Kansas avoids massive upset
ST. LOUIS, March 15 (UPI) -- There were upsets aplenty on the opening day of the NCAA Basketball Tournament Thursday and there was almost one for the history books.
One No. 10 seed advanced to the second round, as did a No. 11, two No. 12s and a No. 13. And although no No. 16 seed has ever won a tournament game, one came close to doing so Thursday night.
Holy Cross frustrated top-seeded Kansas from the start to almost the finish, but finally wore down over the closing minutes as the Jayhawks escaped, 70-59. Kansas trailed with nine minutes remaining, but advanced in the Midwest Region and will meet Stanford in the second round.
"Everything looked bad," said Kansas Coach Roy Williams said. "But the kids didn't panic. Whether it's ugly or not, we're still playing."
"It feels like someone ripped out our hearts," said Holy Cross guard Ryan Serravalle said. "We said in one of the huddles in the second half we thought we'd make history together. We're not satisfied with moral victories."
Even though Kansas advanced, it may have to play its second round game without guard Kirk Hinrich. The team's second-leading scorer, Hinrich sprained his left ankle late in the first half and was on crutches the rest of the night. X-rays were negative, but he was unable to put pressure on his left foot.
Williams called Hinrich's ankle sprain, "severe."
There was no question in the other game involving a No. 1 seed Thursday night. Duke, which spent most of the season as the top-ranked team in the country, blasted Winthrop, 84-37.
Throughout most of the rest of the opening day, however, parity prevailed.
No. 10 (South Region) Kent State dominated from the start and downed Oklahoma State, 69-61; No. 11 Wyoming (West) put together a late spurt and surprised Gonzaga, 73-66; No. 12 Missouri (West)scored the game's first 12 points and disposed of Miami, 93-80; No. 12 Tulsa (East) nipped Marquette, 71-69; and No. 13 North Carolina-Wilmington (South), even though it let a 19-point lead get away, defeated USC in overtime, 93-89.
Alabama, Ohio State, Arizona and Stanford also came close to an unexpected early exit as the possibility of a wild tournament began to take shape.
In the South Region, Duke will meet Notre Dame in the second round after the Fighting Irish eliminated Charlotte, 82-63; North Carolina-Wilmington will face Indiana, a 75-56 winner over Utah; and Kent State will face Alabama after the Crimson Tide held off Florida Atlantic, 86-78. Florida Atlantic was tied with Alabama with six minutes remaining before the Tide went on a 10-0 run.
The only East Region second-round matchup determined Thursday will involve Tulsa and Kentucky. Tulsa advanced on running jump shot in the lane by Greg Harrington with 14 seconds to play while Kentucky had little trouble in downing Valpraiso, 83-68.
In the West Region, Missouri will next meet Ohio State, which had to fight off Davidson, 69-64; and Wyoming will play Arizona, which found itself in a battle before downing Santa Barbara, 86-81.
And in the Midwest Region, Stanford earned a second-round matchup with Kansas by defeating Western Kentucky, 84-68; and second-seeded Oregon will take on Wake Forest. Oregon whipped Montana, 81-62, while Wake Forest pulled away from Pepperdine, 83-74.
Woods shares Bay Hill lead
ORLANDO, Fla., March 15 (UPI) -- A month before The Masters, a handful of the world's best players, including Tiger Woods, put themselves in contention today during the first round of the Bay Hill Invitational.
Seeking his third straight win at the event hosted by Arnold Palmer, Woods shot a 5-under-par 67 and was tied atop the leaderboard with five others, including John Daly.
Among the elite players in the world, Woods has plenty of company as Sergio Garcia of Spain, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh of Fiji, South Africans Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, and David Duval all were within four shots.
Tied with Woods and Daly for the lead were Angel Cabrera of Argentina, John Huston, Steve Flesch and D.A. Weibring.
