried to pick up the slack by hitting 7 of 10 shots, but it wasn't enough.
Two years removed from a national championship, North Carolina won its 25th straight NCAA tournament game in its home state a year after being relegated to the NIT. A little stomach bug couldn't hide Williams' smile.
"Last year was very difficult, the most difficult year of my career," Williams said. "But this team has handled a lot of adversity. It feels fantastic."
-- Mike Cranston
Cleveland
Top-seeded Ohio State routs George Mason
CLEVELAND (AP) — Over on George Mason's bench, a few players were mocking Jared Sullinger, Ohio State's fleshy freshman who was frustrated and fuming.
The Buckeyes were trailing and appearing vulnerable in the early moments of Sunday's third-round game. The Patriots were getting physical, talking trash and taking it right at the East regional's top-seeded team — the team with no obvious weaknesses — and Sullinger, who had three quick turnovers.
That's when Ohio State's center bumped Patriots forward Ryan Pearson from behind and whispered some shocking news.
"It's over, yo," Sullinger said, waving his hands.
And it was. Cleveland native David Lighty made all seven of his 3-pointers and scored 25 points, Sullinger and William Buford added 18 apiece and Ohio State made 16 3s while again showing that it's the team to beat in this NCAA tournament with a jaw-dropping 98-66 win.
Sullinger chalked up his comment to Pearson as "the heat of battle." In the postgame news conference, the freshman made yet another startling comment.
"We can play better," he said.
Oh, dear. It would be hard to imagine a better performance than the one Ohio State put on before thousands of its fans, who didn't miss any opportunity to fill Quicken Loans Arena with chants of "O-H-I-O." With ruthless precision, the Buckeyes (34-2) took apart the eighth-seeded Patriots (27-7), who created some March mayhem a few years ago and hoped to follow Butler's lead by taking out a No. 1 seed in this tourney.
Ohio State destroyed any upset plans and moved a step closer to its first national title since 1960. The Buckeyes will meet Kentucky (27-8) in the regional semifinals Friday in Newark, N.J. Ohio State is 5-0 in NCAA tournament matchups with the Wildcats.
After falling behind 11-2, the Big Ten champions used their devastating inside-outside attack to post the most lopsided tournament victory in school history. Ohio State outscored George Mason 50-15 over the final 16 minutes of the first half with a dazzling display of offensive firepower.
This was a Cleveland clinic.
The Buckeyes had a 10-0 run, a 16-0 burst and made five 3-pointers over the final 5 minutes on the way to opening a 52-26 halftime lead.
"Every time I looked up everybody was hitting a jumper or a 3 or something," Lighty said.
Freshman guard Aaron Craft came off the bench and sparked Ohio State with 15 assists, many of them to the wings as the Buckeyes finished 16 of 26 behind the arc.
Cam Long scored 16 and Pearson 13 for George Mason, which was in way over its head against the nation's best all-around squad.
"They're the toughest squad that we faced," Pearson said. "When they got guys that's just hitting on all cylinders, all night long, and they're sharing the ball and they're just going out there and just having fun, it's kind of tough for the opponent to stop.
"They just made shots. And even when we tried to cut the lead and come out, they just came right back at us, firing on all cylinders. They're a great program, they're a tough team to beat. I think they're going to go real far in this tournament."
The challenge was daunting enough for the Patriots and then they found out before the game that they would face the Buckeyes without Luke Hancock, who came down with food poisoning. The sophomore guard, who scored 18 in the win over Villanova, came to the arena but got dizzy and was kept out.
"He couldn't hold anything down," coach Jim Larranaga said. "They put him on IV fluids to see if he would respond to that, and never did."
Even Hancock couldn't have helped. At one point, Buford and Diebler were a combined 2 of 9 from the field and Ohio State was still ahead by 15. There was nothing the Patriots could do but hope it would stop.
After Lighty made his fifth 3-pointer, Diebler, the Big Ten's career leader in 3s, finally got one to go. Buford then hit another 3 and Diebler, the kid nicknamed "3-bler" who perfected his jumper in the summer by making 1,000 shots per day, closed the half with one of his patented line-drive 3s. He let out a primal scream and ran off the floor with the Buckeyes. As Sullinger promised, it was over. This was Ohio State's day and one Lighty will cherish forever.
