Demons pull off upset on last-second 3-pointer

Jermaine Wallace had the shot of his life in the 64-63 victory.
WIRE REPORTS
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The name Northwestern isn't exactly synonymous with athletic glory. Northwestern State -- formerly Louisiana Normal School, also known as Northwestern Louisiana -- is known for even less.
But last-second three-pointers can do wonders for an underdog's visibility -- if not for a favorite's sanity.
Fourteenth-seeded Northwestern State scored the upset of the NCAA Tournament thus far, shocking third-seeded Iowa, 64-63, at the Palace on Friday, winning on Jermaine Wallace's left-corner three with half a second left.
Hawkeyes stunned
It was a classic tournament moment. Wallace hit the shot while falling down. The Demons celebrated prematurely. Wallace hugged a teammate while Iowa rushed the ball up the court.
But Adam Haluska's final shot fell short. The Hawkeyes -- the Big Ten tournament champions -- walked off in a fog.
They're likely aware now that Northwestern isn't just the weak link in their conference.
"It may sound funny, but I had a dream last night that we'd win on a last-second shot," said Tyronne Mitchell of NSU, which will next face sixth-seeded West Virginia in the Atlanta Regional. "For this to happen, it's crazy."
But it's not unheard of. Since 1985, when the tournament expanded to 64 teams, this was the 15th time that a 14 seed has beaten a three. And it wasn't impossible to see coming: NSU (26-7) won at Mississippi State and Oklahoma State this season.
What made this upset so stunning was how far NSU came from behind - the Demons trailed, 18-4, seven minutes in - and how frenzied the final sequence was.
Tired
The Hawkeyes (25-9) led 63-61 with 14.6 seconds left. They were tiring, though, against the deep, pressing Demons. Greg Brunner showed it: The All-Big Ten forward front-rimmed the second of two free throws, which would've made the lead three.
The Demons grabbed the rebound and raced upcourt, thinking only of shooting a three-pointer to win.
"We drew up the play, but you know how basktetball is, Wallace said. "Everything doesn't go like you draw it up."
As it turned out, the Demons got two shots. Kerwin Forges - with his foot on the three-point line - missed initially, but Wallace beat Haluska for the rebound. He saw the clock, realized he had four seconds left, and took a dribble to separate himself from Haluska. Then he stepped back and merely hit the shot of his life.
West Virginia 64,Southern Illinois 46
Southern Illinois takes great pride in its defense. Friday the Salukis found out they aren't alone in doing so.
West Virginia (21-10) showed it can play a little defense to go with its vaunted three-point shooting and sent SIU (22-11) home. The Mountaineers will meet Northwestern State, which upset Iowa, 64-63, in the second round Sunday.
West Virginia showed the Salukis their 1-3-1 zone defense and attacked the SIU man-to-man aggressively. Southern's defensive reputation challenged the Mountaineers, and they responded.
"We had heard a lot of about their defense," West Virginia coach John Beilein said. "It is flat-out terrific. But you know what? We play good defense, and we have played some pretty good teams that play pretty good defense, and we've been able to score on them. Give them a lot of credit because they are very good, but we're pretty good too."
Southern trailed just 20-17 after a Jamaal Tatum three-pointer with 8:48 left in the first half. West Virginia closed out the half with a 16-7 run, and SIU never could trim the margin to less than 10 the rest of the game.
Bradley 77, Kansas 73
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Now Kansas has a "Bradley Bummer," too.
Marcellus Sommerville scored 21 points and made five 3-pointers and Bradley handed the fourth-seeded Jayhawks their second straight first-round exit.
The Braves picked up their first NCAA tournament victory in 20 years and advanced to play fifth-seeded Pittsburgh in the second round on Sunday.
Unlike the "Bucknell Bummer," a year ago, when Wayne Simien missed a 15-footer at the buzzer to give the 14th-seeded Bison an improbable victory, Kansas looked unprepared and overwhelmed from the start in this one.
The Braves (21-10) led by 14 with 15:38 to go, but let the Jayhawks back in the game with three straight turnovers with around the five minutes left. By the time the inexperienced Jayhawks finally got acclimated to the NCAA tournament pressure and intensity, however, it was too late.