The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Baylor prevails; Duke is ousted
Johnathan Motley had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 3 seed Baylor defeated No. 11 seed Southern California 82-78 Sunday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Tulsa, Okla.
Terry Maston scored 19 points, King McClure added 17 and Manu Lecomte scored all 12 of his points in the final five minutes for the Bears (27-7), who advanced to the East Region semifinals.
Chimezie Metu scored 28 points and Bennie Boatwright added 16 for USC (26-10), which was trying to make its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2007. The Trojans had rallied from second-half deficits to win their first two NCAA Tournament games.
A four-point play by Lecomte put the Bears up 69-67. Lecomte, who hadn’t scored the entire game, scored eight points in 45 seconds to put the Bears up 73-67, and Baylor led the rest of the way.
Baylor will play the Duke/South Carolina winner in the Sweet 16 in New York.
The Trojans posted a school record with 26 wins and they have no senior starters. Coach Andy Enfield has reinvigorated the program since arriving on campus in 2013. Last season’s trip to the NCAA Tournament was the school’s first since 2011. The Trojans were trying to become the fourth team that played in the First Four to reach the Sweet 16.
The Bears got off to a 20-1 start and were ranked No. 1 in the country before reeling down the stretch. They got back on track in a 91-73 win over New Mexico State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. They went back to their recipe for success — physical dominance — by outrebounding the Trojans 34-23 on Sunday.
South Carolina 88, Duke 81: Sindarius Thornwell scored 24 points for the Gamecocks (24-10) in Greenville, S.C. Second seed Duke, a team some Las Vegas casinos considered the betting favorite going into the tournament, finished 28-9.
The Blue Devils joined Louisville on Sunday as No. 2 seeds upset in the second round. Both came from the ACC, which started the tournament with nine teams but now has only North Carolina.
The SEC has three with South Carolina, Kentucky and Florida.
Wisconsin rebounds: With his team in the midst of an ugly stretch that included five losses in six Big Ten games, Wisconsin coach Greg Gard noted the stress would toughen the players if they could work through the stretch and remain confident.
UW’s 65-62 victory over topseeded Villanova on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA East Regional showed Gard’s words to be prophetic.
“Just so excited and proud of these guys,” Gard said after UW advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive season. “Because they’ve had to battle through a lot this year as we’ve worked and grown through the season together.”
That growth has No. 8 UW (27-9) in the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals against No. 4 Florida (26-8) Friday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
UW assistant coach Lamont Paris, in his seventh season on the staff, said the growth was evident during the comeback against Villanova.