Ross' shot gets Knight back to regional level

Texas Tech edged Gonzaga 71-69 to advance; Utah ousted Oklahoma.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Ronald Ross is Bob Knight's kind of player, tough and eager to learn. So who better to make the shot that got the old coach back to a regional semifinal for the first time since 1994?
Ross -- a walk-on four years ago who became one of the Big 12's best guards under Knight's guidance -- sank the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:06 to play, then added two clinching free throws with 7.5 seconds left to lead Texas Tech to a 71-69 second-round victory over Gonzaga.
"He's an all-time example to kids as to what they can do with what they have," Knight said. "I've never had a player that I would have had more admiration for than Ronald Ross -- particularly when he hit that 3."
When it ended, Knight had his wife, Karen, join him on the court. With one arm around her husband, she cried in an emotional scene for a coach whose 854 career victories are just 25 shy of Dean Smith's NCAA Division I record.
"My wife's a better coach than I am," Knight explained. "If I pick three or four people that know the most about basketball, she and Pete Newell would be my first two choices, and so I just wanted to thank her for all the help she had given us in preparing for this game and this season. She deserved to be a real part of it."
Ross scored 24 points -- giving him 104 in his last four games -- and grabbed nine rebounds, and backcourt mate Jarrius Jackson added 18 points. Martin Zeno scored 11 and Darryl Dora 10, eight in the second half, for the sixth-seeded Red Raiders, who advance to the semifinals of the Albuquerque Regional.
Bulldogs' streak snapped
The loss snapped the Bulldogs' 13-game winning streak, longest of any tournament team.
Third-seeded Gonzaga (26-5) made an early exit with a high seed for the second year in a row. The Zags were the No. 2 seed a year ago and lost to Nevada in the second round.
"I feel awful," senior Ronny Turiaf said. "That's why we work hard, so hard in the summertime. That's why we practice so hard during the year. That's what we live for -- to play in the NCAA tournament."
Adam Morrison had 25 points and nine rebounds for Gonzaga, and scored 10 consecutive Bulldogs' points after Tech (22-10) rallied to take the lead. But, with his team trailing 69-67, Morrison missed a 3-pointer with 19.5 seconds to go. The ball went out of bounds and possession was awarded to Tech, despite the protests of the Gonzaga bench.
Ross was fouled and made the free throws to make it a four-point lead. Derek Raivio, just 2-for-7 shooting, made a jumper with 2 seconds left for the final two-point margin.
So Ross is headed back to his home state of New Mexico, where no four-year school offered him a scholarship in high school. And after an 11-year absence, Knight is back in the thick of the NCAA hunt.
"People doubted us," Ross said, "but coach is definitely a great coach. Look where we are now."
Utah 67, Oklahoma 58
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Andrew Bogut makes everyone around him better, and his Utah teammates were at their best. The sixth-seeded Utes capitalized on the 7-foot Aussie's skilled passing and Justin Hawkins' 20 points to beat No. 3 seed Oklahoma.
"We're excited as can be," said Utah's Marc Jackson.
The Utes (29-5) advanced to the regional semifinals for the first time since 1998, when they lost to Kentucky in the national championship game. They had been knocked out in the early rounds five of the last six years, but move on to play the Cincinnati-Kentucky winner next in the Austin Regional.
"It's the happiest day I've had in coaching," said Utah's Ray Giacoletti, who was hired last April to replace Rick Majerus. "Probably only 20 of us believed, but it was the right 20."
Although the beefy Sooners (25-8) did their best to beat up Bogut in the low post, they couldn't overcome 32 percent shooting. Except for hitting the first basket, they trailed the entire game and got no closer than seven points in the second half.
"Bogut made a lot of good passes," Oklahoma's Johnnie Gilbert said. "I thought a lot of times we would pick it off, but somehow it got through."
Utah opened the game on a 16-4 run and never looked back despite getting forced into 20 turnovers.
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