Clutch Free Throws Sweet For Ucla
Men’s South Regional
UCLA senior guard Kris Johnson desperately wanted the ball in his hands in the last minute of a tightly contested game, and Michigan could not help but desperately oblige Sunday in Atlanta.
Johnson, who scored just three points and fouled out in a first-round game against Miami, sank eight free throws in the final 37.8 seconds to give the Bruins an 85-82 victory to advance to the Sweet 16.
On Friday, the No. 6 Bruins will play No. 2 Kentucky, an 88-61 winner over Saint Louis in the South Regional, in St. Petersburg, Fla.
“The eight free throws are the type of situations I like,” said Johnson, who finished with 25 points. “I have been in this situation before, and I wanted to be the one there to take the pressure. I just knocked them down like I always do.”
UCLA (24-8) withstood the pressure of a furious Michigan rally in the second half. The Bruins led, 76-66, with 2:06 remaining on a layup by Travis Reed. But UCLA did not make another field-goal attempt as No. 3 Michigan (25-9) came back on the offensive effort of guard Louis Bullock.
Bullock, only 7 for 27 from the field, made eight of the Wolverines’ final 14 points and finished with 16.
Each time Michigan got close at the end and tried a strategy of fouling a Bruin, Johnson converted.
Kentucky 88, Saint Louis 61
Kentucky continued its love affair with the Georgia Dome, scoring the first 10 points and going on to a merciless 88-61 victory over out-manned Saint Louis.
The Wildcats (31-4) won their ninth game at what seems like Rupp Arena South. Kentucky is 5-0 at the Georgia Dome this month, including the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The Wildcats have beaten their opponents by an average of 21.6 points in that span.
The No. 10 Billikens (22-11) saw their offense go south when freshman guard Larry Hughes got off to another poor start.
In the first half of Sunday’s game, the Billikens shot 19.4 percent from the field, and their starters combined for nine points.
Hughes, who came in averaging 21.3 points, was held to 11.
Duke 79, Oklahoma St. 73
In Lexington, Ky., Trajan Langdon drained a mid-range jumper to help stifle a Cowboys comeback, and the top-seeded Blue Devils went on to advance to the NCAA South Regional semifinals - their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1994.
The Blue Devils (31-3) moved into a Friday night matchup in St. Petersburg, Fla., against Syracuse.
Syracuse 56, New Mexico 46
In a game played at a snail’s pace at Rupp Arena in Lexington, the fifth-seeded Orangemen (26-8) barely made one-third of their shots, but they rebounded and defended well enough to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Lobos (24-8), seeded fourth, were downright pitiful from the field. Playing without the injured Royce Olney, their best perimeter shooter, they connected on just 25.5 percent of their shots and managed just one basket in the final 8:28. Graphic: Men’s Basketball Championship brackets
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: UP NEXT West: Arizona vs. Maryland and Utah vs. West Virginia, at Anaheim, Calif., on Thursday. East: North Carolina vs. Michigan State and Washington vs. Connecticut at Greensboro, N.C., on Thursday. Midwest: Rhode Island vs. Valparaiso and Stanford vs. Purdue, at St. Louis, Mo., on Friday. South: Duke vs. Syracuse and UCLA vs. Kentucky, at St. Petersburg, Fla., on Friday.