Barnes scores 5 in OT, NCarolina beats Ohio 73-65

ST. LOUIS (AP)—The last of the little guys gave North Carolina a massive scare.

Harrison Barnes scored five of his 12 points in overtime and the top-seeded Tar Heels escaped a huge upset with a 73-65 victory over No. 13 seed Ohio on Friday night in the Midwest Regional semifinals.

Ohio, trying to become the first team seeded 13th or worse to make the regional finals since the NCAA tournament expanded in 1985, had a chance to convert a three-point play that would have given the Bobcats the lead with 25 seconds left in regulation. Walter Offutt missed from the line, however, and Ohio went 0 for 6 from the field in the first overtime of this year’s tournament.

“One free throw away,” Offutt said. “As a leader on this team, I take responsibility that I’ve got to hit that free throw. … It just feels terrible to kind of let my team down in that sort of way.”

Tyler Zeller finished with 20 points and a career-high 22 rebounds for North Carolina, which sorely missed injured point guard Kendall Marshall. The Tar Heels had three players with double-doubles for the first time in an NCAA tournament game: Reggie Bullock had 17 points and 10 boards, and John Henson had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Freshman guard Stilman White was an impressive fill-in for Marshall, dishing out six assists without a single turnover and playing 32 minutes—almost three times his previous high.

“We feel like we got away with one,” Zeller said. “Ohio played the better game, they hit a lot of shots. I think we just were able to make a lot of plays at the end that made us capable of pulling it out.”

Offutt led the Bobcats (29-8) with 26 points, including 18 from 3-point range, and Nick Kellogg added 14. But D.J. Cooper, who averaged 20 points in Ohio’s first two tournament games, finished with just 10 on 3-of-20 shooting.

“I’ve been getting those same shots all tournament,” Cooper said. “I’ve been making them, and tonight I just didn’t get the job done.”

North Carolina (32-5), which has won 11 straight in the regional semifinals, plays Kansas on Sunday afternoon for a trip to the Final Four. The Jayhawks beat North Carolina State 60-57.

“It means a heck of a lot,” coach Roy Williams said moments after his team escaped, “but we’ve got to play better than we did today.”

That’s for sure—especially since the Tar Heels are unlikely to have Marshall, perhaps their most irreplaceable player and the steadying hand behind their fast-paced attack. The left-handed guard broke his right wrist Sunday when he was fouled on a drive against Creighton. He had surgery Monday to put a screw in the wrist and got his cast off Wednesday.

Though Marshall said the wrist is improving, he didn’t even dress Friday night, sitting on the bench in a suit.

“He still hasn’t done anything,” Williams said when asked about the prospects of Marshall returning Sunday. “But North Carolina’s going to play on Sunday. We’re happy about that.”

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McCollum leads Lehigh to 75-70 upset win over Duke

By STEVE REED, AP Sports Writer
7 hours, 46 minutes ago

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP)—The Lehigh Mountain Hawks said they weren’t afraid of mighty Duke.

Maybe no one believed them at the time, but the Patriot League champions proved they were serious.

C.J. McCollum scored 30 points and Lehigh upset Duke 75-70 to become the second No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 during a wild Friday in the NCAA tournament.

“It means a lot as a team, a family and as the Patriot League in general,” McCollum said. “We wanted to come out here and protect this team and this family, get the win and we did that tonight.”

Lehigh forward John Adams said it was a matter of believing in each other.

“We saw on the selection show we had Duke and we thought we could match up very well against them,” Adams said. “We all believed it and we showed it on the floor. Everybody bought into that idea that we could beat them. The rest is history.”

History indeed.

The Mountain Hawks are the sixth 15 seed overall to pull off the trick. Norfolk State edged Missouri 86-84 in the West Regional earlier in the day, and No. 13 seed Ohio knocked off Michigan to add to the madness.

Duke dropped its first tournament game for only the second time in the past 16 years, and this one occurred just 55 miles from its campus. The Blue Devils also lost their opener against 11th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth in 2007.

The Blue Devils had no answer for the speedy McCollum, the two-time Patriot League player of the year and the nation’s fifth-leading scorer.

“They had the best player on the court tonight in McCollum,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He’s been their player of the year, and he’s really one of the outstanding players in the country. You could see why tonight.”

It didn’t help that the Blue Devils hit just 6 of 26 shots from 3-point range.

