CLEVELAND, 21 March 2005 — Twelfth-seeded University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee pressed on in the US college NCAA tournament Saturday, pulling off their second upset in three days, an 83-75 win over Boston College in the second round.
Given little chance in the opening round against Alabama from the SEC or against the Big East’s regular-season champions, Milwaukee (26-5) gave the nation’s mid-major programs another moment to savor this March.
They did it the way know best: with a relentless, full-court press that forced the Eagles (25-5) into 22 turnovers.
Milwaukee will play Illinois on Thursday in the Chicago Regional in Rosemont, Illinois.
Illinois 71 Nevada 59
In Indianapolis, James Augustine scored a career-high 23 points and Jack Ingram added 12 more in the top-seeded Illini’s victory. Augustine also grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked four shots and had two steals.
Illinois’ famed guard trio of Deron Williams, Dee Brown and Luther Head combined for 31 points, but most came late in the game as the big guys took center stage. Williams scored five points on free throws down the stretch.
The Illini (34-1) reached the regional semifinals for the second straight season and fourth time in the last five seasons.
Kevinn Pinkney led the Wolf Pack (25-7) with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Mo Charlo added 12.€
Arizona 85 UAB 63
In Boise, Idaho, Salim Stoudamire made five 3-pointers and had 28 points, and Arizona never buckled under Alabama-Birmingham’s constant pressure defense.
Arizona (29-6) struggled with UAB’s frenetic, trapping defense in the first half, but had just four turnovers in the second to reach the round of 16 for the 12th time. The Wildcats, the 1997 national champions, advanced to Rosemont, Illinois, next weekend and will face either Oklahoma State or Southern Illinois, which play Sunday in Oklahoma City.
Arizona shot 52 percent from the field and made 18-of-23 from the free throw line, including 12-of-15 in the second half when UAB picked up the pressure.
UAB (22-11) played its usual helter skelter pace and gave the Wildcats problems at times, but couldn’t seem to turn mistakes into points. The 11th-seeded Blazers made just 6-of-30 from 3-point range — their forte — and shot 32 percent overall. Donell Taylor scored 13 points for the Blazers and Demario Eddins added 12.
Texas Tech 71 Gonzaga 69
In Tucson, Arizona, Bob Knight’s Texas Tech Red Raiders rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to advance to the semifinals of the Albuquerque Regional.
Ronald Ross sank a 3-pointer from the corner to put sixth-seeded Tech (22-10) up 68-67 with 1:06 to play, then sealed the victory by making both halves of a one-and-one with 7.5 seconds remaining.
Ross and Knight hugged in the final seconds as it became obvious that a Knight-coached team would make it to a regional semifinal for the first time since 1994. Ross scored 24 points and backcourt mate Jarrius Jackson added 18 points.Third-seeded Gonzaga (26-5) made an early exit with a high seed for the second year in a row. The Zags were the No. 2 seed a year ago and lost to Nevada in the second round. Adam Morrison had 25 points and nine rebounds for Gonzaga.
