Kentucky-UCLA Among Awesome Friday Sweet 16 Match-Ups

NCAA Sweet 16 South and East Regions Previews

South Region

(1) North Carolina Tar Heels vs. (4) Butler Bulldogs
7:09 pm ET, CBS

North Carolina (29-7) is the last remnant of the ACC, the conference that was touted by many "in the know" analysts as the best in the nation. What we know now is that the "best" conference has a record of 7 wins and 8 losses, leaving the Tar Heels (who won the regular season but lost in the conference tournament final to Duke) as the lone representative. Thus, it's not a stretch to believe that North Carolina is not long for this tournament. The logic is that since every other team has from the ACC has been eliminated, how soon will the Tar Heels fall?

So far, they've had it relatively easy, dropping #16 Texas Southern in the opening round, 103-64, then disposing of a very game #8 Arkansas squad in the second round, 72-65. The Razorbacks had the Heels on their toes, leading 65-60 with under three minutes to play, but North Carolina closed out the game on a 12-0 run to survive and move forward. The Heels shot just 38.1%, the worst for a Carolina squad in the tournament since 1968.

If Carolina plays as poorly offensively as they did against the Razorbacks, Butler may make them pay dearly and send them home early. The bulldogs come out of the Big East, which sent seven teams and has only two remaining (the other, Xavier), so this could be rated as a meeting between survivors of the two most overrated conferences. If that's the case, 25-8 Butler (2nd in the Big East, 12-6), a 7 1/2-point underdog, has a very good chance of upending the Tar Heels.

Butler got through round one by defeating #13 Winthrop 76-64, and then took down a highly-touted #12 in Middle Tennessee State, 74-65. As far as tenacious is concerned, the Bulldogs are as fierce as they come. North Carolina should not expect an easy time, but this group may not be as talented as some previous NC tournament teams, and they are very young and inexperienced. Thus, anything can happen, and Butler could come out ahead.

(2) Kentucky Wildcats vs. (3) UCLA Bruins
9:39 pm ET, CBS

In what could be the best Elite Eight game of all, the Bruins and Wildcats take back seats to almost no teams in the tournament. Kentucky cruised through the SEC regular season, posting a 16-2 mark (31-5 overall), two games better than runner-up Florida, and they won the conference tournament handily as well.

What's a little disturbing about the Wildcats - other than their relative youth, though that's become a feature of most tourney teams of late - is the closeness of their two wins: 79-70 over #15 seed Norther Kentucky, a team the Wildcats should have beaten by 30; and, their 65-62 victory in the second round over #10 Wichita State, which almost pulled off a monumental upset. The Shockers, however, may have been vastly underrated, so Kentucky can get a pass on that one.

At 31-4 UCLA has the look of a team nobody really wants to be playing at this juncture, largely because of the presence of the presumptive #1 draft pick, freshman point guard Lonzo Ball, who led the nation in assists, at 7.6 per game. Scoring an average of 14.7 per outing, Ball leads a team with six double figure scorers, a rarity in the college ranks. Ball will match up against Kentucky's freshman sensation, De'Aaron Fox, who's no slouch at 4.6 assists and 14.1 points per game, but he'll have his hands full on defense against the crafty Ball. The line favors the Bruins by one, but they could win by more if Ball is all he's supposed to be.

Both conferences are well-represented. The SEC sent five teams and three are remaining (Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida). The PAC-12 holds the best record of any conference at 8-1, having sent just four teams. Only USC has bowed out, but they won two games (First Four and First Round). UCLA, Arizona and Oregon remain.

East Region

(3) Baylor Bears vs. (7) South Carolina Gamecocks
7:29 pm ET, TBS

Baylor had a very solid season, but fell short in the strong Big 12, finishing tied with West Virginia and Iowa State for second place at 12-6, behind champion Kansas. The Bears are 27-7 overall, after dusting #14 New Mexico State in the opening round, 91-73, and slipping by a better-than-advertised #11 USC, 82-78. Baylor is probably the tallest team by position in the tourney, with seven-footer, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr., and 6'10" Johnathan Motley anchoring the front line. While they may be long and lanky, the Baylor forwards are not exceptionally strong, and South Carolina brings plenty of muscle, which they used to upend undersized and heavily-favored #2 seed Duke, 88-82, after disposing of #10 Marquette, 93-73.

