WASHINGTON — Back at his alma mater, back in the NCAAs, Bob Huggins looked and sounded just like the Bob Huggins everyone remembers.
He yelled. He groused. He drew an early technical foul. And he willed his No. 7-seeded West Virginia past second-seeded Duke.
Playing tough man-to-man defense, grabbing what seemed like every loose ball, West Virginia used Joe Alexander’s 22 points and 11 rebounds and all sorts of contributions from unlikely sources for a 73-67 victory over Duke on Saturday, getting to the NCAA Tournament’s round of 16 in Huggins’ first season.
“His passion, his lack of fear, is something we try to put out on the court,” said Alex Ruoff, whose 17 points included a 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer that tied the game at 37 in the second half.
While the Mountaineers (26-10) will face No. 3-seeded Xavier in Phoenix on Thursday, the Blue Devils (28-6) must deal with a second consecutive early exit.
Every year from 1997 through 2006, Duke was a participant in the round of 16. It’s a stretch that featured three trips to the Final Four and the 2001 national championship. But now coach Mike Krzyzewski’s team is on a two-year drought, having bowed out in the first round in 2007.
Xavier 85, Purdue 78
C.J. Anderson and Drew Lavender each scored 18 points, and Josh Duncan had 16 to fuel No. 3 seed Xavier’s victory.
The Musketeers (29-6) shot 54 percent in breaking the single-season school record for wins.
UCLA 53, Texas A&M 49
ANAHEIM, Calif.Darren Collison scored the go-ahead basket on a one-handed layin with 9 1/2 seconds remaining, and Josh Shipp contested Donald Sloan’s final drive as the region’s No. 1 seed held on for a victory.
Kevin Love had 19 points and 11 rebounds — his 21st double-double — and UCLA (33-3) overcame the combined 3-of-14 shooting of Shipp and Russell Westbrook.
Sloan led the Aggies (25-11) with 12 points.