A fifth-year senior, Lighty was a freshman on OSU's national runner-up team in 2007. But injuries — he twice broke his right foot — derailed a promising career. But he never stopped working on the floor or in the classroom, and on Sunday he was one of four Ohio State players to receive their diplomas.
Because the graduating Buckeyes couldn't attend winter commencement in Columbus, the team held its own ceremony after the morning shootaround. Lighty, Diebler, Dallas Lauderdale and Nikola Kecman got their degrees and posed for pictures on the court wearing their caps.
Coach Thad Matta beamed like a proud father, and he was touched for Lighty, Ohio State's unquestioned leader.
Afterward, an emotional Lighty hugged family members and friends who saw him play the game of his life in his final college game in Ohio.
He was home, and it was sweet.
"Couldn't be any better," he said. "A perfect ending."
-- Tom Withers
No. 11 seed Marquette tops third-seeded Syracuse
CLEVELAND (AP) — Oh, is there ever a Buzz in the NCAA tournament. Brent Williams is better known as Buzz — Coach Buzz if you play for Marquette — and his postgame celebrations have become the stuff of legend. On Sunday, he might have had his wildest yet.
His bald head glistening with sweat, he leaped in the air, pounded his fists on tables, shared tears and hugs with his family. He saluted the fans, slapped hands with band members and anyone he could touch wearing the Golden Eagles' gold and blue.
Williams is off to the round of 16 — and he wanted to bring the party with him.
Darius Johnson-Odom sparked the celebration by hitting a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 27 seconds left that sent Marquette to a 66-62 win over Big East rival Syracuse, putting the Golden Eagles in the NCAA tournament's round of 16 for the first time in eight years.
"Luckily, I knocked the shot down," Johnson-Odom said.
Luck didn't set up the winner as much as the last sloppy pass in a turnover-marred game by Syracuse.
With 51 seconds left, Dion Waiters threw his sideline inbounds pass too high and close to the midcourt line. Scoop Jardine tiptoed over the line on his jump to snag the ball for a backcourt violation.
"I thought I had him and I was just trying to throw the pass where I thought he could catch it," Waiters said. "I don't know what happened."
Johnson-Odom delivered the shot of his career for a 62-59 lead and 11th-seeded Marquette is moving on to the round of 16 for the first time since Dwyane Wade led them to the Final Four in 2003.
The Golden Eagles will play No. 2 seed North Carolina (28-7) in the East regional semifinals Friday in Newark, N.J. Marquette, known then as the Warriors, beat North Carolina to win the national championship in 1977.
At Marquette, there's always a link to the '77 team and its treasured coach, Al McGuire. Where most teams have a logo or a letter on the jersey, Marquette has "AL" at the neck.
Williams, Marquette's emotional coach, broke into a delirious celebration. He hugged his players, ran to press row and pounded the table. He pumped his fists toward the fans, then brushed past media to get to the seats and gave his wife and family kisses and a long, heartfelt embrace.
His beet-red face couldn't stop smiling as fans chanted his name and broke into the traditional "We are (clap-clap) Marquette!" cheer.
At the postgame news conference, his voice cracked and he paused to collect his thoughts when he described his relationship with his wife.
"All the people that were here, they care just as much as I do," he said. "It just so happens that I get to speak on their behalf. It's not about me. It's about all those people, just as much as it is our players."
This was the second straight early exit for third-seeded Syracuse (27-8). The Orange were a No. 1 seed last year and lost in the round of 16 to Butler.
"I thought it was just a great game," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said.
Williams had 40 minutes of emotion bottled up because neither team could ever shake the other. It was a typical bruising Big East battle that could have been played at the Carrier Dome, the Bradley Center or Madison Square Garden.
Cleveland, though, is the setting for Williams' greatest coaching triumph.
Johnson-Odom scored 17 points and Jae Crowder had 16 for the Golden Eagles. Marquette beat the Orange in nearly every important category, from free throw shooting (19 for 23 vs. 5 for 7) to rebounding (30-24) to steals, assists — on it went.
