A quick 9-2 run in the first two minutes of the half pushes the Rebels up nine, 61-50, as the 'Cocks call timeout.
Ackles makes two free throws and a short jumper. Waldman hits a three on a dish from Johnson who follows with a pair of free throws as the Rebels make it a 70-50 contest with fifteen to play.
Showing a little fight, South Carolina gets back to within twelve with ten minutes to play, trailing 82-70.
A 13-6 run by UNLV makes it 95-76 with four minutes to play putting the game away.
UNLV 110, South Carolina 86
Larry Johnson 20 pts, 13 rebs, 5 asst Anderson Hunt 19 pts Greg Anthony 17 pts, 8 asst George Ackles 14 pts Evric Gray 11 pts
Jameer Nelson 18 pts, 7 rebs Delonte West 13 pts, 9 rebs, 5 asst Tyrone Barley 11 pts Dwayne Jones 4 pts, 9 rebs
5 - Illinois vs 12 - Ohio State
The Buckeyes led 46-42 at the break.
Five minutes into the half, Ohio State held on to their lead with a 57-52 advantage. But a Dee Brown scoop shot and a Luther Head three-pointer knotted it up 57-all with fourteen minutes to go.
A 10-4 run pushed Illinois out to a 67-61 lead with ten minutes to play.
A Smith dunk and back-to-back buckets from Brown made it 73-61 Illini.
The Buckeyes never made a run after that.
Illinois 90, Ohio State 68
Luther Head 23 pts Deron Williams 14 pts, 5 rebs, 6 asst Roger Powell 13 pts, 8 rebs James Augustine 11 pts, 9 rebs Dee Brown 10 pts, 6 asst
Scoonie Penn 23 pts, 7 rebs, 9 asst, 5 stls Michael Redd 13 pts
4 - Duke vs 13 - Indiana
Duke led 59-49 at the break.
Indiana scored the first five points of the second half to cut the lead to 59-54 just four minutes into the second.
The teams traded buckets for the next four minutes and a Damon Bailey and-one score made it 71-65 with thirteen minutes to play.
They battled back-and-forth for the next nine minutes and a Meeks turnaround with four minutes to go made it a 90-84 game with Duke up.
A Laettner three put Duke up 96-88 with three minutes to play, but Chris Reynolds made an open shot to close the Hoosiers to within six.
Duke countered with a Laettner jumper, a Thomas Hill and-one score, and a Laettner layup to go up 13 and put the game away.
Duke 107, Indiana 94
Christian Laettner 34 pts, 8 rebs, 4 stls Thomas Hill 18 pts, 5 rebs, 6 asst Grant Hill 15 pts, 12 rebs, 4 asst Bobby Hurley 9 pts, 9 asst
Damon Bailey 20 pts Eric Anderson 15 pts Alan Henderson 11 pts Todd Leary 11 pts Matt Nover 10 pts Greg Graham 10 pts Chris Reynolds 5 pts, 8 asst
Second portion of first round coming later
Isn't it a little racist to call it Black Friday? - Joy Behar
A quick 9-2 run in the first two minutes of the half pushes the Rebels up nine, 61-50, as the 'Cocks call timeout.
Ackles makes two free throws and a short jumper. Waldman hits a three on a dish from Johnson who follows with a pair of free throws as the Rebels make it a 70-50 contest with fifteen to play.
Showing a little fight, South Carolina gets back to within twelve with ten minutes to play, trailing 82-70.
A 13-6 run by UNLV makes it 95-76 with four minutes to play putting the game away.
UNLV 110, South Carolina 86
Larry Johnson 20 pts, 13 rebs, 5 asst Anderson Hunt 19 pts Greg Anthony 17 pts, 8 asst George Ackles 14 pts Evric Gray 11 pts
Jameer Nelson 18 pts, 7 rebs Delonte West 13 pts, 9 rebs, 5 asst Tyrone Barley 11 pts Dwayne Jones 4 pts, 9 rebs
5 - Illinois vs 12 - Ohio State
The Buckeyes led 46-42 at the break.
Five minutes into the half, Ohio State held on to their lead with a 57-52 advantage. But a Dee Brown scoop shot and a Luther Head three-pointer knotted it up 57-all with fourteen minutes to go.
A 10-4 run pushed Illinois out to a 67-61 lead with ten minutes to play.
A Smith dunk and back-to-back buckets from Brown made it 73-61 Illini.
The Buckeyes never made a run after that.
Illinois 90, Ohio State 68
Luther Head 23 pts Deron Williams 14 pts, 5 rebs, 6 asst Roger Powell 13 pts, 8 rebs James Augustine 11 pts, 9 rebs Dee Brown 10 pts, 6 asst
Scoonie Penn 23 pts, 7 rebs, 9 asst, 5 stls Michael Redd 13 pts
4 - Duke vs 13 - Indiana
Duke led 59-49 at the break.
Indiana scored the first five points of the second half to cut the lead to 59-54 just four minutes into the second.
The teams traded buckets for the next four minutes and a Damon Bailey and-one score made it 71-65 with thirteen minutes to play.
They battled back-and-forth for the next nine minutes and a Meeks turnaround with four minutes to go made it a 90-84 game with Duke up.
A Laettner three put Duke up 96-88 with three minutes to play, but Chris Reynolds made an open shot to close the Hoosiers to within six.
Duke countered with a Laettner jumper, a Thomas Hill and-one score, and a Laettner layup to go up 13 and put the game away.
