JERSEY CITY, New Jersey - Top-seeded Kentucky hopes
history doesn't repeat when it meets Alabama-Birmingham in the
second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The schools last met 23 years ago in the second round and UAB
beat the favored Wildcats, 69-62. Kentucky (27-4) hopes to
avert the upset Sunday in the St. Louis Region at Columbus,
Ohio.
Second seeds Oklahoma State (28-3) and Mississippi State (26-3)
also play second-round games on Sunday.
Kentucky, which is seeking its ninth trip to the "Sweet 16" in
10 years, extended its winning streak to 10 games with a 96-76
victory over Florida A&M on Friday.
UAB (21-9), which is seeded ninth, managed to hang on for a
102-100 victory over Washington on Friday. However, the Blazers
have not won two games in the NCAA Tournament since the 1982
event.
The winner will face fourth-seeded Kansas (22-8) or 12th-seeded
Pacific (25-7), who will meet at Kansas City.
Kansas advanced to the Final Four each of the last two years
under former coach Roy Williams. Under coach Bill Self, the
Jayhawks rolled to a 78-53 rout of Illinois-Chicago in the first
round on Friday.
Pacific (25-7) owns the nation's longest current winning streak
at 16 games and is the lowest remaining seed in the tournament.
The Tigers posted an NCAA Tournament win for the first time
since 1971 with Friday's 66-58 upset of Providence.
Third-seeded Georgia Tech (24-9) will play sixth-seeded Boston
College (24-9) in the other St. Louis Region game Sunday. The
winner will face 10th-seeded Nevada, which upset second-seeded
Gonzaga on Saturday.
Oklahoma State blew a 17-point lead in a second-round loss to
Syracuse last season in the NCAA Tournament. The Cowboys will
face seventh-seeded Memphis (22-7) in a second-round game in the
East Rutherford Region at Kansas City. They last advanced to
the "Sweet 16" in 2000.
Oklahoma State won for the 18th time in 19 games, beating
Eastern Washington, 75-56 in a first-round game on Friday.
Memphis notched its first NCAA Tournament win since 1995 with a
59-43 triumph over South Carolina on Friday.
Third-seeded Pittsburgh (30-4) will face sixth-seeded Wisconsin
(25-6) in the other East Rutherford game at Milwaukee. Despite
being the lower seed, Wisconsin gets to play 75 miles from its
campus.
"I think with every system, it's not going to be perfect and we
don't expect it to be," Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. "You
just have to deal with that has been handed to you. Whether it's
the BCS or the NCAA Tournament, it's never going to be
perfect."
Wisconsin rode its partisan crowd to a stirring 76-64 comeback
victory over Richmond on Friday. The Panthers struggled to a
less impressive 53-44 victory over unheralded Central Florida.
Mississippi State will meet seventh-seeded Xavier in Sunday's
first game in the Atlanta Region at Orlando, Florida.
Mississippi State hopes to book its first trip to the "Sweet 16"
since its Final Four season of 1996. The Bulldogs cruised to
an 85-52 rout of Monmouth on Friday.
Xavier (24-10) has won seven straight and 14 out of 15 after
rallying for an 80-70 victory over Louisville on Friday.
The winner will play third-seeded Texas (24-7) in the regional
semifinals.
Fourth-seeded Cincinnati (25-6) will meet fifth-seeded Illinois
(25-6) in the second Atlanta Region game at Columbus, Ohio. The
winner will face top-seeded Duke in the regional semifinals.
Cincinnati struggled to an 80-77 win over East Tennessee State
while Illinois cruised to a 72-53 victory over Murray State in
the first round.
Third-seeded North Carolina State (21-9) hopes to have Scooter
Sherrill back in the lineup on Sunday when it faces No. 6
Vanderbilt (22-9) in the second round of the Phoenix Region at
Orlando.
Sherrill missed his fourth straight game with a muscle tear in
his ankle on Friday. The status of the senior guard, who
averages 10.7 points, will not be known until game time.
The winner will face Connecticut in the regional semifinals.