0 8B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 24, 2003 MichiganDaiy.com/Pizza House Challenge NCAA MEN'S BASK E TBALL TOURNAMEFNT First Round March 20-21 Second Round March 22-23 Regionals March 27, 29 Regionals March 28, 30 Second Round March 22-23 First Round March 20-21 1 Kentucky 1 Kentucky 16 IUPUI ~1 Kentucky Pick the most winners and receive a party with 10 pizzas from Pizza House a regun 9 9 Utah 5 Ws co nsin 5 Wiscosin j :.:..,::.::..:...::.5 W isconsin : 13Tla 13 Tulsa Midwest 6 Missouri Minneapolis, 9 : ..... ...r... ....: ::... 6 M issouri 11 Southern Illinois 3 arquette :.:....:.::.:.::.:::.:::::..3 M arquette . t 7 Indiana 7Idaa 1Alabarna2Pitbrh 2 PPitsbburgh 22 Pittsburgh Texas 1 TX SoJ/UNC-Ash. 16 Louisana State 8 Purdue 9 Connecticut 5 Connecticut 5. Brigham Young 12 Connecticut 5 Stanford 4 Stanford 4 San Diego 13 FAMMMMMMM s South 1 Arizona Vermont 1 Arizona 8 Cincinnati _ _ _ __on 9 G zaga9 9? onaga 5 Notre Dame 55 Notre Dame Z411 WscMiakee ..j.West 4 nollinoi Not re Dame 4 ilin ois 13 West. Kentuckyest 6 Creighton Anafheim C 11~ ~~~1 CetihgnCentral Michigarn 3 Duke3 Duke 14 Colorado S 3 Duke 7 Memphis 110 Arizona State 2 KansasKana 2 Uasa Caf# Minn. F _ .......... .. - - - - --- - ----- - - ------- San Ant foniO,'2eras Maryland 6 Maryland 6 UNC- Wilmington 11 M aryland 6 :.. -.. -.. -........ ---,.. -. --. Xavier 3 Troy State 14 Michigan State 7 Colorado 10 Michigan State 7 FFlorida 2 Okkahoma 1 Oklahoma 1 n.: California 8 Caliorna 8North Carolina St. 9 Mississippi State 5 Butler 12 ButleBrter11 -E*B'""'r-12 East .. 13 . Albany, N Y . L."*y ~I t) r tV -1r r, > ' - ; U Oklahoma State 6 Syracuse 3 Syracuse 3,: Auburn 10: Auburn 10 Wake Forest 2 f. : Syracuse .3 Pen nsylva nia 11 OklahomaState 6 Manhattan 14 Auburn 10 Wake Forest 2 E. Tennessee St1 4. fry' l Q Ar Terps keep rolling with win over Xavier ASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - No need to beat the buzzer this time. Maryland is off on another run in the NCAA Tournament. The defending national champion Terrapins, who got a game-winning 3-pointer from Drew Nicholas in the most exciting finish of the first round, shut down David West early and beat Xavier 77-64 yes- terday to reach the round of 16 for the third straight year. "That shot gave us a lot of confidence coming into this game," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "But this was a totally different game, and we were playing great defense and turning it into offense." Nicholas and Ryan Randle scored 17 points apiece for sixth-seeded Maryland, which will play the winner of last night's Florida-Michigan State game in the South Regional semifinals Friday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Steve Blake, the most experienced player in the tournament, had nine points and nine assists as the Terrapins (21-9) shot 51.7 percent (30-of-58) from the floor. "We're the only team in the tournament who's the defending champs," Blake said. "We want to prove how good we are and make a name for ourselves." West, the three-time Atlantic 10 player of the year, finished with 22 points and nine rebounds for No. 3 seed Xavier (26-6), but most of it came way too late. "If Maryland is a sixth seed in this tournament, man, they're the best one I've seen," Xavier coach Thad Matta said. Just making the NCAA Tournament was the chal- lenge Williams gave his Terrapins this season after losing four starters - including Lonny Baxter, Juan Dixon and Chris Wilcox - from last year's champi- onship squad. The Terps came in with their lowest seed since a No. 7 in 1996. Now, they're in the round of 16 for the 13th time, and they want much more. "We felt like the Sweet 16 wasn't a really high expectation," senior Tahj Holden said. "The Final Four isn't a really high expectation. The national championship is our goal." Why not when Williams has plenty of experience left? He started four seniors with a combined record of 12-2 in tournament games Sunday. The Musketeers scored the first five points, but Maryland answered with a 19-4 run and led by as many as 20 points in the first half. Then Xavier almost made it interesting as West, held to 2-of-8 shooting in the first half, got going