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Men's college basketball briefs

By Times staff and wire reports

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 9, 2001

No. 8 Arizona shocks No. 1 Stanford 76-75

STANFORD, Calif. -- Michael Wright's layup with three seconds left gave No. 8 Arizona a 76-75 victory over top-ranked Stanford on Thursday night.

Gilbert Arenas' 22 points, Wright's inside play and tough defense in the final minutes allowed the Wildcats to claim their second victory over a No. 1 Stanford team in two seasons. Arizona also delayed the Cardinal's hopes of claiming the outright Pac-10 title.

Stanford led for most of the second half, but Arenas' steal and layup with 3:06 left gave Arizona a two-point lead. Stanford went back in front on four points by Jason Collins, but he was called for an offensive foul with 42 seconds left. Jason Gardner hit one free throw to pull Arizona within 75-74.

Casey Jacobsen missed a three with 16 seconds left, and Arizona set up the last play. Wright got the ball in the middle of the key, sliced between two defenders and put the ball in.

NO. 13 UCLA 86, WASH. ST. 76: Jason Kapono scored 28 and the visiting Bruins rallied.

The Cougars have lost to UCLA 17 straight times, dating to Dec. 19, 1986.

The Bruins tied the score at halftime and went on a 16-2 run down the stretch. Washington State built an 11-point lead in the first half, but lost it to strong inside play and fullcourt pressure by the Bruins.

Big East

SETON HALL 58, NO. 18 GEORGETOWN 40: In New York, the Pirates, who didn't clinch a spot in the tournament until the last game of the regular season, advanced to the semifinals.

The Pirates won their third straight by opening the second half with a 24-3 run to take control. They held the Hoyas to half their season scoring average in matching the fewest points allowed in a tournament game.

"Sometimes it isn't up to any of us to try to judge what the timing of things should be," Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker said. "We're grateful we're in the position we're in right now."

Andre Barrett had 12 points to lead Seton Hall, which wasn't guaranteed a spot in the tournament until it beat UConn in the regular-season finale.

PITT 66, NO. 19 ND 54: The Panthers threw a defensive curtain over All-American Troy Murphy and advanced.

Ricardo Greer led four Pitt players in double figures with 17 points as the Panthers withstood a three-point attack by Notre Dame to reach the semifinals for the first time since 1989. Brandin Knight had 10 points and 11 assists. Murphy, averaging 22.6 points, managed eight. It was the second-worst total of his career.

NO. 10 BC 93, VILLANOVA 79: Troy Bell, the conference's co-player of the year, led the Eagles (24-4) with 25 points and made 10 of 15 shots. BC plays Seton Hall today.

Coach Al Skinner credited his players for the turnaround from last season's 3-13 record.

"Attitude, intensity and approach made this team successful," Skinner said. "Attitude is extremely important. It's hard to get it every night but we've had it consistently throughout the year. Our players were embarrassed about finishing 13th last year. They wanted to make that change."

NO. 17 SYRACUSE 55, PROVIDENCE 54: The Orangemen, who led by 15 points at halftime, had to rally in the final five minutes. The Orangemen play Pittsburgh today, with the winner advancing to the championship game. The Orangemen swept the two-game season series from the Panthers.

Big Ten

PENN STATE 82, MICHIGAN 80: In Chicago, Gyasi Cline-Heard grabbed teammate Brandon Watkins' air-ball jumper and hit a reverse layup with .3 left for the Nittany Lions.

Looking for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since coach Jerry Dunn's first season in 1995-96, the Nittany Lions face a tough assignment today in the quarterfinals -- a date with second-ranked and defending national champion Michigan State.

PURDUE 91, MINNESOTA 77: Maynard Lewis scored a career-best 22 for the Boilermakers, and Rodney Smith and John Allison played for the first time since each broke a foot in early February.

The Boilermakers have gone to the NCAA Tournament the past eight years, but they need to win this tournament to make it nine in a row. It doesn't get any easier from here, as Purdue plays No. 4 Illinois, the tournament's top seed, today.

IOWA 72, NORTHWESTERN 55: Northwestern may not have been able to pull off a second upset, but the Wildcats weren't about to give Iowa this one without a fight.

Dean Oliver had 12 of his 13 points in the second half, and Reggie Evans had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawkeyes, who play No. 24 Ohio State tonight.

Ben Johnson had a season-best 24 points, going 6-of-9 from three-point range, and Winston Blake had 12 for Northwestern.

Big 12

OKLA. ST. 71, TEXAS TECH 59: In Kansas City, Mo., the Cowboys probably earned an NCAA berth, and James Dickey might have coached his last game for the Red Raiders.

The Cowboys (20-8), who have become the tournament's sentimental favorite in the wake of the January plane crash that killed 10 members of their traveling party, trailed only briefly and beat Tech for the third time this season.

Before the game, Dickey refused comment on reports that the school had talked with former Indiana coach Bob Knight about joining the Red Raiders.

Maurice Baker scored 31 points to lead Oklahoma State, which plays No. 20 Texas today in the second round.

KANSAS ST. 62, NEBRASKA 58: Travis Reynolds put in two follow shots in the final 43 seconds, including the winner from the lane with 1.5 seconds left.

Kansas State avenged two regular-season losses to the Cornhuskers and improved to 7-0 against Nebraska in Big 12 and Big Eight tournament games.

