MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Kelyn Block lost a tooth late in regulation, then found a way to help 13th-seeded Indiana State beat No. 4 Oklahoma 70-68 in overtime Friday in the first round of the South Regional.
The sophomore guard scored five of his 17 points in overtime after he dramatically returned from the locker room just before the tipoff of the extra period.
The Sycamores (22-11) became the latest double-digit seed to advance in this year’s tournament. They will face 12th-seeded Gonzaga on Sunday in the second round. The Bulldogs beat fifth-seeded Virginia 86-85 in the first round.
Matt Renn had 22 points to lead Indiana State, which overcame a second-half deficit that matched its seeding. He scored 16 points over the final 14 1/2 minutes of regulation as the Sycamores rallied from a 47-34 deficit.
Renn scored with 2:52 left to give Indiana State a 57-56 lead, its first since 16-15, then added two free throws with 2:18 left to make it 59-56.
Oklahoma (26-7) got within 59-57 on a free throw by Nolan Johnson with 1:23 to play, then came the play that altered Block’s dental status.
Hollis Price of Oklahoma drove the lane and was fouled by Block. As the two went to the ground, Price struck him in the face with an inadvertent elbow. While Block was being attended to for the tooth problem, so was Price, whose right elbow was cut on the play.
Price, an 81 percent free throw shooter, was replaced at the line by Tim Heskett, who shoots 85 percent. Heskett missed both, but grabbed the rebound.
Johnson tied the score with 34 seconds to play on a drive. Djibril Kante made two free throws with 28 seconds left, giving the Sycamores a two-point lead, but Price, who returned with his elbow heavily taped, scored on a drive with 19 seconds left in regulation.
Block, who was cheered by the Indiana State fans as he ran in from the locker room, gave the Sycamores a quick lead in the overtime with a steal and layup. Marcus Howard gave them the lead for good at 65-63 on a drive with 3:19 left and Block’s drive with 1:44 left made it 68-65.
Johnson, an 83 percent free throw shooter, made one of two with 5.5 seconds left, bringing the Sooners within 69-68. Block made one free throw with four seconds left and Oklahoma’s final chance ended when Johnson’s driving jumper from the left side went off the rim at the buzzer.
Kelley Newton matched his career-high with 26 points for Oklahoma, while Johnson had 15 and Price 11.
Indiana State has won both its NCAA tournament meetings with Oklahoma, the first in 1979, when the Sycamores advanced to the title game behind Larry Bird.
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) Once ranked fourth in the nation, Tennessee faltered from midseason right through a first-round exit from the NCAA tournament.
Jobey Thomas scored Charlotte’s last six points, including four free throws in the final 25 seconds, as the 49ers beat Tennessee 70-63 Friday in the first round of the Midwest Regional.
The game might have been the last at Tennessee for coach Jerry Green, whose job reportedly is in jeopardy despite 20-win seasons and trips to the NCAA tournament in each of his four seasons.
The loss was a continuation of the swoon that has hit the Volunteers. They won 16 of their first 17 games rising to No. 4 in the polls before losing eight of the next 10. They lost in the quarterfinals of last week’s SEC tournament.
“I think this is as unusual a season as I’ve ever spent in my 30-some odd years in coaching because almost everybody was playing well early then we hit a streak where we get an injury and a few people not playing well,” Green said. “Then we get it back together and really think we’ve got it in line. There have been some inconsistencies as we’ve gone along.”
Foul trouble and foul shooting were the deciding factors. The Vols (22-11) had three starters finish with four fouls each. At the line, they hit just seven of 18 shots including only one of seven in the second half.
Ninth-seeded Charlotte (22-10) will make its fourth trip to the second round in the five years when it plays top-seeded Illinois, a 96-54 victor over Northwestern State in an earlier game.
“We get to play another day,” Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said. “I think we’re a much improved defensive team and I think in the second half we showed that. We went all man-to-man. We challenged our team at halftime to dig in and try to guard them and we responded.”
Tennessee missed all six of its shots from the field and had four turnovers in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the half.
“We came out kind of lackluster and I think that cost us the game,” said Vincent Yarbrough, who led the Vols with 12 points.