Lehigh (27-7) led most of the game, drawing support from North Carolina fans who borrowed brown signs from Mountain Hawks supporters that read “Go Lehigh” to root against their rivals.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” forward Justin Maneri said with a deep laugh. “We came to the practice the other day and as soon as you walked in they were going crazy for us and we’re like, `What’s going on?’ They were like, `Go Lehigh, beat Duke!’ They were screaming. It was nice to have fans here that weren’t Duke. I’ve never seen two schools that hate each other so much.”

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South Fla works over Cal 65-54 in NCAA tourney

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) Ugly, ugly, ugly. Just the way South Florida likes it.

The Bulls introduced the NCAA tournament to the Big East's nastiest defense Wednesday night, putting more than just a chill into a California team that had never seen anything like it. The Bulls allowed only 13 points in the first half and brushed their way to a 65-54 victory.

South Florida (21-13) will play No. 5 seed Temple in Nashville on Friday, a matchup of teams known for gritty defense. Few have been better than this one for the first 20 minutes on the NCAA stage.

The Bulls swarmed `em, bumped em' and swatted their shots away - those that weren't air balls, that is.

California (24-10) didn't score over the last 8:55 of the first half, missing 10 shots and turning it over twice while South Florida pulled ahead 36-13.

Guard Jorge Gutierrez, the Pac-12 player of the year, was held to 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting.

It wasn't all defense that got it done for South Florida. Freshman point guard Anthony Collins, a thin-built player with a youthful face that reminds coach Stan Heath of a 12-year-old kid, played like a star in his first NCAA tournament game, scoring 12 points. Victor Rudd had 15 points

The Golden Bears won't soon forget the way they got worked over. They must have felt as if there were six Bulls on the floor at times playing defense.

No, only five. The refs counted.

The Bulls set a Big East record by giving up only 56.9 points per game this season. Their problem: They score about as many points as they give up. South Florida didn't have a player average in double figures for the season.

Realizing he didn't have many scoring options, Heath instituted the defense-first, defense-last philosophy that got them to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 20 years and, now, their first win. The Bulls came in 0-2 in the tournament.

Other teams exult when one of their players hits a big basket. The Bulls cheer from the bench as the other team passes the ball around helplessly and hopelessly.

They were cheering their defense from the opening tip.

The first time down the court, Gutierrez forced a running shot that was too hard, a taste of the misery ahead. California missed its first five shots and eight of its first nine, helping South Florida pull ahead 15-3.

Collins made a driving layup, a floater, a 15-foot pull-up jumper and a layup off his steal during the opening run, getting South Florida's unpredictable offense moving.

The Golden Bears readily acknowledged that they hadn't played anything quite like the Bulls' defense. With four players averaging in double figures, their best chance was to spread the ball around and be patient.

They ran out of patience real fast, prompting coach Mike Montgomery to call a timeout to get his team settled down. Instead, things quickly got worse.

A lot worse.

Gutierrez hit a fade-away 15-foot jumper with 8:56 left in the first half. The Golden Bears wouldn't score again before halftime, with South Florida pulling off a 14-0 run. It ended with a telling moment: California guard Justin Cobbs dribbling toward the basket and failing to even attempt a shot before the buzzer sounded.

Totally discombobulated.

The Golden Bears shuffled toward the locker room with blanks expressions. Their 13 points matched the seventh-fewest in an opening half since the NCAA tournament expanded in 1985, according to STATS LLC.

The Bulls pulled ahead 57-25 with 8:49 left. The only question was how low they could keep the sore. California fouled repeatedly in the final minute, giving itself enough chances to hit the 50-point mark.DAYTON, Ohio (AP) Ugly, ugly, ugly. Just the way South Florida likes it.

The Bulls introduced the NCAA tournament to the Big East's nastiest defense Wednesday night, putting more than just a chill into a California team that had never seen anything like it. The Bulls allowed only 13 points in the first half and brushed their way to a 65-54 victory.

South Florida (21-13) will play No. 5 seed Temple in Nashville on Friday, a matchup of teams known for gritty defense. Few have been better than this one for the first 20 minutes on the NCAA stage.

The Bulls swarmed `em, bumped em' and swatted their shots away - those that weren't air balls, that is.

California (24-10) didn't score over the last 8:55 of the first half, missing 10 shots and turning it over twice while South Florida pulled ahead 36-13.

Guard Jorge Gutierrez, the Pac-12 player of the year, was held to 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting.