The Gamecocks went through the regular season in and out of the Top 25, slipping up as the regular season ended with five losses in their final eight games and then losing to Alabama in the opening round of the SEC tournament, 64-53.

But, South Carolina has rebounded well and they will hit the boards hard against Baylor. If this turns into a front court scrum, look for South Carolina to at least cover the 3 1/2-point spread and possibly win outright. Sindarius Thornwell and Chris Silva will lead the charge, but the Gamecocks are not particularly deep.

(8) Wisconsin Badgers vs. (4) Florida Gators
9:59 pm ET, TBS

The elite Eight ends with a couple of rank outsiders matching up in what should be an exciting contest. Wisconsin's main claim to fame is beating #1 seed in the East, Villanova, 65-62, in the second round, marking them as giant-killers and raising all kinds of rancor from pundits who thought the Badgers were under-seeded as a #8. While that may be true - because they did go 26-9 and were runners-up in the Big Ten to Purdue, at 12-6 - they did tie with Maryland in second, and the Terps were shuffled off in the first round by Xavier. So, there are arguments either way, but the reality is that the Badgers are big and bad and disciplined, probably moreso than the Gators, who lost consistently to Kentucky this season, but were otherwise well-regarded, also ranked in the Top 25 throughout the season.

The Gators grabbed a #4 seed and it appears to be well-deserved. In the first round, they took care of #13 East Tennessee State handily, 80-64. In the second round, the Gators chomped down on #5 Virginia, holding the Cavaliers to 29.6% shooting (16-54) in a 65-39 rout. While Virginia was not regarded by anyone as a team of sharpshooters, the Florida defense was strangulating and the same kind of effort might turn this meeting against Wisconsin into a game of first-to-50.

That kind of grinding atmosphere might be right up Badger alley, but all indication are that the two-point favorite Gators are going to advance here.

NCAA Tournament Conference Scoreboard
Through Sunday (3/19) Games

Conference (# of teams)	Record	Winners (# of Wins)
ACC (9)	7-8	Notre Dame (1), Florida St. (1), Virginia (1), Louisville (1), Duke (1), North Carolina (2)
Big East (7)	5-5	Villanova (1), Butler (2), Xavier (2)
Big Ten (7)	8-4	Purdue (2), Wisconsin (2), Northwestern (1), Michigan (2), Michigan State (1)
Big 12 (6)	8-3	Kansas State (1), West Virginia (2), Iowa St. (1), Kansas (2), Baylor (2)
SEC (5)	7-2	Florida (2), Arkansas (1), Kentucky (2), South Carolina (2)
PAC 12 (4)	8-1	USC (2), Arizona (2), Oregon (2), UCLA (2)
Atlantic 10 (3)	1-3	Rhode Island (1)
American (2)	1-2	Cincinnati (1)
West Coast (2)	3-1	Gonzaga (2), St. Mary's (1)
All Others (23)	(4-23)	Mt. St. Mary's (1), UC Davis (1), Middle Tennessee (1), Wichita State (1)

ESPN updated NCAA tournament bracket

Baylor Holds Off OK State Behind Johnathan Motley's 24 Points, 11 Boards

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, February 8, 2017

#6 Baylor defeated Oklahoma State Wednesday, keeping the Bears a game back of Kansas in the Big 12. Kansas is 9-2 in conference action; Baylor is right behind at 8-3.

Johnathan Motley dominated inside play with 24 points in the 72-69 win at Oklahoma State. Motley was 9-for-12, all of his scoring coming from inside the paint or the foul line, where he nailed 6 of 8 free throws.

A 6'10" junior from Houston Texas, Motley has become one of the most overpowering figures in college hoops. With 11 boards Motley registered his third straight double-double, though the prior two were in losses to Kansas (73-68) and Kansas State (56-54).

This was also the tenth double-double for the big man, his most dominating performance coming in a 74-64, January 17 win over the Texas Longhorns, where he notched career highs with 32 points and 20 rebounds. Motley, who has improved his scoring a rebounding averages each of his three years at Baylor, leads the team in scoring at 16.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per outing.

The 21-3 Bears host TCU on Saturday and travel to Texas Tech on Wednesday prior to their February 18 showdown with the Kansas Jayhawks. The prior loss to the Jayhawks was in Kansas. Baylor will be home for the rematch, which is shaping up to be one of the most highly-anticipated games of the season.