Charlotte regrouped to score 14 of the next 19 points four apiece by Butter Johnson and Conference USA freshman of the year Rodney White to build a 59-50 lead with just under seven minutes remaining.
Tennessee got to 61-58 on Ron Slay’s half-hook from the right baseline with 4:28 left, but every time the Vols scored the 49ers answered. James Zimmerman followed Slay’s basket with a 3-pointer.
Tony Harris looped a shot over the outstretched arm of White for a basket with 2:56 left that cut the Charlotte lead to 64-60 before Thomas banked in an off-balance shot from the right wing to push the lead back to six.
Yarbrough hit a perimeter jumper and a foul shot the Vols had missed their previous seven free throws, including the first of three bonus situations to cut the deficit to 66-63 with 1:18 left.
Thomas hit a pair of free throws with 24.8 seconds left and again with 11.2 seconds remaining, while Tennessee missed its final three shots over the last minute.
“We’ve been a pretty good free-throw shooting team most of the year, but we sure didn’t do it today,” Green said. “Again, you get shots and you don’t make them. You get free throws and you don’t make them. Then the other guy does that’s what this season and this game are all about.”
Thomas and White each scored 12 points for the 49ers, tournament champions of Conference USA. The victory was Charlotte’s sixth in a row and 10th in its last 11.
Tennessee which also got 10 points from Marcus Haislip shot 41.7 percent from the field.
Tennessee’s Slay sat in a quiet locker room, playing with the scissors with which he had just cut off his ankle tape.
“I never expected that in the first round,” he said. “I didn’t think we were going to lose, even with three seconds left. It just happened that way.”
NEW ORLEANS (AP) Once Udonis Haslem and Brett Nelson found their favorite spots, Florida was OK.
The Gators, who reached the NCAA championship game last season, settled down after a shaky start against Western Kentucky to win 69-56 Friday in the first round of the South Regional.
With Nelson bombing away from outside and Haslem taking over inside, third-seeded Florida rallied with a 14-0 run early in the second half and pulled away.
“It took us a while to get lathered up to play,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. “We were too hopped up.”
Haslem finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds and Nelson scored 19. The Gators (24-6) advanced to play Temple, a 79-65 winner over Texas, on Sunday.
“In the second half, we finally started executing our offense to get the shots we wanted,” Nelson said. “Once we got a lead, we just had to hold on and make our shots.”
Said Haslem: “I think I came out and tried to make things happen early. It didn’t work out. But I was able to stay focused in the second half and turn things around.”
The Gators trailed 36-30 with 15:55 left before breaking loose with 14 straight points.
“I could see our team have a lack of confidence in that run,” Hilltoppers coach Dennis Felton said. “That’s something we haven’t felt in a long time.”
Western Kentucky (24-7), which did not beat any team in the 65-team tournament field, came out with a lot more energy and emotion than Florida.
The 14th-seeded Hilltoppers rushed to an 11-point lead and were confident, winking at each other after good plays. It was a superb start for a team playing its first NCAA tournament game since 1995.
Chris Marcus overpowered Florida in the opening minutes. The 7-foot-1 junior scored two early baskets, and seemed to be too much for the 6-8 Haslem.
Nelson, one of the nation’s top 3-point shooters, also had trouble as the Gators struggled to a 26-26 tie at halftime.
In the second half, however, Haslem and Nelson got comfortable quickly, and appeared to wear down the Hilltoppers.
Haslem had 18 points after the break and Nelson 12, with the pair combining for 30 of the Gators’ 43 second-half points.
The Gators also aggressively double- and triple-teamed Marcus, holding him scoreless for nearly 25 minutes after his early success.
“When I got the ball, they came on me quick,” Marcus said. “I didn’t get the looks I normally get.”
Marcus had 14 points and 16 rebounds. Nashon McPherson added 13 points and Raynardo Curry had 12 for the Sun Belt tournament champions.
“Our lack of experience showed more than we wanted it to,” McPherson said.
Florida lost two players to the NBA and two more to injury this season, following its 89-76 defeat by Michigan State in last year’s title game.
The Gators lost in the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinals to Mississippi, and came out flat against the Hilltoppers.
Western Kentucky had its way at the start, taking a 6-0 lead and holding the Gators scoreless for more than three minutes.