It wasn't all defense that got it done for South Florida. Freshman point guard Anthony Collins, a thin-built player with a youthful face that reminds coach Stan Heath of a 12-year-old kid, played like a star in his first NCAA tournament game, scoring 12 points. Victor Rudd had 15 points

The Golden Bears won't soon forget the way they got worked over. They must have felt as if there were six Bulls on the floor at times playing defense.

No, only five. The refs counted.

The Bulls set a Big East record by giving up only 56.9 points per game this season. Their problem: They score about as many points as they give up. South Florida didn't have a player average in double figures for the season.

Realizing he didn't have many scoring options, Heath instituted the defense-first, defense-last philosophy that got them to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 20 years and, now, their first win. The Bulls came in 0-2 in the tournament.

Other teams exult when one of their players hits a big basket. The Bulls cheer from the bench as the other team passes the ball around helplessly and hopelessly.

They were cheering their defense from the opening tip.

The first time down the court, Gutierrez forced a running shot that was too hard, a taste of the misery ahead. California missed its first five shots and eight of its first nine, helping South Florida pull ahead 15-3.

Collins made a driving layup, a floater, a 15-foot pull-up jumper and a layup off his steal during the opening run, getting South Florida's unpredictable offense moving.

The Golden Bears readily acknowledged that they hadn't played anything quite like the Bulls' defense. With four players averaging in double figures, their best chance was to spread the ball around and be patient.

They ran out of patience real fast, prompting coach Mike Montgomery to call a timeout to get his team settled down. Instead, things quickly got worse.

A lot worse.

Gutierrez hit a fade-away 15-foot jumper with 8:56 left in the first half. The Golden Bears wouldn't score again before halftime, with South Florida pulling off a 14-0 run. It ended with a telling moment: California guard Justin Cobbs dribbling toward the basket and failing to even attempt a shot before the buzzer sounded.

Totally discombobulated.

The Golden Bears shuffled toward the locker room with blanks expressions. Their 13 points matched the seventh-fewest in an opening half since the NCAA tournament expanded in 1985, according to STATS LLC.

The Bulls pulled ahead 57-25 with 8:49 left. The only question was how low they could keep the sore. California fouled repeatedly in the final minute, giving itself enough chances to hit the 50-point mark.

NCAA CBS March Madness Listings and Schedule

Links to all the games, to watch from your computer.


DATE
TIME
(EST.)
GAME NETWORK WEB STREAMING


Monday 02/27/12
7:00 PM
(Campus Site)
Big South Championship
First Round - Game No. 1 - Radford (#10) vs. VMI (#7)
Big South Network

Monday 02/27/12
7:30 PM
(Campus Site)
Big South Championship
First Round - Game No. 2 - Gardner-Webb (#9) vs. High Point (#8)
Big South Network

Wednesday 02/29/12 NOON
Big South Championship
Quarterfinal No. 1 - TEAMS TBD
[Winner of Game No. 1 (Seed #7 / #10) vs. Coastal Carolina (#2)]
Big South Network

Wednesday 02/29/12
2:00 PM
(approx.)
Big South Championship
Quarterfinal No. 2 - Campbell (#3) vs. Winthrop (#6)
Big South Network

Wednesday 02/29/12
2:30 PM
(approx.)
Atlantic Sun Championship
Quarterfinal No. 1 - Jacksonville (#8) vs. Belmont (#1)
ESPN3.com

Wednesday 02/29/12 6:00 PM
Big South Championship
Quarterfinal No. 3 - TEAMS TBD
[Winner of Game No. 1 (Seed #8 / #9) vs. UNC Asheville (#1)]
Big South Network

Tuesday 02/28/12
7:00 PM
(Campus Site)
Horizon League Championship
First Round - Game No. 1 - Loyola Chicago (#10) vs. Detroit (#3)
Horizon League Network

Tuesday 02/28/12
7:00 PM
(Campus Site)
Horizon League Championship
First Round - Game No. 2 - Green Bay (#7) vs. Youngstown State (#6)
Horizon League Network

Tuesday 02/28/12
7:00 PM
(Campus Site)
Horizon League Championship
First Round - Game No. 4 - Wright State (#8) vs. Butler (#5)
Horizon League Network

Wednesday 02/29/12 7:00 PM
Ohio Valley Conference Championship
First Round - Game No. 1 - Southeast Missouri (#5) vs.
Eastern Kentucky (#8)
OVCSports.tv

