NCAA Men's Capsules: Third-seeded Baylor routs 10th-seeded Saint Mary's

HOUSTON — LaceDarius Dunn quickly got the ball back from Tweety Carter to complete the alley-oop dunk, then turned and flashed a wide smile.

Baylor was having all the fun Friday night, and now the Bears are only one victory from the Final Four.

Dunn and Carter both made 3-pointers on their first shots and later hooked up on their highlight play as Baylor rushed to a huge lead. With a 72-49 romp over Omar Samhan and surprising Saint Mary’s in the South Regional semifinal, the Bears have reached the NCAA tournament’s round of eight less than seven years after a tragic summer nearly destroyed their program.

"That’s the reason why we came here. To be a part of something special," Carter said. "It really means a lot to me, this team, this program, for us to come through all the adversity."

Baylor will play Sunday against top-seeded Duke, a 70-57 winner over Purdue later Friday night.

Dunn and Carter, two top Louisiana high school players who were recruited by other established programs, came to Baylor in the reeling aftermath from a murder and scandal that shook the world’s largest Baptist university like nothing in its history.

Coach Scott Drew had to rebuild with reduced scholarships, a roster decimated when the top three scorers were allowed to transfer and an unprecedented half-season after the NCAA considered shutting the program down a whole year. Now that is finally starting to seem like a long time ago.

Led by Dunn and Carter, the team picked 10th in the preseason Big 12 poll by the league’s coaches last fall still has a chance to win the national title. Dunn scored 23 points with four 3-pointers and Carter had 14 points.

"It’s a good step for us, hopefully we can take a couple of more," said Josh Lomers, the only senior other than Carter on the roster. "Hopefully it can keep growing for decades in the future."

The third-seeded Bears (28-7) led 46-17 at halftime and could begin looking ahead to Sunday, when they will play for a chance at their first Final Four since 1950, when there were only eight teams in the field.

Samhan, who had become a breakout star in the tournament with his dominating play in the first two rounds and the one-liners when talking or tweeting, finished with 15 points and nine rebounds for the Gaels (28-6). He shot 1-for-8 and had only three points at halftime.

"I’ve never been more proud of anything in my life than this team and this coaching staff," Samhan said. "So it didn’t matter how it ended."

With Samhan held in check, the tiny school from Moraga, Calif., that beat Villanova and Richmond earlier in the tournament was headed home after shooting only 35 percent (19-for-54).

"Bottom line, when it was all said and done, I was proud of what we did this year," coach Randy Bennett said. "I told them they we stunk tonight. ... Nobody wanted it to go that way but it went that way."

During the interview sessions the day before the game, Samhan stopped and waved to everyone when he stepped onto the stage. There was the often-comedic interaction with two of his teammates during the 15-minute session and the 6-foot-11 center made sure the television cameras were aimed on him at one point before professing his love to singer Taylor Swift.

Dunn, Carter and Baylor post player Ekpe Udoh, meanwhile, rarely smiled while answering questions directly. They were already to play, expecting to continue this "business trip" not far from home — a 3½-hour drive from their Waco campus.

Carter hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key on his first shot, then Dunn hit one on the next Baylor possession.

"We come out and just play, with the coach that we have that allows us to come out and be ourselves," Carter said. "It really helps you relax and know that you can make those shots."

Even when things didn’t go exactly as planned, the Bears were still were making things happen.

When an earlier ally-oop attempt from Carter was off-target, Dunn grabbed the ball out of the air, took a couple of steps along the baseline, then turned and hit a short jumper. That was part of a 9-0 run that put the Bears in control early.

The highlight play came when Dunn stripped the ball from freshman Matthew Dellavedova near midcourt and took off toward the basket. Dunn passed the ball to Carter trailing on his left, and the point guard never dribbled the ball, instead tossing it toward the rim for a slam and a 29-11 lead.

