Texas hooks ’em

March 29, 2008 02:04 am

— Associated Press

HOUSTON— Stanford’s big guys were no match for the small, medium and jumbo sizes of the Texas Longhorns.
Little D.J. Augustin set the tempo, 299-pound Dexter Pittman pounded and pestered Brook Lopez and the rest of the Longhorns chipped in as Texas defeated Stanford 82-62 Friday night in an NCAA South Regional semifinal.
The victory sends the Longhorns into Sunday’s regional final against the winner of the Michigan State-Memphis game.
Mixing their inside and outside games, the Longhorns (31-6) took control early. Still, they were up only 52-51 after Lopez did everything but dribble the ball up the court to rally the Cardinal (28-8).
Texas answered with a 20-3 run, punctuated by several plays that sent the heavily pro-Longhorns fans to their feet. Most were by Augustin, but Pittman also contributed by using his girth to throw Lopez off stride.
Lopez was so frustrated that on one play he was trying to signal officials to call three seconds on the humongous guy while also trying to play defense.
Lopez had 24 of Stanford’s first 48 points, but finished with 26 and 10 rebounds.
Augustin, playing before lots of family in his adopted hometown, had 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds. He scored eight points during the game-breaking run and everyone knew this one was over when he fed Damion James for a dunk so electrifying that he began celebrating on his way down.
Davidson 73, Wisconsin 56
DETROIT — Stephen Curry knocked down yet another 3, thumped his chest and pointed skyward.
Heavens yes, Davidson is marching on.
Curry scored more than 30 points for a third straight game, and the 10th-seeded Wildcats pulled off another stunner, rolling over third-seeded Wisconsin to advance to the Midwest Regional finals.
Davidson (29-6) extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 25. The Wildcats will play top-seeded Kansas for a trip to the Final Four.
A week after shredding Gonzaga and Georgetown’s vaunted defenses, the son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry dismantled the Badgers and defensive specialist Michael Flowers. Curry outscored the Badgers all by himself in the second half, 22-20.
Wisconsin (31-5) was holding opponents to 53.9 points, best in the nation, and hadn’t allowed Kansas State a single 3-point basket in the second round.
Davidson looked right at home inside the monstrous Ford Field venue. The school’s Board of Trustees provided free bus fare, tickets and a hotel room for students who wanted to make the 11-hour ride from North Carolina, and a few hundred took them up on the offer.

Kansas 72, Villanova 57
DETROIT — The Kansas Jayhawks toyed with Villanova, throwing alley-oop passes off the backboard and raining 3-pointers from all over the court without breaking a sweat.
Brandon Rush scored 16 points, Russell Robinson had 15 and top-seeded Kansas routed the 12th-seeded Wildcats 72-57 Friday night to earn a spot in the Midwest Regional final.
The Jayhawks (34-3) will be a huge favorite to end 10th-seeded Davidson’s stay in the NCAA tournament and advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2003.
Kansas coach Bill Self is in the regional finals for the fifth time — at three schools — since 2000 and is a win away from no longer being regarded as the best coach without a Final Four on his resume.
Villanova (22-13) had to know the night was doomed when star guard Scottie Reynolds shot an airball and missed another try on the opening possession of the game.

Memphis 92, Michigan St 74
HOUSTON — Vulnerable? Not exactly.
The mighty Memphis Tigers humiliated Michigan State and embarrassed all those naysayers who suggested they were the most suspect of the top seeds in this year’s NCAA tournament.
The final score Friday night: Memphis 92, Michigan State 74, but really, it was worse than that.
Next up in the South Regional, a game Sunday against Texas with a trip to the Final Four on the line, though the message on this overwhelming night was clear: Don’t mess with Memphis.
“Everyone picked us to lose. We were the upset special,” Memphis coach John Calipari said. “That was us. We were going to get outplayed, outcoached, outskilled, outhustled, out-this, out-that, and we can’t shoot free throws.”
Freshman Derrick Rose will play at least one more college game after a 27-point, five-assist night that showed he’s ready for the NBA. He exited early in the second half with a cut on his forehead that required medical attention.

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