Kenny Chery Leads #20 Baylor over #3 Kentucky, 67-62

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, December 6, 2013

Following a long delay due to the 4-overtime game between the Kentucky and Baylor womens' teams, the #3 Wildcats and #20 Bears took the court at Jerry Jones' palatial AT&T Stadium for a little Top 25 tip.

The Bears, whose only loss was to Syracuse, 74-67, on November 27, was ready for the meeting that was the finale of the SEC-Big 12 Challenge, and, thanks to some heady play down the stretch and a game-high, 18 points from point guard Kenny Chery, came away on the top side of a 67-62 victory, sending the Wildcats to their second loss of the season (7-2).

Chery, a 5'11" junior from Montreal, couldn't buy a bucket from long range, going 0-for-5 from beyond the arc, but was money inside, hitting eight of 10 two-pointers while dishing five assists. He also hit a key bucket with 43 seconds left, giving Baylor a 65-61 lead as the Bears outscored the Wildcats, 26-12, over the final 13 minutes, eight points supplied by Chery during the final push.

Beyond Chery's contributions on the scoreboard, Baylor badly out-rebounded Kentucky, 41-25, including 18 offensive boards.

The 8-1 Bears won't be hitting the hardwoods for nearly two weeks, when they host Northwestern State on December 18. Kentucky will get little rest, as they play Boise State on the 10th and travel to Chapel Hill to meet the North Carolina Tar Heels on December 14.

NCAA Tournament: Sweet 16 Friday Early Games Results & Recaps

South Region

(3) Baylor 75, (10) Xavier 70 - Baylor looked like they would blow out the Musketeers, opening up an 18-point lead in the first half, but Xavier closed with a 13-3 run to go into the break down 36-29. Baylor shot 53% in the opening half, but tailed off in the second half as Xavier closed the gap to four points, and finally to three with 22 seconds left, but Brady Heslip nailed down the win with four free throws in the final seconds for the win.

Xavier's Tu Holloway led all scorers with 22 points, but the game ball belonged to Baylor's Quincy Acy, who had a monster game with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Acy was 8-for-11 from the field and made all four of his free throws. The Bears advance to the regional finals where they will face the winner of tonight's Kentucky-Indiana regional semi-final.


Midwest Region

(1) North Carolina 73, (13) Ohio 65 OT - The David vs. Goliath match-up of the tournament went to... Goliath, but David forced North Carolina into overtime.

The Tar Heels were clearly out of sorts without point guard Kendall Marshall, who was in street clothes due to a fractured wrist suffered in Carolina's win over Creighton. Freshman stillman White started in Marshall's place, but Carolina committed 13 first half turnovers and, despite leading by 15 at one point, took a 29-22 lead into intermission. North Carolina turned the ball over 23 times in the game, allowing Ohio to remain close and eventually tie the game late, sending it into an extra five-minute session.

North Carolina scored the first five points in OT, and outscored the worn-down Bobcats, 10-2, for the hard-earned win. Walter Offutt scored 26 for the Bobcats, but North Carolina's Tyler Zeller owned the night, with 20 points, 21 rebounds and five blocks. It was the first time any player had scored 20 points with 20 or more rebounds since Wake Forest's Tim Duncan did it in 1977.

Brady Heslip's Nine 3-Pointers Lift Baylor into Sweet 16

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 17, 2012

On a good night, a sharp-shooting, three-point specialist will make four or five shots from beyond the arc. Any more than that generally deserves special mention by the basketball press. Six is great, seven is rare, but when a player goes off for nine from deep - especially under the pressure of the NCAA tournament - it is extraordinary.

That's what Brady Heslip did in Baylor's 80-63 ejection of Colorado and the PAC-12 from the tourney. Heslip took just 13 shots - 12 from outside the three-point line - and made nine of them, helping the Bears forge a round of 32 rout.

A native of Burlington, in Ontario province, Canada, Heslip fell two short of the tournament record 11, hoisted by Loyola Marymount's Jeff Fryer back in 1990. Heslip became the ninth player in NCAA tournament history to make nine or more threes. The win was Baylor's second straight in the tournament and their 29th overall against six losses. To reach 30 wins, the Bears will have to wait until Friday night, when they face the winner of the Xavier-Lehigh contest in the South region round of 16.

