Twelfth-seeded University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee pressed generated their second upset in three days on Saturday, with an 83-75 win over Boston College in the second round of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
Given little chance in the opening round against Alabama from the SEC or against the Big East's regular-season champions, Milwaukee (26-5) gave the nation's mid-major programs another moment to savor this March.
They did it the way know best: with a relentless, full-court press that forced the Eagles (25-5) into 22 turnovers.
PHOTO: AP
Milwaukee will play Illinois on Thursday in the Chicago Regional in Rosemont, Illinois.
Illinois 71, Nevada 59
In Indianapolis, Indiana, James Augustine scored a career-high 23 points and Jack Ingram added 12 more in the top-seeded Illini's victory. Augustine also grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked four shots and had two steals.
PHOTO: AP
Illinois' famed guard trio of Deron Williams, Dee Brown and Luther Head combined for 31 points, but most came late in the game as the big guys took center stage. Williams scored five points on free throws down the stretch.
The Illini (34-1) reached the regional semifinals for the second straight season and fourth time in the last five seasons.
Kevinn Pinkney led the Wolf Pack (25-7) with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Mo Charlo added 12.
Arizona 85, UAB 63
In Boise, Idaho, Salim Stoudamire made five 3-pointers and had 28 points, and Arizona never buckled under Alabama-Birmingham's constant pressure defense.
Arizona (29-6) struggled with UAB's frenetic, trapping defense in the first half, but had just four turnovers in the second to reach the round of 16 for the 12th time. The Wildcats, the 1997 national champions, advanced to Rosemont, Illinois, next weekend and will face either Oklahoma State or Southern Illinois, which play Sunday in Oklahoma City.
Arizona shot 52 percent from the field and made 18-of-23 from the free throw line, including 12-of-15 in the second half when UAB picked up the pressure.
UAB (22-11) played its usual helter skelter pace and gave the Wildcats problems at times, but couldn't seem to turn mistakes into points. The 11th-seeded Blazers made just 6-of-30 from 3-point range -- their forte -- and shot 32 percent overall.
Donell Taylor scored 13 points for the Blazers and Demario Eddins added 12.
Texas Tech 71, Gonzaga 69
In Tucson, Arizona, Bobby Knight's Texas Tech Red Raiders rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to advance to the semifinals of the Albuquerque Regional.
Ronald Ross sank a 3-pointer from the corner to put sixth-seeded Tech (22-10) up 68-67 with 1:06 to play, then sealed the victory by making both halves of a one-and-one with 7.5 seconds remaining.
Ross and Knight hugged in the final seconds as it became obvious that a Knight-coached team would make it to a regional semifinal for the first time since 1994. Ross scored 24 points and backcourt mate Jarrius Jackson added 18 points.
Third-seeded Gonzaga (26-5) made an early exit with a high seed for the second year in a row. The Zags were the No. 2 seed a year ago and lost to Nevada in the second round. Adam Morrison had 25 points and nine rebounds for Gonzaga.
West Virginia 111,
Wake Forest 105, 2OT
In Cleveland, Ohio, Mike Gansey scored a career-high 29 points -- 19 of them in the two overtimes -- and the Mountaineers sent No. 2 seed Wake Forest to another stunning second-round loss.
Seventh-seeded West Virginia (23-10) advanced to the regional semifinals, its deepest tournament run since it also made the round of 16 in 1998. The Mountaineers have beaten seven Top 25 teams this season, a school record.
Wake (27-6) Forest point guard Chris Paul scored 10 points in the first overtime, then fouled out with 3:24 to go in the second, walking slowly to the bench. Gansey had 10 in the first overtime and nine more in the second, which came down to a last shot.
Wake Forest's 111 points were the seventh most for a losing team in tournament history.
Washington 97, Pacific 79
In Boise, Idaho, Nate Robinson scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half and the top-seeded Huskies advanced to the round of 16 for the first time since 1998.
Bobby Jones scored 19 and Will Conroy had 10 assists for Washington (29-5). Tre Simmons scored 15 for the Pac-10 champion Huskies, whose top seed was the most disputed among the four No. 1s. But Washington backed it up well against Pacific (27-4).
Guillaume Yango led the Tigers with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Christian Maraker added 12 points, but the Swedish forward was shut out in the second half.
Utah 67, Oklahoma 58
In Tucson, Arizona, sixth-seeded Utah capitalized on 7-foot Andrew Bogut's skilled passing and 20 points by Justin Hawkins to advance to the Austin Regional for the first time since 1998.
The Utes (29-5) had been knocked out in the early rounds five of the last six years, but move on to play the Cincinnati-Kentucky winner next.
