Monday, March 19, 2012

NCAA Round of 32 Late Sunday Game Results and Recaps

Midwest region

North Carolina 87 Creighton 73 - Hailing from the Missouri Valley conference, the Bluejays of Creighton were no match for #1 seed North Carolina, who grabbed an early lead and expanded it to as many as 19 points in the second half. Doug McDermott had 20 points for Creighton, but little help from his teammates. Kendall Marshall led the Tar Heels with 18 points, 11 assists and four rebounds. Harrison Barnes scored 17 as North Carolina had five players in double figures and got 18 points from their bench. John Henson returned from a two-game absence and scored 13 points with 11 rebounds and four blocks.

It was reported after the game that point guard Kendall Marshall had suffered a fractured right wrist. No further details were immediately available.

Ohio 62 South Florida 56 - The Bobcats, champions of the Mid-America conference, advanced to the Sweet 16 with a victory over #12 seed South Florida. The Bobcats, seeded 13, were led by their back court of Walter Offett and GJ Cooper, who scored 21 and 19 points, respectively. Offett was 7-for-9 from the field, 4-for-4 on three-pointers and had three rebounds and four steals. Cooper was 7-for-9 from the foul line, with seven assists, six rebounds and a pair of steals.

Awaiting the Bobcats in the next round is top seed North Carolina.

Kansas 63 Purdue 60 - #2 seed Kansas pulled out a victory of 10th-seeded Purdue, in a game the Jayhawks trailed until Elijah Johnson hit a three pointer with 5:01 left to give Kansas a 57-56 lead. The Boilermakers jumped out to an eight-point lead and maintained it nearly for the duration. After Johnson's bucket, Purdue scored, but Kansas came up with a late steal and dunk by Tyshaun Taylor which left Purdue with just 2.5 ticks. Purdue's Ryne Smith had a chance at the buzzer, but the ball glanced off the backboard and caromed off the rim.

Kansas meets 11-seed North Carolina State in the next round.


West region

Florida 84 Norfolk State 50 - As it turned out, Norfolk State's "one shining moment" was just that, as they could not rekindle the fire that led them to their upset of #2 seed Missouri, Friday night. Florida registered the largest margin of victory in the tournament to date. None of the Spartans scored in double figures, while the Gators had five, led by Kenny Boynton's 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Florida, the region's 7 seed, gets #3 Marquette in the next round.


East region

Cincinnati 62 Florida State 56 - In a game that was close throughout, Cincinnati, down, 50-49, scored seven straight points late, keyed by a steal and dunk by Dion Dixon and a short jumper from Cashmere Wright that put the Bearcats ahead for good. Sean Kilpatrick was the top scorer in the game with 18 points and six rebounds. A tenacious defensive struggle, both teams shot at just a 38% rate. Cincinnati, the region's #6 seed, became the fourth team from the state of Ohio to reach the Sweet 16, where they will face the 2nd-seeded Buckeyes of Ohio State for the right to advance.


South region

Xavier 70 Lehigh 58 - Lehigh raced out to an early 15-point lead, but Xavier chipped away, trailed 37-33 at the break and quickly evened the score in the second half. Lehigh didn't score a point from 8:08 to 1:03 left in the game as Xavier widened their unassailable lead. Xavier center Kenny Frease scored 25 points and tore down 13 rebounds. Tu Holloway chucked in 21, including four threes. Lehigh became the sixth 15 seed to defeat a #2 seed when they toppled Duke Friday night, but like the five before them, failed to win their following game. The 10th-seeded Musketeers move on to face #3 Baylor.

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