That should allow Heslip plenty of time to practice those long-range jumpers.

Conference tournaments UPDATE: late, late games, 3/9/12

Big 12: Baylor 81 Kansas 72 - #12 Baylor upset #3 Kansas to advance to the Big 12 final on Saturday to face the winner of Texas-Missouri. The Bears ut six players in double figures, throwing the Midwest and West NCAA #1 bids up for grabs.

Big Ten: Ohio State 88 Purdue 71 - #7 Ohio State had few problems eliminating Purdue from the Big Ten tourney. Jared Sullinger's 30 points and 12 rebounds led five Buckeyes in double figures. Ohio State faces Michigan in a semi-final match-up Saturday.

Big East: Louisville 64 Notre Dame 50 - Peyton Siva continued to shine for the Cardinals, scoring 13 points with 9 assists and 8 rebounds, leading Louisville to the Big East final Saturday night against Cincinnati.

ACC: Florida State 82 Miami 71 - Florida State led the entire game, ousting Miami from the ACC tourney and setting up a semi-final showdown Saturday with #6 Duke.

Perry Jones III Scores 31 with 11 Boards as Baylor Advances

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, March 8, 2012

Of all the fine individual performances on a day full of conference tournament play, the work of Baylor's budding superstar, Perry Jones III, stood out.

Jones led the Bears to an 82-74 win over Kansas State, setting up Friday's semi-final meeting with Kansas in the Big 12 tourney. Jones scored 31 points on 11 of 14 shooting, going 2-for-2 from the 3-point line, making seven of nine free throws. The sophomore forward - who most expect will make the jump to the NBA after the NCAA tourney - added 11 rebounds for his third straight double-double and eighth of the season.

Conference Tournaments UPDATE (late, late games):

Big East: Notre Dame 57 South Florida 53, OT - Determining the final entrant into the Big East semi-finals took overtime, as #23 Notre Dame outscored the Bulls in the extra session, 12-8, setting up a Friday night meeting with Louisville. Despite the loss, it's probably not the end of the road for South Florida. With a 12-6 mark in the conference, a 20-13 record overall and a win over Villanova in the opening round of the tourney, the Bulls should be one of the seven or eight teams from the 16-team Big East to receive an invitation on Sunday.

Big 12: Texas 71 Iowa State 67 - Even though J'Covan Brown missed all five of his three-point attempts, he still managed to lead all scorers with 23 points as the Longhorns advanced to the Big 12 tournament semi-final match-up with Missouri Friday night. The Longhorns may have needed the win over the Cyclones to qualify for the NCAAs, as they went through the conference regular season with a 9-9 mark and are now 20-12 overall. Iowa State (20-10, 12-6) is also projected to receive an at-large bid.

Pierre Jackson Lifts Baylor Past Kevin Jones and West Virginia, in OT, 83-81

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, December 23, 2011

Reserve guard Pierre Jackson scored the last five points in regulation, including a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left to send the game into overtime and scored the first three points in overtime with another bomb from beyond the arc as the #6 Baylor Bears were pressed into an extra session by West Virginia, finally emerging with the 83-81 OT win, in Las Vegas.

Jackson, a 5'10" Las Vegas native put on a show back in his hometown, scoring a career high 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting (4-for-7 from 3-point range) to go with five rebounds, four assists and three steals, helping to keep the Bears undefeated at 12-0.

For West Virginia, a 9-3 team that didn't receive a single vote in the latest AP Top 25 poll, the narrow loss was bittersweet, at least proving that the Mountaineers could go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country.

They wouldn't have done it without the monster performance of Kevin Jones, who was simply unstoppable in the paint, scoring a game high 26 points and ripping down 17 rebounds. Jones was 13-for-21 from the field, including a pair of three pointers. His board work included six offensive rebounds.

Jones, who averages a double-double (20.4, 11.5) had his eighth of the year. Amazingly, neither his point nor rebound total was a season high for the 6'8" senior. He had 18 rebounds in a loss to Kent State on November 15th, then scored 29 two nights later in a 97-62 win over Alcorn State.

Baylor Cruises as Dunn Hangs 43 on Morgan State

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Last season, the Baylor Bears compiled an impressive 28-8 record, making its way to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tourney, where they were knocked off by eventual nation champion, Duke, in the third round, 76-71.

