WORCHESTER
Mich. St. 89
ODU 81
WORCESTER, Mass. – The only goal in a first-round NCAA Tournament game is to survive and advance. Which is just about all Connecticut accomplished yesterday.
After a lethargic trip to New York where the Huskies struggled to beat Georgetown and lost to Syracuse in the semifinals of the Big East Conference Tournament, coach Jim Calhoun assured UConn nation on Thursday that his team was ready to pursue a second straight nation title.
“There’s no reason for me to believe over a period of time in New York City that we lost all that we had gained during the season,” he said. “I’m very confident that we’ll go out and play basketball.”
For 20 minutes yesterday, the Huskies played passionate, impressive ball, opening a 43-26 lead. And then Connecticut reverted to the inconsistent, uninspired team that finished the year.
They allowed the Golden Knights of Central Florida to close to within 68-62 with 3:38 left and needed consecutive inside buckets by Josh Boone and Brooklyn’s Charlie Villanueva (22 points, seven rebounds) to hold on to a 77-71 win.
“If we continue to play like this, and continue to play 10, 11 minutes a game like we’ve done the last three games it could be a very quick tournament for us,” acknowledged Boone.”
N.C. State 75, Charlotte 63
Julius Hodge atoned for the lowest moment of his college career in a big way.
Hodge had 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds Friday to lead North Carolina State over Charlotte in the first round of the Syracuse Regional in Worcester, Mass.
Andrew Brackman had 16 points, Ilian Evtimov and Cameron Bennerman each had 12 and Engin Atsur 10 for the 10th-seeded Wolfpack (20-13), who limited the 49ers (21-8) to 38.1 percent shooting and shut down their perimeter game in the second half.
Mich. St. 89, ODU 81
The fifth-seeded Spartans couldn’t pull away until the final minutes, when Shannon Brown made a spinning layin to start a three-point play that helped Michigan State beat Old Dominion.
Michigan State (23-6) managed to avoid a second consecutive first-round exit and instead gave coach Larry Izzo, whose NCAA record is second only to Mike Krzyzewski’s, his 20th tournament win. The Spartans will face 13th-seeded Vermont, which beat Syracuse 60-57 in overtime to advance to the second round of the Austin Regional.
– with AP