Duke 107, Indiana 94
Christian Laettner 34 pts, 8 rebs, 4 stls Thomas Hill 18 pts, 5 rebs, 6 asst Grant Hill 15 pts, 12 rebs, 4 asst Bobby Hurley 9 pts, 9 asst
Damon Bailey 20 pts Eric Anderson 15 pts Alan Henderson 11 pts Todd Leary 11 pts Matt Nover 10 pts Greg Graham 10 pts Chris Reynolds 5 pts, 8 asst
Connecticut takes a 40-38 lead into the halftime locker rooms.
It's a neck-and-neck battle through the early stages of the second half with Kentucky leading 62-61 with ten minutes to play.
After a Jeremy Lamb triple gives the lead back to the Huskies, the 'Cats roll off nine straight points on a Doren Lamb free throw, a Darius Miller three, a Lamb triple, and an Anthony Davis reverse.
The Huskies never made up any ground after that.
Kentucky 81, UConn 71
Anthony Davis 21 pts, 14 rebs, 4 blks, 4 stls Marquis Teague 17 pts Darius Miller 14 pts Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 11 pts, 8 rebs
Kemba Walker 32 pts Roscoe Smith 12 pts, 6 rebs Jeremy Lamb 8 pts, 5 rebs, 6 asst Alex Oriakhi 7 pts, 10 rebs
3 - Georgetown vs 14 - NC State
Georgetown carried a 49-37 advantage into the break.
Four minutes into the second half, they extended their lead to 10.
Still up ten with ten to play.
Never got close.
Georgetown 97, NC State 82
Patrick Ewing 18 pts, 12 rebs, 7 blks Reggie Williams 15 pts, 6 rebs Michael Jackson 14 pts, 10 assts David Wingate 12 pts Horace Broadnax 12 pts Bill Martin 11 pts, 7 rebs
David Thompson 19 pts Monte Towe 19 pts, 6 asst Phil Spence 12 pts, 6 rebs Tommy Burleson 10 pts, 7 rebs
ELITE EIGHT
Iowa State vs UNLV
Illinois vs Duke
Florida vs Houston
Kentucky vs Georgetown
Isn't it a little racist to call it Black Friday? - Joy Behar
Stacey Augmon 29 pts, 10 rebs, 7 asst Anderson Hunt 29 pts Larry Johnson 28 pts, 6 rebs, 3 asst, 4 blks Greg Anthony 10 pts, 11 asst George Ackles 10 pts, 6 rebs
Marcus Fizer 22 pts Michael Nurse 20 pts Paul Shirley 10 pts, 6 rebs Kantrail Horton 10 pts Jamaal Tinsley 3 pts, 8 asst
(5) Illinois - (4) Duke
Duke took a 48-42 lead into halftime.
Four minutes into the second half, the Illini had cut the Duke lead to three, but the Blue Devils extended it back to ten with ten to play.
But a 13-6 Illinois run over the next three minutes made it a 75-72 contest with seven minutes to go.
Antonio Lang makes two free throws. 77-72 Duke Cherokee Parks hits a turnaround jumper. 79-72. Parks hits a bank. 81-72. Laettner hits two free throws. 83-72. Laettner hits the front end of a one-and-one, but misses the second. 84-72 Duke with four minutes to play.
Illinois never recovers.
Duke 91, Illinois 78
Christian Laettner 25 pts, 6 rebs Grant Hill 13 pts, 8 rebs, 7 asst Antonio Lang 13 pts Brian Davis 11 pts, 7 rebs Cherokee Parks 11 pts Bobby Hurley 8 pts, 7 asst
Luther Head 21 pts Dee Brown 16 pts Roger Powell 12 pts 9 rebs Deron Williiams 12 pts, 5 asst
(7) Florida - (2) Houston
Florida led 38-36 at the break.
Five minutes into the second, they lead 50-46 but score the game's next four points to jump out to an eight-point advantage.
The Gators extended that lead to eleven at the midpoint of the second half.
Six minutes later, Houston cut the advantage to four at 80-76.
That's as close as they'd get.
Florida 91, Houston 82
Corey Brewer 21 pts, 5 rebs, 5 asst Al Horford 16 pts, 5 rebs Walter Hodge 15 pts Taurean Green 12 pts
Akeem Olajuwon 19 pts, 13 rebs Michael Young 13 pts Clyde Drexler 12 pts, 11 rebs Larry Micheaux 10 pts reid Gettys 0 pts, 9 asst
(6) Kentucky - (3) Georgetown
Kentucky took a 32-30 lead into the locker rooms at the half.
A Patrick Ewing dunk seven minutes into the second half gave the Hoyas a 42-41 lead.
they clung to a one-point advantage until Grady Mateen hit two free throws, Horace Broadnax hit a driving layup, and Reggie Williams nailed a jumper to make it 52-45 with ten to go.
Four minuts later, the Wildcats closed to 58-57, but back-to-back buckets by Bill Martin, one of them a three, made it 62-57. Darius Miller drains a jumper. 62-59. And-one bucket by Martin. 65-59. Anthony Davis makes two free throws. 65-61. Tip-in by Martin, two free throws from David Wingate. 69-61 with three to play.
7 to 4 G'town from that point on.
Georgetown 76, Kentucky 65
Bill Martin 22 pts, 5 rebs Patrick Ewing 11 pts, 16 rebs, 5 blks David Wingate 10 pts Reggie Williams 9 pts, 9 rebs Michael Jackson 2 pts, 9 asst
Anthony Davis 20 pts, 8 rebs, 8 blks Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 15 pts, 9 rebs Darius Miller 15 pts Marquis Teague 6 pts, 6 asst
FINAL FOUR
(4) Duke vs (1) UNLV (7) Florida vs (3) Georgetown
Isn't it a little racist to call it Black Friday? - Joy Behar