With Marcus hitting a couple of turnarounds in the lane, the Hilltoppers raced to a 17-6 lead, forcing Florida into an early timeout.
Asked what Donovan told the team at that point, Haslem laughed.
“Beep-beep, beep-beep-beep,” he said.
The Gators’ swarming defense eventually slowed down Marcus and, led by Nelson’s shooting, took their first lead on Haslem’s basket with 1:24 left in the opening half.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) The No. 15 seed didn’t pull an upset this time. Not even close.
Gilbert Arenas scored 21 points and second-seeded Arizona used its power and speed to coast past Eastern Illinois 101-76 Friday in the opening round of the Midwest Regional.
Michael Wright and Loren Woods added 17 points each for the Wildcats (24-7).
Iowa State was ousted Thursday night by Hampton in the West Regional, making the Cyclones the fourth No. 2 team since 1991 to lose to a No. 15 in the first round. That included Arizona’s loss to Santa Clara in 1993.
But Arenas and his talented teammates weren’t about to let it happen again.
Arizona, making its 17th straight NCAA tournament appearance under Lute Olson, endured a season of turmoil that included the death of the coach’s wife, Bobbi, and suspensions for Woods and Richard Jefferson.
Regrouping emotionally, the Wildcats have won 16 of their last 18 games heading into Sunday’s second-round meeting with Butler.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 43-10 halftime lead Thursday and beat Wake Forest 79-63 in the first game at Kemper Arena.
It will be the second meeting this season between Arizona and Butler. The Wildcats took a 12-point win on Dec. 28 in the Fiesta Bowl Classic.
Eastern Illinois (21-10), making its second-ever NCAA appearance, rushed out to an early five-point lead before the Wildcats got going.
Kyle Hill, the nation’s No. 3 scorer with a 23.5 average, got 12 of Eastern’s first 16 points with a variety of jumpers and acrobatic drives to the basket. He finished with 32 points.
Arizona withstood the initial outburst from Hill and ran off 14 straight points, using a pressing defense and its inside power and strength.
Woods’ three-point play and three baskets by Eugene Edgerson highlighted the spurt as the Wildcats rolled to a 28-16 lead.
In the final 13 minutes of the first half, Arizona outscored the overmatched Panthers 41-17 to build a 55-33 halftime lead as Woods and Wright had 13 points and five rebounds apiece in the opening half.
At one point it was so easy for the Wildcats that Arenas had a breakaway layup but at the last second he turned and fed the ball to Woods for a dunk. Woods got a technical for hanging on the rim.
The second half was more of the same as the Wildcats started with an 11-0 run before Eastern could score 4 1/2 minutes into the half.
Arizona, which shot 59 percent, is now 15-0 this season when scoring at least 80 points.
Eastern’s Henry Domercant, who averaged 22.9 as the No. 4 scorer in Division I, scored 20 Friday on 5-of-17 shooting.
DAYTON, Ohio A bank shot, a dunk, a pair of 3’s, a 10-point lead in the blink of an eye. All Illinois needed was 100 seconds to demonstrate the difference between a play-in team and a premier team.
The Midwest Region’s top-seeded team swatted away the NCAA tournament’s lowest Friday, using size and savvy to beat Northwestern State 96-54 in a first-round game.
Illinois (25-7) ran to a 10-0 lead in the opening 1:40, a blitz that dazzled the Demons (19-13) and let them know there would be no upset.
The unheralded team that left Louisiana in a pre-dawn thunderstorm last Monday, munching breakfast sandwiches on the bus, sat silently on benches in the dressing room and ate more sandwiches as the loss sunk in.
“It’s just hard to stop a big train when it gets going, and that’s what happened,” said guard Michael Byars-Dawson, who was only 1-of-8 from the field.
Midway through the first half, Illinois was up by 22 points and substituting so freely that it had only one starter on the floor at times.
Marcus Griffin scored 16 points, leading six players in double figures for Illinois. The Illini also dominated the boards 44-27, scoring half of their points from in the key against the diminutive Demons.
Northwestern State’s D’or Fischer, who had nine blocks third-most in tournament history during the play-in victory, swatted away three shots but couldn’t prevent the Illini from scoring regularly on power moves to the basket.