Coming back down the court, Dunn turned and flashed a wide smile to the crowd — predominantly filled with fans dressed in green and gold, clearly outnumbering the one section of Saint Mary’s fans near the Gaels’ bench.

After their lowest-scoring half of the season, things never got better for the Gaels after halftime. Their deficit increased to 35 within a couple of minutes later.

But Samhan was still playing hard and talking. With about 6½ minutes left in the game, an official had to pull Samhan and Lomers together for a quick talk after they had been jawing at each other. On the next possession, Samhan saved the ball for Saint Mary’s by swiping it back off Lomers’ face.

Lomers turned away smiling. There were plenty of reasons for that reaction, considering the score.

Despite the disappointing and lopsided finish, it was an incredible run for Gaels, whose only NCAA tournament victory before last week was in 1959.

Often overshadowed in the West Coast Conference by NCAA tournament regular Gonzaga, which has won 10 conference titles in a row, Saint Mary’s beat the Gonzaga 81-62 in the WCC tournament to earn the automatic NCAA bid. And the Gaels did that after losing Patty Mills to the NBA and five other seniors from a 28-win team last season.

"Maybe in a week or so, we’ll be able to look back at our season," Dellavedova said. "We did have a good season. It just stings that it ended like this."

Duke advances to round of eight, beats Purdue

HOUSTON — This is more like it for Coach K and Duke. The top-seeded Blue Devils returned to the round of eight for the first time since 2004, with Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer helping them pull away in the second half Friday night for a 70-57 win over Purdue in the South Regional semifinals.

Singler scored 24 points and Scheyer added 18, snapping out of a shooting slump just in time. Duke (32-5) will play third-seeded Baylor in Sunday’s regional final after clearing a nagging hurdle that had some wondering if the mighty program was losing its edge.

The Blue Devils had lost in the round of 16 in three of the past five seasons, but now stand one victory from their 11th Final Four appearance under coach Mike Krzyzewski. Duke kept marching through the NCAA tournament while other favorites are falling by the wayside. The Blue Devils and Kentucky are the only No. 1 seeds left after Kansas and Syracuse were upset.

Scheyer, Duke’s leading scorer, was 5-for-18 from the field in Duke’s first two NCAA tournament games. He went 5-for-9 in the second half after missing his first six shots and also went 7-for-8 from the foul line.

It was 31-all with 15½ minutes left before the Blue Devils broke away. Brian Zoubek grabbed 14 rebounds and Duke dominated the undersized Boilermakers inside, as expected. The absence of injured do-everything forward Robbie Hummel finally caught up with fourth-seeded Purdue (29-6), which lost in the regional semifinals for the second straight season.

Hummel tore his right ACL in late February and watched Friday’s loss in street clothes from the bench. JaJuan Johnson scored 23 points and E’Twaun Moore added 18 for the Boilermakers. No other Purdue player reached double figures and the team shot 37 percent (20 of 54).

Coach K watched the game from a stool on the raised floor, a few feet above the Duke bench, and had a front-row seat to a rough first half. The Blue Devils missed 22 of 29 shots, had 11 turnovers and led 24-23 only because of a 29-13 edge in rebounding. Scheyer was 0-for-6 from the field, continuing his slump after going 1-for-11 in Duke’s second-round win over California.

Singler characterized both teams’ struggles in the half when he went for a dunk in the last minute and the ball got stuck between the rim and the glass.

Scheyer swished a 3 from the wing with 17:52 left, and Krzyzewski leaped up and punched the air, a sign of how much the shot meant to both the team and its leading scorer. But Moore hit a straight-on 3 about two minutes later to tie it at 31. Duke started to build a lead after that, and Singler’s 3-pointer with 11:55 left put the Blue Devils up 40-35.

Chris Kramer, Purdue’s top 1-on-1 defender, plowed into Zoubek, who was setting a screen, about a minute later and crumpled to the floor. He seemed dizzy and needed help as he walked off the floor.

