NCAA BASKETBALL

NCAA BASKETBALL
Thursday's other games
No. 1 Illinois 67, Fairleigh Dickinson 55
INDIANAPOLIS -- Fairleigh Dickinson kept its promise and made No. 1 Illinois work in the first-round of the NCAA tournament. The Illini watched the Knights come from seven points down to take a brief lead in the first half, but they started the second half with a 14-2 run on their way over the 16th-seeded Knights. Dee Brown scored 19 points and Luther Head added 13 to lead top-seeded Illinois (33-1). Fairleigh Dickinson outscored Illinois 20-10 inside and outrebounded the Illini 21-12 in the first half. The Knights won the battle of the boards 42-30 overall, with Crosariol and Klaiber each getting eight rebounds. James Augustine, Illinois' best inside player, grabbed 15 rebounds to go with 11 points. Fairleigh Dickinson, which averaged 1,239 fans per home game this season, also had to contend with thousands of orange-clad Illini fans who let out their first big cheer when the pep band arrived during the second half of the Texas-Nevada game.
Nevada 61, Texas 57
INDIANAPOLIS -- Kevinn Pinkney scored 15 points and Nevada rallied to beat Texas. Ninth-seeded Nevada (25-6) will face top-seeded Illinois in the second round. Pinkney spent much of the game in foul trouble and the Wolf Pack's top scorer, Nick Fazekas was held to just 10 points -- well below his average of 21.4 points. They combined for more than 41 percent of the Wolf Pack's scoring entering the game. Mo Charlo added 12 points for the Wolf Pack, Ramon Sessions had 11, and Fazekas grabbed 13 rebounds.
Utah 60, UTEP 54
TUCSON, Ariz. -- With a deafening crowd against it, Utah escaped thanks to a brilliant bit of defense by Tim Drisdom and a critical rebound from an exhausted Andrew Bogut. With Utah leading 56-54, UTEP's lightning-fast point guard Filiberto Rivera drove the lane. Drisdom stripped the ball away, then was fouled by Rivera. The Utah junior's two free throws made it 58-54 with 15.4 seconds to play. Bogut, who played all 40 minutes, had 24 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, but the Australian 7-footer, who could be the first player taken in this year's NBA draft if he turns pro as expected, was just 2-for-4 shooting in the second half and made only 4-of-10 free throws.
Oklahoma 84, Niagara 67
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Oklahoma overcame its own uninspired play and the inspirational support Niagara got from a former star and the coach's cancer-stricken mother to beat the Purple Eagles in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Drew Lavender led six Sooners in double figures with 17 points in third-seeded Oklahoma's victory. The Sooners (25-7), who didn't make the tourney last year, struggled with 46 percent field-goal shooting, but were helped out by solid defense that harassed the Eagles into 16 turnovers. Juan Mendez led the 14th-seeded Eagles (20-10) with 22 points and 15 rebounds. But he missed his first 11 shots in the second half and finally made a basket with just over a minute left in his final college game. David Brooks added 16 points.
Gonzaga 74, Winthrop 64
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Gonzaga found out how uncomfortable it can be to be a favorite in the NCAA tournament. Fourteenth-seeded Winthrop almost did to the Bulldogs what third-seeded Gonzaga has done to several top teams over the years before the 'Zags grabbed control late. The loss snapped Winthrop's 18-game winning streak, longest in the nation. Gonzaga (26-4) won its 13th in a row. Adam Morrison led Gonzaga with 27 points. J.P. Batista added 14 points and Ronny Turiaf had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Torrell Martin scored 22 points and made six 3-pointers -- both career highs -- for the Eagles (27-6), who are 0-5 in the NCAA tournament.
Texas Tech 78, UCLA 66
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Ronald Ross scored 28 points and sixth-seeded Texas Tech shot a season-high 62 percent. Texas Tech (21-10) improved to 2-2 in NCAA tournament games since coach Bob Knight came to Lubbock four seasons ago. Knight is 44-23 in 27 NCAA appearances, but it was only his fourth victory in 12 tournament games since 1995. Dijon Thompson led UCLA (17-12) with 22 points. The sixth-seeded Red Raiders play No. 3 seed Gonzaga, a 74-64 winner over Winthrop, in the second round of the Albuquerque Regional on Saturday.
UAB 82, LSU 68
BOISE, Idaho -- Marvett McDonald had 21 points and hit five 3-pointers, and 11th-seeded Alabama-Birmingham used its stingy defense to pull off another upset. UAB (22-10) reached the round of 16 last year after beating Washington and top-seeded Kentucky. Brandon Bass, the Southeastern Conference's player of the year, led LSU (20-10) with 25 points and 12 rebounds. UCLA (17-12), with its lowest seed ever on the 10th anniversary of its last national championship, never led but stayed close until a 12-2 run put Texas Tech up 76-61. Jarrius Jackson scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half for Texas Tech. Devonne Giles added 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds.
Arizona 66, Utah St. 53
BOISE, Idaho -- Arizona learned from what happened in its last NCAA tournament appearance. The Wildcats got a big lead on Utah State and this time built on it. Last spring, the Wildcats blew a 14-point lead and lost in the first round to Seton Hall. Third-seeded Arizona (28-6) overcame a sluggish start and a three-point halftime deficit, but opened the second half with a 16-2 run and dominated the rest of the way. Channing Frye scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half and pulled down 10 rebounds. Salim Stoudamire also scored 17 and Hassan Adams and Chris Rodgers scored 10 apiece for the Wildcats. Jaycee Carroll led No. 14 seed Utah State (24-8) with 18 points. Arizona, on a run of 21 straight NCAA tournament appearances, trailed 29-26 at halftime after failing to get any tempo going in the first 20 minutes. Arizona (28-6) will face 11th-seeded Alabama-Birmingham in the second round Saturday.
Associated Press