“Certainly I know it’s a helpless feeling, but I’ve been in those shoes,” said Illinois’ Bill Self, who also has coached at Oral Roberts and Tulsa. “We’re realistic enough to know that they were scrappy, but we had a size advantage and it will be very different against whoever we play next.”
Up next is either Charlotte or Tennessee, who met in the other first-round afternoon game.
Illinois’ only setback came midway through the first half, when forward Sergio McClain bruised his right shin and had to be helped off the floor by two teammates. He got the leg iced and didn’t return.
X-rays found no fracture, and Self expected McClain to play in the second-round game on Sunday.
Northwestern State won a novel play-in game against Winthrop on Tuesday, becoming a footnote to NCAA tournament history. The Demons then set out to pull off a major upset no 16th seed has ever beaten a No. 1.
It didn’t take them long to size up their predicament. During pregame warmups, the much smaller Demons swiveled their heads to check out the Illini, who were ignoring them while making layups.
One hundred seconds after the tip-off, Northwestern State was down 10-0 and calling a timeout. Illinois made its first four shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, and pulled off a fastbreak dunk that sent a message.
Frank Williams, the Big Ten’s player of the year, stole a crosscourt pass by Josh Hancock and headed for the basket. As Hancock closed, Williams smoothly flipped a no-look pass behind his back to a trailing Griffin, who finished the play with an emphatic dunk.
“When a very talented team gets in that position, it makes it very difficult for a group like ours to come back,” Northwestern State coach Mike McConathy said. “If a team gets ahead and they’re able to get the ball inside for easy baskets, it’s very difficult for you to rally.”
Griffin had two dunks and a putback during an 11-1 run early in the second half that pushed the lead to 25 points. The Southland Conference champions realized their first NCAA tournament appearance was approaching an end.
“We had to be intimidators inside,” Griffin said. “I just tried to be a presence.”
Illinois is fighting its history of early flameouts. Since reaching the Final Four in 1989, the Illini have failed to make it past the second round in seven consecutive appearances.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Casey Calvary put back a blocked shot with 9.2 seconds left Friday to give Gonzaga an 86-85 victory over Virginia in the opening round of the South Regional and add to the Zags’ list of upsets.
Gonzaga, seeded No. 12, was ahead by as many as 13 and looked in control heading down the stretch, but fifth-seeded Virginia (20-9) cut it to 82-80 on Roger Mason Jr.’s 3-pointer with 3:25 left.
Mason hit another 3 two minutes later to give Virginia it’s first lead, 85-84, with 1:28 left. J.C. Mathis, who shot less than 50 percent from the foul line on the season, was fouled with 21.4 seconds left but missed the free throw, and the Bulldogs had a chance.
Gonzaga (25-6), which seemed to score easily throughout the games, couldn’t find the basket in the last three minutes until the final possession. And even then it took a second effort by Calvary.
Adam Hall blocked Dan Dickau’s shot, but Calvary put it in for the one-point edge.
Mason then missed a driving shot and time expired as players scrambled for the loose ball.
Gonzaga will play either No. 4 Oklahoma or No. 13 Indiana State in the second round on Sunday.
Dickau scored 29 points for Gonzaga while Calvary added 16, Alex Hernandez 15 and Zach Gourde 12. Calvary also had 15 rebounds.
Virginia was led by Mason with a career-high 30 points, while Donald Hand had 14.
Dickau, who sat out last season after transferring from Washington, scored 21 points in the first half, including four 3-pointers.
After barely missing the Final Four in 1999 and reaching the regional semifinals last year, the Bulldogs don’t sneak up on anybody. In the past two years, they knocked out second-seeded teams in the second round.
But, just like other higher seeds in what is becoming an upset-filled tournament, the Cavaliers looked off guard by the fast-paced, rough-playing Zags.
Trailing by 13, the Cavaliers had a 13-4 run capped by Keith Friel’s third 3 in a row with 9:03 left that cut it to 70-66.
But Dickau hit a 3-pointer to put the Zags back up by seven. Virginia cut it to four twice but each time Gonzaga’s defense held until the final minutes.
