Saturday Surprises: Upsets Shake 2nd Round

Ali Farokhmanesh hit another big 3-pointer with 34 seconds left and Northern Iowa pulled off the biggest upset in the NCAA tournament, beating top overall seed Kansas 69-67 in the second round on Saturday.

Northern Iowa (30-4) won the tempo tug-of-war, grounding the high-flying Jayhawks with in-their-jersey defense, then withstood a furious rally to become the first team to beat a No. 1 seed in the second round since UAB and Alabama did it to Kentucky and Stanford in 2004.

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The ninth-seeded Panthers led early and made just enough plays late to pull off the biggest win in their history.

Kansas (33-3) trailed nearly the entire game, finally pulling close in the closing minutes behind its fullcourt pressure. The Jayhawks never made it all the way back, though, bowing out early in what was supposed to be another title run.

Obama Picked Kansas to Win Tournament

Saint Mary's Stuns Villanova 75-68

Omar Samhan was an unstoppable Gael force and played the game of his career, finishing with 32 points and seven rebounds to lead 10th-seeded Saint Mary's past Villanova 75-68 and improbably into the Sweet Sixteen.

Mickey McConnell stopped and fired an arching 25-footer that banked high off the glass for a 68-65 lead with 1:15 left.

Samhan used a two-handed block to turn back Reggie Redding and McConnell made both ends of a 1-and-1 to make it 70-65.

The soldout crowd was well behind the Gaels (28-5).

The Wildcats (25-8) made an early exit a year after they played in the Final Four. They started 20-1 and collapsed at the end.

Saint Mary's is off to Houston to play in the South Regional's Sweet 16.

Washington Rolls Past New Mexico 82-64

Quincy Pondexter scored 18 points, Isaiah Thomas added 15 and 11th-seeded Washington extended its incredible late-season roll all the way to the NCAA tournament's regional semifinals with an 82-64 victory over New Mexico.

Matthew Bryan-Amaning had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Huskies (26-9), who have won nine straight, including the Pac-10 tournament and wins over two higher-seeded opponents in the East Regional at the Shark Tank.

Washington ran right past the third-seeded Lobos (30-5), who simply couldn't keep up with the breakneck offensive pace in their second loss in three games.

After a rocky season that seemed headed nowhere in late January, the Huskies are the epitome of a talented team peaking at tournament time. Washington began the season in the national rankings, but slumped badly before this stellar surge.

Kansas State Snuffs Early BYU Lead to 84-72 Win

Jacob Pullen scored 20 of his career-high 34 points in the first half to help dig No. 2 seed Kansas State out of an early 10-point hole, and the Wildcats turned away Jimmer Fredette and BYU 84-72.

Pullen came alive with a scoring flurry shortly after he and Fredette got tangled up in transition in the first half, and K-State (28-7) wouldn't trail again in earning its first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 1988.

Pullen surpassed 30 points for the third time in his career and helped seal the victory with a 3-pointer and six free throws down the stretch. Equally as important as his scoring was his physical defense against Fredette, who had scored 37 points to get the seventh-seeded Cougars (30-6) past Florida in double overtime in the first round.

Fredette finished with 21 points on 4-of-13 shooting.

Kentucky Routs Wake Forest 90-60

Darius Miller scored a career-high 20 points and top-seeded Kentucky made easy work of No. 9 Wake Forest during a 90-60 rout.

It was the second blowout in two games for the Wildcats (34-2), who crushed East Tennessee State 100-71 in their opener.

Miller scored 16 points in the first half to help the Wildcats build an early double-digit lead that ballooned beyond 30 in the second half.

DeMarcus Cousins added 19 points for Kentucky, while John Wall scored 14 and Eric Bledsoe 13.

Al-Farouq Aminu led Wake Forest (20-11) with 16 points.

Kentucky moves on to play the winner of Sunday's game between Cornell and Wisconsin in the East Regional semifinals next week at Syracuse, N.Y.

Late Run Boosts Baylor Over Old Dominion 76-68

LaceDarius Dunn scored 26 points and No. 3 seed Baylor beat 11th-seeded Old Dominion 76-68.

The Bears squandered a 14-point first-half lead but went on a late 8-1 run to pull away. Baylor (27-7) now heads back to its home state to play No. 10 seed Saint Mary's in Houston in the South Regional semifinals.

Baylor struggled to beat Sam Houston State in the first round for its first NCAA tournament win since 1950, but the Bears arrived loose and confident against Old Dominion, using a barrage of early 3-pointers and alley-oops to take a double-digit lead.

Old Dominion (27-9) rallied and pulled ahead in the second half, but the Bears received a big lift from 7-footer Josh Lomers, who tied a career high with 14 points, 12 in the second half.

Tennessee Wins by 15 for Sweet Sixteen Return

J.P. Prince scored 18 points, and Brian Williams and Wayne Chism had 12 rebounds apiece on Saturday to lead sixth-seeded Tennessee to an 83-68 victory over No. 14 seed Ohio.

It's the third time in four years Bruce Pearl's Volunteers have reached the NCAA's second weekend. Tennessee (27-8) will play the winner of Sunday's Ohio State-Georgia Tech game in the Midwest Regional semifinals in St. Louis.

Tommy Freeman scored 23 points for Ohio, which was the lowest seed to get out of the first round. But he got little help from Armon Bassett and freshman D.J. Cooper, the guards who starred in the first-round victory over third-seeded Georgetown but combined for 23 points on 7-of-23 shooting against Tennessee.

The Bobcats (22-15) trailed by six midway through the second half before the Vols went on a 10-1 run.

Butler Holds Off Murray State 54-52

Ronald Nored hit a tiebreaking layup and free throw with 25.4 seconds left, and Butler narrowly evaded 13th-seeded Murray State's second upset attempt in three days, advancing to the Sweet 16 with a 54-52 victory.

Nored scored 15 points and Gordon Hayward had 12 before making the decisive defensive play for the fifth-seeded Bulldogs (30-4), who extended the nation's longest winning streak to 22 games.

Butler advanced to the round of 16 for the second time in four years - but only after surviving a thriller against the undersized but big-hearted Racers (31-5), who beat fourth-seeded Vanderbilt in the first round on a buzzer-beater.

Isaiah Canaan scored 14 points and hit four 3-pointers for the Racers. He had the ball on Murray State's last possession, but Hayward deflected his pass into the backcourt in the final seconds.

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