Sweet 16: Duke out; Butler wins; UConn & Florida survive

UConn's Kemba Walker scored 36 points in yet another dynamic postseason performance, driving #3 Connecticut down the stretch in the West regional semifinals Thursday night to a 74-67 victory over #2 San Diego State that put the Huskies on the brink of another Final Four. Walker sliced up the Aztecs' defense for 22 points on shots from all angles and distances in the second half.




Florida faced the same situation and the same team as a year ago. They also faced the same great scorer – BYU’s Jimmer Fredette, but this time, the #2 Gators produced a much different result on Thursday night in the Southeast regional semifinals with the #3 Cougars, winning 83-74 in overtime. A year after losing to the Cougars in double overtime in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Florida outscored BYU 15-6 in OT to advance to the Elite Eight for the third time in six seasons. The Gators' Alex Tyus and Kenny Boynton both played starring roles Thursday – Tyus for his 19 points and career-high 17 rebounds, and Boynton for his dogged pursuit of Fredette all night. Fredette scored a game-high 32 points, but he made just 11 of 29 shots and missed 12 of his 15 three-point attempts.




In the other West regional semifinal, Derrick Williams carried Arizona in the first half by scoring 25 of his career-high 32 points, helping the #5 Wildcats dominate #1 Duke, 93-77 to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 2005. His teammates returned the favor in the final 20 minutes with an offensive barrage that stunned the defending national champions. The top-seeded Blue Devils were sent packing from a regional semifinal for the second time in three years. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, with 900 wins, will have to wait until next season to resume his pursuit of Bob Knight's record as the winningest men's coach in Division I history. As for Arizona, they will face the #3 Connecticut Huskies in the West regional final this Saturday night at 6:55 pm ET in Anaheim, CA.




For the second time in school history, #8 Butler has advanced to the Elite 8 with a 61-54 win over #4 Wisconsin in the Southeast regional semifinal of the NCAA tournament. Butler's senior Matt Howard scored 20 points along with junior Shelvin Mack, who added 13 points of his own. In the Southeast regional final, the #8 Bulldogs will play the #2 Florida Gators this Saturday afternoon at 4:20 pm ET in New Orleans, LA.