Huskies advance, look like No. 1 seed

Salim Stoudamire made five 3-pointers as Arizona cruised past UAB.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOISE, Idaho -- Two days after a lackluster win in the opening round, Washington was very convincing as a No. 1 seed in the second.
The Huskies advanced to the round of 16 for the first time since 1998 with a 97-79 victory over Pacific on Saturday, shooting 61 percent in the second half and wearing out the bigger Tigers with pesky defense.
"Pacific would have had a better chance if we had played them in the first round instead of the second round because we were a lot more focused," said Brandon Roy, who scored 14 points off the bench for Washington.
Nate Robinson scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half and the tiny guard added seven rebounds, sneaking into traffic and grabbing the ball to start numerous breaks for Washington (29-5).
The 5-foot-9 Robinson missed just one of his nine shots in the second half and pestered the Tigers (27-4) all day.
"You can't teach what's inside of that man," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said of Robinson. "I'm not telling you that he is the best player in America, but he has a ticker that allows him to compete and against anyone. And the bigger the game, you almost see him grow before your eyes."
Bobby Jones scored 19 and Will Conroy had 10 assists for the Huskies, whose top seed was the most disputed among the four No. 1s. But Washington backed it up well against Pacific.
The Huskies never trailed and pulled away by going 19-for-31 from the field in the second half. They finished shooting 56.3 percent (36-of-64) for the game.
"We're a great offensive shooting team. We know if we start going, it's hard to stop us from making them because everybody can shoot," said Jones, who was 6-for-8 from the floor. "If we can do that every night and as long as we can play good defense, we could go a long way in this tournament."
Other than a brief push by eighth-seeded Pacific midway through the second half, the Huskies dominated and answered their doubters after holding off Montana 88-77 in the opening round.
Guillaume Yango led Pacific with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Christian Maraker added 12 points for the Tigers, but the Swedish forward was shut out in the second half. David Doubley, the Big West player of the year, finished with just nine points.
"I would say they're the fastest team we faced. Their speed is exceptional. You can't prepare for a team that is that quick," Doubley said. "Give them a lot of credit for being great athletes. They shut us down pretty good tonight."
Tre Simmons scored 15 and Jamaal Williams finished with 11 points for the Huskies as they advanced to the Albuquerque Regional semifinals, where they will face the winner of Louisville-Georgia Tech.
Arizona 85, UAB 63
BOISE, Idaho -- Salim Stoudamire's shooting and a little calm under pressure helped Arizona reach the NCAA regional semifinals for the fourth time in five years.
Stoudamire made five 3-pointers and had 28 points, and Arizona never buckled under Alabama-Birmingham's constant pressure defense to move on in the Chicago Regional.
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, move on to Rosemont, Ill., next weekend and will face either Oklahoma State or Southern Illinois, which play today in Oklahoma City.
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 in failing to add another upset victory to a list of tournament wins that included Washington, Kentucky and LSU the past two years.
Donell Taylor scored 13 points for the Blazers and Demario Eddins added 12.
UAB's defensive pressure gave LSU all kinds of trouble on Thursday, leading to 21 turnovers in the Blazers' 14-point victory. Arizona didn't exactly handle the pressing and trapping too well early, but made up for it in other ways.
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