Iowa State Outlasts North Carolina, 85-83, Advances to Sweet 16

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 23, 2014

Even with the loss of a key player - Georges Niang - DeAndre Kane wasn't going to let his teammates and Iowa State fans down.

Kane drove to the bucket and powered in the last two of his game-high 24 points with 1.6 seconds left to play, giving Iowa State an 85-83 victory over North Carolina and a trip to the Sweet 16, where they will meet Connecticut in an East regional semi-final on Friday, March 28.

The Cyclones lost Niang for the remainder of the season in their 93-75 win over NC Central as he suffered a fractured foot, but got big efforts from Naz Long, Monte Morris and Dustin Hogue against the Tar Heels.

Kane's 24 points came off 9-for-18 shooting and a 5-for-7 effort from the foul line. He also had 10 rebounds and seven assists, though his bucket near the end of the game was all that really mattered as the Cyclones overcame an eight-point deficit and outscored the Tar Heels 17-7 down the stretch.

Most of Sunday's slate of eight games went according to plan, with lower-numbered seeds knocking off the higher ones, except in the South region, where #10 Stanford knocked off #2 Kansas, 60-57, and in the Midwest, where #8 Kentucky upset #1 seed and previously unbeaten Wichita State, 78-76.

Tennessee's 83-63 win over Mercer made it a trio for the SEC in the Sweet 16, joining Kentucky and Florida, matching the number in the round by the Big Ten (Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin) and the PAC-12, which has advanced Stanford, UCLA and Arizona.

Baylor and Iowa State are the remaining teams from the Big 12 to advance, and two come out of the American Athletic - Louisville and UConn. Virginia is the only remaining ACC team left in the tournament. The Cavaliers smashed Memphis, 78-60, to advance.

DeAndre Kane Pours in 30 as Iowa State Douses Baylor, 87-72

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Iowa State set a school record with its 14th straight win as the Cyclones whipped Baylor, 87-72, in Big 12 action Tuesday night.

Ranked #9 in the latest AP poll, Iowa State took a two-point lead (40-38) into half time, but found themselves behind by two points early in the second half, 42-40. A 12-5 run by the Cyclones, in which DeAndre Kane scored six straight points, gave Iowa State the lead for good with 15 minutes left to play, eventually leading by as many as 21 points.

Kane, a fifth-year senior transfer from Marshall, led all scorers with 30 points, adding eight rebounds, nine assists and five steals, helping the Cyclones run away from the Bears in the second half. Averaging 16.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists, Kane is one of the best all-around players in the collegiate ranks and a huge reason the Cyclones are 14-0. He has scored in double figures in 12 of 14 games and has five double-doubles. His 30 points was a season high.

The win gave home-standing Iowa State a 2-0 mark in the Big 12, while handing the 12-2 Bears a loss in their first conference game of the season.

Elsewhere in the Top 25 ranks, #2 Syracuse improved to 15-0 with a 72-52 victory at Virginia Tech, #5 Michigan State had to go to overtime at home to take down #3 Ohio State, 72-68, Rodney Hood scored 27 points to lead #16 Duke to a 79-57 win over Georgia Tech, and #25 Kansas State topped TCU, 64-47.