After that kind of performance, much was expected of the Bears this season, led by shooting star LaceDarius Dunn. The Baylor bandwagon was derailed in December with three losses in a four-game stretch after a 7-0 start.

Beaten by Gonzaga, Washington State and Florida State, the Bears were looking more like bubble babies than bracket busters, but since rebounded with wins over Texas Southern and, on Tuesday, Morgan State, topping the Golden Bears, 89-72.

The game was an eyeful for all manner of Bears, golden or otherwise, as Dunn erupted for career-highs in scoring, with 43 points, and three-pointers, canning 10 of 18. Baylor took a 42-40 lead into the half, but blew out their opponents, outscoring them 47-32 in the second half, fueled by Dunn's hot hand. He finished with a stat line which included 13-of-22 from the field, 7-for-7 from the foul line, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in 37 minutes.

While Dun is among the nation's leading scorers at 23.4 points per game, the jury is still out on Baylor as the team heads into conference play January 8 at Texas Tech. The Bears may remain a mystery until later in the month, when they face Kansas at home on the 17th and travel to Kansas State on the 24th.

NOTABLE: It was a rough night for the Razorbacks. Not only did their football team fall to Ohio State, 31-26, in the Sugar Bowl, but 12th-ranked Texas Longhorns blitzed them on the hardwoods, 79-46.

#2 Ohio State battled to a 73-68 win at Iowa, getting 24 points from freshman Jared Sullinger.

In the Big East, #5 Pitt toughed out an 83-79 win at Providence, while Notre Dame kicked Georgetown, 73-70, handing the Hoyas their second loss in three Big East Games. Pitt beat them in their conference opener on Dec. 27, 78-63.

Dunn Paces Bears with 24 Points in Pac-10/Big 12 Hardwood Series

College Hoops Player of the Day for DAY, Month, 2010

Ranked #11 in the nation, the Baylor Bears are one of 23 undefeated teams in the college basketball universe. On Thursday, the Bears took on Arizona State as part of the Pac-10/Big 12 Hardwood Series, coming away with a 68-54 home win to go to 6-0 on the year.

Leading all scorers, as he does with regularity, was senior LaceDarius Dunn who only made baskets from beyond the three-point line, totaling 24 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Dunn took just two shots that weren't three-pointers and missed them both, adding 6-of-8 free throws, four rebounds and a pair of assists.

Dunn, who missed Baylor's first three games due to suspension, hasn't taken long to get his stroke back. He's hitting at a 52.5% clip overall and has nailed 16 of 31 treys (51.6%). The two-dozen points scored on Thursday matched his season high.

Baylor has a light schedule through the holidays, but one home game stands out. On December 18, they host Gonzaga, and then open conference play on January 8 at Texas Tech.

Notable: Borrowing a page from the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, the Pac-10/Big 12 Hardwood Series featured some exciting contests on Thursday, with more to come, starting Friday night.

#4 Kansas survived a scare at home from UCLA, with a 77-76 win, the winning margin coming on a Mario Little free-throw with seven-tenths of a second on the clock. Little's make came after he was fouled following Tyler Honeycutt's three-pointer which tied the game with 5 seconds to play. Honeycutt scored 33 points for the 3-3 Bruins. Kansas improved to 7-0, keeping alive their home court winning streak, extending it to 64 straight.

Out in Eugene, the Oregon Beavers were beaten by #9 Missouri, 83-80. The Beavers dropped to 4-3, while the Tigers won their sixth game against just one loss, a 111-102 loss to Georgetown on November 30.

The remaining games in the series are (all times Eastern):

Kansas St. Wildcats at Washington St. Cougars, Dec. 3, 11 pm

Dec. 4:
Iowa St. Cyclones at California Golden Bears, 2 pm
Texas Tech Red Raiders at Washington Huskies, 4 pm
Oregon St. Beavers at Colorado Buffaloes, 10 pm

Dec. 5:
Oklahoma Sooners at Arizona Wildcats, 4 pm
Texas Longhorns at USC Trojans, 10:30 pm