Syracuse was doomed by 18 turnovers — the last one the most costly.
Marquette was one of a record 11 Big East teams to make the field — and the most scrutinized. With 14 losses and a 9-9 record in conference play, the Golden Eagles were a shaky pick when the brackets were announced.
Who's counting them out now?
The Orange, who were swept 2-0 by Marquette this season, saw their season come to a stunning end yet again. Waiters scored 18 points and Kris Joseph had 12, but no one else had any kind of offensive impact.
Rick Jackson, the Big East defensive player of the year, struggled in his final game for the Orange. He had seven points and four rebounds, numbers way below the double-double he averaged during the regular season.
Syracuse players sat in front of their lockers in stunned disbelief. Many of them were still in uniform 20 minutes after the game, almost afraid to accept that their hopes of an NCAA title had been dashed for the second straight year short of the Final Four.
"We're still the better team," Jardine said. "We fought all season and we had a good season, and to go out like this is tough."
After leading 19-9, Syracuse went into halftime down three.
For the next 20 minutes, no team could force an inch of breathing room. Waiters scored two straight baskets for a 46-41 lead, but Marquette's speed and quickness never let the Golden Eagles fall too far behind. Syracuse lost guard Brandon Triche for most of the second half with a bruised tailbone. And the Orange got hurt on turnovers.
Crowder's 3 with 2:26 left tied the game at 59. That's how it stayed — until Johnson-Odom set off a party.
-- Dan Gelston
Chicago
James scores 14, Florida State upsets Notre Dame
CHICAGO (AP) — The scene was familiar to any Florida State fan: Seminoles players doing the tomahawk chop in front of a rowdy crowd. It's not just for football games anymore.
Bernard James scored 14 points, Michael Snaer added 13 and Florida State showed there's more to its game than defense with a 71-57 upset of second-seeded Notre Dame on Sunday night that sent the Seminoles into the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1993.
It was an impressive — and unexpected — offensive effort by the 10th-seeded Seminoles, who put the Irish in a big hole with seven 3-pointers in the first half and led by as much as 23. Four players finished in double figures, and James went 6 of 8 with 10 rebounds despite needing three IVs on Sunday and feeling as if he was going to get sick the whole night.
"If we can stay consistent on the offensive end, I like our chances," said Derwin Kitchen, who had 10 points and six rebounds. "We've just been so up and down and inconsistent on the offensive end, it allowed us to stumble at times and lose a few games. If we can stay consistent and execute on the offensive end, I like our chances because we play so well on the defensive end."
Florida State (23-10) now faces upstart Virginia Commonwealth in the Southwest regional semifinals Friday in San Antonio. The 11th-seeded Rams, maligned as not worthy of being in the 68-team field, stunned third-seeded Purdue earlier Sunday for their third win in five nights.
According to STATS LLC, it will be the first 10 vs. 11 matchup in NCAA tournament history.
"Hopefully, this is just the beginning of something special," Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said. "The good thing about this team is I still think our best basketball is ahead of us."
For Notre Dame, meanwhile, it was another disappointing showing in the NCAAs. The Fighting Irish (27-7) had their highest seed since also receiving a No. 2 in 1981 under Digger Phelps, yet ended up the same way they have for much of the last two decades — headed home after the first weekend.
Notre Dame has made the regional semifinals just once in the last 24 years, back in 2003.
The Irish didn't look anything like the team that had won 13 of its previous 15 games, held to 31 percent shooting — including 7 of 30 from 3-point range. Big East player of the year Ben Hansbrough was stifled most of the night by the Seminoles' defense, scoring 18 on 5-of-13 shooting before fouling out with 3:19 left. Florida State fans taunted him with chants of "Overrated!" as he left the floor.
Hansbrough hugged everyone on the bench before taking a seat to watch the closing minutes of his final college game.
"It's really tough, especially how hard we've worked throughout the year," he said.