Purdue cut it to two before Smith scored seven straight points, finishing the one-man spurt with a 3-pointer with 7:58 to go. Smith held his follow-through as the Blue Devils’ bench erupted, sensing that the stubborn Boilermakers were finally breaking.

The Boilermakers had to adjust on the fly after Hummel went down, and had won five of seven games since his injury. They simply ran out of offensive options against the Blue Devils’ defense and dropped to 0-5 against No. 1 seeds in the tournament.

Baylor will likely have more fan support on Sunday. Fans in green and gold filled all but one section of Reliant Stadium for the opener.

Duke has history on its side — the Blue Devils are 40-8 as a No. 1 seed in the tournament and have reached the Final Four in five of the 11 times they’ve earned a top seed.

-- Chris Duncan

Michigan State holds off Northern Iowa 59-52

ST. LOUIS — No big shots from Ali Farokhmanesh. No mid-major magic. Just another trip to the regional finals for Michigan State.

Durrell Summers scored 19 points and Korie Lucious hit a whirling turnaround jumper with 91 seconds left, helping the fifth-seeded Spartans survive a scare with a 59-52 win over pesky Northern Iowa in the Midwest Regional semifinals Friday night.

Playing without injured star Kalin Lucas, Michigan State (27-8) needed a half to get used to Northern Iowa’s grinding style and held the Panthers to 10 free throws and no field goals over the final 10:21 to send the Heartland heroes home.

Always at their best in the NCAA tournament, the Spartans are one win from a sixth trip to the Final Four in 12 years. They’ll play Sunday against sixth-seeded Tennessee, which beat No. 2 Ohio State 76-73 earlier Friday night.

"I knew it would be just a gut-it-out game. I’m sure everybody predicted it," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "That’s kind of enjoyable, to find a way. It’s somewhat more rewarding than the last two."

Northern Iowa (30-5) knocked off one college basketball giant but couldn’t make it two straight, unable to contain the athletic Spartans for an entire game after stunning top-seeded Kansas in the second round. Adam Koch had 13 points and Kwadzo Ahelegbe 12 for the Panthers, but Farokhmanesh, the early-round star, was just 1 for 6 from 3-point range.

"We knew this was going to be a tremendous challenge and they played exactly how we thought they were going to," Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson said. "I’m obviously very proud of our guys."

Michigan State, last year’s national runner-up, turned the game on defense in the second half, escaping with a difficult win as Lucas watched from the bench in a walking boot.

Lucious, the replacement for Lucas who beat the buzzer with a game-winning 3 against Maryland in the second round, hit his acrobatic shot, spinning from the defense and falling away toward the top of the key. Michigan State held, then Chris Allen followed with a putback with 31 seconds left, putting the Spartans up 57-51.

"The second half, we went inside more and it created a lot more opportunities for us," Izzo said. "Let me tell you something — that’s a good team."

A few years back, maybe this was a mismatch: the powerhouse from the Big Ten against the scrappy mid-major. Not this year. Northern Iowa has done its best to shake the underdog tag, reaching the NCAA tournament five of past seven years, moving into the round of 16 this year for the first time with wins over UNLV and top overall seed Kansas.

Farokhmanesh ran off the Runnin’ Rebels with a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left in the opening round, then topped it with a no-no-no-great-shot! 3 to take out the Jayhawks. The son of an Iranian Olympic volleyball player, Farokhmanesh has become a folk hero back in Cedar Falls, a Stephen Curry-like sensation to the rest of the country.

Of course, all the Panthers have moved into a new level of fame, appearing on magazine covers, fans from all over jumping aboard the purple-powered bandwagon.

"Our community rallied around our team, our students rallied around these guys and that’s because of their personalities," Jacobson said.

Michigan State has been the monument of the bracket under Izzo: 13 straight NCAA tournaments, seven trips to the round of 16, five Final Fours, a national title in 2000. This has been a little tougher trip. The resilient Spartans survived a whack-a-mole-like season filled with winning streaks, injuries, suspensions and benchings.