Dec. 11:
Washington Huskies at Texas A&M Aggies, 4:30 pm

Dec. 21:
Stanford Cardinal at Oklahoma St. Cowboys, 9 pm

Elite 8 In: Tennessee, Baylor, Duke, Michigan State

NCAA Tourney Update: 3rd round results

Midwest Region

6 Tennessee 76
2 Ohio St. 73
The Tennessee Volunteers advanced past the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history off a spirited effort on both ends of the floor, knocking off the #2 seeded Buckeyes. Wayne Chism had one of the best all-around efforts of his exemplary collegiate career with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

The action in this game was frenetic from start to finish, as the lead changed hands repeatedly and neither team was able to establish a comfortable lead at any point. Ohio State's Evan Turner finished with 32 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

9 Northern Iowa 52
5 Michigan St. 59
The Spartans finally wrested away a lead late in the second half from the very capable Panthers and held on for the win. Michigan State's Durrell Summers paced the scoring with 19 points, including four 3-pointers. Summers' seven rebounds were also high for the game. Michigan State will play Tennessee in one of two Sunday contests.

South Region

3 Baylor 72
10 St. Mary's 49
St. Mary's was put away early by the quicker and more athletic Bears, who dominated the Gaels in every way. LaceDarius Dunn paced all scorers with 24 points, including a 4-for-6 effort from 3-point range. Baylor was so completely dominant, the score at half time was 46-17.

4 Purdue 57
1 Duke 70
With both teams contesting every pass, shot and rebound, the tight defensive postures produced a low-scoring first half that had Duke up by a 24-23 score. The game remained tight until just after midway through the second period, when Nolan Smith scored 7 straight points on a pair of runners in the lane and a 3-pointer, to expand Duke's advantage to 9, and Purdue never recovered.

Kyle Singer had 24 points for the Blue Devils, Jon Scheyer added 18 and Nolan smith finished with 15. The Blue Devils face Baylor in the regional final Sunday.

NCAA Conference Scoreboard (through games of March 26)

Conference W-L
ACC (6-5)
Atlantic-10 (2-3)
Big East (7-7)
Big Ten (8-4)
Big 12 (9-4)
Conference-USA (0-2)
Mountain West (2-4)
PAC-10 (3-2)
SEC (6-2)
West Coast (3-2)
Western Athletic (0-2)
Other (10-18)

*Conferences with only one tournament team listed as "Other."

So Long KU: Northern Iowa Shocks #1 Kansas

NCAA Tourney Update: 2nd round results

Midwest Region

9 Northern Iowa 69
1 Kansas 67
Ali Farokhmanesh did it again. Just two days after his decisive three-pointed ended UNLV's dreams, the dead-eye senior guard knocked down a bomb that exploded the #1 overall seed Kansas. Wide open off the Kansas pressure, Farokhmanesh had a perfect look with 30 seconds left and a one-point lead burying his shot from the wing with less than 30 seconds left in the game. He finished with a game-high 16 points as the Panthers eliminated Kansas, widely believed to be the best team in the tournament and ranked #1 in the last polls.

Northern Iowa led nearly the entire game, but felt the pressure late, turning the ball over repeatedly on inbounds plays as Kansas turned up the heat. In the end, it was Kansas' inability to hit three-pointers, defend and rebound that cost them a chance at a second national championship in the last three years. The only time Kansas led in the game was at the start, when they opened with a 2-0 edge.

The Panthers improved to 30-4, advancing to the Sweet 16 to face the winner of the Michigan State-Maryland match-up.

South Region

11 Old Dominion 68
3 Baylor 76
LaceDarius Dunn scored a game-high 26 points to lead four Baylor players in double figures past Old Dominion. Dunn, a high-energy scorer, hit 9 of 16 shots, including 4 of 11 from beyond the arc. The Bears advance into the Sweet 16 and will face the region's #10 seed, St. Mary's, next Friday night in Houston.

East Region

11 Washington 82
3 New Mexico 64
It appears that offering just two invitations to PAC-10 teams might have been a huge mistake by the selection committee, as the Washington Huskies, the conference champs, easily dispatched the #3 seed in the East, New Mexico, after handling Marquette in the opening round. The huskies opened up a double-digit lead early and, after leading 44-32 at the half, coasted to the win, as Dairese Gary poured in a game-high 25 points.

With Cal beating Louisville on Friday, the PAC-10 is now 3-0 in the tourney. Washington, winners of nine straight, advances to the regional semi-final to face the winner of Sunday's West Virginia-Missouri game.

