COLUMBUS, Ohio - Kentucky may have never felt so blue after a win in the NCAA Tournament.
Gerald Fitch scored 26 and the top-seeded Wildcats advanced to the second round with a 96-76 victory Friday night over 16th-seeded and fearless Florida A&M in the St. Louis Region.
It was anything but easy for the Wildcats (27-4), who didn't lock up their 13th straight first-round win until midway through the second half against the Rattlers (15-17).
For nearly 30 minutes, Florida A&M's unheralded players, who don't enjoy the same perks as Kentucky's roster stuffed with high school All-Americans, went toe to toe with the powerful Wildcats.
The MEAC tournament champions shot with them, rebounded with them and even jawed a little bit with their SEC counterparts.
The Rattlers were within 77-67 with 9:41 remaining before Kentucky embarked on a 15-2 run that gave it some breathing room and made the final score more lopsided than the game really was.
Florida A&M's loss dropped No. 16 seeds to 0-80 since the tournament expanded in 1985, but the Rattlers made it fun for their fans - and TV viewers - as long as they could.
CINCY 80, ETSU 77: Diminutive Tim Smith saw the opening - only a sliver, really, but more than ample - and headed to the basket. He had the shot he wanted with an NCAA Tournament game on the line.
He let the ball go, and missed again.
For the second year in a row, East Tennessee State came up one shot short of a first-round upset. Tony Bobbitt's 3-pointer with 16.1 seconds left gave the Bearcats the victory.
Smith ran semicircles around the fourth-seeded Bearcats, scoring 26 and winning fans with each dazzling drive to the basket. His last one had a bad ending.
The 13th-seeded Bucs (27-6) then missed two hurried follow-up shots, sparing Cincinnati (25-6) from another quick exit. The Bearcats failed to make it past the first weekend of the tournament in six of the past seven years.
ILLINOIS 72, MURRAY STATE 53: Illinois was bigger, badder and better, muscling past an inferior opponent and into the second round.
Just like a Big Ten team should.
Dee Brown scored 21 as the fifth-seeded Fighting Illini advanced, winning on the same floor where they claimed their first outright conference title in 52 years this month.
Roger Powell added 11 points and James Augustine 10 for Illinois (25-6), which took control of the Atlanta Region matchup with a late run in the first half, pulled away and cruised into the second round for the second straight year.
The 12th-seeded Racers (28-6) were led by Cuthbert Victor's 15 points and Chris Shumate's 13. But the Ohio Valley champions couldn't handle Illinois' size or strength inside and dropped to 0-12 against Big Ten schools.
UAB 102, WASH. 100: Demario Eddins scored a career-high 26 and made the decisive plays in the closing seconds for the ninth-seeded Blazers.
Eddins took a charge that negated a basket, hit two free throws with 16.2 seconds left and blocked a shot, sending the Blazers (21-9) to their first tournament victory since 1986.
With former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson trying to direct defense from the stands - UAB coach Mike Anderson was his assistant for 20 years- the Blazers held on in a game dominated by streaky shooters.
Maurice Finley hit a free throw with 1.3 seconds left for the final margin, then missed his second attempt. Brandon Roy got the rebound for the eighth-seeded Huskies and made a fullcourt heave that bounced off the top of the backboard.