Although the beefy Sooners (25-8) did their best to beat up Bogut in the low post, they couldn't overcome 32 percent shooting. They got no closer than seven points in the second half.
Bogut had a career-high seven assists and tied his season low with 10 points, taking just seven shots. Taj Gray had 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Sooners.
Kentucky 69, Cincinnati 60
In Indianapolis, Indiana, Kelenna Azubuike scored 19 points and second-seeded Kentucky held Cincinnati scoreless for the final 2:41 in a second-round NCAA tournament victory.
Rajon Rondo added 16 points for Kentucky (27-5). Randolph Morris finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds as the Wildcats avoided a second straight second-round exit.
Nick Williams scored 16 points and Jihad Muhammad added 14 for seventh-seeded Cincinnati (25-8), which was trying to become the third straight Conference USA school to eliminate Kentucky from the tournament. The Bearcats have lost 15 straight to their nearby rival and still haven't beaten Kentucky since 1939.
Don Nelson, the second-winningest coach in NBA history, resigned as coach of the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday and turned the team over to protege Avery Johnson.
"I see a little slippage as a team," Nelson said. "The team is just responding better to Avery at this point."
The 64-year-old Nelson also had the title of general manager, but most of those duties were done by his son, Donnie, the team's president of basketball operations. The elder Nelson will stay with the team as a consultant.
"Nellie has earned the right to approach this any way he wants," team owner Mark Cuban said. "I just wanted to be supportive of any direction he wants to go."
Nelson leaves with a career record of 1,190-880 over 27 seasons, including stints with Milwaukee, Golden State and the New York Knicks. Only Lenny Wilkens has won more games as a coach, with 1,332. Wilkens stepped down as coach of the New York Knicks earlier this season.
Although he never won a championship, or even made it to the NBA Finals, Nelson was considered a master of mismatches who won games early in his career by stressing defense then later made a mark with clubs that tried outscoring everyone.
Nelson went 339-251 in Dallas, tops in franchise history both in wins and winning percentage. It's even more impressive considering he started 35-81 before going 40-42 in 2000.
Johnson already has coached the team for 13 games this year, first while Nelson had shoulder surgery, then recently when Nelson took time off to be with his wife after she had an operation. Johnson has also run practices since training camp and had some test runs as the coach with Nelson serving as his assistant.
His first game was Saturday night at home against Charlotte. Dallas went into it 42-22 and in good position to get the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoffs, which gets home-court advantage in the first round.
When Johnson coached the Mavs, he stressed defense. Nelson's emphasis was offense. The mixed message could be part of the reason Dallas has struggled recently, especially at home.
Shaquille O'Neal scored 33 points and Dwyane Wade had 30 to lead the Miami Heat to its 12th straight win Saturday with a 97-82 victory over the New York Knicks.
O'Neal also grabbed 17 rebounds as Miami won its 15th straight at home and swept the four-game season series with New York for the first time in franchise history.
Stephon Marbury led New York with 23 points, while Crawford finished with 20 points.
Bulls 94, 76ers 88
In Philadelphia, Othella Harrington scored a season-high 24 points and Ben Gordon had eight of his 22 in the fourth quarter, helping Chicago beat Philadelphia to snap a four-game losing streak.
Kirk Hinrich contributed 21 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Bulls, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Allen Iverson, playing his second straight game with a chipped bone in his left thumb, led the Sixers with 31 points. But he converted just 9-of-24 from the field and committed 11 turnovers, one short of his season-high set March 8 against Golden State.
Chris Webber was a late scratch for the 76ers with a compressed nerve in his left leg. Philadelphia is 6-6 since acquiring Webber in a trade with the Sacramento Kings.
Celtics 113, Hornets 100
In New Orleans, Ricky Davis scored 27 points and Paul Pierce had 23 to help Boston cruise past New Orleans for its seventh straight win.
Boston shot 52 percent from the field, including 10-of-19 from 3-point range, and 27 of 31 at the line.
Boston has now won 11 of 12 games, with the lone loss coming against Minnesota on a last-second shot. The Celtics also have won five straight on the road.
Hornets rookie J.R. Smith prevented an embarrassing rout with 21 points, including several off-balance floaters. Reserve Bostjan Nachbar added 19 for New Orleans, hitting three 3-pointers.
Antoine Walker had 18 points and nine rebounds for Boston, while Gary Payton scored 15 points and Allen 11.
Mavericks 104, Bobcats 93
In Dallas, Texas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 33 points on 12-of-20 shooting to beat Charlotte and give Avery Johnson his first win as the Dallas full-time coach.
Keith Bogans hit a 3-pointer with 4:32 left, finishing with 27 points for Charlotte. Emeka Okafor had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
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