Advancing: K-State, Murray St., St. Mary's, Baylor, Butler

NCAA Tourney Update

Kansas State easily cruised past North Texas, the #15 seed in the West region. The Wildcats, the #2 regional seed, took command of the game early and were never threatened. Denis Clemente led the way to the 82-62 victory, with 17 points. Three other players scored in double figures for the Wildcats, who face BYU in the second round.

The upset of the day thus far belongs to the Murray State Racers, a #13 seed, taking out #4 Vanderbilt on a buzzer-beater by Danero Thomas, 66-65. The Racers clawed all day long to maintain short leads, but eventually found themselves down by a point with 4.8 seconds remaining. Thomas' 15-footer caught nothing but nylon as a celebration ensued with the ball going cleanly through the hoop. Murray State's next opponent is the winner of the Butler-UTEP game, the last of the Thursday day games. It was the second one-point win of the day.

The St. Mary's Gaels, winners of six straight, including the final of the West Coast Tournament over Gonzaga, took over after the break, and outgunned Richmond, the #7 seed from the Atlantic-10, 80-71. The big problem for the Spiders was 6'11" Omar Samhan, who scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, both game highs. Samhan dominated the interior, while his teammates lined up open outside shots. The Gaels earned their first tournament win since 1959, shooting 49%. They face Villanova in the second round on Saturday in Providence.

Baylor unknotted a tight game with a late spurt to put down pesky Sam Houston, 69-58, in the South region. Ekpe Udoh registered a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. The Bears advance to the second round game against upset winner Old Dominion on Sunday.

Trailing by 6 at the half, the Bulter Bulldogs advanced into the second round in the West region with a 77-59 win over UTEP, the region's #12 seed and will face upset winner, Murray State on Sunday. The Bulldogs roared out of half time, going on a 22-4 run. Shelvin Mack, on fire from outside, canned 7 of 9 3-pointers for a game high 25 points.

Wright, Hoyas Hand Pitt 1st Big East Defeat

College Hoops Player of the Day for DAY, Month, 2010

There are just too many good teams in the Big East to think that any one of them will go through the conference schedule without tasting defeat, and probably more than once.

Such was the case on Wednesday night, when the Georgetown Hoyas stormed into Pittsburgh's Petersen Events Center and stopped the Panthers' 31-game home win streak and 5-0 Big East start with an important 74-66 road win. Led, as they often are, by point guard Chris Wright's game-high 27 points, Georgetown broke a second-half 56-all tie with a 7-0 run and never allowed the Panthers closer than 6 after that.

Wright went 11-for-17 from the field, including hitting all 3 of his 3-point attempts and going 2-for-2 from the foul line. He also added 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal while outplaying his counterpart, Pitt's Ashton Gibbs, who was just 3-for-16 and 2 of 8 from beyond the arc for 8 points.

Pitt's loss left Villanova alone atop the Big East, at 6-0, followed by 5-1 Syracuse and Pitt. Georgetown improved to 5-2, good for sole possession of 4th place in the conference standings.

Notable: #3 Kansas staved off a determined effort by Baylor for an 81-75 win. Sherron Collins all but sealed the deal when he hit his 5th 3-pointer of the game with 1:13 left, giving KU a 5-point lead. Collins finished with a game-high 28 points, closely followed by Baylor's LaceDarius Dunn, who scored 27 and also canned 5 3-pointers. Dunn, who leads Baylor at 19.5 points per game, grabbed 9 boards to go with 2 assists and 4 steals.

Duke and North Carolina both lost on the same night, the first time that's happened since 2003, though it appears it could happen again sooner rather than later, especially with a slew of injuries plaguing the Tar Heels. Carolina was mangled, 82-69, by visiting Wake Forest (13-4, 3-2), probably the best unranked team in the country. Duke had its own problems at NC State, as the Blue Devils were spanked by the Wildcats, 88-74. North Carolina is 1-3 in ACC play; Duke's conference record is 3-2.

Dunn's 25 Leads Baylor Over Oklahoma St.

