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Story lines and side notes from the NCAA Tournament By
The Associated Press
ROLLING ALONG
Tournament favorites Kentucky and Arizona moved into the
round of eight Thursday night. Kentucky lost senior guard Keith Bogans to a
sprained ankle in the first half but got a career-high 28 points from
Marquis Estill to hold off fifth-seeded Wisconsin 63-57 and advance to the
Midwest Regional final against Marquette. The Wildcats ran their winning
streak to 26 games. Arizona rolled over No. 5 Notre Dame 88-71 to move into
the West Regional final against Kansas.
COACHING CLINIC
Nick Collison and Kansas gave Roy Williams that elusive
victory over Coach K. Collison scored a career-high 33 points and had 19
rebounds to lead the Jayhawks to a 69-65 victory over Duke in the semifinals
of the West Regional. Williams, in his 15th year as coach of the Jayhawks,
was 0-3 in matchups with Krzyzewski, including a 72-65 defeat in the
national championship game 12 years ago. Duke has been to 13 Final Fours
nine under Krzyzewski and Kansas to 11 three under Williams. Coach K
tried to recruit Collison, a 6-foot-9 forward, to Duke.
MAKING NEW MEMORIES
Marquette is back where it hasn't been since the days of Al
McGuire. Dwyane Wade scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half to lead
the third-seeded Golden Eagles to a 77-74 victory over No. 2 seed Pittsburgh
in the Midwest Regional semifinals. The lovable McGuire retired after
coaching Marquette to the 1977 national title, and the Golden Eagles hadn't
been to a regional final since. Big East champion Pittsburgh was eliminated
in the round of 16 for the second straight season.
BEST OF FRIENDS
Arizona point guard Jason Gardner got the best of his good
friend, Chris Thomas, in a win over Notre Dame. Gardner scored 19 points in
his school-record 134th career start. Thomas had 20 points for the Fighting
Irish. Gardner and Thomas, both former Indiana high school players of the
year, guarded each other most of the game.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Torin Francis had 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting and 10
rebounds in Notre Dame's loss to Arizona. ... Dahntay Jones scored 23
points, but Duke was knocked out by Kansas. ... Kirk Penney led Wisconsin
with 20 points in a loss to Kentucky.
LOOKING AHEAD
GAME TO WATCH: Top-seeded Texas against No. 5 Connecticut in
the South Regional semifinals Friday night at San Antonio. Longhorns point
guard T.J. Ford (15 ppg, 7.4 assists) and Huskies center Emeka Okafor (15.7
ppg, 11 rebounds, 4.7 blocks) played against each other in the Texas high
school playoffs, with Ford's team winning.
UPSET SPECIAL: Butler over top-seeded Oklahoma in the East
Regional semifinals at Albany, N.Y. Darnell Archey and the 12th-seeded
Bulldogs (27-5) have already pulled off two shockers, and this senior-laden
team could do it again. The tournament darlings figure to have plenty of
crowd support, although Sooners coach Kelvin Sampson won't let his team
underestimate Butler.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Syracuse star freshman Carmelo Anthony, who
might leave for the NBA after this season, averages 22.2 points and 9.9
rebounds. Auburn's Derrick Bird will probably guard Anthony in the East
Regional semifinals. Bird held ACC player of the year Josh Howard to 14
points on 4-of-10 shooting in a second-round victory over Wake Forest.
QUOTABLE
``That's our leader. We just had to win this one without
him. He's been there vocally the whole year. That's your family member right
there.'' Kentucky's Chuck Hayes on beating Wisconsin despite losing senior
guard Keith Bogans to a sprained left ankle in the first half.
Copyright 2003
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 10:46:57 AM
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