Drake, Connecticut and Gonzaga All Upset Victims In BIg Dance

AP Sports
Published: March 22, 2008

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Stephen Curry scored 30 of his 40 points in
the second half and hit the tie-breaking 3-pointer with just over a
minute left, leading 10th-seeded Davidson to an 82-76 win over
Gonzaga on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament’s
Midwest Regional.
Curry hit 8 of 10 3-pointers, and his two free throws with 14.5
seconds left iced it for the Wildcats (27-6), who won their first
NCAA game since Lefty Driesell was coach in the 1960s.
Jason Richards added 15 points for Davidson, which extended the
nation’s longest winning streak to 23 games. Andrew Lovedale had 12
points, and one of his 13 rebounds came on the offensive glass,
which led to Curry’s deciding 3-pointer.
Davidson advanced to play the region’s second seed, Georgetown,
on Sunday.
Freshman Steve Gray hit seven 3-pointers and scored 21 points
for Gonzaga (25-8), which blew 11-point leads in both halves to
make a first-round exit for the second straight year.
Georgetown 66, UMBC 47
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Roy Hibbert went over and around undersized
UMBC all day, finishing with 13 points and leading the
second-seeded Hoyas past the 15th-seeded Retrievers.
Jonathan Wallace added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting and Austin
Freeman finished with 11 for the Hoyas (28-5), who shot 51 percent
and held UMBC scoreless for a 7-minute stretch.
Darryl Proctor scored 16 points and Brian Hodges added 11 for
America East champion UMBC (24-9), which didn’t have a starter
taller than 6-foot-9 to defend the 7-foot-2 Hibbert.
Patrick Ewing Jr. added 10 points for the Hoyas, who let UMBC
hang around for only about 10 minutes of this one before taking
control with a 22-5 run late in the first half that overwhelmed the
suddenly cold-shooting Retrievers.
Siena 83, Vanderbilt 62
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Kenny Hasbrouck scored 30 points, Tay Fisher
added 19 on 6-for-6 shooting from 3-point range, and 13th-seeded
Siena stunned Vandy to become the first Metro Atlantic Athletic
Conference team to reach the second round since Manhattan in 2004.
Until now, Siena (23-10) was best-known for a first-round upset
over Stanford in 1989 - a 14 seed over a 3. This one might have
been just as shocking.
A.J. Ogilvy scored 18 points for Vanderbilt (26-8), which got 13
from SEC player of the year Shan Foster - who became the 22nd
player in SEC history to eclipse the 2,000-point career mark - and
10 from Ross Neltner. The Commodores came into the tournament more
than a little miffed that they were widely picked to be a
first-round upset victim.
Villanova 75, Clemson 69
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Scottie Reynolds scored 21 points, Corey
Fisher added 17 and the 12th-seeded Wildcats gave this NCAA
tournament pod its fourth upset in four games.
Villanova, which has more wins as a lower-seeded team in the
tournament than any program since 1979, overcame an 18-point
deficit for this win.
The Wildcats trailed 36-18 with 5 minutes to play in the first
half. But they made their 3-pointers - Reynolds made his first
three after the break - and slowly sliced into the big lead.
Reynolds’ bucket gave Villanova its first lead of the game,
50-49 with 11:56 remaining.
Demontez Stitt led the Tigers with 14 points. K.C. Rivers Jr.
added 12, and Terrence Oglesby finished with 11.
Tampa is the first site in NCAA history to have four 12 or lower
seeds win. In fact, no other had done it more than twice.
East Regional
Tennessee 72, American 57
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - JaJuan Smith finished with 19 points,
Wayne Chism added 16 and Tennessee woke up just in time to avoid a
big upset in the first round.
Ahead 53-51 with 5:45 left, Tennessee (30-4) escaped from a team
making its NCAA tournament debut. The Vols held the 15th-seeded
Eagles to only one basket the rest of the way.
Garrison Carr, the MVP of the Patriot League tournament, poured
in 24 points for American (21-12), even the Vols threw five
different defenders at him to no avail.
The Volunteers survived to play seventh-seeded Butler on Sunday.
The Vols felt slighted coming in, believing they deserved more
recognition. Smith wrote “No. 1 seed” on his orange-and-white
sneakers, but coach Bruce Pearl and Tennessee cost themselves with
a sluggish showing in the Southeastern Conference tournament.