Reynolds, who finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats, scored both of his putbacks after misses by Quentin Buchanan.

Nebraska had the ball and a 58-56 lead with a minute remaining, but Cookie Belcher, the Cornhuskers' leading scorer with 20, fell and lost the ball to Buchanan off his hip.

MISSOURI 77, TEXAS A&M 62: Clarence Gilbert hit eight three-pointers, tying a school record, and scored 30 for the Tigers.

Gilbert's eight threes were the second-most in a Big 12 tournament game. Colorado's Kenny Price hit nine against Texas in 1999. John Woods set the Missouri record against UAB in the 1998 NIT.

Missouri's 74 percent shooting from long range (14-for-19) shattered its tournament record of 62 percent (5-for-8) set in 1997.

BAYLOR 86, COLORADO 84 (OT): Freshman Matt Sayman hit two free throws with 10 seconds left to lift the Bears. Colorado, ending the season on a six-game losing skid, spent most of the first half dismantling a 14-point Baylor lead.

Atlantic 10

NO. 21 ST. JOSEPH'S 82, LA SALLE 74: In Philadelphia, Jameer Nelson set career highs with 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Hawks, who play Massachusetts in tonight's semifinal.

"Career highs are great, but the win makes me feel better," Nelson said. "A career high without the win means nothing."

Nelson, the conference rookie of the year and one of the top freshman point guards in country, scored 17 in the second half and was two assists shy of his first career triple double. He finished 6-of-8 from the field and 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.

UMASS 79, ST. BONAVENTURE 58: Monty Mack had 29 points, including 5-for-5 from three-point range in the second half, for the Minutemen.

UMass snapped a four-game losing streak to the Bonnies, who defeated the Minutemen twice in the regular season, including the final game 66-59 Monday.

GW 83, XAVIER 74: SirValiant Brown scored 19 and Chris Monroe had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Colonials.

Mike King added 18 points for George Washington, which plays Temple in tonight's semifinal.

David West and Kevin Frey each scored 20 for Xavier, which suffered its second straight disappointing loss. The Musketeers, ranked No. 25 at the time, got knocked out of the Top 25 by Dayton with a 65-62 loss Sunday.

TEMPLE 76, DAYTON 63: Quincy Wadley scored 23 on 8-for-12 shooting for the Owls.

Lynn Greer added 22 points and seven assists and David Hawkins had 14 points for Temple, which faces Xavier in tonight's semifinal.

Temple has won five straight and eight of 10.

Dayton was dogged by poor shooting and turnovers, while Temple couldn't seem to miss from the field. The Owls, who never trailed, shot 54 percent (26-for-48) and the Flyers were held to a dismal 38 percent (21-for-56).

WAC

NO. 25 FRESNO ST. 60, RICE 52: In Tulsa, Okla., the Bulldogs didn't get a second-half basket for more than 13 minutes, finished with a season-worst point total and fewest field goals of the season. "The nice part about it is, it's a win," coach Jerry Tarkanian said. "It might not be beautiful, but it goes in the left-hand column."

The Bulldogs led by as much as 12 in the first half and had an 11-point lead early in the second. They face Hawaii, a 99-79 winner over TCU, today in the semifinals.

UTEP 74, SMU 70: Roy Smallwood and Brian Stewart came up with big baskets in the second half for the Miners.

Third-seeded UTEP plays Tulsa or San Jose State in the semifinals today. SMU fell despite 23 points from Quinton Ross, who kept the Mustangs close in the late going.

Stewart scored 14 to lead five UTEP players in double figures. Smallwood had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 6 six assists.

MEAC

NORFOLK ST. 78, COPPIN ST. 66: Cornelius Roberts scored 17 and Derek Smith added 15 off the bench for the Spartans in the quarterfinals in Richmond, Va. Norfolk State faces in-state rival Hampton today in the semifinals.

N.C. A&T 83, DELAWARE ST. 73: Bruce Jenkins scored a career-high 35 and had 11 rebounds for the Aggies in the quarterfinals in Richmond, Va.

PHCC ousted

MARIANNA -- Pasco-Hernando Community College lost 75-65 to third-ranked Daytona Beach in the first round of the FCCAA state tournament.

PHCC (20-13) led 40-38 at the half, but had no one to match Daytona Beach forward John Thomas, who had 28 points and 10 rebounds.

Mike Morris had 16 points and Mike Jones 10 for PHCC, which played in its fifth straight state tournament.

Majerus to UNLV: 'No'

LAS VEGAS -- UNLV has been snubbed by two Ricks in a row.

Utah coach Rick Majerus followed Rick Pitino's lead and told UNLV officials Thursday he was not interested in the Runnin' Rebel coaching job.

UNLV athletic director Charles Cavagnaro said he talked with Majerus about the job, but that Majerus did not want it.

"At this time he thinks the best thing for him is to stay with the Utah program," Cavagnaro said.

KANSAS: Forward Luke Axtell will miss the rest of the season with back problems. Axtell has had an injury-plagued senior season, playing only 19 of 28 games. He's averaging 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds.

"This is a big loss for us as a team, but an even bigger blow to Luke," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. "He has tried very hard to play, but this year has just been one problem after another."

- Staff writer Steve Lee contributed to this report.

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