2011 NCAA Tournament: Putting round one to bed
By Paul Jordan
Don’t even try to tell me that this is round two. We have to find another name for those first four games, but I’m sorry …. Thursday and Friday are always going to be round one.
#9 ILLINOIS 73 #8 UNLV 62
Lon Kruger’s former team beat his current team for people who care about such things. Mike Davis tied a career high with 22 points and the Illini used am early 15-0 spurt to put down the Rebels early in a surprisingly easy game. That allowed Illinois to take an early 25 point lead and Illinois had a 46-24 lead at the half.
The second half was without any drama as the Running rebels trailed by double digits the entire second half. Demetri McCamey added 17 points and 7 assists for Illinois, who answered some questions about whether they actually belonged in the field of 68. Anthony Marshall led UNLV with 13 points.
Illinois win sets up another meeting with another former Illini coach as they face Bill Self and his top seed Kansas team.
#11 VCU 74 #6 GEORGETOWN 56
So much for the “First Four Round” being a complete joke. The VCU Rams pulled their second victory in three nights to advance to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. Brandon Rozell had six three pointers and scored 26 points and the Rams knocked down 12 treys total in a shockingly easy win over Georgetown. VCU was trailing 19-18 with about 7:30 left in the first half when Rozelle drained a three to spark a 9-0 VCU run and give the Rams the lead for good. The Rams took a 35-24 lead at the half.
Any thoughts of a Hoya comeback were squashed early in the second half . Ed Dixon opened the second half with a trey for the Rams and they started on a 14-4 streak which put them up 49-28 with about 15:00 remaining and put the game out of reach. The loss was the Hoya’s worse NCAA loss since a 1996 loss to John Calipari’s UMass squad.
VCU advances to play Purdue on Sunday.
#7 WASHINGTON 68 #10 GEORGIA 65
Isaiah Thomas scored 19 points and the seventh-seeded Huskies held off a late rally to beat 10th-seeded Georgia 68-65 on Friday night in the second round of the East regional. Scott Suggs added 10 points for the Huskies (24-10), who shot 43 percent and withstood a frantic final-minute push to win their fifth straight NCAA tournament opener and earn a spot opposite No. 2 seed North Carolina (27-7) on Sunday in the third round.
Trey Thompkins had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs (21-12), who trailed by 10 with 2 minutes left but made things interesting in the closing seconds. Thompkins hit a 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds remaining to make it 67-65 and Georgia fouled C.J. Wilcox with 3.7 seconds left. Wilcox made the first and missed the second.
Jeremy Price grabbed the rebound for the Bulldogs and flung the ball downcourt. Thomas got a hand on the pass but Travis Leslie scooped it up and hoisted an awkward 3 that bounced high off the glass after the buzzer. Georgia’s dismissal leaves the SEC with a 2-3 record after the opening Thursday and Friday games.
#3 SYRACUSE 77 #14 INDIANA STATE 60
Rick Jackson scored a season-high 23 points, C.J. Fair added 14 and Syracuse began taking care of “unfinished business” in the NCAA tournament with a 77-60 win over Indiana State in a second-round game Friday night.
The third-seeded Orange (27-7) want to make up for last season’s disappointing tourney appearance, when their title run as a No. 1 seed ended with a loss to upstart Butler in the round of 16. Jackson, the Big East’s top defensive player, scored six straight during a crucial stretch in the second half when Syracuse finally pulled away from Indiana State (20-14).
Syracuse will play Big East brethren Marquette on Sunday in a third-round game. The Golden Eagles won the regular-season matchup between the schools. Jake Kelly scored 12 to lead the Sycamores, who got within four in the second half but had no answer for Jackson.
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