Massachusetts is proof a gaudy record doesn't have to mean impressive wins.
The top-ranked Minutemen held off ninth-seeded Stanford 79-74 Saturday in the second round of the NCAA tournament. It certainly wasn't one to keep for the tape collection, but it did move Massachusetts on to Thursday's East Regional semifinals in Atlanta against Arkansas, a 65-56 winner over Marquette."You have to understand we're not the kind of team that beats people by 50 points," Massachusetts coach John Calipari said. "We haven't been all year. We're a grind-it-out basketball team."
The grinding this time came after Stanford (20-9) had managed to erase a 13-point deficit with seven minutes to play, getting within 75-74 with 52 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Dion Cross.
Donta Bright's foul-line jumper with 31 seconds left restored the lead to three points. Stanford freshman Peter Sauer, who had been one of the keys to the comeback, missed a 3-pointer from the left side with 15 seconds left, ending the Cardinal's run at a major upset.
"You can look at it like `It's a freshman,"' Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said of Sauer's miss. "I'd like Dion to shoot my 3s if I have a choice. We got a clean look at the basket and Pete at that point was 5-of-6 from the floor. Hey, it was the shot that they were going to give up."
Although All-American center Marcus Camby was saddled with foul trouble, the Minutemen turned a 33-31 halftime lead into a 66-53 lead with 7:06 to play as the frontline finally established itself against the smaller but stronger Cardinal.
Camby, who played 29 minutes, finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and seven blocked shots.
Arkansas 65, Marquette 56
A rebuilding year for Arkansas is way ahead of schedule.
The Razorbacks (20-12), decimated by losses of key players before and during the season, got strong performances from four freshman to beat Marquette and reach their fourth straight NCAA regional semifinal.
Fourth-seeded Marquette (23-8) raced to a 25-15 lead after 12 minutes. But the Golden Eagles let the game slip away as they shot poorly against an aggressive defense.
Marquette sank a season-low 27 percent of its shots, making only 15-of-56. It was even worse in the second half, when the Golden Eagles were 6-for-29 and went without a field goal for the last 8:59 except for Aaron Hutchins' meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Arkansas' freshman leaders were Bradley with 12 points, Derek Hood and Marlin Towns with 11 each and Kareem Reid with six points, nine assists and three steals.