Sunday, March 20, 2011
Posted: 10:57 p.m.
Associated Press
CHICAGO(AP)Bernard James scored 14 points, Michael Snaer added 13 and Florida State showed there's more to its game than defense with a 71-57 upset of second-seeded Notre Dame on Sunday night that put the Seminoles in the regional semifinals for the first time since 1993.It was an impressive effort by the 10th-seeded Seminoles, who had four players in double figures and went 9 of 19 from 3-point range.Florida State (23-10) now faces upstart Virginia Commonwealth in the Southwest regional semifinals Friday in San Antonio. The 11th-seeded Rams, maligned as not worthy of being in the 68-team field, stunned third-seeded Purdue earlier Sunday for their third win in five nights.According to STATS LLC, it will be the first 10 vs. 11 matchup in NCAA tournament history.For Notre Dame, meanwhile, it was another disappointing showing in the NCAAs. The Fighting Irish (27-7) had their highest seed since also receiving a No. 2 seed in 1981 under Digger Phelps, yet ended up the same way they have for much of the last two decades - out of it after the first weekend.Notre Dame has made the regional semifinals just once in the last 24 years, back in 2003.But the Irish didn't look anything like the team that had won 13 of its previous 15 games, held to 31 percent shooting - 7 of 30 from 3-point range. Big East player of the year Ben Hansbrough was stifled most of the night by the Seminoles' defense, scoring 18 on 5-of-13 shooting before fouling out with 3:19 left. Florida State fans taunted him with chants of "Overrated!" as he left the floor.Hansbrough hugged everyone on the bench before taking a seat to watch the closing minutes of his final college game.Complete Recap, Box Score
Morris brothers help Kansas take down Illini
TULSA, Okla.(AP)In a bracket filled with upsets, top-seeded Kansas is jumping for joy.Twin brothers Marcus and Markieff Morris combined for 41 points and 24 rebounds, powering Kansas past Illinois 73-59 on Sunday night to ensure the Jayhawks wouldn't make an opening-weekend exit from the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.The Morris twins scored 24 of Kansas' first 29 points in the second half, punctuated by consecutive two-handed slams by Markieff that made it 62-51 with 3:51 to play. After an Illinois turnover at the other end, the twins each followed Tyshawn Taylor in making leaping spins into teammates to start a timeout.The Jayhawks (34-2) avoided revisiting their loss to another No. 9 seed, Northern Iowa, exactly a year earlier and also on Oklahoma soil. Instead, they're moving on in a bracket filled with underdogs.No. 11 seed VCU and 12th-seeded Richmond will join them in the Southwest regional semifinals in San Antonio. Kansas plays Richmond on Friday.Mike Davis led the Fighting Illini (20-14) with 17 points and seven rebounds. Star point guard Demetri McCamey was hardly a factor, finishing with just six points and seven assists.McCamey didn't make his first basket of the second half until there was 2:15 left, after Markieff Morris followed his earlier throwdowns with another two-handed alley-oop slam that he had to reach down and retrieve before dunking to make it 66-51.That completed a 10-0 surge that finally put away the Fighting Illini - hardly a small-time upstart with a senior-laden roster featuring pro prospects McCamey and Davis, who both put their names into the NBA draft before returning for one last season.The Jayhawks had been down this road before, and never liked it much. Before Northern Iowa, they had another bad experience in Oklahoma City back in 1998, heading home early after a loss to eighth-seeded Rhode Island. Back in 1992, Kansas lost to No. 9 seed UTEP in Dayton, Ohio. All time, the Jayhawks were just 3-2 against No. 9 seeds in their second tournament game.Stanford is the only other team that's failed even twice to make it to the round of 16 as a top seed.
Complete Recap, Box Score
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