Pollard Pumps Up Jayhawks

Southeast

Jackson State found out that top-ranked Kansas has a good big man in the middle.

No, not Raef LaFrentz.

LaFrentz, the Big 12’s player of the year and an All-American, was outstanding in Thursday’s 78-64 victory over Jackson State (14-16) in the first round of the Southeast Regional. But Scot Pollard was just as good, grabbing a career-high 19 rebounds, blocking six shots and scoring 12 points.

Kansas will play Saturday against Purdue, an 83-76 winner in overtime over Rhode Island.

“I don’t think I’m 100 percent,” said the 6-11 Pollard, who broke his foot Jan. 22. “I’m not jumping as well as I used to. I’m not blocking shots as well as I used to … but I’m playing better …”

The frontcourt combination of Pollard, LaFrentz and Paul Pierce overwhelmed 16th-seeded Jackson State, which gave top-seeded Kansas a good test.

LaFrentz had 18 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks, and Paul Pierce had 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Kansas (33-1) wound up with a 61-27 rebounding advantage.

“Every time we caught the ball around the basket, they were so big they altered our shots so much,” said Jackson State coach Andy Stoglin, who has only one player taller than 6-9. “Their size affected us rebound-wise and around the basket.”

Purdue 83, Rhode Island 76 (OT)

The Boilermakers had just enough experience when and where it counted against the Rams.

Junior center Brad Miller scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Purdue (18-11) scored the first six points in overtime to beat Rhode Island (20-9).

Freshman Brian Cardinal, whose 3-pointer with 16 seconds left in regulation forced overtime, hit the first basket in the extra period, and Purdue never trailed again.

Arizona 65, South Alabama 57

The Wildcats outscored the Jaguars 22-4 in the final 7 minutes to overcome a 10-point deficit.

Miles Simon scored nine of his 11 points during that late stretch. The rally allowed Arizona (20-9) to avoid losing in the first round for the fourth time in six years. The fourth-seeded Wildcats will play Saturday against 12th-seeded College of Charleston.

South Alabama (23-7), the No. 13 seed, was able to force Arizona to play at a much slower tempo than the Wildcats prefer. But the Jaguars fell apart against Arizona’s pressure after building a comfortable lead.

Charleston 75, Maryland 66

Stacy Harris scored 22 points as the Cougars upset the Terrapins (21-11), making it the ninth straight year a No. 12 seed has beaten a fifth-seeded team. Since 1989, a dozen No. 12 seeds have upset No. 5 seeds, and five of those have reached the regional semifinals.

Charleston (29-2), making only its second NCAA Tournament appearance, also extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 23 games with its first tourney victory.