Butler University beat the University of Pittsburgh 71-70 with a last-second free throw, making the Panthers the first top seed to be eliminated in the national men’s basketball tournament this year.
No. 1 Duke plays eighth-seeded Michigan for a spot in the West region semifinals today in the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament. Top overall seed Ohio State takes on George Mason in the East region and No. 1 seed Kansas meets No. 9 Illinois in the Southwest region game.
Butler, which lost the championship game to Duke last year 61-59, won its second game this season in the closing moments. It beat Old Dominion 60-58 three days ago when Matt Howard made a layup as time expired. Yesterday, Howard hit one of two foul shots with nine-tenths of a second left in the game.
“You’re a little worried there for a second when you have two shots to win the game,” said Howard, who scored 16 points. “It’s amazing that you keep that belief and something happens for you.”
In other third-round games yesterday, No. 2 seed San Diego State University needed two overtimes to beat Temple University 71-64, Kentucky defeated West Virginia 71-63, Florida beat the University of California-Los Angeles 73-65, and Richmond reached the Southwest Region semifinals with a 65-48 victory against Morehead State University.
Brigham Young University, seeded third, defeated No. 11 Gonzaga University 89-67; fourth-seeded Wisconsin beat No. 5 Kansas State 70-65; and No. 3 Connecticut won 69-58 over No. 6 Cincinnati.
Butler’s Win
In Butler’s victory, Shelvin Mack fouled Pittsburgh’s Gilbert Brown just inside the half-court line with one second left and the Bulldogs ahead 70-69. Brown hit one free throw to tie the game 70-70 and missed the second. On the rebound, Howard was fouled by Nasir Robinson to set up the winning basket.
“It was a hard way for that game to end,” said Butler coach Brad Stevens. “I feel bad for Pittsburgh.”
The No. 8 Bulldogs had surrendered a 12-point lead in the first half before recovering to go ahead 38-30 at halftime at the Verizon Center in Washington.
Mack scored 30 points for Butler. Brown had 24 points for the Panthers, and Robinson scored 16.
Butler, of Indianapolis, will meet Wisconsin in the Southeast Region semifinal March 24.
San Diego State
San Diego State’s Billy White had 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Kawhi Leonard added 16 for the Aztecs, who will meet Connecticut in the West Region semifinal March 24.
Ramone Moore had 17 points for Temple, Juan Fernandez had 14 and Lavoy Allen 12 points and 11 rebounds at McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.
Allen’s jump shot with 53 seconds left in regulation play tied the game 54-54. San Diego’s Malcolm Thomas put the game into its second overtime with a layup followed by a free throw to tie the game 61-61.
White scored four points and Leonard had six as San Diego State pulled away in the second overtime.
Connecticut’s Kemba Walker had 33 points and Jeremy Lamb added 14. Rashad Bishop scored 22 points for Cincinnati in Washington.
Kentucky to Semifinal
Kentucky’s Brandon Knight scored 30 points to lead the fourth-seeded Wildcats to their second straight win in Tampa, Florida. Kentucky next plays No. 1 Ohio State or No. 8 George Mason in the East Region semifinals.
Joe Mazzulla scored 20 points for No. 5 West Virginia.
Florida’s Erving Walker went on a 7-0 run in the final 75 seconds of the game to clinch the win for the second-seeded Gators. Walker was the game’s high scorer with 21 points.
Richmond’s Justin Harper had 19 points and six rebounds, while Kevin Anderson added 14 points for the Spiders, who will meet the winner of today’s game between Kansas and Illinois.
The Eagles were led by Kenneth Faried and Sam Goodman, who each had 11 points. Faried also had 13 rebounds and blocked two shots.
Brigham Young’s Jimmer Fredette scored 34 points. Jackson Emergy added 16 for the Cougars who will play Florida in the Southeast Region semifinal March 24. Elias Harris had 18 and Robert Sacre scored 17 for Gonzaga.
Wisconsin’s John Leuer scored 19 points and Jordan Taylor added 12. Jacob Pullen led Kansas State with 38 points.
To contact the reporters responsible for this story: Nancy Kercheval at nkercheval@bloomberg.net; Bob Bensch at bbensch@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net
Source: Bloomberg.com