The latest downturn came in the second round, when Lucas ruptured his Achilles’ tendon against Maryland, leaving the Spartans without their scoring, assists and all-around leader. Having Allen and forward Delvon Roe hampered by lingering injuries wasn’t going to make it any easier.

"It’s kind of hard when you lose your floor general," Michigan State forward Draymond Green said, referring to Lucas.

Northern Iowa took advantage early. Grinding the game down with their smothering defense, the Panthers got the tempo they wanted: slow-and-not-so-easy.

Koch, previously quiet in the postseason, scored nine quick points and Northern Iowa held the Spartans to 7-of-22 shooting, going into halftime with a 29-22 lead on Ahelegbe’s buzzer-beating jumper. But the Spartans fought back. Appearing more comfortable against Northern Iowa’s swarming man defense, Michigan State hit six of its first seven shots during an opening 16-5 run, going up 38-34 on Roe’s sky-high alley-oop off a sore knee.

Northern Iowa responded in typical fashion, setting up a foul-filled final 7 minutes that Michigan State grinded into another regional final appearance.

"I love March," Izzo said with a smile.

-- John Marshall

Tennessee tops Ohio State to reach regional final

ST. LOUIS — Ohio State has one of the best players in the country in Evan Turner. Tennessee has what seems like an endless supply of nasty, stingy defenders. No secret who’s going to win that battle.

Brian Williams scored the go-ahead basket on a tip-in with 32 seconds left, and J.P. Prince was relentless on Turner, blocking a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer Friday night to lead Tennessee past Ohio State 76-73 and into the NCAA tournament’s round of eight for the first time.

"I was tired," Prince said. "I just said I’ll save it all for defense. That’s all I did. I know those last two minutes I was going to make them work. I knew nobody wanted it more than I did."

Wayne Chism finished with 22 points — all but four in the second half — and 11 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Volunteers (28-8), who pulled out a back-and-forth tussle in the Midwest Regional semifinals.

Turner, a candidate to add national honors to his Big Ten player of the year award, carried the No. 2 seed Buckeyes single-handedly in the second half. He scored 21 of his 31 points in the final period, while the rest of the Buckeyes went just 3 of 16 from the field. He actually had two shots in the final 3 seconds, but he missed from deep in the left corner, then got the ball back. With Prince all over him, Turner’s last shot from near the top of the key didn’t even get to the rim.

As the Tennessee players celebrated, Turner walked off the court with his head bowed.

"I can’t give a percentage right now," Turner said, his eyes red and his voice catching, when asked if he’ll return to Ohio State for his senior year. "I really don’t want to go out like this."

Few expected this from the Volunteers considering where they were on Jan. 1. Tyler Smith, their leading scorer last season, was dismissed from the team and Williams, Cameron Tatum and Melvin Goins were suspended after a gun and marijuana were found during a traffic stop.

But nine days later, Tennessee stunned then-No. 1 Kansas, and the Vols emerged as an even stronger team. Now, they’re one win from the Final Four.

"It sounds real good, and we’re livin’ it up right now," Chism said.

Tennessee will play fifth-seeded Michigan State on Sunday in the Midwest Regional final.

For the Buckeyes, it’s an opportunity lost. No one appeared to benefit more than Ohio State (29-8) when No. 1 overall seed Kansas was upset by Northern Iowa in the second round. Add in third-seeded Georgetown’s first-round loss and fourth-seeded Maryland’s loss last weekend, and Ohio State had what looked like a clear path to its second Final Four in four years.

To get there, though, the Buckeyes needed more than Turner. William Buford (15) was the only other scorer in double figures. Jon Diebler, so big for Ohio State in the first two rounds, shot 1 of 7 from 3-point range.

