BYU, San Diego State advance to Sweet Sixteen; No. 1 seed Pittsburgh upset
DENVER — Look out Big Easy. Here comes The Jimmer.
Jimmer Fredette scored 34 points Saturday to lift third-seeded Brigham Young to an 89-67 victory over 11th-seeded Gonzaga and send the Cougars to New Orleans for the regional semifinals.
It will be BYU's deepest trip in the NCAA tournament since 1981, the year Danny Ainge went coast to coast against Notre Dame for a last-second game-winner — a play that still holds a special place in BYU's rich sports history.
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In other games:
White, Leonard lead Aztecs past Temple in 2 OTs
TUCSON, Ariz. — One last burst of magnificent athleticism finally did it for San Diego State. Billy White had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard sealed San Diego State's exhausting, 71-64 double-overtime victory against Temple with a steal and a slam dunk in a third-round NCAA tournament thriller on Saturday. White sank the go-ahead jumper and Leonard made two free throws as the second-seeded Aztecs (34-2) finally put away the pesky Owls (26-7).
Upset special: Butler beats Pittsburgh 71-70
WASHINGTON — Matt Howard made one free throw with 0.8 seconds left to cap a wild final sequence, and Butler added another amazing victory to its list of NCAA tournament upsets, eliminating top-seeded Pittsburgh 71-70 Saturday.
No. 12 seed Richmond knocks off Morehead St, 65-48
DENVER -- Richmond plays the role of favorite pretty well, too. The program, which made its name by bouncing everyone from Barkley to Boeheim out of the tournament over the decades in a string of upsets, defeated No. 13 seed Morehead State 65-48 on Saturday to advance to the round of 16 for the first time since 1988.
Walker stands tall, Gators eliminate UCLA 73-65
TAMPA -- Erving Walker backpedaled toward midcourt, jumped as high as he could and pulled the inbound pass away from Malcolm Lee's outstretched hands. Walker dribbled a few times, peaked over his shoulder to see how close Lee was and then launched a 3-pointer. It felt as good as it looked. Walker scored 21 points and made several clutch shots down the stretch, none bigger than that 3 with 1:14 remaining, as Florida beat UCLA 73-65 in the NCAA tournament Saturday.
Knight scores 30, Kentucky beats West Virginia
TAMPA -- It didn't take Brandon Knight long to build an impressive resume in the NCAA tournament. A game-winning shot in the closing seconds of his debut. A career-best 30 points in his next game, helping Kentucky back into the round of 16. Two days after his only basket helped the fourth-seeded Wildcats survive their tourney opener against Princeton, Knight led an 11-0 run coming out of halftime and made six free throws in the final minute to close out a 71-63 victory over fifth-seeded West Virginia.
