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Sweet 16 Friday night capsules By The Associated
Press
Michigan State 60, Maryland 58
SAN ANTONIO (AP) Once again, Maryland got a
last-second chance to hang onto its national title. But when Steve Blake
missed at the buzzer, the Terrapins' reign was over.
Freshman Paul Davis hit a leaning bank shot with 4.7 seconds
left and Michigan State defeated the defending champions.
The senior-led Terrapins overcame a 13-point deficit with
8:07 left, taking a lead in the final minute. Davis' powerful dunk tied with
50.6 seconds left, and he put the Spartans ahead when he muscled along the
baseline for the go-ahead basket.
Blake then took the inbounds pass and dribbled up the floor
to the top of the key. He got a good look at the basket, but the ball hit
the back iron and bounced away.
After beating North Carolina-Wilmington on a last-second
shot in the first round, the Terps (21-10) seemed convinced this one would
fall, too. When it didn't, they stood slump-shouldered and stunned as the
Spartans wildly celebrated their eighth win in nine games.
Davis had a team-high 13 points to put Michigan State
(22-12) a win away from its third Final Four in four years, an incredible
feat for a team that was 14-11 on Feb. 23.
The seventh-seeded Spartans, the lowest seed left in the
tournament, will play Sunday against top-seeded Texas.''
Oklahoma 65, Butler 54
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Ebi Ere was Oklahoma's forgotten
man. Not anymore.
Ere, playing with a broken bone in his left wrist, scored 25
points as the top-seeded Sooners ended Butler's surprising run with a 65-54
win Friday night in the semifinals of the East Regional.
Oklahoma (27-6), Big 12 champion for the third straight
year, is one step from its second consecutive Final Four. The Sooners will
meet either Syracuse on Sunday for a berth in New Orleans.
Butler (27-6), regular-season champions of the Horizon
League, was the lowest-seeded team left in the tournament after pulling off
two big upsets. The 12th-seeded Bulldogs edged fifth-seeded Mississippi
State 47-46, then beat fourth-seeded Louisville 79-71.
The only 12th seed ever to advance to a regional final was
Missouri, which beat No. 8 UCLA in the round of 16 last year before losing
to No. 2 Oklahoma in the West Regional final.
Butler lost because it never got its perimeter game going
against the active Oklahoma defense, which held the Bulldogs to 4-of-13
shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.
Senior center Joel Cornette led the Bulldogs with 21 points
and eight rebounds. Darnell Archey, who hit eight 3-pointers in the win over
Louisville, scored six points and attempted only three 3s.
Syracuse 79, Auburn 78
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Syracuse hung on instead of
coming back and the Orangemen are suddenly the only Big East team still
around.
Freshman Carmelo Anthony scored all 18 of his points in the
second half and the third-seeded Orangemen beat 10th-seeded Auburn.
There was no need for another comeback this time as the
Orangemen (27-5) moved on to the round of eight for the seventh time overall
and fourth under coach Jim Boeheim.
Syracuse will play top-seeded Oklahoma on Sunday with the
winner advancing to the Final Four.
The four teams from the Big East in the field of 65 went 8-0
in the first two rounds, but Syracuse was the only one to win on the second
weekend of the tournament. Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Connecticut all lost
in the round of 16, leaving the Orangemen as the league's only remaining
representative.
Syracuse rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat Oklahoma
State in the second round, marking the 14th time this season the Orangemen
came back to win.
There was no need for that this time, although this victory
wasn't a sure thing until the final ticks as the Tigers (22-12) hit four
3-pointers over the final 1:18.
The last of those was by Nathan Watson at what most of the
crowd thought was at the buzzer. While Boeheim and Auburn coach Cliff Ellis
shook hands, the officials checked the replay and put three-tenths of a
seconds back on the clock.
Anthony inbounded the ball to Kueth Duany and the Orangemen
officially had the win.
Texas 82, Connecticut 78
SAN ANTONIO (AP) Texas was in trouble. T.J. Ford
was on the bench and the Longhorns' lead had slipped away.
No matter, the little guy was there at the end and
top-seeded Texas is on to its first regional final since 1990.
Brian Boddicker also made a big play, blocking Marcus
White's layup attempt that would have tied it with 35 seconds left. The ball
got wedged between the rim and the backboard, and the possession arrow went
Texas' way.
So did the rest of the game. The Longhorns will play
Michigan State on Sunday for the chance to go to the Final Four.
Texas had watched a 14-point second-half lead evaporate,
with UConn taking the lead with just over five minutes left.
Ford, the Longhorns' stellar point guard, returned with four
fouls and once again worked his magic, assisting on the final plays down the
stretch that made the difference.
Ford's two free throws with 11.8 seconds left provided the
final points and he stripped Emeka Okafor at the other end before sprinting
up court as the final seconds ticked off.
Brandon Mouton scored a career-high 27 points and Ford had
13 points and nine assists for the Longhorns (25-6).
Okafor had 21 points and 17 rebounds for UConn (23-10).
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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