TAMPA, Fla. — Except for the final two seconds, the Kentucky freshman Brandon Knight would rather forget his N.C.A.A. tournament debut. Knight missed all seven shots he took until making the game-winning layup just before the buzzer in Kentucky’s victory against Princeton on Thursday.
Knight came into Saturday’s game against West Virginia with a much different approach. It showed.
Knight scored a career-high 30 points to lead the fourth-seeded Wildcats past No. 5 West Virginia, 71-63, in the Round of 32 in the East Region.
“I felt confident,” Knight said. “My teammates continued to have faith in me even though I didn’t play such a great game” on Thursday, he added. Knight made his first shot — a 3-pointer in the opening minutes — and never let up. He had 16 of Kentucky’s 33 first-half points.
Kentucky (27-8) advanced to Friday’s regional semifinals in Newark against the winner of Sunday’s game between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 8 George Mason.
Besides leading his team to the Round of 16 for the second straight season, Kentucky Coach John Calipari also won for only the second time in 10 meetings against teams coached by West Virginia Coach Bob Huggins. Calipari and Huggins are such close friends that Calipari was among the first people not related to him to visit Huggins in the hospital after he had a heart attack in 2002.
“You don’t want to play against friends,” Calipari said. “ You want to play against people you don’t like.”
The senior guard Joe Mazzulla paced West Virginia with a career-high 20 points, but he had only 5 after halftime.
RICHMOND 65, MOREHEAD ST. 48, Richmond, a private university of 2,750 students in Richmond, Va., is no stranger to surprise advances in the N.C.A.A. tournament. It is the only program to win games while seeded No. 12, 13, 14 and 15, and it now has eight victories when seeded 12th or lower.
But Richmond’s victory over Morehead State at the Pepsi Center in Denver sent the 12th-seeded Spiders to the Round of 16 for only the second time. The first was in 1988.
This may be Richmond’s best team of all. The Spiders never trailed against No. 13 Morehead State, a spunky team that upset No. 4 Louisville in the tournament’s biggest upset so far. Richmond slowed the pace and controlled Kenneth Faried, Morehead State’s leading scorer and one of the top rebounders in N.C.A.A. history.
The Spiders (29-7) will bring a nine-game winning streak to the Southwest Regional in San Antonio, where on Friday they will play the winner of Sunday’s game between top-seeded Kansas and No. 9 Illinois.
“We’re not going to get too excited for whoever we’re going to play,” forward Kevin Smith said. “We’re great under pressure and should be able to handle whatever.” JOHN BRANCH
FLORIDA 73, U.C.L.A. 65 The last two times Florida defeated U.C.L.A., the Gators ended up winning a national title. The Gators may not win it all this season, but they moved a step closer with a victory against the Bruins in the Round of 32 in Tampa, Fla.
The biggest reason for Florida’s win was the Gators’ smallest player: the 5-foot-8 junior guard Erving Walker, who scored 21 points as the Gators ended U.C.L.A.’s season for the third time in the past six seasons. Walker scored 10 of the Gators’ final 12 points as second-seeded Florida pulled away in the final minute to advance to the Round of 16 for the first time since winning the 2007 national title.
Walker hit Florida’s biggest shot Saturday. After U.C.L.A. cut its deficit to 66-65, Walker drilled a 3-pointer with 1 minute 14 seconds remaining, sparking a closing 7-0 run.
“It was a good look and I felt that would have been a good shot for me to take,” Walker said.
Florida (28-7) advanced to Thursday’s Southeast Region semifinals in New Orleans against B.Y.U.
The game was tight throughout as neither team led by more than 4 points until the final six minutes, when Florida made consecutive 3-pointers, the latter by Erik Murphy with 5:59 remaining. BRETT McMURPHY
B.Y.U. 89, GONZAGA 67 Brigham Young fans chanted the rare refrain of “Sweet 16” and the familiar chorus of “You got Jimmered” after the Cougars’ win over Gonzaga in Denver, sending the legend of Jimmer Fredette — his first name now a verb — on to New Orleans for the Round of 16.
Brigham Young’s national championship hopes are back on solid footing after the turmoil of the past few weeks. The Cougars used their altered, smaller lineup to rout Gonzaga.
“We might have been as good as we’ve been all year,” Coach Dave Rose said.
Fredette, the fearless shooter who led the nation in scoring, had 34 points, and B.Y.U.’s lineup of guards and swingmen were too hot and spry for the much bigger Bulldogs.
“They were just falling tonight,” Fredette said of his shots. “Sometimes that happens.”
The Cougars shot 52.5 percent, including 14 for 28 from behind the 3-point line — sometimes, in the case of Fredette, far behind it. He made 7 of 12 3-pointers, some from about 30 feet.
B.Y.U. (32-4) will play Florida in the Southeast Regional semifinals in New Orleans. JOHN BRANCH
WISCONSIN 70, KANSAS ST. 65 By the time two seasons came to a head at the McKale Center in Tucson, Wisconsin guard Jordan Taylor had long since lost the much-anticipated battle with Kansas State’s Jacob Pullen.
His worst collegiate moment was juxtaposed with the best from Pullen, who sought revenge and nearly found it all by himself during a dazzling display of two-way dominance. But when Pullen pulled up for a 3-pointer with two seconds left that would have tied their N.C.A.A. tournament Round of 32 game, Taylor picked the perfect time for some retribution.
He closed quickly on Pullen, blocking the shot and capping a Badgers victory that sent them to the Round of 16 and ended Pullen’s illustrious career on a painful note.
With 19 seconds remaining and fourth-seeded Wisconsin ahead of the fifth-seeded Wildcats by 64-63, Pullen lost control of the ball on the break and kicked it into the crowd. Forward Jon Leur was fouled, and he made two free throws to extend the Badgers’ lead to 66-63.
Pullen seemed to have one final answer, though, taking the ball from Will Spradling at the top of the key and drawing contact from Taylor on his 3-point attempt. He made the first attempt, but missed the second, then converted the third. Kansas State was forced to foul, and Taylor was sent to the line. He converted both attempts with 10 seconds remaining, then finished with his late block on Pullen. SAM AMICK
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