"Obviously, it hasn’t hit me to the point where I think it’s over," coach Thad Matta said. "They’re distraught because this isn’t where they thought it was going to end."

Ohio State had won four of its previous five meetings against Tennessee, including a matchup in the 2007 regional semifinals. But these Buckeyes are far different from that squad, which featured an NBA-caliber roster that included Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook. These Buckeyes do have Turner. But it’s a game of 5-on-5, not 1-on-5.

"I told our team, ‘It’s our team vs. their six,"’ Volunteers coach Bruce Pearl said. "We were a better 10 than their six."

After making only three baskets in the first half — including Ohio State’s last with 22 seconds left — Turner surpassed that output in the first 5:12 of the second half. David Lighty finally gave him some help, scoring on a layup to put Ohio State in front 59-56 with 7:37 to play.

But Tennessee responded with a 12-4 run, getting contributions from four different players. Chism, who seemed to get a boost when he took off his bright orange headband at halftime, gave the Vols a 72-70 lead with 1:39 to play. Turner came up with yet another big play, swishing a 3 from just beyond the arc with less than 42 seconds to go. But Williams, a big, bruising center, tipped in Prince’s miss on a layup.

Turner missed at the other end and Kyle Madsen lost the ball under the basket. With less than 13 seconds left, Turner fouled Maze, who after a timeout, coolly blew a kiss to someone in the Tennessee fan section. He made both free throws, giving Tennessee a 76-73 lead.

"Honestly, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind I was going to make those," Maze said. "I felt more pressure shooting them in practice. If the big men win, they make fun of us."

The Vols knew Ohio State would get the ball to Turner and they were ready. More than ready.

"You’ve got to contest the shot," Prince said. "He’s going to have to earn it if he’s going to make that shot."

-- Nancy Armour

Game Previews

Butler one win from heading home for Final Four

SALT LAKE CITY — Everybody gets it. It’s no longer fair or accurate to pat Butler on the head and portray the Bulldogs as that scrappy, plucky, mid-major underdog with more heart than hops and a dream that won’t die.

Yet for as far as they’ve come — not only this season but over the last several — it’s hard for this story not to feel a little warm ‘n fuzzy: The team that practices in the gym where they shot "Hoosiers" is one win from playing in the Final Four. In downtown Indianapolis, no less, only a few short miles from home.

Coming off a win over Syracuse, the fifth-seeded Bulldogs (31-4) put their 23-game winning streak on the line against No. 2 Kansas State on Saturday in the West Regional final. Winner moves on. Loser goes home. For Butler, of course, the destination will be the same either way.

"When we sat down and made goals and thought about the season, we said, ‘Why not shoot for the ultimate goal?"’ forward Matt Howard said.

Indeed, why not? Though this is their first trip this far in the NCAA tournament, the Bulldogs have been on the national stage for more than a decade now. They are quick, can shoot and play good defense, as they proved in their 63-59 win over top-seeded Syracuse. The prevailing wisdom before that game was that the team that shoots 34 percent from 3-point range would have to be even better — in every way — to stay on the court with the Big East regular-season champions.

Fact is, the Bulldogs weren’t all that wonderful, and didn’t have to be. They went 6 for 24 from beyond the arc and, after a nicely played first half, struggled in the second and even fell behind by four points late. They answered with an 11-0 run to take control — highlighted by Willie Veasley’s 3-pointer from the corner that circled the rim, caromed high off the backboard, then finally dropped clean through the net.

Count Kansas State coach Frank Martin among the believers.

"Whether your name is Butler, UCLA, Kentucky, whoever, if you’re playing in the Elite Eight game, you’re a very good basketball team," he said. "You shouldn’t be concerned about appearance. You should be concerned about the team."

Regardless of the opponent, the Wildcats (29-7) would be in for a challenge, needing to gear back up after a double-overtime, 101-96 victory over Xavier in what is already going down as one of the best games in tournament history.

Almost to a man, the K-State players admitted they got very little sleep after the game.