Butler 81, South Alabama 61
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Pete Campbell hit eight 3-pointers and
scored 26 points, and the Bulldogs won their fourth straight
first-round game to set a school record for wins.
The Bulldogs (30-3) were a No. 7 seed and a popular first-round
upset on many brackets. But the 10th-seeded Jaguars (26-7) couldn’t
live up to its much-criticized at-large bid.
All anyone wanted to talk about before the game was the matchup
of starting guards, and A.J. Graves of Butler and South Alabama’s
Daon Merritt didn’t disappoint. Graves had 18 points and Merritt,
who kept the Jaguars in the game early, scored 14 points.
Butler hit 15 of 28 from beyond the arc, surpassing 50 percent
from long range for the fourth time this season. The Bulldogs also
got 16 points off 13 Jaguars turnovers.
North Carolina 113, Mount St. Mary’s 74
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson each had 21
points to help the Tar Heels cruise by Mount St. Mary’s in a game
played a short drive from their Chapel Hill campus.
Wayne Ellington added 16 points for the Tar Heels (33-2), who
have won 12 straight and continued their near-perfect run in NCAA
games played in their home state. North Carolina improved to 22-1
in those games and will face Arkansas in the second round Sunday.
North Carolina shot 61 percent, took a 48-22 rebounding
advantage and finished with 26 second-chance points against the
undersized Mountaineers (19-15).
Chris Vann scored 16 points to lead Mount St. Mary’s.
Arkansas 86, Indiana 72
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Sonny Weems scored a career-high 31 points
and Darian Townes added 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead the
Razorbacks to the victory.
Weems hit 12 of 14 shots for Arkansas (23-11), which shot 54
percent and snapped a five-game losing streak in NCAA tournament
games dating to a first-round victory against Siena in 1999.
D.J. White had 22 points in his third straight 20-point game for
Indiana (25-8).
The Hoosiers lost their tournament opener for the first time
since 2001, went one-and-done in both the Big Ten and NCAA
tournaments and ended their once-promising season on a free fall.
Ranked No. 7 as recently as two months ago, Indiana finished the
year by losing four of seven since coach Kelvin Sampson’s
scandal-tainted resignation and former Hoosiers guard Dan Dakich
was named interim coach.
Louisville 79, Boise State 61
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Earl Clark scored 15 points and Juan
Palacios had 13 as Louisville cruised to the easy victory.
The third-seeded Cardinals rushed to a 10-1 lead and Derrick
Caracter’s slam made it 42-26 late in the first half.
Leading scorer David Padgett didn’t even take a shot before the
break and Louisville still breezed, helped by a dozen 3-pointers.
Coming off a disappointing one-and-done performance in the Big
East tournament, the Cardinals (25-8) punctuated the rout with
several late jams. They next play Sunday against Oklahoma.
Matt Nelson scored 17 for Boise State (25-9).
Oklahoma 72, St. Joseph’s 64
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - David Godbold scored a career-high 25
points, including the Sooners’ first 11 of the second half, and
they survived a late rally to beat Saint Joseph’s.
Godbold and the Sooners (23-11), who had a 25-year postseason
streak end last season, built a 19-point lead and watched it
dissipate against a Hawks team eager to prove it belonged.
Ahmad Nivins’ putback for the Hawks made it 65-61 with 3:29 to
play, then Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin scored back-to-back baskets
inside to double the lead with about 2 minutes left.
The Hawks (21-13) managed just three free throws after that.
Longar Longar had 14 points for the Sooners, who shot 57
percent. Griffin finished with 12.
Rob Ferguson helped keep Saint Joseph’s in the game with 21
points.
South Regional
Memphis 87, Texas-Arlington 63
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Chris Douglas-Roberts led five
Tigers in double figures with 23 points, and he also had seven
rebounds and four assists. Derrick Rose and Antonio Anderson added
17 points each, and Robert Dozier had 12 for Memphis, which
improved to 34-1 with its eighth straight victory. Next up is
eighth-seeded Mississippi State (23-10).
Anthony Vereen led the Mavericks (21-12) with 20 points on
7-of-11 shooting. Jermaine Griffin had 11 points and eight
rebounds, and Rog’er Guignard added 10.
