USA - VCU knock Coach K’s Blue Devils out of NCAA Tournament

NEW YORK (NCAA) - Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski can start his planning for the FIBA Americas Championship a little earlier than he’d hoped after his Duke team were sent packing from the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Krzyzewski saw his sixth-seeded team outfought by a feisty Virginia Commonwealth, seeded 11th, in a 79-77 loss in the West Region.

It is the first time in a decade that the Blue Devils have failed to make it through the first round, and ends a streak of nine consecutive appearances in the Sweet 16.

The Blue Devils had not lost in the first round since going down 75-60 to Eastern Michigan in 1996.

Point guard Eric Maynor, the hero of their Colonial Athletic Association championship win over George Mason, scored 22 points to lead the Rams, who twice fought back from double-digit deficits.

They were down by 13 points early in the game, and trailed by 11 with 10:44 left in the second half.

It came down to a frantic finale.

After Duke guard DeMarcus Nelson hit a layup to tie the game 77-77 with 10 seconds remaining, Maynor drove the court and knocked down an 18-foot jumper with 1.8 seconds left.

Duke had one last chance, but Greg Paulus' desperation heave from midcourt hit wide of the basket and off the backboard as the Rams held on.

“When the (Duke) shot went through the net I looked over at coach (Anthony) Grant and asked him not to call a timeout," Maynor said.

"I knew when I got it in my hands I was going to try and bring my man down and make a play. It just happened the way it happened, I'm excited about it.”

"They're not going to remember (1996)," Krzyzewski said. "If you're in this tournament long enough you're going to go down, first, second, third round. The fact is these kids played well enough to put us in a position to go down."

Jamal Shuler scored 14 points, including four of five from the arc, and Anderson added 10 for VCU.

Duke’s Greg Paulus scored a career-high 25 points, but was just six of 11 from the free throw line. Josh McRoberts also notched a career high with 22 points, but was just two of four from the free-throw line over the last 1:41 for Duke.

Duke’s defeat was the only major upset on the first full day of the tournament.

WEST: Bruins blow out Weber State

Also in the West region, UCLA, who narrowly missed out on a top-seeding, played like a top class team in demolishing 15th-seeded Weber State 70-42.

Wooden Award candidate Arron Afflalo scored 22 points - 15 of them in the opening 20 minutes - while Darren Collison added 14 and Josh Shipp 12.

Ronald Ramon and Sam Young came off the bench to score 14 and 13, respectively, as third-seeded Pittsburgh overpowered Wright State 79-58, while seventh-seeded Indiana saw off Gonzaga 70-57 as Roderick Wilmont scored 22 points.

EAST: Tar Heels survive Colonels fightback

East region top seeds North Carolina enjoyed perhaps the most uncomfortable blowout in their history as they beat Eastern Kentucky 86-65.

Having raced into a 27-point lead, the Tar Heels were stunned when the Colonels went on a 32-9 run to close the gap back to 48-44 with 16 minutes to play.

Tyler Hansbrough had 21 points and 10 rebounds while Reyshawn Terry had 18 points. Brandan Wright collected 13 points, six rebounds, five blocks and three steals in an outstanding all-round performance.

Second-seeded Georgetown were rampant in knocking off Belmont 80-55.

Jessie Sapp scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Hoyas, who recorded a 16th win in their last 17 games.

Georgetown used a 26-7 run in the first half to take control of the game, and they never looked back.

Third-seeded Washington State killed off Oral Roberts’ attempts at an upset early in the second half as they cruised to a 70-54 win, while sixth-seeded Vanderbilt blew out George Washington 77-44.

Sean Marshall scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half and Jared Dudley had 13 of his 19 after the break as Boston College beat Texas Tech 84-75 while Raymar Morgan had 14 points and Drew Neitzel added 12 for Michigan State in a 61-49 win over Marquette.

SOUTH: Oden finds his feet with Buckeyes

After a slow first-half, freshman sensation Greg Oden made himself comfortable in the NCAA Tournament, scoring 15 of his 19 points in the second half as South region top-seeds Ohio State beat Central Connecticut 78-57.

Jamar Butler scored 17 points and Ron Lewis added 13 for the Buckeyes.

Wooden Award candidate Acie Law IV scored 20 points as third-seeded Texas A&M pulled out a 68-52 victory over 14th-seeded Pennsylvania.

David Padgett and freshman Edgar Sosa scored 16 points each as sixth-seeded Louisville beat Stanford 78-58, while Drew Lavander scored six points in the final two minutes as ninth-seeded Xavier edged out eight-seeded Brigham Young 79-77.

MIDWEST: Maryland come through to beat Davidson

Fourth-seeded Maryland withstood 30 points by Stephen Curry and rallied for an 82-70 victory over 13th-seeded Davidson in the Midwest Region.

Mike Jones scored 17 points to lead six players in double figures for Maryland (25-8), which used its huge advantage in size to end a 13-game winning streak by Davidson (29-5).

AJ Graves made three three-pointers and scored 18 points as fifth-seeded Butler used a second-half surge to post a 57-46 victory over Old Dominion.

Ian Parker
FIBA