Men's roundup
Capping off two days of mismatches in Omaha, the top-seeded Jayhawks pulled away from Nevada-Las Vegas in the second half and romped last night to move on to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. It was another emphatic team effort by a deep, talented group out to win the proud program's first national title in 20 years.
Mario Chalmers led the way with 17 points, but he had plenty of help. Russell Robinson scored 13 points, Brandon Rush 12, Sherron Collins 10, Darrell Arthur 9, and Darnell Jackson 8.
The closest final margin throughout the first two rounds in Omaha was 13, and the average margin was 17. The Jayhawks (33-3) blew out No. 16 Portland State, 85-61, in their opener, then handled the eighth-seeded Runnin' Rebels (27-8) with nearly as much ease.
The first half was close - Kansas led by only 5 midway through - but that was just putting off the inevitable.
The Runnin' Rebels barely had enough personnel to finish the game. With only 10 players in uniform to begin with, they had one starter, Joe Darger, foul out with more than 9 1/2 minutes remaining; another, Rene Rougeau, quickly followed him to the bench with his fifth foul.
UNLV's offense basically consisted of 6-foot guard Wink Adams driving the lane against the taller Jayhawks, looking to draw a foul. He scored 25 points, hitting 15 of 17 at the line. Curtis Terry was the only other Rebel in double figures with 12 points.
The Jayhawks advanced to the regional semifinals at Detroit's Ford Field, where they will face either 12th-seeded Villanova or No. 13 Siena, who meet today in Tampa.
Trevon Hughes matched his career high with 25 points, and third-seeded Wisconsin made Kansas State freshman star Michael Beasley disappear in the second half of a commanding victory in the second round in Omaha.
Beasley scored 23 points in what might be his last college game, but he had only 6 after halftime.
The third-seeded Badgers (31-4), who set a school record for wins, play either Georgetown or Davidson in the Round of 16 this week in Detroit. Wisconsin heads to the Motor City with wins in 12 straight games and 25 of the past 27.
Hughes, who had just 8 points in a 71-56 first-round win over Cal State Fullerton, scored in double figures for the first time in seven games and had his biggest output since scoring 25 in the season opener against IPFW.
Hughes scored 8 points in a 13-2 run over the first and second halves to break open the game, and hit four of the Badgers' nine 3-pointers.
Beasley, just 2 of 6 in the second half, hugged teammates and coaches when he left the game for the last time with 53.9 seconds left. Many expect him to declare for the NBA draft.
Fellow freshman Bill Walker scored 18 points for the 11th-seeded Wildcats (21-12), who missed all 13 of their 3-point attempts. Walker had 10 of Kansas State's 22 second-half points.
Michael Flowers had 15 points and Greg Stiemsma 14 for the Badgers, who are in the regional semifinals for the first time since 2005.
The Spartans guards went on a late ballhandling and scoring spree to help fifth-seeded Michigan State pull away from No. 4 seed Pittsburgh in a rough-and-tumble second-round game between two Rust Belt teams who brought their show to Denver.
Lucas and Neitzel combined for 21 of the Spartans' final 25 points. Neitzel finished with a team-high 21 points, including 8 straight to give Michigan State (27-8) a 5-point lead with four minutes left. Lucas ended up with 19 points, and his uncontested layup was good for a 59-50 lead.
Levance Fields had 19 points for Pitt (27-10), which had won six straight. The Panthers trailed, 40-30, with 15 minutes left, but went on a 14-2 run to take the lead.
It was brief.
Lucas followed with a 3-point play to put the Spartans back ahead. Then, Neitzel went on his scoring burst to help Tom Izzo's team start pulling away. Neitzel's night also included a 5-of-8 effort from 3-point range, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The Spartans next play in Houston against the winner of today's game between Memphis and Mississippi State. 