Marquette upsets Xavier in NCAA tourney
Posted March 18, 2011 11:35 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLEVELAND — Darius Johnson-Odum scored 19 points, Jimmy Butler had 15 and Marquette squashed Xavier’s bid for a fourth straight round of 16 appearance with a 66-55 win on Friday night.
The win was the first in the NCAA tournament for the 11th-seeded Golden Eagles (21-14) in two years. Marquette will play Indiana State or Syracuse on Sunday in the East region.
The sixth-seeded Musketeers (24-8) and Michigan State were the only two programs to reach the round of 16 each of the last three tournaments.
Xavier’s Tu Holloway, the Atlantic 10 player of the year, missed his first seven shots and scored only five points.
Marquette led by 13 in the first half and pushed back a small Xavier spurt that sliced the lead to single digits.
North Carolina 102, Long Island 87
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tyler Zeller scored 32 points, John Henson added 28, and North Carolina used its hulking size to overcome sloppiness in its return to the NCAA tournament in a 102-87 victory over scrappy Long Island University on Friday night.
Harrison Barnes added 24 points and 16 rebounds for the second-seeded Tar Heels (27-7) who eventually wore down the 15th-seeded Blackbirds (27-6). The 2009 NCAA champions, relegated to the NIT last season, advanced to the third round of the East Regional.
Julian Boyd scored 18 points, C.J. Garner added 16 and Jamal Olasewere had 15 for LIU, which faded after rallying to tie with under five minutes left in the first half as its nation-best 13-game winning streak was snapped.
The seven-footer Zeller and six-foot-10 Henson kept catching high passes for easy layups over smaller LIU to each record career highs in points.
Purdue 65, St. Peter’s 43
CHICAGO — E’Twaun Moore scored 19 points and JuJuan Johnson added 16 with 16 rebounds Friday night as third-seeded Purdue routed St. Peter’s 65-43 in the second round of the NCAA’s Southwest Region.
The Boilermakers (26-7), who made the round of 16 the previous two seasons, will face the Georgetown-Virginia Commonwealth winner Sunday at the United Center for a return trip.
Winning their first game in the NCAA tournament is commonplace for the Boilermakers. They’ve now captured their opener in their last 13 appearances.
Kansas 72, Boston 53
TULSA, Okla. — Marcus and Markieff Morris combined for 31 points as Kansas found its shooting touch in the second half of a 72-53 win over Boston University on Friday night.
The win was the first NCAA tournament game for the Jayhawks since being sent home by Northern Iowa in the second round last season.
They appeared to still be feeling some of the aftereffects of that loss in the first half against the Terriers. Kansas (33-2) led just 33-29 at halftime and shot 42 per cent. The Jayhawks found their touch in the second, hitting 62 per cent of their shots and pulling away while avoiding last season’s heartbreak and becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed.
John Holland led Boston (21-14) with 19 points, with 15 coming in the first half. The loss snaps the Terriers’ 11-game winning streak.
