A first-round flop no more, Arizona showed Loyola-Maryland how merciless a team with something to prove can be.
After two straight years of first-round exits, the ninth-ranked Wildcats came out ready this time, routing the Greyhounds 81-55 Friday. The second seed in the West, Arizona led by as many as 29 points, and coach Lute Olson kept three of his starters in the game until less than two minutes remained."In the past we lost in the first round, and I didn't want it to happen again," said Khalid Reeves, a senior who led the Wildcats with 32 points. "Now we have a game to play on Sunday. We can't relax."
"We knew they would come out fired up because of what happened the last two years, and they did," Loyola coach Skip Prosser said.
The Wildcats (26-5) play seventh-seeded Virginia in Sunday's second round.
Loyola (17-13), seeded 15th and making its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, never stood a chance against the Wildcats' speedy three-guard lineup. Reeves scored 19 in the first half, and point guard Damon Stoudamire finished with 16.
The Wildcats forced a fast tempo and used the fast break to take a 17-point halftime lead. They went on to shoot 52 percent in the second half.
Reeves made seven of his 12 first-half attempts. He and two other starters, Stoudamire and Joseph Blair, didn't leave the game until the 1:40 mark, despite Arizona's 27-point advantage.
Arizona coach Lute Olson said the Wildcats came out aggressively on defense and held to their plan to keep Loyola off the free throw line.
"We wanted to make them score baskets over us," Olson said.
The hapless Greyhounds, led by Tracy Bergan's 17 points, scored only 22 first-half points and shot 24 percent for the game. Loyola's first basket of the second half didn't come until the 15:50 mark, when Milton Williams made a 3-pointer to make it 49-25.
"Our offensive inefficiency led to our demise," Prosser said. "We couldn't give up cheap baskets like that and expect to survive against Arizona."
Louisville 67, Boise St. 58
Clifford Rozier's 18 points helped third-seeded Louisville hold off an impressive second-half rally by 14th-seeded Boise State.
The Cardinals (27-5) got a scare from Boise State (17-13), which used six 3-pointers in the second half to storm back from 22 points down.
After being behind 49-27 with 12:21 to play, the Broncos started to come back with an 11-0 run. Then J.D. Huleen's fourth 3-pointer of the game and one by Damon Archibald cut the deficit to 56-49 with 3:21 remaining.
Two more 3-pointers by Shambric Williams made it 60-55, and his three-point play cut Louisville's lead to four with 29 seconds to go, but Greg Minor hit three free throws and a basket after that to seal the win.
Louisville will meet Minnesota in Sunday's second round.
With four starters 6-foot-6 or taller, the Cardinals used their size and quickness to dominate the Broncos, whose 7-footer, John Coker, was outmuscled inside by the 6-9 Rozier.
Rozier was 8-for-12 from the field, had 14 rebounds and two blocked shots. Jason Osborne added 13 points, and Dwayne Morton and Minor each had 11.
Minnesota 74, S. Illinois 60
Voshon Lenard scored 18 points and Arriel McDonald 15 as Minnesota beat Southern Illinois in the first round of the NCAA West Regional.
Minnesota (21-11), seeded sixth, plays Louisville on Sunday. The Gophers, who went on a 20-0 run in the first half, had a balanced attack that featured 12 points by Chad Kolander.
The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak for the 11th-seeded Salukis.
Chris Lowery led error-prone Southern Illinois (23-7) with 19 points, and Chris Carr added 14. Guard Paul Lusk was held to seven, well below his season average of 15.4.
Trailing 16-6, the sixth-seeded Golden Gophers went on their big run for a 26-16 lead with 4:35 left in the first half. The Salukis didn't score for nearly 10 minutes, and committed 10 turnovers.
But Southern Illinois scrapped back, and the Gophers needed a pair of free throws from McDonald and one from Ernest Nzigamasabo for a 34-30 halftime lead it never relinquished.