UCLA sends No. 1 seed packing

Never count out UCLA in the NCAA tournament.

A hot-and-cold regular season or so-so seeding don't seem to mean a thing to the Bruins in March, and Sunday they reached the round of 16 by knocking off Cincinnati, the West Regional's No. 1.

Playing with the sense of purpose that 11 previous UCLA teams displayed en route to national titles, the No. 8-seeded Bruins weathered two thrilling overtimes to upset the Bearcats 105-101.

The Bearcats never before had a top seeding in the NCAAs and became the first No. 1 team sent home this year.

Another surprise Sunday was No. 11 seed Southern Illinois' 77-75 win over No. 3 Georgia in the East as the Salukis join Missouri (12th in the West) and Kent State (10th in the South) to put three teams with double-digit seedings in the final 16, the same total as in 2001.

The Big 12 leads all conferences with four teams (Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri) -- up from one last year -- while the Pac-10 has three still in it (Oregon, Arizona, UCLA). The ACC, Big Ten and Big East each have two.

In a smaller-scale surprise, sixth-seeded Texas let a 23-point lead shrink all the way to two before beating No. 3 Mississippi State 68-64 in the Midwest.

Also in the Midwest, fourth-seeded Illinois topped No. 12 Creighton 72-60, with Frank Williams scoring 20, all in the second half.

The East's No. 1, Maryland, had no problem at all with No. 8 Wisconsin, setting a school mark for NCAA tourney margin of victory by winning 87-57 as Juan Dixon scored 29 points.

Another East game saw No. 2 Connecticut slip past No. 7 North Carolina State 77-74.

In the West, second-seeded Oklahoma defeated No. 7 Xavier 78-65.

And in the South's lone game Sunday, third-seeded Pittsburgh held No. 6 California scoreless for about 10 minutes and won 63-50.

West

UCLA 105, CINCINNATI 101

UCLA (21-11) rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half, then outscored Cincinnati 15-11 in the second overtime. It's the first time since 1986 that a single NCAA tournament had two games go to two OTs.

The Bruins were led by Dan Gadzuric's career-high 26 points, while Jason Kapono added 19.

"We've been up and down all season," said UCLA forward Matt Barnes, who scored all 17 of his points after halftime and had 11 assists. "Especially with the high expectations we've had. But we usually get hot at tourney time."

Leonard Stokes had a career-high 39 points, but All-American Steve Logan was held to 18 on 6-of-18 shooting for the Bearcats (31-3), who have lost in the second round five times in six years.

Oklahoma 78, Xavier 65

Sticking mostly to outside shots, Aaron McGhee scored 11 of Oklahoma's first 18 points and finished with 25, helping the Sooners (29-4) win their 10th straight game.

Xavier's David West, a second-team All-America, scored only one basket the first 17 minutes, but Romain Sato kept the Musketeers (26-6) in it with 16 points early.

Midwest

TEXAS 68, MISSISSIPPI ST. 64

Texas (22-11) was up 34-11 about 7 minutes before halftime, but the Longhorns didn't put away the Bulldogs (27-7) until Deginald Erskin's three-point play with 1:52 to go.

Texas is in the final 16 for the first time since 1997.

Illinois 72, Creighton 60

Williams, 7-of-10 in the second half, also had five assists and five rebounds for the Illini (26-8), who are 16-6 at the United Center since it opened in 1994. Creighton (23-9) -- which shocked Florida in double overtime in the first round -- never has won a second-round NCAA game.

East

MARYLAND 87, WISCONSIN 57

The Terrapins (28-4), a Final Four team in 2001, reached the third round for the sixth time in nine years. All-American guard Dixon was 10-for-19 from the field, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range, and 5-of-6 on free throws.

Charlie Wills scored 17 for Wisconsin (19-13), which tied for the Big Ten regular-season title.

Connecticut 77, N.C. St. 74

Butler was 10-for-13 from the field and 12-for-12 on free throws for UConn (26-6), the 1999 national champion. Anthony Grundy had 17 points on 5-for-17 shooting for the Wolfpack (23-11), who were making their first NCAA appearance since 1991.

South

PITTSBURGH 63, CALIFORNIA 50

Pitt (29-5) held California (23-9) without a point for 9 1/2 minutes during a decisive 16-0 run. Julius Page scored seven of his 17 points during that spurt.

Cal shot 31 percent overall.