NCAA Tourney: Friday Second Round Early Games Results

Midwest Region

(2) Duke 73 (15) Albany 61 - The Great Danes gave it their best, but Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee were simply unstoppable as the Duke Blue Devils sent Albany packing. Curry scored a game-high 26 points on 11 of 14 shooting, and Plumlee went 9-for-11 from the field for 23 points and snagged nine rebounds. Albany kept it close by hitting 63% from three-point land, making nine of 15 to Duke's 4-for-11 from beyond the arc, but the Blue Devils hit at an overall rate of 59% for the game, making 27 of 46 shots.

(7) Creighton 67 (10) Cincinnati 63 - Cincinnati became the second Big East casualty in a match-up with the Missouri Valley, after Wichita State took down Pitt yesterday and Crieghton, behind 27 points from Doug McDermott, sent the Bearcats home.

McDermott, a candidate for player of the year, had his usual exceptional game, leading all scorers by going 7-for-13 from the field with a pair of threes, 11-for-11 from the foul line and 11 boards.

The game was statistically tight, except from the foul line, where Crieghton hit 22 of 25, but the Bearcats were limited to just 4-for-9.

West Region

(12) Ole Miss 57 (5) Wisconsin 46 - Marshall Henderson led a second half comeback to help Ole Miss grab the victory from the Badgers, making Wisconsin the third #5 team to lose their opening game to a #12 seed.

Trailing 36-30 with 11:25 to play, Henderson, coming out of time out, hit a three-pointer that ignited the Rebels on a 27-10 run to close out the game. Henderson, who scored 19 points for the Rebels, had 17 during the close-out stretch, including all three of his three pointers. He had gone 0-for-9 from outside the arc prior to the final run.

Though the Rebels shot just 39% for the game, Wisconsin finished at just 25.4%, unable to solve Mississippi's zone defense. The Badgers made just 15 field goals, seven of which came from outside the three-point stripe, on 30 attempts.

(13) La Salle 63 (4) Kansas State 61 - The Explorers won their second game in two days (beat Boise State in Tuesday's First Four contest) and completed a clean sweep for the Atlantic 10 conference, which has won six tournament games without a loss.

Kansas State, trailing by 18 at the half, made a game of it, eventually taking a one-point lead late in the proceedings, but LaSalle's Jerrell Wright was solid as a rock, making clutch free throws down the stretch to eek out the win. Wright, who led all scorers with 21 points, was nearly perfect, making six of six from the field and nine of ten from the free throw line. He missed his final attempt at the line, which gave the Wildcats a chance to tie or win with 9.8 seconds left, but the Explorer defense was stout and held on for the victory.

East Region

(9) Temple 76 (8) North Carolina State 72 - The Wolfpack nearly came all the way back from an 18-point deficit, but Temple scored their final 14 points at the foul line, sealing the fifth straight win for the powerful Atlantic 10 conference, while handing the ACC its first defeat of the tournament.

Khalif Wyatt, Temple's leading scorer during the regular season, playing with an injured left thumb suffered in the first half, scored a game-high 31 points for the Owls. Though Wyatt wasn't exactly making it rain from the field, where he was 9-for-22, he made up for it at the foul line, canning 12 of 14 attempts. Temple will face the Indiana Hoosiers in the next round on Sunday. Indiana is the top seed in the East region.

(2) Miami (FL) 78 (15) Pacific 49 - Pacific, champions of the Big West conference, proved no match for the Hurricanes, regular season and tournament champion from the ACC. Miami's defense was at its usual high level, holding the Tigers to 33% shooting for the duration. Pacific didn't help itself, making just four of 11 from the free throw line.

Durand Scott had five three-pointers from eight attempts for a game-high 21 points. Miami was 12-for-22 (54.5%) from three-point range.

(1) Indiana 83 (16) James Madison 62 - Victors of the Colonial Athletic Association and winners over LIU-Brooklyn in one of Wednesday's play-in games, the James Madison Dukes proved no match for the powerful Indiana Hoosiers. Andre Nation and Charles Cook scored 42 of James Madison's 62. Indiana's scoring was more balanced, with five players in double figures.

(7) Illinois 57 (10) Colorado 49 - In a see-saw battle that had Colorado erase an 16-point half time deficit with a 21-0 run and take a five-point lead only to see the Illini finish the game on an 11-3 run, Illinois advanced to the round of 32. Illinois took down the first team from the PAC-12, which had won its previous three tourney games.

Despite a 3-for-12 mark from the field, Brandon Paul scored 17 points to lead the Fighting Illini, who will face #2 seed Miami in the next round.