Kentucky Wins Intrastate Battle As Favorites Advance in Austin
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(2) KENTUCKY 72, (15) EASTERN KENTUCKY 64
Kelenna Azubuike and Chuck Hayes each scored 16 points and second-seeded Kentucky dominated the middle to hold off state rival Eastern Kentucky.
Kentucky (26-5) extended its record for NCAA tournament victories to 94 and is now 37-9 in NCAA tournament openers. The Wildcats advanced to Saturday’s second round of the Austin Regional and will face Cincinnati.
The Colonels (22-9) were led by Matt Witt with 21 points and Michael Haney with 12 points, but their first tournament appearance since 1979 ended quickly. Eastern Kentucky’s longest winning streak since 1964-65 ended at seven. The Colonels are now 0-6 in NCAA tournament games and 0-9 against the Wildcats.
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(7) CINCINNATI 76, (10) IOWA 64
Jason Maxiell had 22 points, nine rebounds, six blocked shots, and a pair of steals to help Cincinnati advance to the second round.
With the 6-foot-7 Maxiell repeatedly swatting away shots under the basket and Iowa unable to hit from the outside, the Bearcats (25-7) held Iowa to just one field goal and three free throws in the first 11 minutes of the game.
Jeff Horner had 12 points for the Hawkeyes (21-12), whose leading scorer for the season, Pierre Pierce, was kicked off the team in February.
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(6) UTAH 60, (11) UTEP 54
Utah escaped with a victory thanks to a brilliant bit of defense byTim Drisdom and a critical rebound from an exhausted Andrew Bogut.
With Utah leading 56-54, UTEP’s lightning-fast point guard Filiberto Rivera drove the lane. Drisdom stripped the ball away, then was fouled by Rivera. Drisdom’s two free throws made it 58-54 with 15.4 seconds to play.
Jason Williams tried to score inside, but Bogut got a piece of the ball, then saved the rebound as he crashed to the floor. Utah (28-5) has won 23 of its last 25 and next plays Oklahoma in the second round of the Austin Regional.
Bogut played all 40 minutes and had 24 points,11 rebounds, and four blocked shots. Omar Thomas led the 11th-seeded Miners (27-8) with 24 points.
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(2) OKLAHOMA 84, (14) NIAGARA 67
Drew Lavender led six Sooners in double figures with 17 points. The third-seeded Sooners (25-7), who didn’t make the tourney last year, struggled with 46% field-goal shooting, but harassed the Eagles into 16 turnovers.
Juan Mendez led the 14th-seeded Eagles (20-10) with 22 points and 15 rebounds. All of Niagara’s current players were a decade or more from being born when the Eagles last appeared in the NCAA tournament in 1970.
