Harvard pulls off another upset
SPOKANE, Wash. — Those kids from Harvard are getting a passing grade when it comes to the first game of the NCAA Tournament.
Ask New Mexico last year. Ask Cincinnati now.
“I’ve heard this before where there really aren’t upsets anymore,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “There may be some surprises, but I just think when you’re looking at seeds and if you’re playing this time of year, you’re probably a pretty good basketball team.”
Siyani Chambers scored 11 points, including five straight in the final 2 minutes, and 12thseeded Harvard won its second NCAA Tournament game in history, upsetting Cincinnati 61-57 on Thursday.
Wesley Saunders led the Crimson (27-4) with 12 points as Harvard proved last year’s upset of New Mexico as a 14 seed was no fluke. The Crimson became the first Ivy League school with NCAA Tournament wins in consecutive years since Princeton in 1983-84. They will play either Michigan State in the third round.
Harvard never trailed after the opening moments. They played with confidence and scrap against the fifth-seeded Bearcats, who shared the American Athletic Conference regular season title. Sean Kilpatrick led Cincinnati (27-7) with 18 points, but the Bearcats failed to win a tournament game for the second straight year.
Connecticut 89, Saint Joseph's 81 (OT): At Buffalo, N.Y. — Shabazz Napier shook off a miss at the second-half buzzer to score nine of his 24 points in overtime and lead the seventhseeded Huskies to a win over the the Hawks.
DeAndre Daniels scored 18 while freshman center Amida Brimah forced overtime by completing a three-point play in the final minute for UConn (27-8). The Huskies won their first tournament game under coach Kevin Ollie, who took over two years ago after Jim Calhoun stepped down due to health issues.
With the game tied at 70 entering overtime, Daniels opened the scoring by completed a three-point play with 3:47 left during a 5-minute period the Huskies never trailed.
Langston Galloway scored 25 points for Saint Joseph’s (2410).
Michigan State 93, Delaware 78: At Spokane, Wash. — Adreian Payne scored a careerhigh 41 points to get the Spartans off to a solid start in the tourney with a victory over the Blue Hens.
Payne, a 6-foot-10 senior, scored 12 straight points in the first half to help the fourthseeded Spartans (27-8) to an 18point lead.
He set an NCAA Tournament record by making all 17 of his free throws and broke the program’s tournament scoring record, set previously by Greg Kelser in 1979.
Devon Saddler had 21 points and Davon Usher added 20 for the 13th-seeded Blue Hens (2510)
Villanova 73, WisconsinMilwaukee 53: At Buffalo, N.Y. — Darrun Hilliard scored 16 points, JayVaughn Pinkston added 13 and the Wildcats beat the Panthers.
The Wildcats (29-4), the No. 2 seed in the East Region, will play Connecticut in the third round.
No. 15 seed Milwaukee (2114), the surprise champion of the Horizon League, made it a game all the way, leading much of the first half before fading.