Saturday, March 19, 2005
The No. 14 seed, Bucknell, shocked the Jayhawks 64-63.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
OKLAHOMA CITY -- In their 110th season, the Bucknell Bison finally won their first NCAA tournament game. And, wow, what a victory it was.
Chris McNaughton banked in a hook shot over Wayne Simien with 10.5 seconds remaining, then Simien missed an open 15-foot jumper at the buzzer, giving the 14th-seeded Bison a stunning 64-63 victory over third-seeded Kansas on Friday night to shake up the Syracuse Regional.
Bucknell (23-9) began playing basketball in 1896, joining Yale and Minnesota as the nation's oldest Division I programs. But the only other times the Bison even made the NCAA field were 1987, when they lost by 22 to Georgetown, and '89, when they lost by 23 to Syracuse.
Now they're the first No. 14 seed to win since Weber State beat North Carolina in 1999, and they ended the title hopes of Kansas, the preseason No. 1. This also is the first tournament win by a team from the Patriot League.
The Jayhawks (23-7) ended a streak of 15 straight first-round tournament wins and 21 in a row overall. Although they had their share of scares along the way, including one by Utah State in Oklahoma City just two years ago, this was their first opening-round exit since being eliminated by UCLA in 1978.
Wisconsin 57, N. Iowa 52
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kammron Taylor scored 16 points in a reserve role, including a jumper and four free throws in the final minute, to help Wisconsin hold off Northern Iowa.
The Panthers, who had a chance to tie eventual Final Four participant Georgia Tech on their final possession in the first round of last year's tournament, rallied from an early 16-point deficit before having another upset bid fall short.
Sharif Chambliss hit a season-high five 3-pointers and had 15 points for Wisconsin (23-8), which didn't get its usual output from leading scorers Alando Tucker and Mike Wilkinson. Tucker, who'd been averaging 14.9 points, scored only six and Wilkinson (14.3 points) had seven.
Ben Jacobson led the Panthers (21-11) with 20 points, and Erik Crawford finished with 13.
Oklahoma State 63,Southeastern Louisiana 50
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Jameson Curry gave second-seeded Oklahoma State the spark it needed in the Chicago Regional.
Curry sliced into the lane and found Ivan McFarlin cutting to the basket for a layup, and the Cowboys turned a three-point lead into a comfortable edge down the stretch.
Curry added a free throw, then found McFarlin for another basket inside to make it 49-43 Oklahoma State. Terrence Crawford emphatically jammed home a miss by John Lucas III, and Curry hit a 3-pointer from the left wing then pumped his fist.
McFarlin scored 18 points to lead the Cowboys (25-6), a Final Four team last season. Ricky Woods led the Lions (24-9) with 16 points.
Southern Illinois 65,Saint Mary's 56
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Stetson Hairston broke a late tie with three free throws, then followed with a 3-pointer and Darren Brooks drove for the next two baskets, to push Southern Illinois into the next round.
Southern Illinois (27-7) advanced to the second round for the first time since 2002, when Hairston and Brooks were freshmen on a club that made the regional semifinals. The Salukis were knocked out by one point in the opening round the last two years, missing shots at the buzzer both times.
Next up for seventh-seeded SIU is second-seeded Oklahoma State.
Daniel Kickert led Saint Mary's (25-9) with 16 points, but made only one field goal after sinking his first three shots. Hairston led SIU with 13 points.