Wednesday 02/29/12
7:00 PM
(Campus Site)
The Patriot League Championship
Quarterfinal No. 1 - Buckell (#1) at Navy (#8)
Patriot League All*Access

Wednesday 02/29/12
7:00 PM
(Campus Site)
The Patriot League Championship
Quarterfinal No. 2 - Holy Cross (#4) at Lafayette (#5)
Patriot League All*Access

Wednesday 02/29/12
7:00 PM
(Campus Site)
The Patriot League Championship
Quarterfinal No. 3 - Lehigh (#2) at Colgate (#7)
Patriot League All*Access

Wednesday 02/29/12
7:30 PM
(Campus Site)
The Patriot League Championship
Quarterfinal No. 4 - American (#3) at Army (#6)
Patriot League All*Access

Wednesday 02/29/12
8:00 PM
(approx.)
Big South Championship
Quarterfinal No. 4 - Charleston Southern (#4) vs. Liberty (#5)
Big South Network

Tuesday 02/28/12
8:00 PM
(Campus Site)
Horizon League Championship
First Round - Game No. 3 - Illinois-Chicago (#9) vs. Milwaukee (#4)
Horizon League Network

Wednesday 02/29/12
8:30 PM
(approx.)
Atlantic Sun Championship
Quarterfinal No. 2 - Lipscomb (#7) vs. Mercer (#2)
ESPN3.com

Wednesday 02/29/12
9:00 PM
(approx.)
Ohio Valley Conference Championship
First Round - Game No. 2 - Austin Peay (#6) vs. Jacksonville State (#7)
OVCSports.tv

Wednesday 02/29/12 9:00 PM
West Coast Conference Championship
Opening Game - Portland (#8) vs. Santa Clara (#9)
WCC All*Access

BYU's record comeback beats Iona, 78-72

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron saw a huge comeback.

Had they stuck around a little longer, they could have watched the biggest one in NCAA tournament history.

Noah Hartsock scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half and the Cougars came back from 25 points down to beat Iona 78-72 in the first round Tuesday night.

It marked the biggest comeback in an NCAA tournament game, the NCAA said. Previously, the largest deficit overcome was 22 points when Duke fought back to beat Maryland 95-84 in the 2001 national semifinals.

Hartsock was a little hurt that the president wasn't around to see the fireworks in the nightcap.

``I started looking around and didn't see him,'' Hartsock said with a grin. ``But I'm sure he had some important things to take care of.''

It was the second incredible turnaround of the night in Dayton. With the two heads of state watching from front-row seats on the baseline, Western Kentucky came back from a 16-point deficit in the final 5 minutes to beat Mississippi Valley State 59-58 in the first game.

That was the biggest margin overcome by a team in the final 5 minutes to win an NCAA tournament game, the NCAA said.

No matter how far they fell behind, BYU and coach Dave Rose had faith that the Cougars could somehow come back.

``Coming back from 25 points down is really satisfying now that we've won. At the time it wasn't that satisfying being down 25,'' he joked. ``But I don't think that any of us, especially the coaching staff or our players, doubted the fact that we could chip into that lead.''

Brandon Davies added 18 points and Damarcus Harrison 12 for the 14th-seeded Cougars (26-8), who advanced to play third-seeded Marquette on Thursday in Louisville, Ky.

There was no consolation for Iona.

``It's going to be one that we have to live with the rest of our lives,'' Gaels coach Tim Cluess said. ``It's a tough one we let get away. No excuses.''

Iona (25-8) seemed assured of its first official NCAA tournament victory after dominating the first half. But despite 15 points and 10 assists by Scott Machado, the Gaels dropped to 0-8 in NCAA play. Their lone win in 1980 was vacated due to NCAA violations.

Iona came in as the nation's top-scoring team at 83.2 points per game and didn't disappoint - at least in the opening 16 minutes. The Gaels scored 55 points in an eye-popping display of passing wizardry and outside shooting. Then they didn't score over the final 4:30 of the first half.

BYU then took control, slowly but surely. The Cougars held the Gaels without a point for 9:20 in a 17-0 run to narrow the deficit to 62-61 midway through the second half. BYU made up ground with a trapping half-court defense that forced the Gaels out of their hurry-up-and-shoot-3s attack. At the other end, the Cougars were getting buckets from Hartsock on fallaway jumpers.

``We just were more aggressive,'' Cougars guard Brock Zylstra said. ``We were doing to them what they were doing to us in the first half.''

