Wisconsin sent packing
Al Horford and the defending champion Florida Gators are headed back to the round of 16, three wins from a shot at a second straight NCAA title.
They'll have one less high-seeded opponent standing in their way after Wisconsin was sent home Sunday by a UNLV squad led by the father-son duo of Lon and Kevin Kruger.
"From Day 1, we've talked about putting UNLV back on the map," guard Kevin Kruger said.
Super freshman Kevin Durant and the Texas Longhorns were also relegated to spectators after being routed by Southern California. Durant, the front-runner for national player of the year, sidestepped questions after the loss about whether he'd leave college for the NBA.
"I don't think that's an appropriate question right now," Durant said. "I'm just worried about this team and what we can be next year as a team."
Coming off a national title, the veteran Gators knew they'd be in position to make another run. Their tournament experience paid off against plucky Purdue as Horford and Corey Brewer each scored 17 points and Florida (31-5) withstood a game effort by the Boilermakers 74-67 in the Midwest Regional.
"We knew we had to make plays down the stretch to win," said Brewer, who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Purdue played just about how it wanted against the Gators — slowing down the tempo, rebounding with a smaller lineup and keeping the game close much of the way. But the top-seeded Gators never panicked and made several clutch shots down the stretch.
Horford, who added nine rebounds, had three big buckets in the final minutes, and Brewer hit a spinning jumper and then made six consecutive free throws to seal Florida's 14th consecutive postseason win.
"I guess they felt like they were going to make Al score 1-on-1," Brewer said. "They made a bad decision."
Carl Landry led Purdue (22-12) with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Florida, hoping to become the first team to repeat as champions since Duke in 1992, will take on fifth-seeded Butler (29-6) in St. Louis on Friday. The winner will face whoever comes out of the matchup between UNLV (30-6) and Oregon (28-7).
The Runnin' Rebels stunned No. 2 seed Wisconsin 74-68 as the Badgers (30-6) became the highest-seeded team to lose in the tournament, so far.
"There will be some doubters. Some people will say we were lucky, but we don't really care," Kevin Kruger said. "We're going to the Sweet 16 and nobody can argue with that."
Wisconsin's Kammron Taylor sank a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play with 59 seconds to go to get the Badgers within three at 70-67. Curtis Terry had a free throw and a little jumper in the lane to give the Runnin' Rebels a five-point cushion with 29 seconds to go.
"It took a team to go 10-for-20 from '3' to get us out," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "And to their credit, they were able to do that."
Kruger, who transferred from Arizona State to play his final season for his father, delivered. After his three 3-pointers, he was fouled on another long-range attempt and made all three free throws to make it 64-56 with a little more than 3 minutes left.
"I kept telling him, 'You are going to make some shots,"' said Wendell White, who led UNLV with 22 points. "He did. That's what happened."
At Spokane, Wash., Aaron Brooks scored 22 points and third-seeded Oregon smothered Winthrop to eliminate the last remaining double-digit seed from the NCAA tournament with a 75-61 victory.
The 11th-seeded Eagles (29-5), who upset Notre Dame in the first round, lost for the first time in 20 games to end their most successful tournament in seven tries.
The Ducks were 11-for-23 shooting from 3-point range, and Tajuan Porter, the shortest man on the floor at 5-foot-6, scored 14 points. He hit his first four shots of the second half, all from long range, in the game's decisive spurt. The win sent Oregon into the round of 16 for the first time since 2002.