Watson’s basket with 3:25 left cut it to 82-80, and Calvary scored to push the lead back to four. But Gonzaga didn’t score again until Calvary’s final basket.
Gonzaga raced to a 19-8 lead, and Virginia played most of the first half with Watson, its best rebounder, who picked up three quick fouls.
Virginia couldn’t find a way to stop Dickau in the first half, and he poured in shots from as far away as 23 feet.
Virginia trimmed the lead to 48-42 at halftime, but Gonzaga didn’t let the Cavaliers stay close for long.
After Watson scored with 15:38 to cut it to 54-53 with 15:38 left, Gonzaga went on a 12-0 run helped by Virginia mistakes. Hernandez scored on a goaltending call, and Hall missed three layups.
Calvary’s dunked in Dickau’s missed 3-pointer to give Gonzaga a 66-53 lead with 11:37 remaining.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. The arithmetic was clear: Wake Forest scored just 10 points in the first half and could never recover.
Tenth-seeded Butler held seventh-seeded Wake Forest to a shocking 3-of-25 shooting while taking a 43-10 halftime lead en route to a 79-63 victory Friday in the Midwest Regional.
Brandon Miller had 18 points for Butler, which recorded its first NCAA tournament victory since 1962.
The Demon Deacons, who won their first 12 games this season and looked as if they might contend for national honors, shot 59 percent in the second half and outscored the Bulldogs 53-36. But it was not enough.
Robert O’Kelley had all 20 of his points in the second half, personally scoring twice as much as his entire team in those first astounding 20 minutes.
Wake’s 3-of-25 misery included layups that rolled off the rim, medium-range jumpers that seemed to dip into the basket and pop out and a laughable 3-point attempt by A.W. Hamilton that missed everything by about a foot and a half.
The Deacons (19-11) were without one of their top scorers, injured guard Craig Dawson. But he couldn’t have made much difference after Wake missed its first 12 shots and did not have a field goal until Broderick Hicks got a put-back with 11:02 left.
By then, the Bulldogs (24-7) led 25-5.The closest Wake got was 16 points when O’Kelley completed a three-point play that made it 73-57 with 3:04 to play.
In the final seconds, Hicks went in for an uncontested layup that again made it a respectable 16-point defeat at the hands of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference champions, who have won nine in a row and 13 of 14.
Wake’s 10-point first half had NCAA researchers scrambling to see if the Deacons had set a record. Wisconsin scored 12 points in the first half in a 43-32 first-round loss to Southwest Missouri State in 1999.
As cold as the Deacons were in the first half, the Bulldogs were almost as hot.
When Rylan Hainje drilled a 3-pointer to make it 25-3 with 11:22 still to go, Butler had hit 7-of-8 from beyond the arc. They finished 8-of-25.
Joel Cornette and LaVall Jordan each had 15 points for Butler’s balanced attack. Thomas Jackson scored 14.
NEW ORLEANS John Chaney doesn’t have many players, but if his defense remains tough, he won’t need them.
Quincy Wadley got hot early and the Temple defense played well throughout, helping the Owls to a 79-65 victory over Texas in the first round of the NCAA South tournament Friday.
Wadley scored 23 points 20 in the first half, when he made 4 of 5 from 3-point range, sparking the upset by the 11th-seeded Owls.
Temple held sixth-seeded Texas (25-9) to 39 percent shooting. The Longhorns made only 6 of 21 3-pointers and 7 of 12 free throws.
The victory came after one of Chaney’s toughest seasons he kicked two players off the team, watched injuries shrink his roster to eight scholarship players, and had the longest losing streak in his career seven.
Until Temple rebounded from its midseason problems and won the Atlantic 10 tournament, it appeared that the Owls would miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in 12 years, only the second time in 19.
Temple used only seven players, compared to 10 for Texas.
When Texas shut down Wadley in the second half, Lynn Greer stepped up, scoring 17 of his 19 points. Greer made 10 of 10 from the foul line and had six assists. David Hawkins added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Owls, Alex Wesby had 12 points.
Darren Kelly and Chris Owens each scored 15 points for Texas. Kelly also had 10 rebounds.
