Atlanta Region – First Round: No. 2 Texas hushed the No. 15 Quakers 60-52 behind the strong play of LaMarcus Aldridge and P.J. Tucker. The two forwards combined to score 36 points and grab 22 rebounds. Penn stayed in the game until the final minutes, trailing by only one point with less than six minutes remaining. Texas will play No. 10 North Carolina State in the second round.
No. 3 Iowa will have the misfortune of joining a highlight reel featuring the all-time most amazing NCAA Tournament upsets at the buzzer. No. 14 Northwestern State pulled off the improbable 64-63 win when Jermaine Wallace drained a three-pointer while falling out of bounds with less than a second remaining. Iowa missed a heave at the buzzer, and the Demons mugged their teammate in celebration. Northwestern State rallied from a 17-point deficit with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game to set up Wallace’s game-ending heroics. The Demons will play No. 6 West Virginia in the second round.
No. 6 West Virginia bushwhacked No. 11 Southern Illinois 64-46 in the second first-round game in Auburn Hills, Mich. Senior center Kevin Pittsnogle led the Mountaineers with 18 points, including a few three-pointers, to help bury the Salukis. West Virginia hit 11 three-pointers in the game, which fueled two long runs to build a large lead.
North Carolina State pulled its second upset of a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament in two years by beating California 58-52. Cameron Bennerman hit a clutch three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining to give the Wolfpack a 55-52 lead, which they held on to down the stretch. [3/17/06]