in the second. He hit the boards hard on the defensive end, start- ed driving to the basket and got Randle, Jamar Smith and Travis Garrison in foul trouble. West scored nine straight points to trim the lead to 54-44 with 12:21 left. The Musketeers kept whittling away as West either shot or passed off to teammates who could score. Romain Sato hit the first of two free throws at 6:06 to get Xavier to 60-57. That was as close as they got. Nicholas, whose fall-away 3 at the buzzer against North Carolina-Wilmington got the Terps into this game, answered with a 3-pointer from the top of key. "It was huge," Blake said. "They were making a great run at us, putting us on our heels. Drew came up and gave us a lot of confidence with that shot. We just went from there." That started Maryland on an 11-4 run, and Smith's layup with 3:20 to go made it 71-61. "We did a tremendous job getting back in the game, but we weren't sharp," Matta said. "Against Maryland, you have to be clicking every possession of the game." Sato finished with 17 points on 4-of-14 shooting, and Lionel Chalmers had 12. Xavier was trying for the school's second trip to the regional semifinals and first since 1990. The Musketeers shot themselves out of the game early, hitting 28.6 percent from the floor in the first half (8-of-28). "We dug ourselves a grave early," West said. "We let them get out and get going." With the early lead, Williams was able to rest his starters and liberally substitute from the bench, playing 10 of his 13 players. All but two had at least one basket in the first half. 1) Maryland guard Steve Blake scored nine points and had nine assists In the Terrap- Ins' 77-64 rout over Xavier to advance to the NCAA round of 16. McNamara leads Syracuse in victory BOSTON (AP) - Gerry McNamara never took his eye off the goal. His good eye, anyway. Bloodied by a blow to the head that sent him to the locker room in the second half, he returned to hit three big 3-pointers as Syra- cuse overcame a disastrous start and beat Oklahoma State 68-56 yesterday. "I don't think my right eye was working too good," McNamara said. "So I used the left eye to shoot. I had to concentrate a little more." The win achieved another goal - a berth in the round of 16. The Big East also came back from a shot - to its prestige - and went 8-0 in the first two rounds after only four of its teams were picked for the NCAA tournament. "Our players are playing with a chip on their shoulders," conference commissioner Mike Tranghese said. "No one had to say anything to them. They felt the league was second half until McNamara's 3-pointer made it 40-39 with 14:26 left. He was hit as he shot, left the game, and returned with a bandage above his nose. He went back into the game with 8:36 to go and Syracuse leading 47-43, and hit a 3-pointer that made it 50-43. Coach Jim Boeheim wanted him back even sooner - and told that to Syracuse per- sonnel on the bench - as sixth-seeded Okla- homa State (22-10) took a 43-40 lead a minute after his departure. "I'm not very patient with medical peo- ple," Boeheim said. "If he can walk, he's get- ting back in the game." McNamara and Carmelo Anthony, two of Syracuse's three talented freshmen, each missed all six of their shots in the first half. But McNamara finished with 14 points and Anthony added 13. McNamara hit three 3-pointers in the last 8:08, giving Syracuse leads of 50-43, 59-50 coach Eddie Sutton said. "The last half may have been one of the worst we've had all sea- son." Searching for a way to get back in the game, Boeheim shifted to "a desperation press" on defense. It worked as the Orange- men scored the last seven points of the half to trail by six. Oklahoma State could have had a much bigger lead if it didn't commit 13 turnovers and miss 17 of 30 shots in the half. "We just didn't convert easy baskets," said Melvin Sanders, who did a decent job guard- ing Anthony. "We ended up with 22 turnovers." Syracuse freshman Billy Edelin, who is overshadowed by Anthony and McNamara, had two outstanding halves - scoring 12 points in the first and eight in the second for a game-high 20. The Cowboys were led by Ivan McFarlin with 14 points and Victor Williams, whose ., .