Marice Evans, who was averaging 15.8 points a game for Texas, was held to 10 on 4-for-16 shooting, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range.
Temple took the lead a minute into the game on Wadley’s first 3-pointer and was up 41-22 at the half.
Texas, which won its final six regular season games and eight of the final nine, shot only 27.6 percent from the field in the first half, 14 percent from 3-point range where they made one of seven.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) In everything but their seeding, Mississippi and Iona were oh, so close.
With 1.8 seconds to go, Jason Holmes stripped Iona’s Courtney Fields of the ball in the lane and then hit a free throw, lifting third-seeded Ole Miss to a 72-70 victory over the No. 14 Gaels on Friday night in the first round of the Midwest Regional.
Mississippi (26-7) shot 44 percent while the Gaels (22-11), looking for their first NCAA win since 1980, shot 41 percent. Iona had 40 rebounds, Ole Miss 36. The Rebels sank 14 free throws, the Gaels 13.
Iona, with star center Nakiea Miller in foul trouble, took a 70-67 lead with 1:56 to play on Earl Johnson’s basket. Then Emmanuel Wade, having one of his finest games, tied it 70-all with a 3-pointer for Ole Miss.
With 50 seconds left, Mississippi’s Rahim Lockhart outmuscled Miller for a rebound under the basket, forced Miller’s fifth foul.
A 46-percent free-throw shooter, Lockhart made one foul shot, putting the Rebels on top 71-70.
Wade, who averaged just four points for the season, had a career-high 19 for the Rebels, whose No. 3 seed is their highest ever. Lockhart had 12 and Jason Holmes and Aaron Harper each had 10.
Miller led Iona with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Earl Johnson had 15.
With Ole Miss clinging to a 65-64 lead, Justin Reed blocked three straight Iona shots, stopping Miller twice and then swatting away Phil Grant’s shot with 3:14 to go.
Then Grant took the inbounds pass and hit a 15-footer that gave the Gaels a 66-65 edge.
Lockhart, Mississippi’s leading scorer, crashed onto the floor under the basket early in the first half and spent all but four minutes of the half on the bench. He wound up playing just 15 minutes.
In the back-and-forth first half, the lead changed hands six times, with Leland Norris hitting a long 3-pointer 16 seconds before the buzzer to give the Gaels a 38-35 lead.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Alabama State was close to a record in the first half, and Michigan State made sure the Hornets at least matched one in their first NCAA tournament appearance.
After a poor first half, Jason Richardson and Andre Hutson got the defending national champions rolling in a 69-35 victory Friday night in the first round of the South Regional.
“I think we were a little nervous because of all the upsets. I’ve heart a lot of people say, ‘You should look at all of Thursday’s games and your guys should be ready for Friday,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “Teams like Alabama State saw upsets can happen and that gets them more ready.”
Richardson scored 14 points and Hutson added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Michigan State (25-4), which is trying to become the sixth team to win consecutive titles and the first since Duke in 1991 and ’92.
The Spartans will play the California-Fresno State winner in the second round Sunday.
A No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1 seed, but it looked possible in the first half.
Alabama State (22-9), winner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference title, hung close to a sloppy and seemingly uninspired Michigan State team in the first half.
“They weren’t afraid of anything,” Izzo said of the Hornets, who were down by only four at halftime. “(They) had us on their heels. We got a few more rebounds and a few more stops and that was the difference.”
The Michigan State starters began the second half by slapping the floor, and the rout was on.
The Spartans started to rebound like they always do and pulled away in the first five minutes of the second half.
“I never felt we were going to lose the game,” Izzo said. “Once we got the running game going, I thought we really responded.”
Alabama State didn’t get any closer than 33-27 with 17:53 left after Tyrone Levett scored as the shot clock ran out.
“They got more aggressive. We basically did all we could,” Levett said of the second half.
Richardson tipped the ball toward David Thomas under the basket for an easy score, and then Richardson hit a 3 at the top of the key to put Michigan State ahead 42-27 with 15:05 left.
Richardson made another smooth move going under the basket and lifted the ball in with one hand for a 45-32 lead 2 1/2 minutes later.
That basket started a 26-0 run over 13:24, and it didn’t end until Malcolm Campbell hit a 3 with 15.8 seconds left.
