COLLEGE

NCAA tourney: Kentucky wins thriller over Wichita State

By The Associated Press
ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 23:  Julius Randle #30 of the Kentucky Wildcats dunks the ball against the Wichita State Shockers during the third round of the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 23, 2014 in St Louis, Missouri.  (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

It took a program stocked with NBA prospects to finally end Wichita State's perfect run.

Andrew Harrison scored 20 points, twin brother Aaron had 19 and Kentucky survived a potential winning 3-pointer at the buzzer by Fred VanVleet to knock off the undefeated Shockers with a 78-76 victory Sunday in the NCAA tournament.

Julius Randle added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and James Young also had 13 points for the No. 8 seed Wildcats (26-10), who made a series of clutch free throws in the closing minutes to advance to the Sweet 16 in arguably the most captivating game of a thrilling first weekend.

Now, Big Blue Nation gets to jump right into another high-profile matchup: Louisville awaits in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Indianapolis. The Wildcats beat their bitter in-state rival in December.

Cleanthony Early scored 31 points and Ron Baker had 20 for the Shockers (35-1), who hadn't lost since last year's Final Four while taking an entire city — and state — on quite a ride.

Kentucky took the lead for good at 73-71 when Young knocked down a 3-pointer with less than 2 minutes to go. Early answered with a basket for Wichita State, and Andrew Harrison made two free throws for Kentucky. Baker banked in a 3-pointer and Randle made two more foul shots.

Early's two free throws with 9.8 seconds left got the Shockers within 77-76, and they still had a chance when Andrew Harrison missed the second of two free throws and Early got the rebound.

VanVleet raced up court and called timeout with 3.2 seconds left.

Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall drew up a play that had Tekele Cotton inbounding the ball to VanVleet, who took a shot from the top of the key. But the shot was wide the entire way, and it clanked off the rim as the buzzer sounded and Kentucky began to celebrate.

The team full of blue-chip prospects had finally ended the blue-collared team's dream.

The Midwest Regional showdown came after an entertaining undercard matchup that saw Stanford knock off Kansas, and it lived up to every expectation.

Kentucky was successful early using its superior size, not only in the paint but also on the perimeter, where the 6-foot-6 Harrison twins dwarfed the 5-11 VanVleet. But after the Wildcats took a 19-15 lead midway through the half, Wichita State ramped up its trademark defense, forcing a series of turnovers and getting right back in the game.

VanVleet was the catalyst. On one sequence late in the half, he stripped Aaron Harrison and hit Early in transition, and he was fouled slamming over 7-foot Willie Cauley-Stein. Early converted the free throw as the shockers built a 37-31 lead at the half.

Early hit a 3-pointer right out of the locker room, too, to match the Shockers' biggest lead at 40-31. But VanVleet picked up his third foul moments later, and Kentucky took advantage of the Shockers missing their floor general by gradually pulling ahead.

The game remained a back-and-forth prizefight the rest of the way, neither team leading by more than five, each answering the other with clutch 3-pointers and pressure-filled free throws.

It only made sense that the game would come down to the final possession.

Tennessee ends Mercer's NCAA run with 83-63 romp

Tennessee came to Tobacco Road and turned it into "Raleigh Top."

Jarnell Stokes had 17 points and a career-high-tying 18 rebounds, and the Volunteers denied Mercer a second straight upset in the NCAA tournament by routing the Bears 83-63 on Sunday night.

Josh Richardson had a career-high 26 points and Antonio Barton had 18 for the 11th-seeded Vols (24-12), who outrebounded Mercer 41-19 and kept the Southeastern Conference perfect in the tournament.

They joined Florida and Kentucky in the round of 16 — the first time three SEC teams made it that far since 2007.

Tennessee will face second-seeded Michigan (27-8) in a Midwest Regional semifinal Friday night in Indianapolis.

Stokes broke his 2-day-old school tournament record for rebounds.

Langston Hall had 15 points to lead the 14th-seeded Bears (27-9). They knocked off Duke in the signature upset of the tournament but couldn't answer Tennessee's size.

SOUTH REGIONAL

No. 10 Stanford seed upends No. 2 Kansas 60-57

Dwight Powell had 15 points and seven rebounds and No. 10 seed Stanford wrapped up its second straight upset at the free throw line, knocking off No. 2 Kansas 60-57 in the South Regional on Sunday.

Chasson Randle added 13 points, six steals and four assists for the Cardinal (23-12), who advanced to the round of 16 for the first time since 2008 — also their last NCAA appearance. They beat No. 7 seed New Mexico on Friday.

Freshman Andrew Wiggins had just four points on 1-for-6 shooting with four turnovers in his final college game for Kansas (25-10). Wiggins is a likely NBA lottery pick and had averaged 28 points the previous four games.

Tarik Black had 18 points and six rebounds for the Jayhawks, but he fouled out with 5:25 to go. Conner Frankamp had 12 points on four 3-pointers, the last two in the final 23 seconds to make it close after Stanford had pulled ahead by seven.

Stanford was 9 for 12 at the free throw line over the final 2:04 and needed all those points. Frankamp's second 3-pointer narrowed the gap to 59-57 with 14.9 seconds left.

Anthony Brown hit just one of two free throws with 12.9 seconds and Frankamp banged a third 3-point attempt off the glass near the buzzer in a bid to tie it.