Knicks slow down Kings
NEW YORK, March 15 (UPI) -- Latrell Sprewell scored 43 points while making 17 of 26 shots Thursday night as the New York Knicks enjoyed their best quarter and half of the season en route to a 113-96 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Sacramento star Chris Webber was in street clothes with a dislocated right index finger and watched his friend end Sacramento's four-game winning streak.
Sprewell had 14 of the Knicks' season-high 38 points in the first quarter and added 10 in the second as New York built a 64-48 lead.
After the Kings got within 74-67 in the third quarter, Sprewell's three-pointer sparked a 12-0 run. Sacramento never got the deficit under double digits in the final period and fell to 3-1 on a five-game road trip that concludes Sunday in Toronto.
Mike Bibby had 21 points and Bobby Jackson and former Knick Doug Christie added 13 apiece for the Kings, who have lost 18 of their last 19 trips to Madison Square Garden. Webber also sat out last season's 88-86 loss at New York.
Other NBA results: Charlotte 100, Utah 82; San Antonio 91, Chicago 86; Portland 132, Dallas 106; Los Angeles Lakers 110, Golden State 102.
Edmonton snaps winless streak
OTTAWA, March 15 (UPI) -- Rem Murray scored the eventual game-winner in the first period and Tommy Salo made 20 saves Thursday night as Edmonton snapped a three-game winless streak with a 4-1 triumph over Ottawa.
After Anson Carter erased the Oilers' one-goal deficit 9:18 into the game, Murray got the go-ahead tally just under seven minutes later. Georges Laraque chased a dump-in deep into the Ottawa zone and backhanded the puck to Murray, who put a one-timer from the slot past goaltender Jani Hurme for his sixth goal.
Edmonton improved to 10
3 in the last 13 meetings with the Senators and also is unbeaten in its last six trips (5
1) to the Corel Center. Ottawa has not beaten the Oilers since a 4-3 overtime win on Jan. 18, 1994.
Making his first NHL appearance this season, Brian Swanson scored 5 1/2 minutes into the third period before Mike Comrie added an empty-netter, his 28th, in the final minute.
Andre Roy had the lone goal for the Senators, who have lost three of their last five games.
Other NHL results: Toronto 2, Boston 1; Vancouver 5, Columbus 1; Tampa Bay 3, Calgary 2; Atlanta 2, Colorado 0, Dallas 3, Montreal 3; Buffalo 3, Philadelphia 1; Los Angeles 2, St. Louis 1.
Butler wins NIT opener
INDIANAPOLIS, March 15 (UPI) -- Rylan Hainje scored 31 points and Joel Cornette recorded career highs with 14 rebounds and seven assists Thursday night as Butler pulled away to an 81-69, first-round NIT victory over Bowling Green.
One of the biggest complaints about the NCAA field when it was announced Sunday was the selection committee's decision not to include Butler.
Thomas Jackson added 18 points for the Bears (26-5), who used a decisive 12-4 run late in the second half to take a 70-60 lead with four minutes left and cruised thereafter.
Len Matela scored 31 points and Mid-American Conference player of the year Keith McLeod added 21 before fouling out with four minutes remaining for the Falcons (24-9), who were denied their first NIT victory since 1954.
In other NIT action, it was: Yale 67, Rutgers 65; Villanova 84, Manhattan 69; Memphis 82, N.C.-Greensboro 62; BYU 78, UC-Irvine 55.
Lions trim Johnnie Morton
DETROIT, March 15 (UPI) -- The Detroit Lions continued to revamp their receiving corps Thursday, releasing veteran Johnnie Morton and plucking free agent Bill Schroeder from the NFC Central Division-rival Green Bay Packers.
The Lions terminated Morton's contract rather than paying him a $1 million bonus that would have counted against the team's 2002 salary cap. The eight-year veteran also would have been paid a reported $5 million next season, although team spokesman Bill Keenist left open the possibilty of re-signing Morton.
In the meantime, the Lions were able to sign Schroeder and re-sign safety Lamar Campbell and guard Matt Joyce.