Alabama State scored just 10 points in the second half, and made their own history by matching Wake Forest’s record-setting first-half production Friday against Butler.
Wake Forest fell behind 43-10 at halftime in the Midwest Regional. It is the lowest-scoring half in any NCAA tournament game since the introduction of the shot clock in 1985-86.
“I thought we stayed on 32 points forever,” Alabama State coach Rob Spivery said.
Zach Randolph added 12 points for Michigan State, which held Alabama State to the third-worst shooting percent ever in the first and second rounds. Michigan State also held Valparaiso to 25 percent shooting from the field in last year’s first-round game.
Levett led Alabama State with 17 points.
Michigan State didn’t look anything like a national championship team in the first half. The Spartans missed shots, didn’t rebound well, made bad decisions and kept Alabama State in the game.
The Hornets shot only 10-of-26 from the field but used an effective zone defense, and they weren’t bullied on the boards. Michigan State, which leads the national with an average 15.3 rebounding margin, had just six more than Alabama State in the first half.
Michigan State led by as many as eight, but the Hornets pulled to 29-25 at halftime.
Levett converted a four-point play when he hit a 3 with 6.4 seconds to go before halftime and was fouled by Adam Ballinger.
“They played the second half like a national championship team,” Spivery said.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) The Crispin brothers sure know how to play nice together.
Joe Crispin scored 13 points, brother Jon Crispin added 11, to lead seventh-seed Penn State to a 69-59 victory over Providence on Friday night in the NCAA South Regional.
The Crispin brothers also had nine rebounds and five assists and were 6-for-7 from the free-throw line.
Gyasi Cline-Heard had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Titus Ivory added 13 points.
The Nittany Lions were 8-of-19 from 3-point range against Providence, which had held teams to 29 percent this season. Joe Crispin and Ivory each made three 3-pointers
Erron Maxey led Providence with 16 points, and Karim Shabazz had 13 points and nine rebounds.
Penn State (20-11) finishing the regular season with a 1.9- point scoring margin, while 10th-seeded Providence (21-10) beat teams by an average of 11 points.
On Friday, both teams reversed their trend.
Penn State shot 44 percent, the Friars 36 percent.
After a streaky first half, Penn State settled down to business. The Nittany Lions took a 34-32 lead on a jumper by Ivory 1:46 into the second half and never trailed again.
Penn State used a 9-2 run, fueled by seven points from Jon Crispin, to go up 46-37 with 11:52 left. Joe the Big Ten scoring leader was on the bench cheering his younger brother on.
After dropping behind 7-2 in the opening minutes, Penn State went on a 15-2 run, fueled by three 3-point baskets to take a 17-9 lead at the 12:50 mark. Penn State led by 10 points 23-13 on Titus Ivory’s 3-pointer with 9:41 remaining in the half.
The Friars answered with a 17-2 run to go up 30-27 with 3:23 left. A pair of free throws by Gyasi Cline-Heard and a 3-pointer by Joe Crispin the sixth of the first half for Providence made it 30-30 at the break.
Lefty Driesell couldn’t have scripted it any better.
Driesell, who coached at Maryland before being fired 15 years ago, will have an opportunity to get even in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Driesell, now coaching Georgia State, led the Panthers to a 50-49 upset over Wisconsin Thursday, while Maryland defeated George Mason 83-80 in the NCAA West Regional at Boise, Idaho.
“I told my team this might be the greatest win I’ve ever had,” Driesell said. “We came back in the second half and showed what kind of club we have.”
Darryl Cooper made a four-point play and a steal to set up the game-winning basket in the final minute for Georgia State (29-4).
Wisconsin (18-11), which reached last year’s Final Four, led 49-44 with 59.7 seconds left after two free throws by Andy Kowske.
Then Cooper hit a 3-pointer was fouled with 48.2 seconds to play. He then stole a pass and fed Shernard Long, who scored with 12.3 seconds to play, giving Georgia State the lead.
When Wisconsin’s Kirk Penney missed a desperation halfcourt shot, the Panthers celebrated the biggest win in school history.
Kevin Morris led Georgia State with 18 points. Mark Vershaw led Wisconsin with 19 points.