"I just laid there staring at the wall," said Jacob Pullen, whose two 3-pointers and two free throws helped put the game away in the second OT.

Acknowledging his team’s exhaustion, Martin said Friday’s practice was devoted more toward mental and emotional pursuits than running kids ragged.

"We’re going to go out there, we’re going to coach our kids like we have all year, through their minds," he said. "Make them understand, make them believe, make them embrace the moment so we can be as prepared as we can."

The bigger goal for both programs, however, is not to treat this like it’s the only chance they’ll get. It used to be easier to believe at a place like Kansas State, which plays in the shadow of the Kansas Jayhawks, but is still in the Big 12 and has the money and facilities to chase the best players.

Scoff at the mid-major label as much as it wants, Butler will always have some mid-major issues to deal with: less money, less national TV exposure, less access to the best players.

"You’ve got to find your niche, and find the right guys to fit your niche," coach Brad Stevens said. "As you can see, mid-major, major, low major, whatever the case may be, we’ve got pretty darn good basketball players here."

Among them is Gordon Hayward, a 6-foot-9, 15-point, eight-rebound sophomore who will deal with a very un-mid-major problem when the season is over — whether to leave for the NBA.

A good problem to have for a team that also enjoys some benefits no huge program can reproduce. Butler is private, has an 11-1 student-teacher ratio and practices at Hinkle Fieldhouse — the classic gym where the ultimate basketball underdog story, "Hoosiers," was filmed.

"You bring a kid in who loves Hinkle Fieldhouse, that means he appreciates tradition," Stevens said. "It means he appreciates history and is likely a good teammate because he appreciates what’s gone on in the past. I think those are things that have added up."

-- Eddie Pells

Kentucky, West Virginia ready for showdown

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — John Calipari keeps the "for sale" signs angry Memphis fans once staked in his yard in his garage. He has them as reminders that, even when times are good, there were plenty of years when fans wanted him gone.

Calipari bristled when it was suggested he was the master of the quick fix, a coach able to turn around programs with a few prized recruits, some slick strategy, and then kick back and enjoy Final Four runs.

He rattled off his resume: Calipari needed four years at UMass to make the NCAA tournament; three at Memphis and then three more to get out of the second round; and his NBA career lasted all of two-plus seasons with the New Jersey Nets.

He's always needed time to win games and win over fickle fans. Just not this year. Not at Kentucky.

Calipari has built Kentucky into a championship program again, not a mere solid one that lagged in prestige and Final Four counts in the final years of the Tubby Smith era and then under Billy Gillispie. Calipari has the Wildcats (35-2) within one win of their first Final Four since winning the national championship in 1998.

Win an eighth national title in Indianapolis and Kentucky will be KENTUCKY again.

"We know that we're part of history," forward Patrick Patterson said. "We're part of a team that's getting Kentucky back to the true place that the Kentucky program was in the past and should be from now on."

Patterson is a rare contributing holdover from Gillispie's rocky tenure. Calipari hit the recruiting trail hard and landed DeMarcus Cousins as his first high-profile recruit last April. John Wall soon found his way to Lexington. In only one season, Calipari built a roster of players who know nothing but big SEC wins and NCAA tournament romps.

The Wildcats are on the brink of reclaiming their position as the king of college basketball. West Virginia (30-6) wants to stop the coronation. In what has been a topsy-turvy NCAA tournament, the East Regional has proved the exception.

Top-seeded Kentucky and No. 2 West Virginia have escaped the wild upsets that have knocked out two other No. 1 seeds and a few other Final Four favorites. They play Saturday, with the winner heading to Indianapolis.

Mountaineers star Da'Sean Butler had his right hand and wrist wrapped in ice after Friday's practice as a precaution. He clutched the hand in pain after a hard fall in West Virginia's 69-56 win over Washington on Thursday night.

Butler, the team's leading scorer, said he shot well in practice and the injury won't affect his play.

