The Morning Dish – Monday, March 22nd
East Rutherford Region
No. 2 Oklahoma State 70, No. 7 Memphis 53: Oklahoma State jumped out to a 41-19 halftime lead and never looked back as the Cowboys spanked Memphis. They shot nearly 60 percent in the game, and junior forward Joey Graham shot 8-of-11 to lead the team with 21 points. Twenty of those points came in the first half, which single-handedly outscored the Tigers, who managed only 19 first-half points. Senior guard Antonio Burks did all he could to rally Memphis, scoring 22 points. But the Tigers could pull no closer than 13 points in the second half. Oklahoma State moves on to play No. 3 Pittsburgh in the Sweet 16.
No. 3 Pittsburgh 59, No. 6 Wisconsin 55: Forget about that whole home-court advantage thing for Wisconsin. The Pittsburgh Panthers invaded Milwaukee and proved they can win anywhere, even in front of a pro-Badger crowd. Pittsburgh played another fantastic defensive game, eking out a 59-55 win. Neither team shot better than 40 percent in the game and only four players reached double figures. One of those players was Pittsburgh’s sophomore guard Carl Krauser, who hit two critical free throws to give the Panthers a three-point lead in the closing seconds. Fittingly, the Panthers’ defense denied Wisconsin a clean three-point shot, and the Badgers never seriously challenged to tie the game on their final possession. Junior guard Devin Harris had a great game for Wisconsin, scoring 21 points, but Pittsburgh shut him down in the latter portions of the game. The Panthers earn a date with No. 2 Oklahoma State in the regional semifinals.
Atlanta Region
No. 7 Xavier 89, No. 2 Mississippi State 74: The X-men continued to be one of the hottest teams in the country as Xavier took down Mississippi State, the second No. 2 seed to fall in the first weekend of action. Senior guard Lionel Chalmers saved his best performance of his career for one of his final games, scoring 31 points, including 4-of-4 from behind the arc. The Musketeers weathered a poor shooting start and heated up midway through the first half after the Bulldogs had built a double-digit lead. Sophomore guard Dedrick Finn hit a half-court prayer at the end of the first half to give Xavier a 34-33 lead. The Musketeers carried that momentum into the second half and hit every major shot, finishing with a 55 percent shooting percentage. Junior forward Shane Power led the Bulldogs with 16 points, but the Bulldogs could not match Xavier’s lights-out shooting. Xavier moves on to play No. 3 Texas.
No. 5 Illinois 92, No. 4 Cincinnati 68: Cincinnati talked the talk during warmups, but two hours later, the Fighting Illini were the ones walking the walk. The Bearcats apparently advised Illinois to enjoy the bus ride home and commented about an impending Cincinnati/Duke regional semifinal. These two teams were pretty even in terms of talent, but the insults fired up Illinois, and the players responded with inspired basketball. Illinois shot 64 percent in the game and played great defense to hold all but three Bearcats under 10 points. Sophomore guard Deron Williams torched the Bearcats for 31 points, making 10-of-13 field goal attempts. Despite the emotional firepower, Illinois played in control throughout the game, committing only four turnovers against a usually difficult Cincinnati defense. Powered by the team’s hot shooting, Illinois built a huge first half lead and never looked back. Senior guard Field Williams led the Bearcats with 16 points. So Illinois will be the ones to play the impending regional semifinal against Duke.
St. Louis Region
No. 8 Alabama-Birmingham 76, No. 1 Kentucky 75: The NCAA Tournament’s overall No. 1 seed is done after the No. 8 Alabama-Birmingham Blazers upset the Kentucky Wildcats. Senior guard Mo Finley refused to lose, delivering five of the Blazers’ seven final points, including a difficult jumper with about 10 seconds remaining in the game to give the Blazers a 76-75 lead. At the other end, senior guard Gerald Fitch could not hit a clean look at a three pointer, and Kentucky’s desperate attempts to tip in the rebound failed. Alabama-Birmingham was in a position to blow out Kentucky with a nine-point halftime lead. But Finley and sophomore guard Carldell “Squeaky” Johnson sat for much of the early stages of the second half because of foul trouble. The Wildcats clawed back into the game behind Fitch, who finished with 17 points. Kentucky reclaimed the lead with about 30 seconds remaining when sophomore guard Kelenna Azubuike slammed home an offensive rebound. The go-ahead basket set up the dramatic conclusion that propels the Blazers into the Sweet 16, in which they will face No. 4 Kansas.
No. 3 Georgia Tech 57, No. 6 Boston College 54: This Georgia Tech team just finds ways to win games. The Yellow Jackets have a deeper offensive arsenal than Boston College, at least on paper, but the Eagles successfully limited them to 57 points, just 22 in the second half. Boston College rallied from a double-digit second half deficit to take a 54-53 lead in the final minute. Sophomore guard Jarrett Jack took the game into his hands with the shot clock winding down. He slashed through the lane and picked up a foul then drained both free throws. On the opposite end, Jack grabbed a bad pass and sprinted down the court to send in a dunk with five seconds left, giving Georgia Tech the 57-54 win. Perhaps the only mistake Jack made in the final minute was slamming down that final basket rather than dribbling around and taking more time off the clock. But you can’t complain about the results if you’re a Tech fan. Freshman forward Jared Dudley led Boston College with 13 points and nine rebounds. The Yellow Jackets play the NCAA’s resident cinderella, Nevada, in the regional semifinals.
No. 4 Kansas 78, No. 12 Pacific 63: The Jayhawks denied Pacific a second straight upset, despite a valiant effort from the Tigers. Pacific started quickly and appeared ready to dance into the Sweet 16. But Kansas rallied as junior forward Wayne Simien led the team with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Both teams essentially played a seven-man rotation, but Kansas’ players had more energy, especially late in the second half when Kansas put the game away with a 15-3 run. Pacific had battled back to tie the game at 51 before the Jayhawks’ clinching streak. Junior forward Guillaume Yango led Pacific with 22 points as the Tigers bowed out with a successful tournament run. Kansas moves on to play upstart No. 8 Alabama-Birmingham.
Phoenix Region
No. 6 Vanderbilt 75, No. 3 NC State 73: Vanderbilt rallied from an 11-point deficit with less than four minutes remaining to become the first team to take out a No. 3 seed. Senior superstar Matt Freije jumpstarted the rally by drawing fouls on consecutive three pointers. He hit all six free throws, which is a measure of true greatness in an era when few players – not named J.J. Redick – seem capable of such a feat. Freije, who finished with 31 points, hit a jumper from the corner to give Vanderbilt a 72-71 lead with less than a minute to play. But sophomore forward Ilian Evtimov reclaimed the lead for NC State by drawing a foul and hitting both free throws. He led NC State with a career-high 28 points. Vanderbilt wasted no time setting up a backdoor cut that freed junior guard Corey Smith to attack the basket. Despite a hard foul, he kissed the layup off the glass and through the nets. With the free throw, Vanderbilt claimed a 75-73 lead and blocked freshman guard Engin Atsur’s final three pointer, giving the Commodores their first Sweet 16 trip since 1993. Vanderbilt will play No. 2 Connecticut in the next round.
Tonight’s Menu:
• Four NIT games will fill out half of the NIT’s quarterfinal brackets. Notre Dame plays St. Louis at Fort Wayne, Ind., Michigan hosts Oklahoma, Nebraska visits Hawaii and West Virginia plays Rutgers, guaranteeing that at least one other Big East team will join Villanova in the NIT quarterfinals.
