REGIONAL ROUNDUP

GAME RECAP: At San Jose, Calif., after a rocky regular season, Quincy Pondexter and Washington are on a roll at exactly the right time.

The 11th-seeded Huskies rolled third-seeded New Mexico right out of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, as Pondexter had 18 points to lead an 82-64 victory over the Mountain West Conference regular-season champion.

Isaiah Thomas scored 15 for Washington (26-9), which has won nine straight, including the Pac-10 tournament and ousting two higher-seeded regional opponents.

The Huskies will play in the East semifinals at Syracuse, N.Y., on Thursday against the winner of today's game between No. 2 seed West Virginia and No. 10 Missouri.

Washington ran right past the Lobos (30-5), who could not keep up with the breakneck pace, falling behind by 23 points midway through the second half.

"We did a great job of forcing our tempo on them," said Pondexter, whose last-second tiebreaking shot beat Marquette on Thursday. "We wanted to show that we have another level of fast break and defensive intensity."

Already ahead 48-36, Washington scored nine straight points early in the second half, capped by Pondexter's layup. While Pondexter grinned and Thomas pounded his chest, New Mexico's Dairese Gary and Darington Hobson hunched over, breathless.

Gary tied his career high with 25 points and Hobson had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Lobos, who had a 15-game winning streak and a No. 8 ranking before losing the Mountain West tournament final to San Diego State.

QUOTE OF THE GAME: "They played the best game of their life tonight. They're not even that good. They just played a good game tonight. We weren't ready and they beat us." -- Hobson

NEXT FOR WASHINGTON: Second-seeded West Virginia (28-6) or 10th-seeded Missouri (23-10) at Syracuse, N.Y., Thursday, time TBA

Kentucky wallops Wake

GAME RECAP: At New Orleans, Darius Miller scored a career-high 20 points and top-seeded Kentucky made easy work of No. 9 Wake Forest with a 90-60 blowout.

Miller scored 16 points in the first half to help the Wildcats (34-2) build a double-digit lead that reached 31 in the second half. DeMarcus Cousins supplied 19 points, while John Wall scored 14 and Eric Bledsoe 13.

Kentucky, which advanced to the East Region at Syracuse, N.Y., ripped its first two tournament opponents by an average of 29.5 points, having beaten East Tennessee State 100-71 on Thursday.

Al-Farouq Aminu had 16 points for Wake Forest (20-11), which trailed by 16 at halftime and never mounted a credible comeback.

QUOTE OF THE GAME: "It was flashbacks to '96 -- a team that was so good we actually got mad if the other team touched the ball. That was a really spectacular win." -- actress Ashley Judd, Kentucky fan

NEXT FOR KENTUCKY: Fourth-seeded Wisconsin (24-8) or 12th-seeded Cornell (28-4) at Syracuse, N.Y., Thursday, time TBA

WEST REGION

Butler's win streak hits 22

GAME RECAP: At San Jose, Calif., Butler showed Murray State which small school almost always plays big in March.

Ronald Nored's three-point play snapped a tie and the fifth-seeded Bulldogs gained a 54-52 victory, preventing a second stunner by the 13th-seeded Racers in three days.

Nored scored 15 points and Gordon Hayward had 12 before making the decisive defensive play as Butler (30-4) extended the nation's longest winning streak to 22. The Bulldogs advanced to the West Region at Salt Lake City.

Butler reached the round of 16 for the second time in four years, but only after surviving a thriller against the big-hearted Racers (31-5), who beat fourth-seeded Vanderbilt on a buzzer-beater in the first round.

Isaiah Canaan scored 14 points and hit four 3-pointers for Murray State. Donte Poole of Las Vegas (Mojave) had five points, two rebounds and two assists in 14 minutes.

