College Basketball
Roundup: First loss is big for Saint Joseph's

By The Associated Press

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DAYTON, Ohio — Saint Joseph's first game as the nation's No. 1 team also was its first loss of the season, a shocking 87-67 collapse against unranked Xavier in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals yesterday.

The Hawks came in with a 27-0 record, three victories from becoming the first team since 1991 to enter the NCAA tournament undefeated. But they trailed Xavier by as many as 37 points, and the upset raises questions about how serious a contender the tiny Philadelphia school will be for the national championship.

The rout also tarnishes a magical run by a team that was one of the biggest surprises in sports this year, and it could cost Saint Joseph's a top seed in the NCAAs.

"I'm assuming that the televisions wherever that committee is meeting didn't work," Hawks coach Phil Martelli said. "This was our 20th game away from our own fieldhouse. We're 19-1 in those games. They (the committee) will understand that. The committee will do us right because of our body of work. Not 40 minutes."

It's the worst loss by a No. 1 team against an unranked team and equals the seventh-biggest loss by a top-ranked team. A partisan crowd began rubbing it in midway through the second half, chanting "Sloppy Joe's!"

Romain Sato led Xavier (21-10) with 24 points and 11 rebounds, Lionel Chalmers scored 23, and Anthony Myles had 19.

Saint Joseph's backcourt stars Jameer Nelson and Delonte West were held to 11-for-35 shooting and 16 points each.

The Musketeers all but claimed an NCAA berth, regardless of what happens in the remainder of the conference tournament.

"Going 3-1 against the Top 25, not a lot of teams can say that," coach Thad Matta said. "I believe we are one of the top 64 teams in the country."
 
Other men's games

No. 6 Pittsburgh 74, Virginia Tech 61 — In New York, Jaron Brown scored 20 points and Pittsburgh opened its defense of the Big East tournament title with a quarterfinal victory. Carl Krauser had 16 points for the Panthers (28-3), who will face Boston College in the semifinals.

Boston College 57, No. 19 Syracuse 54 — Jared Dudley made four free throws in the last 93 seconds and Boston College (23-8) overcame an 11-point deficit. Craig Smith led Boston College with 22 points. Gerry McNamara topped Syracuse (21-7) with 15.

No. 9 Connecticut 66, Notre Dame 58 — Ben Gordon scored 29 points and Connecticut overcame star center Emeka Okafor's absence in the Big East quarterfinals. The Huskies (25-6) advanced to the semifinals for the ninth straight year. Okafor did not play because of back spasms. Chris Thomas had 19 points for the Fighting Irish (17-12).

At No. 13 Cincinnati 64, Louisville 62 — Armein Kirkland's bank shot with 16.9 seconds left lifted Cincinnati (22-6) in the Conference USA quarterfinals. Francisco Garcia scored 28 for Louisville (20-9).

Colorado St. 60, No. 25 Air Force 48 — In Denver, Colorado State (13-15) took control with an 18-3 run to start the second half and hit 10 straight free throws in the final two minutes of the Mountain West tournament quarterfinal. Air Force (22-6) is 0-5 in the Mountain West tournament.

Villanova 69, No. 20 Providence 66 — In New York, Randy Foye scored 15 points and led a Villanova spurt of 11 straight points down the stretch in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. Jason Fraser led Villanova (16-15) with 17 points. Sheiku Kabba had 24 for Providence (20-8).

Saint Louis 72, No. 23 Memphis 61 — In Cincinnati, Izik Ohanon led a late 16-2 run that sent Saint Louis (18-11) into the Conference USA tournament semifinals. Reggie Bryant led Saint Louis with 18 points, and Ohanon had 14. Sean Banks scored 17 for Memphis (21-7).

Women's games

No. 2 Texas 63, No. 14 Baylor 59 — In Dallas, Stacy Stephens made a short fadeaway to seal the game with 35 seconds left, and Texas earned a second straight appearance in the Big 12 tournament championship game. Stephens finished with 16 points for the Longhorns (28-3). Sophia Young had 30 points and nine rebounds for Baylor (24-8).

No. 19 Oklahoma 78, No. 8 Kansas St. 66 — Maria Villarroel scored 23 points and Leah Rush added 18 as Oklahoma upset Kansas State (24-5) and earned a spot in the Big 12 title game. Kansas State's Nicole Ohlde scored 18 points and set the league record for career scoring (2,193).

Note

• The Big Ten Conference will receive $13.2 million this year from the NCAA's basketball fund. The Big 12 will get $10.9 million; Southeastern Conference, $10.7 million; Big East, $10.4 million; Pac-10, $10 million; Atlantic Coast Conference, $9.8 million; Conference USA, $4.9 million; and Atlantic 10, $4.4 million. The money comes from the NCAA's 11-year, $6 billion agreement with CBS Sports for the broadcast rights to the men's tournament. A conference's share is based on the number of tournament games played by its teams during the previous six years.

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