From Staff Reports
Associated Press
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Louis Dale scored 26 points and Ryan Wittman had 24, helping 12th-seeded Cornell dominate No. 4 seed Wisconsin 87-69 on Sunday to reach the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament for the first time.
The Big Red entered the tourney with no victories in four previous appearances and upset fifth-seeded Temple in the opening round. They are the first Ivy League team to advance to the round of 16 since Penn in 1979.
Next up, top-seeded Kentucky in the East Regional semifinals.
Cornell (29-4) shot 59 percent from the field to build a 43-31 halftime lead. Wisconsin (24-9) never made a serious run, falling behind by 20 points midway through the second half.
Jon Leuer led the Badgers with 23 points while Jason Bohannon had 18 and Trevon Hughes 10.
Ohio St. 75, Georgia Tech 66
MILWAUKEE — Evan Turner rebounded from one of the worst shooting nights of his career with 24 points, and second-seeded Ohio State outlasted foul- and turnover-plagued Georgia Tech.
Jon Diebler added 20 points for the Buckeyes (29-7) and David Lighty had 18.
Ohio State faces sixth-seeded Tennessee on Friday night in St. Louis in a Midwest Regional semifinal.
ACC freshman of the year Derrick Favors, who played just 5 minutes in the first half after picking up two quick fouls, finished with 10 points before fouling out in the last minute for 10th-seeded Georgia Tech (23-13).
Syracuse 87
Gonzaga 65
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Wes Johnson scored a career-high 31 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, and Andy Rautins added 24 points as top-seeded Syracuse hit a dozen 3-pointers to rout No. 8 Gonzaga.
Syracuse’s storybook season — the Orange were unranked before the season and made it to No. 1 for the final week before losing to Georgetown in the Big East tournament — continues Thursday. The Orange (30-4) will play fifth-seeded Butler in Salt Lake City.
Xavier 71
Pittsburgh 68
MILWAUKEE — Jordan Crawford scored 27 points, including a breakaway dunk with just over two minutes remaining, to help sixth-seeded Xavier beat No. 3 Pittsburgh in the second round.
Jason Love had 14 points and a key block down the stretch for the Musketeers (26-8), who advanced to play second-seeded Kansas State in the West Regional semifinals in Salt Lake City on Thursday.
Ashton Gibbs scored 19 points and Brad Wanamaker had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers (25-9), who nearly rallied with two 3-pointers by Gilbert Brown in the final 28 seconds.
Duke 68
California 53
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Nolan Smith scored 20 points, Kyle Singler added 17 and top-seeded Duke reached the round of 16 by beating California.
Brian Zoubek finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds — the sixth double-double of his career — as the Blue Devils overcame some long-range shooting woes with dominant post play.
Duke (31-5) advanced to play No. 4 seed Purdue in a South Regional semifinal Friday in Houston.
Purdue 63
Texas A&M 61
SPOKANE, Wash. — Chris Kramer’s drive past one defender and layup over another 6 inches taller than him with 4.2 seconds remaining in overtime sent fourth-seeded Purdue into the regional semifinals with a bruising victory over No. 5 Texas A&M.
B.J. Holmes got a final, frantic chance to win the game for Texas A&M with a rushed 3-point try from in front of his bench at the buzzer, but it hit short on the rim to ensure a sixth regional appearance in 12 NCAA tournaments dating to 1994 for Purdue (29-5).