Kansas went to a full-court press down five points with about 11 minutes to play and forced five turnovers the next 6 minutes to tie it

Kansas had been 0 for 10 from 3-point range for the tournament, seven of the misses against Eastern Kentucky, before Frankamp connected with 3:34 to go in the half.

Frankamp hit another one just before the halftime buzzer off a turnover to put the Jayhawks up 24-22, their first lead of the game with both teams shooting just 32 percent. They trailed most of the first half against Eastern Kentucky, too, before pulling away for an 80-69 victory.

Powell hit his first shot on a drive after going 0 for 8 against New Mexico on Friday. He had 10 points before drawing his fourth foul early in the second half.

UCLA beats Lumberjacks 77-60

Jordan Adams scored 19 points and UCLA beat Stephen F. Austin 77-60 on Sunday to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008.

The fourth-seeded Bruins (27-8) will play Florida, the tournament's overall top seed, in the South Regional semifinals on Thursday in Memphis. First-year coach Steve Alford has won as many NCAA tournament games in three days as the Bruins had in the previous five seasons combined.

Alford replaced Ben Howland, who was fired a year ago after the Bruins lost to Minnesota in their NCAA tournament opener. This is UCLA's first trip to the regionals since Howland got the Bruins to their third straight Final Four in 2008.

Stephen F. Austin (32-2), the No. 12 seed, had its 29-game winning streak snapped. The Lumberjacks hadn't lost in exactly four months.

EAST REGIONAL

No. 3 seed Iowa State ousts North Carolina 85-83

Iowa State's DeAndre Kane did exactly as his coach had instructed, driving for a layup that gave the Cyclones the lead. North Carolina never got a chance to answer because Roy Williams' players didn't do what he wanted.

With Williams jumping and gesticulating for a timeout, the Tar Heels inbounded the ball to Nate Britt who dribbled past midcourt as time expired in Iowa State's 85-83 victory Sunday.

The Cyclones got to celebrate twice. Once as the buzzer sounded, and a few minutes later when officials viewed replays and confirmed that Kane's twisting shot had put Iowa State in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000.

"He's been our Mariano Rivera. He's been our closer all throughout this season," Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said.

Now the No. 3 seed Cyclones (28-7) are headed to the home of the former Yankees star, New York City, where they will play No. 7 seed Connecticut in the East Regional semifinals next week.

As soon as officials explained that the game was over, Williams — who collapsed his hands on his knees as Britt surged toward him — shook Hoiberg's hand as North Carolina began absorbing the heartbreaker.

"Let's not anybody lay it on the officials or anything like that. We didn't call the timeout with 1.6 seconds to play," Williams said.

The No. 6 seed Tar Heels (24-10) are gone in the NCAA tournament's opening weekend for the first time in consecutive seasons under Williams, who choked back tears following the end of his 10th season in Chapel Hill.

Virginia beats Memphis 78-60 in NCAA East Region

Joe Harris scored 16 points and top-seeded Virginia shot 56 percent to beat Memphis 78-60 on Sunday night, earning its first trip to the NCAA tournament round of 16 in nearly two decades.

Anthony Gill added 13 points for the Cavaliers (30-6), who turned in a dominating performance while controlling the tempo and shutting down the eighth-seeded Tigers (24-10) at nearly every turn.

Virginia led by 15 at halftime and pushed that to 27 points late, picking right up where it left off in its strong finish to Friday's tournament-opening win against Coastal Carolina.

In what has already been the program's most successful season in decades, Virginia added another milestone: its first regional semifinal appearance since making it to a regional final in 1995. And the Cavaliers, carrying a No. 1 seed for the first time since the days of Ralph Sampson, look ready to go even farther.

WEST REGIONAL

Baylor shuts down McDermott and Creighton, 85-55

Isaiah Austin and Brady Heslip each scored 17 points and Baylor shut down Creighton's Doug McDermott with suffocating defense, ending the career of the one of the most prolific scorers in college history with an 85-55 win Sunday night in the NCAA tournament West Regional.

Baylor's size and speed overwhelmed the third-seeded Bluejays (27-8) and their national scoring leader, earning a third trip to the Sweet 16 since 2010.

McDermott, who averaged 27 points this season, finished with 15 but had just three in the first half as Baylor built a 20-point lead. McDermott ranks fifth on the NCAA career scoring list.

No. 6 seed Baylor (26-11) had five players score in double figures and shot 64 percent in one of the dominant performances of the NCAA tournament.

UNBEATEN CONFERENCES

Conferences with three or more entries, whose schools have advanced to the regional semifinals undefeated, with furthest advancement:

Since 1985 (field expanded to 64)

Through Sunday

1986 Southeastern Conference

Alabama — regional semifinal

Auburn — regional final

Kentucky — regional final

LSU — national semifinal

1995 Atlantic Coast Conference

Maryland — regional semifinal

North Carolina — national semifinal

Virginia — regional final

Wake Forest — regional semifinal

1996 Southeastern Conference

Arkansas — regional semifinal

Georgia — regional semifinal

Kentucky — national champion

Mississippi State — national semifinal

1998 Pacific-10 Conference

Arizona — regional final

Stanford — national semifinal

UCLA — regional semifinal

Washington — regional semifinal

2003 Big East Conference

UConn — regional semifinal

Notre Dame — regional semifinal

Pittsburgh — regional semifinal

Syracuse — national champion

2014 Southeastern Conference

Florida — regional semifinal

Kentucky — regional semifinal

Tennessee — regional semifinal