Midwest Regional
Florida 74, Purdue 67
Florida's tournament experience paid off against plucky Purdue. Al Horford and Corey Brewer each scored 17 points and the defending national champions withstood a game effort by the Boilermakers 74-67 on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Purdue played just about how it wanted against the Gators -- slowing down the tempo, rebounding with a smaller lineup and keeping the game close much of the way. But the top-seeded Gators never panicked and made several clutch shots down the stretch to advance to the round of 16.
West Regional
Southern Illinois 63, Virginia Tech 48
The team that no one wants to play is still playing -- thanks to its suffocating defense.
Southern Illinois got three big 3-pointers from Jamaal Tatum and pulled away from Virginia Tech. Tatum, the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year, scored 21 points. The fourth-seeded Salukis have won 15 of 16. They advance to meet the Kansas-Kentucky winner in a regional semifinal on Thursday night in San Jose, Calif. Rest assured that neither team wants to face a team so dedicated to floor burns and gritty defense.
Kansas 88, Kentucky 76
Let Kentucky have the past. Kansas owns the present.
And with a few more performances like this, the loaded Jayhawks might be making some more history of their own. Chicago native Julian Wright scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, Brandon Rush added 19 and top-seeded Kansas romped. Mario Chalmers added 16 for the Jayhawks, who shot a blistering 57 percent to win their 13th in a row. Kansas (32-4) will play fourth-seeded Southern Illinois on Thursday in the semifinals in San Jose, Calif.
South Regional
Tennessee 77, Virginia 74
Now the whole state of Tennessee can paint itself orange.
JaJuan Smith scored 16 points and led a second-half comeback, Chris Lofton scored 20 points and the Volunteers held off Virginia. Fifth-seeded Tennessee (24-10) reached the round of 16 for the first time since 2000 under second-year coach Bruce Pearl, who painted himself orange before a Lady Vols' game last month to show his spirit. Virginia point guard Sean Singletary missed a 3-pointer with 1 second left, then fell to the floor and rested his forehead on the court in dismay as Virginia (21-11) watched its top two scorers come up empty.
Memphis 78, Nevada 62
John Calipari's Memphis Tigers finally have a victory worth bragging about in their run of 24 straight. Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 16 points before leaving with a sprained ankle and his high-flying, versatile teammates took over from there for a 78-62 victory over Nick Fazekas and Nevada.
East Regional
USC 87, Texas 68
If Kevin Durant decides to leave college after one year, it will be without a championship -- or even a trip into the second week of the tournament. Southern California made sure of that, getting 22 points from its more seasoned star, junior Nick Young, in a runaway.
As he often has this season, Durant led everyone with 30 points and added nine rebounds for fourth-seeded Texas.
But he never came close to dominating this East Regional game. Many times when he got the ball, the offense ground to a halt for the Longhorns (25-10), who fell behind by 17 early in the second half and never made a serious run.
No. 5 seed USC (25-11) also got 20 points from Daniel Hackett and 17 points and 14 rebounds from Taj Gibson -- a 6-foot-9 freshman like Durant.
Second-year coach Tim Floyd's Trojans will make their first trip to the regional semis since 2001 -- and second since 1979 -- where they'll play North Carolina at East Rutherford, N.J. With their 25th win, the Trojans set a program record.
Florida's tournament experience paid off against plucky Purdue. Al Horford and Corey Brewer each scored 17 points and the defending national champions withstood a game effort by the Boilermakers 74-67 on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Purdue played just about how it wanted against the Gators -- slowing down the tempo, rebounding with a smaller lineup and keeping the game close much of the way. But the top-seeded Gators never panicked and made several clutch shots down the stretch to advance to the round of 16.
West Regional
Southern Illinois 63, Virginia Tech 48
The team that no one wants to play is still playing -- thanks to its suffocating defense.
Southern Illinois got three big 3-pointers from Jamaal Tatum and pulled away from Virginia Tech. Tatum, the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year, scored 21 points. The fourth-seeded Salukis have won 15 of 16. They advance to meet the Kansas-Kentucky winner in a regional semifinal on Thursday night in San Jose, Calif. Rest assured that neither team wants to face a team so dedicated to floor burns and gritty defense.
Kansas 88, Kentucky 76
Let Kentucky have the past. Kansas owns the present.
And with a few more performances like this, the loaded Jayhawks might be making some more history of their own. Chicago native Julian Wright scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, Brandon Rush added 19 and top-seeded Kansas romped. Mario Chalmers added 16 for the Jayhawks, who shot a blistering 57 percent to win their 13th in a row. Kansas (32-4) will play fourth-seeded Southern Illinois on Thursday in the semifinals in San Jose, Calif.
South Regional
Tennessee 77, Virginia 74
Now the whole state of Tennessee can paint itself orange.
JaJuan Smith scored 16 points and led a second-half comeback, Chris Lofton scored 20 points and the Volunteers held off Virginia. Fifth-seeded Tennessee (24-10) reached the round of 16 for the first time since 2000 under second-year coach Bruce Pearl, who painted himself orange before a Lady Vols' game last month to show his spirit. Virginia point guard Sean Singletary missed a 3-pointer with 1 second left, then fell to the floor and rested his forehead on the court in dismay as Virginia (21-11) watched its top two scorers come up empty.
Memphis 78, Nevada 62
John Calipari's Memphis Tigers finally have a victory worth bragging about in their run of 24 straight. Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 16 points before leaving with a sprained ankle and his high-flying, versatile teammates took over from there for a 78-62 victory over Nick Fazekas and Nevada.
East Regional
USC 87, Texas 68
If Kevin Durant decides to leave college after one year, it will be without a championship -- or even a trip into the second week of the tournament. Southern California made sure of that, getting 22 points from its more seasoned star, junior Nick Young, in a runaway.
As he often has this season, Durant led everyone with 30 points and added nine rebounds for fourth-seeded Texas.
But he never came close to dominating this East Regional game. Many times when he got the ball, the offense ground to a halt for the Longhorns (25-10), who fell behind by 17 early in the second half and never made a serious run.
No. 5 seed USC (25-11) also got 20 points from Daniel Hackett and 17 points and 14 rebounds from Taj Gibson -- a 6-foot-9 freshman like Durant.
Second-year coach Tim Floyd's Trojans will make their first trip to the regional semis since 2001 -- and second since 1979 -- where they'll play North Carolina at East Rutherford, N.J. With their 25th win, the Trojans set a program record.