"I'm taking care of certain things before it gets to a certain level where I can't do anything with it," he said.

The Big East tournament champions are already without starting point guard Darryl Bryant after he broke his right foot in practice Tuesday. But just like the Wildcats, Butler and the Mountaineers are rolling. They've won nine straight games and held six consecutive teams below 60 points.

They looked a bit out of rhythm running their half-court offense without Bryant, however, and played one of the ugliest first halves of the tournament Thursday night.

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins returned to his alma mater with a Final Four in mind. He wants that second trip — he led Cincinnati to the Final Four in 1992 — even if it comes at the expense of his good friend, Calipari. They long ago forged a tight friendship that's spanned every coaching stop. When Huggins had his heart attack, Calipari was one of the first to visit him in the hospital. Calipari's nephew was in the ambulance that transported Huggins.

"He said, 'Coach Huggins, you're going to be all right. I'm John Calipari's nephew,'" Calipari recalled. "And (Huggins) went, 'Oh my goodness, I'm not going to make it.'"

Huggins cracked that Calipari's nephew told him, "Coach, don't worry. I'm not going to let you die until Cal beats you at least once."

Calipari has beaten Huggins before, and a win Saturday night would be the sweetest victory yet. Calipari is still trying to get to a Final Four that counts — trips with Memphis and Massachusetts have been vacated by the NCAA.

Calipari has downplayed expectations and loves to point out that Kentucky is one of the most inexperienced teams left in the field. The Wildcats start three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior, but any tournament jitters have long vanished.

"We believe that we are a great basketball team," Patterson said. "We truly believe that we can win this national title if we continue playing better and keep improving."

-- Dan Gelston

Features

Weary Wildcats thrilled to still be playing

SALT LAKE CITY — Kansas State guard Jacob Pullen says he was much more excited than he was tired.

As draining as the Wildcats’ double-overtime win over Xavier was in the West Regional semifinals on Thursday night, Pullen said his thoughts were racing too much for him to fall asleep. Pullen just stayed in his hotel bed, remembering what he and the Wildcats had just done and could still be on the verge of doing.

Kansas State plays Butler on Saturday in the regional final. A trip to the Final Four is on the line, so multiple overtimes and near-sleepless nights really don’t make much of a dent in the fervor the Wildcats are feeling.

"We’re antsy to play. Any team would be antsy to play. It’s a big game," Pullen said. "At the same time, we’re still focused. We’re still calm. We feel like we’re taking another step toward where we want to be at the end of our season."

Kansas State (29-7) is trying to get back to the Final Four for the first time since 1964. Butler (31-4) has never been — and this year the national semifinals and championship are being decided in the Bulldogs’ hometown of Indianapolis.

Both teams were still on a bit of a high Friday because of the way they won the night before. The second-seeded Wildcats had to withstand Xavier’s rallies at the end of regulation and the first overtime before finally winning 101-96. The fifth-seeded Bulldogs advanced by upsetting Syracuse — the No. 1 seed in the West.

There was no shortage of reasons to be excited as the last two teams still standing in the region prepared to meet Saturday afternoon.

"I didn’t sleep much," Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. "That’s where Sunday is right around the corner. I’ll sleep a lot on Sunday."

The Wildcats knew that they were at a slight disadvantage by having to play two overtimes in the late game Thursday after the Bulldogs had already advanced and were back at the team hotel watching the Wildcats outlast the Musketeers.

"I know that I love watching games like that from the couch on TV — not on the sidelines," Martin said.

Martin said he was looking at Butler tape until about 3 a.m. as he and his assistants tried to learn all they could in a very short window between games.

The Horizon League champion Bulldogs have won 23 straight and held all three of their NCAA tournament opponents to fewer than 60 points.

"They’re good. I mean, you don’t win 23 games in a row by being an average team," Martin said.