QUOTE OF THE GAME: "I think we just wanted it. I'm sure (Murray State) wanted it badly, too, but we all just dug in." -- Hayward

NEXT FOR BUTLER: Top-seeded Syracuse (29-4) or eighth-seeded Gonzaga (27-6) at Salt Lake City, Thursday, time TBA

SOUTH REGION

Saint Mary's stuns 'Nova

GAME RECAP: At Providence, R.I., center Omar Samhan had the game of his career, finishing with 32 points and seven rebounds to carry 10th-seeded Saint Mary's to a 75-68 upset of second-seeded Villanova and on to Houston for the Sweet 16.

Samhan (6 feet 11 inches, 260 pounds) played perhaps the best game of anyone in the NCAA Tournament thus far. His 32 points were one shy of his career high, and he made 13 of 16 shots.

Mickey McConnell banked in an arcing 25-footer to give Saint Mary's a 68-65 lead with 1:15 remaining. Samhan used a two-handed block to turn back Reggie Redding and McConnell hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to make it 70-65.

The sold-out crowd was well behind the Gaels (28-5), who will play third-seeded Baylor (27-7) in the South Region semifinals Friday.

Villanova (25-8) made an early exit a year after it reached the Final Four. The Wildcats started 20-1, then collapsed.

Scottie Reynolds, who put Villanova in the Final Four last year with a last-second basket against Pitt, was a big reason the Wildcats are going home early. He made 2 of 11 shots and scored eight points after going 2-for-15 against Robert Morris in the first round.

Tears streamed from Reynolds' eyes and his lips trembled as he tried to put the loss and his career in perspective.

"There's no shame in losing," he said. "We came up against a great opponent in a Saint Mary's team who just had our number. We're going to hold our heads up high."

QUOTE OF THE GAME: "Did it really happen? We won? For real?" -- Samhan

NEXT FOR SAINT MARY'S: Third-seeded Baylor (27-7) at Houston, Friday, time TBA

No. 3 Baylor repels ODU

GAME RECAP: At New Orleans, LaceDarius Dunn scored 26 points, and third-seeded Baylor outlasted No. 11 Old Dominion, 76-68.

The Bears (27-7) squandered a 14-point first-half lead but went on a late 8-1 run to pull away. Now they will head back to their home state to play 10th-seeded Saint Mary's in Houston.

Baylor struggled to beat Sam Houston State in the first round for its first NCAA Tournament victory since 1950, but the Bears arrived loose and confident Saturday, taking a big lead with a barrage of 3-pointers and alley-oops.

After the Monarchs (27-9) rallied to take the lead in the second half, Baylor got a lift from 7-footer Josh Lomers, who tied a career high with 14 points, 12 after halftime.

QUOTE OF THE GAME: "We needed (Lomers) to come through for us. I think you saw a senior who didn't want to play his last game." -- Baylor coach Scott Drew

NEXT FOR BAYLOR: Tenth-seeded Saint Mary's (28-5) at Houston, Friday, time TBA

MIDWEST REGION

Tennessee dismisses Ohio

GAME RECAP: At Providence, R.I., Tennessee reached the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years, as J.P. Prince scored 18 points and Scotty Hopson 17 to lead the sixth-seeded Volunteers to an 83-68 victory over No. 14 Ohio.

The Volunteers (27-8) dominated inside, outscoring the Mid-American Conference champions 58-12 in the paint. Brian Williams and senior forward Wayne Chism had 12 rebounds apiece, and Bobby Maze had nine assists.

Tommy Freeman scored 23 points for Ohio, which was the lowest seed to get out of the first round. But the Bobcats (22-15) didn't get enough from guards Armon Bassett and D.J. Cooper, who starred in the first-round victory over third-seeded Georgetown. They combined for 23 points on 7-for-23 shooting against Tennessee.

QUOTE OF THE GAME: "I've been (to the Sweet 16) twice already and came up short twice. I'm happy to be back on that stage again, and I just can't wait to get there." -- Chism

NEXT FOR TENNESSEE: Second-seeded Ohio State (28-7) or 10th-seeded Georgia Tech (23-12) at St. Louis, Friday, time TBA