(10) Rice 60, (7) Marshall 59
Rice came out hot after halftime, using a 23-8 run to build a 13-point lead midway through the second half. The Owls made 9-of-13 free throws in the final minutes to hold off Marshall’s comeback attempt for a 60-59 win. Junior guard Lawrence Ghoram led the Owls with 18 points. Rice will play No. 2 Tulsa Thursday.
(11) Southern Miss 77, (6) Central Florida 53
No. 11 Southern Miss held No. 6 Central Florida to 36 percent shooting, and four out of five Golden Eagle starters scored at least 16 points to pace Southern Miss to a 77-53 win against the Knights. Junior guard Jeremy Wise and senior guard Courtney Beasley scored 19 points apiece to lead the Golden Eagles into the quarterfinals. Southern Miss will play No. 3 UAB, which beat Southern Miss by 30 in late February.
(8) Tulane 69, (9) East Carolina 59
No. 8 Tulane ended the first half on a 15-2 run to take a nine-point lead and played to a near draw in the second half for a 69-59 win against No. 9 East Carolina. The Pirates pulled no closer than six after halftime. Junior guard Kevin Sims provided nearly all the offensive fireworks for the Green Wave, scoring 23 points and dishing out six assists. Tulane will play No. 1 Memphis next. The Tigers beat the Green Wave by 27 last weekend in the regular-season finale.
(5) Houston 85, (12) SMU 76
Junior guard Aubrey Coleman was dominant in No. 5 Houston’s 85-76 win against No. 12 SMU. Coleman had 20 points, 14 rebounds and four assists to help the Cougars turn back the Mustangs. Houston’s good ball control and consistent free throw shooting helped the Cougars win despite allowing the Mustangs to shoot 48 percent from the field to their 44 percent. Houston will play No. 4 UTEP. The Cougars lost to UTEP by seven in Houston in January.