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, January 16, 2010

Oklahoma State has a pretty good basketball team. At 13-4, they've established themselves as a contender in the Big 12. The problem for the Cowboys, however, is that there are a lot of good teams in the conference, such as Baylor, the team they visited on Saturday. After a closely-contested first half, from which the Cowboys emerged ahead, 40-39, Baylor took control in the latter stages, thanks to a 25-point effort from the Bears' leading scorer, LaceDarius Dunn, propelling Baylor to a harder-than-it-looked, 83-70 win.

Dunn, who is averaging 19.1 points per game this season, hit 9 of 17 shots overall, including 4 of his 9 three-point attempts. He also grabbed 9 rebounds, as the #22 Bears improved to 14-2, and 2-1 in the conference, along with Kansas State, Oklahoma and Missouri. That foursome trails Kansas (2-0) and Texas (3-0) in one of the nation's most loaded conferences. With anywhere from 6 to 8 teams likely to head to the Big Dance, wins over other contenders - give Baylor one here - will be an important determinant weighing on the final selections. Baylor appears to be headed that way.

NOTABLE: There was no lack of Top 25 action on Saturday, including a huge 72-67 overtime victory for #1 Texas, who hosted the Aggies from Texas A&M. Forward Damion James scored 26 points, including seven in overtime to keep the Longhorns unbeaten at 17-0.

Now that Ohio State has a healthy Evan Turner back playing full time, they've managed to even their conference record at 3-3 and should be a force - barring injuries -for the rest of the Big Ten season. After dispatching Purdue on Tuesday, the Buckeyes hosted #13 Wisconsin, defeating the Badgers by a 60-51 score. The 14-5 Buckeyes are making plenty of noise in the crowded Big Ten, where Purdue, which had been undefeated heading into conference action, has now lost three straight, their latest a 72-64 beat-down at Northwestern.

#12 North Carolina is in danger of dropping out of the Top 25 after dropping two straight, including Saturday's 73-71 loss to Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels are 12-6, and 1-2 in the ACC.

Madness: Kansas, Oklahoma Out of Big 12 Tourney

Oklahoma State 71, Oklahoma 70

James Anderson calmly sank two free throws with 2.3 seconds left in the game as the Cowboys shocked the Oklahoma Sooners in the Big 12 tournament. Anderson finished with 11 points, joining four other Cowboys in double figures in one of the team's best outings of the season. Byron Eaton scored 16 and Keiton Page had 15. The Sooners' Blake Griffith led all scorers with 17 points.

With the Sooners out of the way, the Cowboys have a path to the Big 12 tournament title and the automatic NCAA bid, especially since Baylor stunned Kansas later in the day.

Baylor 71, Kansas 64

Baylor's LaceDarius Dunn hit 6 of 11 three-pointers and was 9-16 overall for a game-high 24 points as the Bears made their shots and free throws down the stretch to upset the Big 12 regular season champions. Kansas led only one in the first half, at 1-0, as the Bears opened a lead of a many as 17 points. In the second half, Kansas actually took back the lead midway through, at 58-52, but could not hold off determined Baylor.

Baylor led 65-64 with just under 2 minutes to play, but held the Jayhawks scoreless the rest of the way while scoring the final six points of the game.

In the other quarterfinals, Texas held off Kansas State, 71-68; Missouri plays Texas Tech in the final game of the night.

Big 12: Red Raiders Roll Past Aggies

Texas A&M was nesting on the bubble heading into the Big 12 tournament, but their 88-83 1st round loss to Texas Tech may have been the needle that blew up their NCAA dreams.

Tech's Mike Singletary scored 43 points, a Big 12 tournament record, hitting 14-20 from the field, including 3-4 3-pointers and 12-14 free throws. Singletary was a one-man show, scoring 29 straight points for the Red Raiders during their comeback.

A&M took a 19-point lead into the half, 48-29, and led by 21 briefly in the second half, but the Red Raiders scored 59 second half points to surge to the win. It was the biggest comeback in Bg 12 tournament history.

At 23-9, the Aggies still have a legitimate shot at making it to the NCAA tournament. The Red Raiders, with a 14-18 record, can only hope to make the grade by winning the Big 12 tournament and gaining an automatic bid.

While the Texas Tech triumph was the big upset of the day, the rest of the Big 12 tourney games were in line with expectations. Baylor downed Nebraska, 65-49; the Texas Longhorns bullied Colorado, 67-56; and Oklahoma State cruised past Iowa St., 81-67.