Dominated from the opening tip, Notre Dame did make things interesting midway through the second half. Trailing 52-29, the Irish went on an 11-0 run capped by Hansbrough's 3 and two free throws by Tim Abromaitis after a technical on Snaer. Hansbrough then scored on a driving layup to make it 54-42 with 6:57 left.
But the Seminoles finally broke the press that had been giving them trouble during the spurt, and James slammed home a thunderous dunk that drew a roar from Florida State fans and ended any hopes the Irish had of a comeback.
"We competed and made it interesting there," coach Mike Brey said. "But that's a big hole to come out of."
The Notre Dame loss capped a dismal weekend for the Big East. Trumpeted as the top conference in the country, the league sent a record 11 teams to the tournament but only two — UConn and Marquette — are left. Both advanced to the round of 16 at the expense of their Big East brethren.
The ACC is faring far better. Florida State gives the conference three teams in the round of 16, most of any league.
Florida State has a much richer history in football — some might remember that little game with Notre Dame back in '93, better known as No. 1 vs. No. 2 — and doesn't have nearly the pedigree of fellow ACC members Duke and North Carolina. Its victory over Texas A&M on Friday was its first in the NCAA tournament since 1998, and this will be only its fifth trip to the regional semifinals.
But a stingy defense is a great equalizer, and the Seminoles came in with the nation's best, holding opponents to just 31 percent shooting.
The Seminoles are nasty, so aggressive they look as though they have seven players on the floor. They constantly switched and pressed, getting a hand — more like two or three — in the face of every Notre Dame shooter. The Irish missed 11 of their first 15 shots, and it never got much better.
"A team like that, they're used to scoring," Snaer said. "If it gets in their head that it's not going to be easy, they're going to get down on themselves and dig a hole because they're not used to that. They're used to the ball going through the hoop. They're used to getting the easy shot. But we're not giving that up. Every shot is going to be contested."
James said Saturday that the Seminoles take their defense so seriously, there are days in practice where it seems as if nobody scores. They had no such troubles against the Irish, making eight of their first 13 shots as they raced out to a 23-11 lead.
Not known for their long-range shooting — they'd made only 196 3-pointers coming into Sunday night's game — they were particularly effective from beyond the arc, making seven of their nine in the first half.
"When our guys were getting spot-up 3s, they're pretty good at knocking 'em down," James said. "Once they got on a roll, they just kept going."
After Eric Atkins' layup cut the lead to three, Kitchen, Ian Miller and Luke Loucks all made 3-pointers as the Seminoles stretched their lead to 23-11 with 8:40 left in the half. Snaer and Deividas Dulkys added two more — Snaer's set up by a long pass from Chris Singleton — to make it 31-19, setting off rowdy cheers from the Florida State fans.
They opened the second half with an 11-3 run, showcasing a wide array of shots. Dulkys made a jumper, Snaer had a layup and James scored on a floater over Tyrone Nash so pretty it would make NBA players jealous. White, scoreless in the first half, converted a three-point play and scored on a tip-in to give the Seminoles a 45-26 lead with 15:33 to play.
"I am a little surprised how it played out," James said. "The lead we got, I thought we were going to win by five, 10. I didn't imagine that we would be up by 20 at one point. That's a great feeling. It shows what our team can do when we're playing together and playing our game."
-- Nancy Armour
VCU wins third NCAA game, routs Purdue
CHICAGO (AP) — Oh yeah, VCU belongs in the NCAA tournament. The real question now: Who can stop the Rams?
Fresh, fast, furious and at times flawless, VCU didn't look a bit like a team playing its third game in five nights. The Rams pressured Purdue, broke through its defense for numerous layups, and overwhelmed the third-seeded Boilermakers of the Big Ten 94-76 Sunday night to earn their first trip to the round of 16.
As their fans chanted "VCU, VCU," players hugged and celebrated on the floor of the United Center. What a trip — what a week — it has been. Now it's on to San Antonio for the 11th-seeded Rams (26-11), who play Florida State on Friday in the first NCAA tournament game matching a No. 10 seed against a No. 11 seed, according to STATS LLC.
It was just a week ago the Rams received an at-large bid to the disbelief of some critics. Shuttled off to Dayton for a first-round game, they beat Southern Cal on Wednesday, got into Chicago in the wee hours Thursday, routed Georgetown on Friday and then did the same to the Boilermakers.
