Pittsburgh 82, Oral Roberts 63

March 21, 2008

Levance Fields, who missed 12 games in the middle of the season with a fractured left foot, scored 23 points to lead the fourth-seeded Panthers (27-9) to a romp over the Golden Eagles (24-9) in Denver. The Big East champions, who won their sixth straight game, were powered by an 18-0 first-half run. The Panthers had a well-rounded attack: Sam Young had 14 points, Keith Benjamin added 12 points and nine rebounds, and DeJuan Blair put up 8 points and 10 rebounds.

Jerel McNeal scored 20 points and Wesley Matthews hit eight free throws in the final 31 seconds to help the Golden Eagles (25-9) survive a 35-point performance by Kentucky's Joe Crawford in Anaheim, Calif. Fellow senior Ramel Bradley added 19 for the Wildcats (18-13), who were making their record 49th tourney appearance. For the sixth-seeded Golden Eagles, it was their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2003, when a team featuring Dwyane Wade beat Kentucky in the regional final. Crawford may have felt like dropping his head when he fouled out in the final seconds, but Marquette's Dominic James walked over and offered consolation. "I mean, you saw the performance out there, and he put his heart out there on the floor," James said. "So out of respect for him and his teammates, I just told him to keep his head up and keep playing the game that he loves."

Raymar Morgan led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points and the Spartans (26-8) beat the Owls (21-13) in Denver despite a sudden shooting slump from spark plug Drew Neitzel (5 points on 2-of-11 shooting). Mark Tyndale scored 16 points for Temple, which was making its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since losing to Michigan State in a 2001 regional final. Dionte Christmas, the Owls' leading scorer, was limited to 3 points, 17 below his average, on 1-of-12 shooting.

In Anaheim, Calif., Kenny Brown scored 18 points and the third-seeded Cardinal (27-7) put a decisive stop to the Big Red's 16-game winning streak. Lewis Dale, the Ivy League player of the year, scored 12 points for Cornell (22-6). The Big Red never looked like the team that averaged 77.1 points during a 14-0 run through the Ivy League. The game's first 10 minutes were close, with Cornell down by just 3 points despite starting out 3 for 15 from the field. But once Stanford took over, it got ugly fast. The Cardinal outscored Cornell, 43-11, over both halves for a 58-23 lead.

In Omaha, Brandon Rush scored 18 points as the top-seeded Jayhawks (32-3) romped past the Vikings (23-10), who were making their NCAA Tournament debut. Less than four minutes into the game, Kansas already had three dunks - two by Darrell Arthur (17 points), another by Darnell Jackson (10). At the five-minute mark, the Jayhawks had a 10-point lead (13-3). "I thought we'd have some first-game jitters," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "But all in all, I thought we played pretty well." The Vikings' predicament was epitomized by their best player, 5-foot-6-inch Jeremiah Dominguez, who had trouble even getting a look at the basket. Dominguez, who led Portland State with 13 points, was overmatched at the defensive end as well, at one point finding himself guarding Rush, who's a foot taller and 55 pounds heavier.

Joe Darger made four 3-pointers and had 18 points, Wink Adams added 17, and the Runnin' Rebels (27-7) tied an NCAA Tournament record by holding the Flashes (28-7) to just 10 points in the first half in Omaha. In the first half, the Mid-American Conference champions turned over the ball 17 times, went almost eight minutes without a point, and trailed, 31-10 - and that was with UNLV shooting under 40 percent and committing nine turnovers. Kent State played evenly with the Rebels in the second half, committing only three turnovers, but by then it was too late.

The Badgers (29-4) couldn't shake the 14th-seeded Titans (24-9) until deep into the second half, before finally advanicing in Omaha. The Badgers shot 42 percent and committed 17 turnovers, but they blocked seven shots and outrebounded the Titans, 50-27. That was enough to overcome a career-high 31-point night by Josh Akognon as Fullerton made its return to the tournament for the first time in 30 years.