Bests
Going the distance
Spectacular shot.
Missouri freshman Marcus Denmon had the game’s most jaw-dropping basket, a swish from three-quarters court at the halftime buzzer to provide a 13-point lead over Memphis.
‘Nova sets record.
With its victory over Duke, Villanova set a school record with its 29th win.
Price is right.
Connecticut guard A.J. Price scored 10 of his 15 points after halftime in a win over Purdue.
Heart of a Lyons.
Missouri’s Leo Lyons was 11-for-18 from the foul line but made four straight in the final 1 1/2 minutes.
Worsts
Hot, then cold
An about-face.
Purdue’s Robbie Hummel, left, hit 6-of-12 shots and scored 15 points in the first half of a loss to UConn. In the second half he was 1-for-5 and missed all three of his shots from behind the arc.
Going cold.
Xavier missed its first 10 shots of the second half in a loss to Pittsburgh, killing its momentum after scoring the final seven points of the opening half to take a 37-29 lead at the break.
Losing from the line.
Memphis shot only 18-for-32 from the foul line in its loss to Missouri.
Associated Press photo
MAGIC NUMBER 12
Taking notice.
Arizona is a No. 12 seed in the Midwest Regional, by far the worst seed in the Sweet 16. But it didn’t take much for Kentucky coach Rick Pitino to get his players’ attention concerning the Wildcats (21-13).
He just had to show them some game films.
“If you watch Arizona, you can tell they’re loaded with talent,” Louisville senior forward Terrence Williams said Thursday. “They have three potential pros (forwards Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger and guard Nic Wise) on their team, great guys that know their roles.
“We don’t look at their record. They’re in the Sweet 16. They’re here for a reason.”
OUT ON THE BORDER
Self-policing?
Though not in specific reference to recent allegations of improper recruiting by Connecticut, Louisville coach Rick Pitino was asked Thursday during Midwest Regional interviews about the general landscape of recruiting in college basketball.
“The NCAA is sort of like the IRS, sort of like the Border Patrol — they do a good job, but they’re undermanned,” Pitino said. “The NCAA comes in when there’s a problem, and they do a great job of investigating a problem.
“But (coaches) have to police ourselves. There’s too many outside influences that infiltrate our game, that we, as coaches, have to stop.”
Tom Kensler, The Denver Post