Maryland used Steve Blake’s late 3-pointer and Juan Dixon’s two free throws with 4.9 seconds to play to beat George Mason.
Dixon and Byron Mouton scored 22 points each for Maryland.
The Terrapins (22-10) led 79-75 after Blake’s 3-pointer with one minute to go and 81-77 after Mouton made two free throws with 42.6 seconds remaining.
The Patriots (18-12) pulled to 81-80 when Erik Herring completed a three-point play with 30.9 seconds remaining.
After Maryland’s Terrence Morris missed two free throws with 28.4 seconds remaining, the Patriots turned the ball over with six seconds left. Mouton was fouled on the inbounds play and made his two shots.
George Mason’s 3-point try at the buzzer bounded off the rim.
In the West Regional at San Diego, St. Joseph’s upset Georgia Tech 66-62.
In the East Regional at Uniondale, N.Y., Kentucky downed Holy Cross 72-68 and Iowa defeated Creighton 69-56.
In the East Regional at Greensoboro, N.C., Utah State topped Ohio State 77-68 in overtime and UCLA beat Hofstra 61-48.
Marvin O’Connor scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half for St. Joseph’s.
St. Joe’s, the second-smallest school in the tournament with 3,450 students, saw its 18-point lead dwindle to three twice in the final 1:43. But the Yellow Jackets (17-13) came up short on two easy scoring chances.
The Hawks (26-6) missed the front end of free-throw attempts by Damian Reid and Jameer Nelson before Nelson hit two foul shots to keep St. Joe’s ahead 65-60 with 29.7 seconds left.
Nelson added 13 points for St. Joe’s.
Tony Akins led Tech with 16 points and Darryl LaBarrie added 15.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Tayshaun Prince broke a second half tie and Kentucky held off Holy Cross.
After the Crusaders erased a 10-point Wildcats lead with a 14-4 run fueled by two 3-pointers by Jared Curry to tie it at 58 with 6:28 to play, Prince took over.
He nailed two 3-pointers inside of a minute to put the Wildcats back in front and scored 12 of his team’s final 14 points. Prince hit another basket that made it 70-65, then dropped in two free throws with 7.2 seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Southeastern Conference champions.
Prince finished with 27 points and Keith Bogans scored 17 for Kentucky (23-9).
Curry led Holy Cross (22-8) with 16 points, while Josh Sankes scored 13 and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Reggie Evans scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half, leading Iowa.
Evans was 13-of-15 from the foul line, including 12-of-13 in the final 10 minutes during which only three total field goals were made.
Duez Henderson added 16 points and Dean Oliver 15 for Iowa (23-11), which posted its fifth straight victory.
Ben Walker and Livan Pyfrom each scored 11 points for Creighton (24-8).
Curtis Bobb scored eight points in overtime and Utah State won its first NCAA tournament game since 1970.
Bernard Rock scored 18 points and Tony Brown 17 for the 12th-seeded Aggies, who had lost nine straight tournament games before beating fifth-seeded Ohio State in an East Regional game.
The Aggies (28-5) committed only five turnovers. They also forced the Buckeyes (20-11) into 21 turnovers.
Ohio State’s Ken Johnson finished with 14 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks, but had only six points all on free throws and one block after halftime.
Bobb also scored 14 points. He put Utah State up 62-61 with a short jumper, then scored on a putback that drew a foul and made the free throw, giving the Aggies a 65-62 lead. Bobb’s fast break dunk made it 67-62.
Ohio State missed a chance to win in regulation when Brian Brown’s 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
The Bruins (22-8) trailed much of the second half, before closing with a 24-5 run after falling behind 43-37 with 12:59 remaining, snapping the nation’s longest winning streak at 18.
Hofstra (26-5) lost its outside touch in the final 20 minutes after going 7-for-14 from behind the arc to lead by four at the break. Hofstra missed 13 of its final 14 shots. The Pride also had 21 turnovers.
Earl Watson scored 13 of his 15 points for the Bruins in the first half. Dan Gadzuric came up big late, scoring eight of his 14 points during the final run. He also added 13 rebounds, while Billy Knight led the Bruins with 17 points.
Rick Apodaca led the Pride with 16 points
