Sunday, March 23, 2014

San Diego State cruises past North Dakota State

ASSOCIATED PRESS

POSTED: Sunday, March 23, 2014, 1:10 AM

Xavier Thames scored 30 points as fourth-seeded San Diego State reached the round of 16 for the second time in school history, ending the run of No. 12 seed North Dakota State, 63-44, in Spokane, Wash., on Saturday in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

The Aztecs (31-4) now get to make the short drive up the interstate to Anaheim, Calif., where they will face either No. 1 seed Arizona or eighth-seeded Gonzaga in the West Regional semifinals on Thursday.

Thames, who was 9 of 19 from the field, ended the comeback hopes of the Bison with a six-point spurt late in the second half.
Dwayne Polee II was the only other San Diego State player in double figures with 15 points.

Kory Brown led North Dakota State (26-7) with 13 points, but the best shooting team in the country shot only 31.9 percent.Wisconsin 85, Oregon 77 - In Milwaukee, Ben Brust hit a three-pointer with 1 minute, 7 seconds left and the second-seeded Badgers (28-7) outslugged the seventh-seeded Ducks in a thriller to get into the Sweet 16.
Traevon Jackson followed Brust's clutch trey from the corner, with three free throws, but missed one with 21 seconds left to give Oregon (24-10) one more chance to tie trailing by three.
Oregon gave it to Joseph Young, who had made big shots all night and scored 29 points. But he missed a rushed three-point shot from the wing, and the Badgers sealed it.

Sunday's Games

For Doug McDermott and his Creighton teammates the last two years at the NCAA tournament left them bitter after third-round losses robbed them of a chance to go farther than any Bluejays team before them.They also were a big motivation in keeping this team together for another try.
With that goal in mind, McDermott skipped a chance to enter the NBA draft, rallying a senior-laden group to another big season. Third-seeded Creighton (27-7) plays No. 6 seed Baylor (25-11) on Sunday in the West Regional for a chance to advance to the round of 16 for the first time in school history.
Baylor is a big and athletic team that was written off after a 2-8 start in league play. They responded by winning 10 of their next 11 and made it to the Big 12 title game.