"A week ago, we thought we were done," said the relentless point guard Joey Rodriguez, who had 12 points, 11 assists and no turnovers in 34 minutes.
"And now, we're here in the Sweet 16. Anything can happen now."
Purdue coach Matt Painter, whose Boilermakers (26-8) were denied a third straight trip to the round of 16, agreed.
"If you watched VCU a certain time in the season you wouldn't see what you just watched out there," Painter said. "Then you watch them during a four- or five-game stretch and you literally think, 'They can beat any team in the country.' ... I made that statement — VCU can beat any team in the country on a neutral court. And I believe that. ... I was hoping that team wouldn't show up, but that team from VCU did show up."
Bradford Burgess scored 23 points to lead a balanced offense, and the Rams' depth wore the Boilermakers down in the second half when the lead reached 20 points.
"It wasn't easy. We just made plays out there. You see all these guys on TV, and we're watching them all year and in our heads, we're like, 'Man, we can play with these guys,'" Rodriguez said.
"We're getting the opportunity now and we're proving it."
VCU finished with 26 assists to just four turnovers. The Rams didn't hesitate to pop up 3-pointers — making 8 of 21 — but they also took it inside against Big Ten Player of the Year JaJuan Johnson, challenging the 6-foot-10 center.
"We made him work for everything he got," said VCU coach Shaka Smart, noting that Johnson appeared to tire a bit.
Johnson did finish with 25 points and 14 rebounds in the final game of a stellar career.
"Honestly it was just one of those nights. Basic principles that we didn't execute on and that's all on us, taking nothing away from VCU," Johnson said.
But VCU really stopped the Boilermakers' other star, E'Twaun Moore, holding him to 10 points on 5-of-15 shooting. That's eight points below his average. Ryne Smith had 20 for Purdue, hitting 6-of-8 on 3-pointers.
"Our guys have worked together all year long. They shared the basketball. I think we found a high level of defensive energy these last several games and that's what has allowed us to advance," Smart said.
"We just had to have everyone on the same page and everyone going in the same direction. ... I'm just so happy for our guys."
Jamie Skeen added 13 points and freshman Juvonte Reddic had 12. The Rams shot 57 percent.
"I feel like all teams are equal. It's not just about the conference and how big the conference is and all that other stuff," Skeen said.
"We're all just as good. It's just basketball, man. I know you have your All-Americans, like you had two All-Americans out there, but it's a team game. If you jell as a team like we did today, you can beat anybody."
VCU led by 10 at the half. Reddic had six points early in the second half when the speedy Rams foiled a comeback by the Boilermakers by consistently getting open for short shots inside.
And after a timeout and a Boilermakers miss, Rodriguez didn't hesitate from way beyond the top of the key, sinking an NBA-length 3-pointer and putting the Rams up 59-44. VCU hit seven of its first eight shots in the second half to keep up what it started in the first.
When Burgess drove for a layup and then got open and sank a 3-pointer, he put the Rams ahead by 19 with just more than 11 minutes left.
"It's VCU against the world," said the 6-foot-9 Skeen. "Nobody else thought we could do this. Nobody else's bracket said that we're going to make it to the Sweet 16. Honestly, if it was me and I was just a regular person, I wouldn't put VCU in the Sweet 16. Who would have thought?"
-- Rick Gano
Notes
Notebook: Self happy to return to coaching roots
An NCAA tournament that could be packed with happy memories brought Kansas' Bill Self back to the city where he got his big break as a head coach.
Self got his first gig at Oral Roberts before moving across town to Tulsa and launching a career that would eventually take him to Illinois and then Kansas.
"Tulsa's — the city's — been very good to myself and my family, and there's so many people here that have looked out for us and taken care of us," Self said after top-seeded Kansas beat Illinois 73-59 Sunday night. "I really did want to play well this week, I really did. It wasn't a distraction but it was a good bonus."
Self said he brought some of his former players to the Jayhawks' practices and helped some friends get tickets, although most had to fend for themselves.
