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Day Two:
Close calls and clutch shots By The
Associated Press
DEFENDING THE TITLE
Defending national champion Maryland needed a desperation
3-pointer from Drew Nicholas at the buzzer to get by North
Carolina-Wilmington and into the second round of the South Regional.
Nicholas' clutch shot gave the Terrapins a 75-73 win and saved them from the
ignominious distinction of being the first defending champ to lose in the
first round since Princeton beat UCLA in 1996.
CLOSE CALLS
Wake Forest and Utah had to sweat out the closing seconds to
win first-round games Friday. Tim Smith and 15th-seeded East Tennessee State
put a scare into the second-seeded Demon Deacons before losing 76-73. The
5-foot-9 freshman scored 22 points and made a 3-pointer to tie it at 72. But
Wake hit four free throws down the stretch to hang on, and Smith missed a 3
that could have won it. ... Nick Jacobson scored 23 points and made two of
three free throws with 14.4 seconds left in Utah's 60-58 victory over
Oregon. James Davis missed two 3-pointers in the final seconds for the
Ducks.
UPSET
The day's biggest shocker came courtesy of 12th-seeded
Butler, which beat No. 5 seed Mississippi State 47-46 in the opening round
of the East Regional. Brandon Miller hit a runner with 6.2 seconds left for
the Bulldogs and Mississippi State's Timmy Bowers was short on a 3-point
attempt at the buzzer.
BREAKING THE STREAK
Florida looked impressive in snapping a three-game losing
streak and beating 15th-seeded Sam Houston State 85-55 in the opening round
of the South Regional. Florida (25-7) was the only team to come into the
NCAA tournament with three straight losses but coach Billy Donovan said his
Gators had been playing well. They'll get a test in the second round when
they face Michigan State in a rematch of the 2000 national championship
game, won by the Spartans.
ROARING ALONG
Top-seeded Kentucky had no problem winning its 24th
straight, beating IUPUI 95-64 in the first round of the Midwest Regional.
When the Wildcats got to their locker room after the game, ``5 More'' was
scrawled on the board. Five more victories would give Kentucky its eighth
national championship. The Wildcats shot 62 percent from the field.
BACK IN BUSINESS
Rick Pitino returned to the NCAA tournament for the first
time since 1997 and did it in style, guiding Louisville over flustered
Austin Peay 86-64 in the East Regional. While Luke Whitehead had 20 points
and 11 rebounds and star Reece Gaines scored 18, Pitino clearly was the
biggest attraction for the fourth-seeded Cardinals. The Louisville coach
stomped his foot, clapped his hands, called out picks and shouted at the
officials the entire game. Pitino also slapped on all-court pressure, as
planned, and that was the difference.
GIVE 'EM RESPECT
Auburn proved it belongs in the NCAA tournament, answering
several critics who railed against the NCAA selection committee for
including the Tigers. Marquis Daniels scored five of his 25 points in
overtime as Auburn held off Saint Joseph's 65-63. Auburn, a No. 10 seed, was
criticized for its weak early season schedule and 4-8 record against teams
that made the NCAA tournament. But coach Cliff Ellis pointed to the Tigers'
tough Southeastern Conference schedule and second-place finish in the West
Divison. ``We proved our point. We've done it all year,'' Ellis said. ``We
beat a good team. That's enough of that.''
TOURNAMENT TESTED
Playing with the poise and tenacity expected of them in
March under coach Tom Izzo, the Michigan State Spartans had little trouble
getting past Colorado with a 79-64 victory in the first round of the South
Regional. Seventh-seeded Michigan State improved to 17-4 in the NCAAs under
Izzo, whose .809 winning percentage is the best among active coaches.
NOT THIS TIME
Dereck Whittenburg fell short again, and this time there was
no one to bail him out. Pittsburgh ruined Wagner's first NCAA tournament
appearance with an 87-61 victory in the Midwest Regional, and nothing coach
Whittenburg told his players was enough Friday night _ 20 years after he
began one of the event's most memorable moments. In the 1983 championship
game, his long shot for North Carolina State didn't reach the rim, but
Lorenzo Charles caught it and scored at the buzzer to beat Houston 54-52.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Saint Joseph's guard Jameer Nelson did everything he could
to keep the Hawks from losing to Auburn. The 6-foot junior scored 19 of his
team's final 21 points, but the Tigers won 65-63 in overtime. ``People have
looked out of the corner of their eye whenever I say he's the best point
guard in America,'' Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said. ``You can have
all the guys that the TV guys talk about. This kid is as good as any of
them, if not better than all of them.''
LOOKING AHEAD
GAMES TO WATCH: Ninth-seeded Gonzaga against No. 1 seed
Arizona in the second round of the West Regional. The Bulldogs have been
giant killers before, but this would be the biggest shocker of all. Also,
fourth-seeded Stanford takes on No. 5 seed Connecticut in the South
Regional, and No. 3 Marquette plays sixth-seeded Missouri in the Midwest
Regional.
UPSET SPECIAL: Eighth-seeded California over No. 1 Oklahoma
in the East Regional. All the ingredients are there. Joe Shipp and the
Golden Bears, on the heels of a game-winning 3-pointer from English freshman
Richard Midgley, can match Oklahoma's toughness on defense. Sooners star
Hollis Price is still bothered by a strained groin. The Pac-10 is off to a
nice start in the tournament (4-1), and a No. 1 seed always seems to go down
in the second round.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Central Michigan's Chris Kaman. The 7-foot
center, who averaged 22.7 points per game this season, could give undersized
Duke all kinds of problems down low. Kaman struggled with foul trouble in a
first-round win over Creighton and was limited to 12 points.
QUOTABLE
``Kentucky is the truth. I take my hat and headband off to
them.'' — IUPUI's Josh Murray, after the Jaguars lost 95-64 to the Wildcats
in the Midwest Regional.
Copyright 2003
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 10:46:52 AM
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