DALLAS -- Bucknell players and coaches talked all week about
coming to Dallas to play two games, an indication of how serious
they were about pulling off another first-round upset in the NCAA
tournament.
Still, just to be safe, the Bison did their sightseeing on
Thursday.
The precaution wasn't necessary. Bucknell is indeed sticking
around for the weekend following a 59-55 victory over Arkansas on
Friday.
Then again, maybe those brainy kids from the Patriot League were
merely being prudent with their scheduling. After all, they could
use the extra time Saturday to get ready for their second-round
matchup with top-seeded Memphis.
"We expected to beat Arkansas," senior guard Kevin Bettencourt
said. "I don't think this is too big of an upset."
The Bison (27-6) won for the 18th time in 19 games, although
they never had any like this. They were 11-of-21 on 3-pointers and
only 6-of-23 on 2-pointers, with only two inside the arc the entire
second half against the Razorbacks' bulky front line.
Bettencourt and Charles Lee led the way, combining for 42 points
and nine 3s. The workload might've caught up to them at the end,
though, because they missed three straight free throws in the last
half-minute, leaving it up to Abe Badmus to seal the victory.
Badmus hadn't taken a shot all game when he stepped to the line
with 7.9 seconds left. Saying he relied on muscle memory, Badmus
remained calm and made two free throws, providing the cushion
needed to send the Patriot League champions into the second round
for the second straight year.
"Hey, we held them to 37-percent shooting -- that's great
defense," Razorbacks coach Stan Heath said. "You can say we
didn't defend the 3, but about four were with 1 second, 2 seconds,
left on the shot clock, guys on them and they get it off, and it
goes in."
Memphis (31-3) advanced by beating Oral Roberts 94-78. The
Tigers are the top seed in the Oakland Regional; the Bison are
ninth.
Also in Dallas, 10th-seeded North Carolina State upset
seventh-seeded Cal 58-52 and second-seeded Texas held off pesky
Pennsylvania 60-52 to set up the other game Sunday. The winner
advances to the Atlanta Regional.
Arkansas (22-10) trailed Bucknell for most of the game. After
the deficit hit 10, the Razorbacks rallied to tie it at 55.
Ronnie Brewer, the SEC's leading scorer and son of the Hogs'
1978 tournament star Ron Brewer, missed a tying jumper with about
15 seconds left.
Bucknell's postgame celebration was more relief than the joy
seen following its stunning upset over Kansas last March, when the
Bison were a 14th seed.
At least this time players got to hear their own band play the
school's fight song. Last year's tournament berth was such a
surprise that the band already had made other plans for spring
break. All 28 made this trip, with one donning an oversized, orange
foam cowboy hat.
Oral Roberts (21-12) was leading Memphis by a point when
unheralded Andre Allen took over.
The 5-foot-10 guard known mostly for his penetration made three
3-pointers in a 2½-minute spurt, giving the Tigers the push they
needed to avoid becoming the first top seed to lose to a No. 16
seed.
"There's a star born in all of these games and today it seemed
to be Andre Allen," Memphis coach John Calipari said.
Conference USA player of the year Rodney Carney had 19 points to
lead five players in double figures for the Tigers (31-3), tying
the school record for wins set by the 1984-85 team that went to the
Final Four.
The Wolfpack (22-9) came into the NCAA tournament on a four-game
losing streak, the worst skid of any team in the field. To refocus
his club, coach Herb Sendek gathered a highlight film of the great
plays they made this season.
Cameron Bennerman was certainly paying attention -- especially to
the clip of him burying a clutch 3-pointer to force overtime
against Clemson back in January.
Bennerman faked a defender and made another 3 from nearly the
same spot on the right side of the arc, this time with 32.3 seconds
left, for the winning shot.
The senior swingman led the Wolfpack with 18 points. He scored
seven during a 16-4 run that began with N.C. trailing by six, then
made a tough 15-footer after the Golden Bears (20-11) rallied to
tie it at 50.
N.C. State did a terrific job neutralizing Cal sophomore Leon
Powe, holding him to 14 points and 12 rebounds.
"It always seemed there were people in the lane waiting for
me," Powe said. "They wouldn't allow me to get the ball where I
wanted and that made it tough."
The Longhorns (28-6) struggled to a one-point deficit at
halftime because they got zero points from their guards. Then
Daniel Gibson hit a 3-pointer to start the second half and slowly
but surely Texas got going.
"Coach talked to us about getting movement on the offensive
end," Gibson said. "He said it didn't look like we were having
fun."
Center LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 10 rebounds and P.J.
Tucker, the Big 12 player of the year, added 17 points and 12
rebounds.
The Ivy League champion Quakers (20-9) were only down a point
and had the ball when coach Fran Dunphy called timeout with 5:53
left, but couldn't pull it out.
Ibrahim Jaaber, the Ivy League's player of the year, shot
5-of-19 for 15 points.