Now, he heads to San Antonio — where he led Kansas to the national title in 2008.
"It was a special, special weekend. I mean, an unbelievable weekend, what we got to do." Self said. "I love San Antonio, and our players will, too. ... But it is a business trip and we'll be reminded of it and it'll bring pleasant memories to us, but we've got to go make new memories."
HOME COOKING: It's hard to beat Duke and North Carolina in their home state at the NCAA tournament.
The Blue Devils extended their streak to 16 straight wins in NCAA games played in North Carolina with a 73-71 victory over Michigan on Sunday, hours after the Tar Heels ran their string to 25 in a row with an 86-83 win against Washington. Duke is 32-4 in NCAA play in the state, and North Carolina is 29-1.
Top-seeded Duke and No. 2 seed North Carolina both made defensive stops in the final seconds to advance to the round of 16.
NO LOVE FOR LEBRON: George Mason's Andre Cornelius would fit in with the fans who normally fill the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He's no fan of LeBron James, either.
"I'm not a LeBron fan," he said. "Kobe, man. Come on. Kobe's the best player."
Cornelius was impressed with the Cavaliers' locker room after a tour before Saturday's practice. It was his first time in an NBA locker room.
"That was nice," he said. "I've never seen anything like that."
Like so many college players, Cornelius is inked with tattoos. He's lost count of the number. He has the comedy-tragedy masks on his right arm with the slogan "Laugh Now, Cry Later." Why?
"I don't know. I just got it," he said. "It doesn't mean anything."
One of his favorites is close to his heart — actually his bellybutton. He yanked up his jersey to reveal "My first true love" written on top of a basketball in the shape of a heart on his stomach.
He tried to hide his first tattoo from his parents. But George Mason coach Jim Larranaga noticed it on a recruiting trip and told him, "Nice tattoo, Andre."
"My parents were like, 'A tattoo? Where?'" he said. "That's how they found out."
The Patriots were one of three Colonial Athletic Association teams to make the NCAA tournament. Their run ended Sunday with a loss to top-seeded Ohio State. But George Mason did finish with something to boast about.
"We're the most tatted team in the NCAA," Cornelius said.
TRUTH IN NUMBERS: Put point guard Joey Rodriguez next to his Virginia Commonwealth teammates and all will stand a head taller, often more. Much more. So is he really 5-foot-10?
"I'm really not," Rodriguez confessed Saturday. "I'm like 5-9 and three-quarters."
Sure it's not more like 5-8, maybe?
"No, I'm not 5-8," Rodriguez said as his teammates snickered. "I take that to heart."
Regardless of his height, Rodriguez and the 11th-seeded Rams are walking tall, winning their first three games in the NCAA tournament to reach the round of 16.
President Obama picks 10 teams in round of 16
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has correctly picked 10 of the 16 teams that advanced to the regional semifinals in the NCAA tournament. Obama went 5-3 on Sunday, losing when Purdue, Syracuse and Notre Dame were upset by lower seeds. He accurately predicted all four teams remaining in the West regional and got three of four right in the East.
But in the Southwest, where a string of upsets have left three double-digit seeds still standing, he has only No. 1 Kansas remaining.
Obama has three of his Final Four teams left: No. 1 seeds Ohio State, Kansas and Duke. He lost his other one Saturday when Butler upset top-seeded Pittsburgh in the Southeast regional.
Obama filled out a bracket for ESPN for the third straight year and selected Kansas to win the championship. Through the third round, he ranked 7,549th out of 5.9 million brackets filled out on ESPN.com.
George Mason's Hancock does not play with illness
CLEVELAND (AP) — George Mason forward Luke Hancock did not play against Ohio State in the NCAA tournament because of an illness.
George Mason coach Jim Larranaga says Hancock could not keep any food down and was up all night and most of the morning throwing up. Without him, the Patriots lost 98-66 to Ohio State on Sunday. Larranaga says Hancock stayed at the hotel and slept.
Hancock scored 18 points and hit a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left, capping the Patriots' comeback in a 61-57 win over Villanova on Friday.
He averaged 10.9 points and 4.2 rebounds.