-- Doug Alden

Patterson's decision to stay pays off for Kentucky

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — If Patrick Patterson had no regrets about passing up an opportunity to enter the NBA draft last year, the Wildcats forward certainly isn't second-guessing his decision to stay at Kentucky now.

In retrospect, the junior forward wouldn't trade the experience of playing on a dynamically talented young team that's coached by John Calipari, and is one win from the Final Four, for just about anything.

"The decision to come back has definitely paid off," Patterson said Friday, a day before the top-seeded Wildcats (35-2) face the second-seeded Mountaineers (30-6) in the East Regional final. "This has been my best year so far."

Statistically, that's not entirely the case. No longer the go-to player on a team that features star freshmen John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, Patterson's scoring average of 14.5 points per game ranks third among the Wildcats and is nearly three points off his career number.

Emotionally, it's a different story altogether. Here's a player who pushed aside both his ego — Patterson has no problem deferring to Wall and Cousins on offense — and the unhappy memories of spending two tumultuous seasons under former coach Billy Gillispie, for a chance to help Kentucky reclaim its place as a national power.

"The first reason I came back was I talked to my academic adviser and he said I can graduate in three years," Patterson said, reflecting upon his decision to forego entering the NBA draft last year. "The second reason was coach Calipari's dribble-drive offense that's definitely helped improve my game."

And the third?

"Winning a national championship," he said.

All three objectives are suddenly within reach for the communications major, who is projected to be a first-round pick in the NBA draft if he — as expected — declares himself eligible after this season. That means the next game could be his last.

"I definitely think about it," Patterson said. "None of us want it to end, and we want a championship."

There's another subplot for Patterson in facing the Mountaineers. From Huntington, W.Va., he chose Kentucky over a chance to play for his hometown team.

"I think it motivates me a little more," he said. "I don't want to lose to West Virginia."

Though his role has changed, Patterson earned the respect of his teammates and remains the Wildcats' unquestioned leader.

"He knows that the team is more than just being Patrick," Wall said. "And the freshmen coming in knew it was going to be more than just being us freshmen trying to do it. We had to come together as a team. And Patrick did a great job. ... He's stepping back and letting us do our thing, but he's also helping our team win."

Kentucky's 35 wins are one shy of matching the program record set by the Adolph Rupp-coached team in 1947-48, and five fewer than the Wildcats won in Patterson's first two years combined.

That's quite a turnaround from last year, when the Wildcats were relegated to the NIT. Patterson's freshman season was cut short by an ankle injury that prevented him from playing in the NCAA tournament.

Despite the NBA's lure, Patterson had unfinished business to attend to. He elected to return after Gillispie was fired in March and replaced by Calipari. Though Calipari said he had little say in influencing Patterson's decision, he was impressed with how the player accepted his new role.

"He could have come back and said, 'This is my team and I'm shooting all the balls,'" Calipari said. "Well, guess what he does? He scores less points, gets less rebounds, and his stock has gone through the roof."Along with being able to share the spotlight, Patterson also developed other dimensions of his game as a defender and an outside shooter. 

Illinois teen makes startling NCAA bracket run

GLENVIEW, Ill. — Nobody’s perfect.

Suburban Chicago teenager Alex Herrmann was 48-for-48 through the first two rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, despite a string of upsets that wrecked millions of brackets.

Butler beat No. 1 seed Syracuse in the regional semifinals Thursday night, ending the 17-year-old Herrmann’s run through the brackets. It was the first miss in his bracket.

Herrmann, who is autistic, entered CBSsports.com’s Bracket Manager competition. The bracket can be changed after games are completed, and some skeptics on the Internet questioned Hermann’s calls. Hermann’s family told NBC-TV’s Chicago affiliate the young man just picked the winners. The family and CBS officials did not return messages Friday.

The student at Glenbrook South High school chose Kansas State, Purdue, Kentucky and Tennessee to make the Final Four. His pick for a national champion? The Boilermakers.