LSU Fells Duke, Soars Into Elite 8
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

ATLANTA – No need for LSU and Big Baby to cry in this NCAA tournament. Glen “Big Baby” Davis, a shot blocking freshman, and the rest of the Tigers are one win away from the Final Four after J.J. Redick and top-seeded Duke stumbled again in the round of 16.
Davis scored 14 points despite foul trouble and freshman Tyrus Thomas swatted away five shots, leading no. 4 seed LSU to its first regional final since 1987 with a 62-54 upset of Duke last night.
Redick, a favorite for player of the year, had one of his worst games in the finale of his college career. The Duke guard made only 3-of-18 shots, his shooting woes dooming a team that got a big performance from its other star, Shelden Williams.
Also playing his last college game, Williams went out with 23 points and 13 rebounds. But Duke (32-4) didn’t have nearly the balance of LSU (26-8), which won the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship and has its sights on an even bigger title.
Redick got his last basket, a 3-pointer off a screen with 3:32 remaining, to give Duke its final lead at 52-51. But that was about the only bright spot in a grim night for the usually sharp-shooting senior, who has done this all before.
He had only five points in a loss to Kansas in the 2003 regional semifinals. Duke faltered again at the same point in the tournament last year, losing to Michigan State with Redick managing only 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
This time, it was freshman Garrett Temple who frustrated Redick, preventing him from getting many open looks at the basket.
After Redick’s final hoop, LSU outscored the Blue Devils 11-2 the rest of the way, going ahead for good on Davis’s free throw with 2:32 remaining. Thomas came up huge in the final minute, making two free throws with 43 seconds left, dribbling through two defenders for a dunk nine seconds later, then rejecting a shot by Greg Paulus that essentially finished off the Blue Devils.
Thomas also led the Tigers with 13 rebounds. Darrel Mitchell, who also had 14 points, made two free throws with 25 seconds left and Davis scored his final four at the line, even rebounding his own missed free throw to get back for two more attempts. The big guy looked longingly at the ball and patted it like, well, a baby.
The Tigers won despite making only 12-of-23 free throws and playing much of the second half with Davis and Thomas trying to stay in the game with four fouls.
LSU hasn’t been to a regional final since losing to Indiana 77-76 nearly two decades ago. Not even Shaquille O’Neal, who played three seasons in Baton Rouge, could get the Tigers past the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Duke made only 18-of-65 shots (28%) and struggled to get free of LSU’s lanky, quick defenders – epitomized by 6-foot-9 Thomas, who plays even bigger, and Temple, a 6-foot-5 guard who draped himself on Redick.
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MEMPHIS 80, BRADLEY 64 In Oaklnad, Calif., Rodney Carney kept top seeded Memphis from becoming another victim of Bradley’s surprising NCAA run.
Carney contributed on both ends of the floor last night, scoring 23 points and leading a stingy defense that gave Memphis an 80-64 victory and put the Tigers in the regional final for the first time since 1992 – back when Anfernee Hardaway was the star.
Darius Washington Jr. added 18 points and Shawne Williams had 12 points and eight rebounds as Memphis won the third round of the Oakland Regional, its seventh straight victory.
Carney raised his arms in the air in celebration after a two-handed jam midway through the second half, one of several emphatic dunks by the 6-foot-7 forward who was virtually unknown when he first arrived at Memphis. Now, he is one win from finishing his stellar collegiate career in his hometown of Indianapolis for the Final Four.
Coach John Calipari’s young Tigers, an NIT team last season, advanced to Saturday’s regional final.
Patrick O’Bryant had 11 of his 14 rebounds in the first half and only scored eight points for Bradley, which at no. 13 was the lowest seed still alive in the tournament. The Braves will return home to another hero’s welcome after they put the program on the map and brought national attention to the town of Peoria, Ill., where they play.
Bradley committed 14 first-half turnovers, then took better care of the ball after halftime but couldn’t make shots. Coach Jim Les was whistled for a technical with 8:29 remaining for arguing, a sign of his team’s frustration down the stretch.
The 7-foot O’Bryant faced two or three defenders almost every time he caught the ball in the paint. Marcellus Sommerville led Bradley with 18 points – making nine of 10 free throws – and eight rebounds and Lawrence Wright added 14 points.