Iona scored 55 points in the first 16 minutes, then managed just three field goals and seven points over the next 16 1/2 minutes.

Jermel Jenkins ended the lengthy drought with a 3 from the left corner with 8 minutes left.

From there on, the teams traded baskets as the pace slowed. Machado's three-point play pushed the lead to 70-64 with 5 minutes remaining before Hartsock hit an outside shot. After two missed foul shots by the Gaels, he hit another short turnaround jumper to cut the lead to two.

With 2:26 left, Hartsock popped out on the right wing to hit a go-ahead 3. It was the Cougars' first lead of the game.

``This is a team that's worked hard all year, that's never given up,'' Hartsock said.

Davies added two free throws in the final minute before Zylstra scored in transition and turned it into a three-point play, and the comeback was complete.

It was a shocking turn of events because of how well the Gaels - who also got 13 points from Jenkins, 12 from Mike Glover and 10 by Sean Armand - started out.

``You're looking for answers out there, looking for guys to make a play,'' Cluess said. ``Their good player is drilling it with guys in his face and guys draped all over him. Big-time players have to make big-time plays.''

Rose, a co-captain for the old Phi Slamma Jamma teams at Houston, has tasted disappointment before. But not this night.

During a timeout in the middle of the comeback, he saw something he'll never forget.

``The look in our players' eyes at that time was, `Game on. We've got a chance here,''' Rose said. ``And we were able to finish it off.''

Syracuse’s Melo ruled ineligible

The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH — Syracuse will have to chase a national championship without starting center Fab Melo, who has been declared ineligible for the NCAA tournament.

The university announced Tuesday that the 7-foot Brazilian, who did not travel with the team to Pittsburgh for the second and third-round games, won’t take part in the tournament due to an eligibility issue. The school did not elaborate.

Melo missed three games earlier this season — including one of the top-seeded Orange’s two losses — because of an academic issue.

NCAA spokesman Erik Christianson said Syracuse, not the NCAA, declared Melo ineligible.

Coach Jim Boeheim said the Orange will be”ready to play.”

As he left the bus in front of the team hotel Tuesday, Boeheim at first said he had nothing to say. He then told The Associated Press that “all we can do is be ready to play with the guys we have.”

“That’s all we can do,” he said. “There are injuries, things happen during a season. We’ll be ready to play and we’ll go play.”

Boeheim has not decided who will start in place of Melo, the Big East Defensive Player of Year, on Thursday when Syracuse (31-2) opens the tournament against No. 16 seed North Carolina-Asheville.

Melo’s presence on the back line of the Orange’s 2-3 zone might not be a factor in that game but it could be if Syracuse advances to play to face the winner of the Kansas State-Southern Mississippi game or possible future opponents in the East Regional such as Ohio State, with sophomore center Jared Sullinger, Florida State or Wisconsin.

Sophomore Baye Keita or freshman Rakeem Christmas should get the start. The Orange are one of the deepest teams in the tournament with seven players, including Melo, averaging between 13.8 and 6.6 points per game.

Melo averaged 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds and had 88 blocks this season for Syracuse, which was ranked No. 1 for six weeks this season and finished No. 2 behind Kentucky in the final poll.

The Orange opened the season with 20 consecutive wins before losing 67-58 at Notre Dame without Melo. Syracuse then won 11 in a row before losing 71-68 to Cincinnati last Friday in the Big East tournament semifinals.

The news is the latest development in a tumultuous season for Syracuse.

Last week, school officials said the university had more than a year ago self-reported possible violations of its internal drug policy by former members of the team and that the NCAA was investigating. None of the current members of the team was involved.

In a report, Yahoo Sports said a three-month investigation it conducted showed that the Syracuse men’s basketball program failed to adhere to the drug policy while playing ineligible players over the past decade.

The report, which citied anonymous sources, said at least 10 players since 2001 had tested positive for a banned recreational substance or substances. The report did not identify who tested positive. Syracuse won its lone national championship in 2003.

And the season began with the dismissal of associate head coach Bernie Fine after two former ballboys accused him of sexually molesting them in the 1980s. While charges have yet to be filed against Fine, he was fired in late November. Boeheim and the university are also facing a defamation suit filed by the ballboys — Bobby Davis and stepbrother Mike Lang.

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March Madness Starts!

WE will keep fresh links to live action throughout the week, so stay tuned in. NCAA MARCH MADNESS 2012