USA - Runnin’ Rebels knock out Wisconsin in NCAA Tourney

NEW YORK (NCAA) - Leave it to a Las Vegas team to upset the odds.

In the first major upset of the NCAA Tournament, seventh-seeded Nevada-Las Vegas beat second seeds Wisconsin 74-68 to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in 16 years.

Kevin Kruger, son of Runnin’ Rebels coach Lon Kruger, scored 12 of his 16 points in a decisive second-half run during the Midwest Region second round matchup.

Wisconsin became the highest-seeded team to exit the Tournament so far. Just as they did against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday, the Badgers slipped into a big deficit before rallying.

They were down 31-18 with 5:25 left in the first half before fighting their way back into the game, and they opened the second half on a 21-7 run that put them ahead 48-46.

Wisconsin opened up a five-point lead before Kruger took over.

He tied the game with a three-pointer with 7:34 to go and scored nine points in the next four minutes to put the game out of Wisconsin’s reach.

Wendell White led the Rebels with 22 points on eight of 12 shooting.

Wisconsin’s Alando Tucker finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in what proved to be his final college game.

Defending champions Florida were made to sweat by Purdue before Al Horford came through in the final seven minutes to lift them to a 74-67 victory over the Boilermakers in their Midwest Region matchup.

Horford and Corey Brewer scored 17 points apiece to lead a balanced attack for the Gators, who shook off some early lackluster play with the same presence they displayed en route to last year's national championship.

After sputtering through the first 25 minutes, the Gators came alive as Taurean Green drained two 3-pointers and Horford threw in a hook for a 47-40 lead with 10:35 to go.

France’s Joakim Noah had nine points and nine rebounds for the Gators.

Purdue were led by 18 points from Carl Landry.

There will be no Cindarella story in the Sweet 16 this year as Winthrop’s run came to an end with a 75-61 defeat at the hands of Oregon.

The 11th-seeded Eagles could not cope with the Ducks backcourt duo Aaron Brooks and Tajuan Porter.

Brooks did the damage in the first half when he scored 14 of his 22 points before Porter took over in the second half, when he scored 11 of his 14 points.

WEST: Jayhawks too strong for Kentucky

Top-seeds Kansas overcame a difficult match up as they eliminted eighth-seeds Kentucky 88-76, extending their winning streak to 13 games.

Brandon Rish made six three-pointers and Julian Wright scored 21 points as the Jayhawks overwhelmed Tubby Smith’s team, pulling out a double-digit lead early in the second half to kill off the Wildcats.

Wright made eight of 12 shots and Mario Chalmers scored 16 points for Kansas.

Randolph Morris hit 14 of 16 free throws en route to 22 points to lead Kentucky.

Cindarella may have left early this year, but there are still some minnows among the field - not least the Missouri Valley Conference’s Southern Illinois.

The fourth-seeded Salukis set a new school record for wins in a season as they saw off fifth-seeds Virginia Tech 63-48.

Jamaal Tatum scored 21 points to lead his team to their 29th victory of the campaign.

SOUTH: The Tennessee Two keep on rolling

Memphis extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 24 games as they second-seeded Tigers beat Nevada 78-62 in the South region.

Despite the loss of leading scorer Chris Douglas-Roberts to a sprained ankle in the second half, Memphis had too many weapons for the Wolf Pack.

Nevada had kept the pressure on for most of the game and they were just two points down, 64-62 with a little over six minutes to go after Dennis Ikovlev made a three-pointer and Nick Fazekas added a pair of free throws.

But they proved to be the final points for Nevada as Memphis moved through the gears to put the game away.

Douglas-Roberts managed 16 points before departing, a total matched by Jeremy Hunt for the Tigers. Douglas-Roberts’ status for Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup against Texas A&M.

Senior Fazekas, playing his last college game, led Nevada with 20 points and seven rebounds. He finished as the school's all-time leading scorer (2,464 points) and second-leading rebounder (1,254) and is expected to be a lottery pick in the NBA draft.

Memphis’ intrastate rivals Tennessee are also into the Sweet 16 after holding on for a 77-74 win over fourth-seeded Virginia.

The fifth-seeded Volunteers progressed beyond the second round for the first time in seven years behind 20 points from Chris Lofton, who made six crucial free throws in the final 18 seconds to keep Tennessee out in front.

JaJuan Smith also played a major role with 16 points, while Ryan Childress came off the bench to add 10 points and eight rebounds - all in the second half as Tennessee were battling to hold back Virginia’s attempts at a rally.

Virginia's JR Reynolds scored 26 points but just four after halftime after suffering an ankle injury late in the first half.

With Reynolds hobbling, the Cavaliers shot just 33% (eight of 24) in the second half, but still had a chance to tie it when Sean Singletary launched a late three-pointer which bounced off the front and back of the rim as the buzzer sounded.


EAST: Trojans team up to see off Durant, Longhorns

In the sole game in the East Region, Southern California overcame 30 points from freshman star Kevin Durant to beat fourth-seeded Texas 87-68.

The Trojans can thank two freshmen of their own - Daniel Hackett scored a season-high 20 points and Taj Gibson added 17 points and 14 rebounds to defeat the Longhorns.

The game could prove to be the last in a short college career for Durant, who could well choose to enter the NBA draft after averaging 25.1 points and 11.4 rebounds in his first season on campus.

Ian Parker
FIBA