Bests
Crucial shots in the clutch
Good when it counted most.
Brandon Knight missed his first seven shots for Kentucky and was held scoreless — until he made a driving layup with two seconds left to give the Wildcats the win over Princeton.
Buzzer beater.
Juan Fernandez sank an off-balance 18-footer with less than a second to play to give Temple a 66-64 win over Penn State.
Triple threat.
Kemba Walker had a career-high 12 assists, scored 18 points and had eight rebounds in UConn’s 81-52 win over Bucknell.
Denver Post staff and wire services
Worsts
One rough schedule
Not quite a level playing surface.
Shame on the NCAA for making Clemson, which played the second first-round game Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio, travel to Tampa, Fla., and play Thursday’s first game of the day — about 39 hours from one tip to the next.
No chance.
Bucknell entered its game against UConn on a 10-game winning streak and a 19-1 mark in its last 20. It proceeded to allow 25 consecutive points at one point in an 81-52 loss.
Shooting gone bad.
Belmont shot 37 percent overall and made only 6-of-22 3-pointers in its loss to Wisconsin.
Denver Post staff and wire services
On tap
Game of the day
No. 8 UNLV vs. No. 9 Illinois
7:20 p.m., TBS: Illinois has underachieved this season but still has the talent to make some NCAA noise in the Southwest Regional. These teams are extremely closely matched, with the big difference being the Illini are proficient from 3-point range (38.7 percent) and UNLV isn’t (33.1).
Also
EAST REGIONAL
No. 8 George Mason vs. No. 9 Villanova
12:10 p.m., TNT: Villanova stumbles into the tourney having lost five in a row and nine of 13.
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 16 Texas-San Antonio
2:40 p.m., TNT: UTSA won the play-in game, so this NCAA trip has been a positive.
No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 15 Long Island
5:15 p.m., KCNC-4: LIU isn’t big, which means UNC’s frontcourt should dominate. LIU can hit the 3-pointer, though, and that is its only chance.
No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 11 Marquette
5:27 p.m., TRU: Xavier guard Tu Holloway will be the best player on the floor.
No. 7 Washington vs. No. 10 Georgia
7:45 p.m., KCNC-4: Washington wants to run, and Georgia wants to control the tempo.
No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 14 Indiana State
7:57 p.m., TRU: Syracuse forward Rick Jackson, the only player in the Big East who averages a double-double, should have a big day.
Syracuse’s Rick Jackson averages 13.0 points and 10.6 rebounds. Getty Images
SOUTHWEST REGIONAL
No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 15 Akron
11:40 a.m., TBS: Akron played just one team that made the NCAA field and lost by 35 to Temple. The Zips are going to be hard-pressed to keep the Irish’s perimeter players in check.
No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Florida State
2:10 p.m., TBS: FSU allows foes to shoot just 36.4 percent from the floor; A&M’s opponents hit 41.1. It’s a safe bet that if one team can score 60, that team is going to win.
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 Boston University
4:50 p.m., TBS: BU swingman John Holland is one of the best low-major players in the nation. He averages 19.2 points, but if stymied, it’s going to get ugly.
No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 14 Saint Peter’s
5:20 p.m., TNT: Purdue center JaJuan Johnson should have his way inside.
No. 6 Georgetown vs. No. 11 VCU
7:50 p.m., TNT: The Hoyas expect star guard Chris Wright to play; he broke a bone in his left hand Feb. 23, and the Hoyas were 0-4 without him.
WEST REGIONAL
No. 4 Texas vs. No. 13 Oakland (Mich.)
10:15 a.m., KCNC-4: Oakland is a trendy pick to pull the upset because of good 3-point shooting (37.9 percent) and the presence of senior center Keith Benson (18.0 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 3.6 blocks).
No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 9 Tennessee
10:40 a.m., TRU: Hmm, a first-round NCAA tourney game with 27 combined losses. It’s like a bowl game in which each team is 6-6. Michigan played well down the stretch, but Tennessee did not.
No. 5 Arizona vs. No. 12 Memphis
12:45 p.m., KCNC-4: The biggest story line here is that Memphis coach Josh Pastner is a former Arizona player and assistant, and at one time, he was seen as the future Wildcats coach. Instead, he was swept out in the aftermath of the Lute Olson saga.
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Hampton
1:10 p.m., TRU: Guards Kwame Morgan and Darrion Pellum have combined to take more than half of Hampton’s field-goal attempts, so you can bet Duke’s guards will be all over that duo.
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