The Tigers shot almost 52 percent from the floor, had seven
steals and outrebounded the smaller Texas-Arlington 39-29. UTA had
14 turnovers and Memphis converted those miscues into 13 points.
Texas 74, Austin Peay 54
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A.J. Abrams scored 26 points, and
along with Connor Atchley and Dexter Pittman nearly outscored
Austin Peay on their own in a first-round victory.
Abrams was 6-of-10 from 3-point range, Atchley added 12 points
and Pittman had 11.
At 29-6, Texas is now one victory away from matching the school
record for wins. The 2005-06 squad, which lost to LSU in the
regional finals of the tournament, finished 30-7.
Ernest Fields led the Governors (24-10) with 14 points. Todd
Babington added 11.
The victory sets up a second-round game Sunday with former
Longhorns assistant Frank Haith, now the coach at Miami.
Mississippi State 76, Oregon 69
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Charles Rhodes scored a
career-high 34 points and the eighth-seeded Bulldogs came back from
a 13-point second-half deficit to beat the Ducks.
Mississippi State trailed 41-28 after Malik Hairston’s 3-pointer
at the start of the second half, but Oregon didn’t make another 3
until the final seconds, finishing 9-for-38 overall.
Barry Stewart’s third 3 pulled the Bulldogs within one at 52-51.
Rhodes then put Mississippi State (23-10) ahead with a dunk, and
the Bulldogs finally took control.
Malik Hairston scored 22 points for Oregon, but when the Ducks
(18-14) stopped making outside shots, their offense went into
disarray. That was the case for most of the second half.
Miami 78, Saint Mary’s 64
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Jack McClinton scored a
career-high 38 points - 32 during a brilliant second half - to send
seventh-seeded Miami past the Saints.
The Hurricanes (23-10) trailed 32-27 at intermission, but went
on a 25-5 run shortly afterward. McClinton scored 10 straight
points early in that stretch. Later, after the Gaels (25-7) pulled
within eight, McClinton calmly sank an open 3 from the left corner.
Patty Mills, the Gaels’ freshman point guard and one of four
players on the roster from Australia, scored 24 points. Saint
Mary’s has won only one NCAA tournament game, in 1959.
Miami, which was predicted to be the Atlantic Coast Conference’s
worst team this season, has won eight of its last 11, part of a
remarkable turnaround after a 12-20 record a season ago.
West Regional
San Diego 70, Connecticut 69, OT
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - De’Jon Jackson’s pull-up jumper just inside
the 3-point line with 1.2 seconds remaining in overtime gave
13th-seeded San Diego its first win in four tries in the NCAA
tournament, and the second upset in as many games in Tampa.
Gyno Pomare had 22 points, Brandon Johnson hit four 3-pointers
and had 18 points, and the small school known for its scenic ocean
views is headed to a second-round game with 12th-seeded Western
Kentucky. The Hilltoppers upset Drake earlier in the day.
The Huskies (24-9) were inconsistent all season, but had an
excuse in this one. They played most of the game without leading
scoring A.J. Price, who injured his left knee in the first half and
did not return.
San Diego (22-13) took advantage, pulling out to an 11-point
lead early in the second half and UConn was left without its top
playmaker in overtime.
Western Kentucky 101, Drake 99, OT
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Ty Rogers hit a 3-pointer with three
defenders in his face and no time on the clock, helping the
12th-seeded Hilltoppers stun Drake in overtime.
The Bulldogs (28-5) overcame a 16-point deficit in the final 8
minutes and led 99-98 after Jonathan Cox’s two free throws with 5.7
seconds left. But Tyrone Brazelton raced across up court and kicked
it to Rogers, who gave the Hilltoppers (28-6) their first
tournament win since 1995.
Brazelton finished with a career-high 33 points for Western
Kentucky.
Cox had 29 points and 16 boards for Drake, making its first
tourney appearance since 1971.
Rogers’ final shot was the 30th 3-pointer of the game, breaking
the previous NCAA mark set by West Virginia and Louisville two
years ago. Western Kentucky and Drake combined for 70 3-point
attempts, also breaking the previous record of 66 set by UCLA and
Cincinnati in 2002.