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Underdogs Still
Wreaking Havoc in NCAA Tourney
By The Associated Press
Round Two, Day One
Both of last year's NCAA tournament finalists flopped Thursday night,
while two double-digit darlings won again.
Chipping away persistently at a deficit that was as big as 17 points,
Indiana took advantage of Jason Williams' miscue at the foul line and beat
defending national champion Duke 74-73 in the South Regional semifinals
Thursday night.
The team Duke beat for the 2001 title, Arizona, lost to second-seeded
Oklahoma 88-67 in the West Regional. The Sooners next play Missouri, which
became the first 12th-seeded team to reach the round of eight by beating
UCLA 82-73.
And Indiana's next opponent is 10th-seeded Kent State. The Golden Flashes
stretched the country's longest winning streak to 21 games by defeating
third-seeded Pittsburgh 78-73 in overtime.
In Friday's regional semifinal games, it's Maryland vs. Kentucky, and
Connecticut vs. Southern Illinois in the East; and Kansas vs. Illinois, and
Oregon vs. Texas in the Midwest.
South Regional
At Lexington, KY
Indiana 74, Duke 73
Top-seeded Duke had a chance to tie it with 4.2 seconds left when
Williams � a unanimous All-American � was fouled as he made a long 3-pointer
to get the Blue Devils within a point. But he missed the free throw, and
Carlos Boozer couldn't convert a follow shot.
Indiana (23-11), seeded fifth, makes its first trip to a regional final
since Bob Knight took them there in 1993.
Jared Jeffries had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Hoosiers, who held
Duke to 33 percent shooting in the second half.
The Hoosiers allowed Duke (31-4) to take a 29-12 lead 11 minutes into the
game. But Indiana used a 17-5 run to close to 63-62 with 5:42 left as Jarrad
Odle scored 11 of his 15 points.
Boozer led the Blue Devils with 19 points and nine rebounds.
Kent State 78, Pittsburgh 73, OT
Kent State (30-5) had never advanced beyond the second round of the NCAA
tournament before this year. Now it's one victory away from the Final Four.
Antonio Gates scored 22 points, and Trevor Huffman added 17 for the
Golden Flashes, who made six straight free throws in the extra period
against the Panthers (29-6).
Brandin Knight, the Big East's co-player of the year, and Julius Page
each scored 18 for the Panthers.
West Regional
At San Jose, CA
Oklahoma 88, Arizona 67
At San Jose, Calif., Hollis Price scored 26 points, including a
season-high six 3-pointers, to lead Oklahoma to the West Regional final, its
first time in the final eight since 1988.
Aaron McGhee had 21 points and eight rebounds for Oklahoma (30-4), though
he scored 19 in the final 7 minutes as the Sooners turned a close game into
a blowout.
Arizona (24-10) could not overcome the Sooners' tough defense or Price,
whose accurate outside shooting kept Oklahoma in it early before a sustained
second-half rally.
Jason Gardner, probably playing his last college game, led the Wildcats
with 14 points. Luke Walton, the son of former UCLA and NBA great Bill
Walton, had nine points and eight assists.
Missouri 82, UCLA 73
Clarence Gilbert scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half, and
Kareem Rush scored 20 points to pace the Tigers (24-11).
Missouri, ranked as high as No. 2 early in the season before slumping
during conference play, is headed to the final eight for the first time
since 1994.
The Tigers broke open a close game with tough defense and a barrage of
outside shots by Rush and Gilbert, who each hit four 3-pointers � seven
after halftime.
Matt Barnes scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half for
eighth-seeded UCLA (21-12), which has reached the regional semifinals in
five of six seasons under coach Steve Lavin, but won there just once.
Copyright 2001
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 10:46:32 AM
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