ST. LOUIS - Stanford guard Anthony Brown had no doubt that teammate Josh Huestis could put the clamps on Kansas forward Andrew Wiggins in the South Regional on Sunday.
“He’s tough,” Brown said of Huestis. “I know all his tricks. I knew he would make it difficult for him.”
With Huestis and the Cardinal’s 2-3 matchup zone completely shutting down Wiggins, Stanford rock-chalked the Jayhawks out of the NCAA Tournament as it posted a 60-57 upset at Scottrade Center.
Forward Dwight Powell scored 15 points, guard Chasson Randle contributed 13 and guard Anthony Brown and center Stefan Nastic each had 10 for Stanford (23-12). It will meet No. 11 Dayton on Thursday night in a bracket-collapse South Regional semifinal at FedEx Forum in Memphis.
But it was Huestis, a 6-foot-7 senior forward from Great Falls, Mont., who played a starring role with his defense on Wiggins. Expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in June’s NBA Draft by some experts, Wiggins paced Kansas in scoring this season at 17.4 points per game.
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However, Wiggins couldn’t shake free of Huestis. The Canadian managed just six shots from the field and made only one, finishing with as many points as turnovers - four.
“The first thing was I had to be as physical as I could without fouling him,” Huestis said. “I wanted to stay with him and make him uncomfortable. I think that after a while, he might have started to get frustrated and not take shots he normally would.”
Wiggins wasn’t the only Jayhawk to turn down or miss shots. Forward Perry Ellis went just 3-for-10 and scored only nine points. Guard Wayne Selden Jr. was only 1-for-5 from the field and managed two points.
With freshman center Joel Embiid (back) missing his sixth straight game, it meant none of Kansas’ top four scorers got to double figures.
Iowa State 85,
North Carolina 83
DeAndre Kane scored the decisive basket with 1.6 seconds left to cap a 24-point, 10-rebound, seven-assist effort as the Cyclones edged the Tar Heels in NCAA tournament round of 32 play at San Antonio.
Melvin Ejim scored 19 points and Dustin Hogue added 14 as third-seeded Iowa State (28-7) won the East regional contest to advance to face Connecticut in Friday's Sweet 16 contest in New York. Monte Morris tallied 13 points and Naz Long scored 12 for the Cyclones, who were without injured forward Georges Niang (ankle).
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Marcus Paige scored 19 points and Leslie McDonald added 18 for sixth-seeded North Carolina (24-10), which inbounded the ball after Kane's basket and tried to call timeout before the clock ran out, but an officiating review displayed that the timekeeper started the clock late and the contest was declared over. Kennedy Meeks had 15 points and 13 rebounds and James Michael McAdoo scored 14 points for the Tar Heels.
Tennessee 83, Mercer 63
Josh Richardson scored a career-high 26 points and Jarnell Stokes collected 17 points and 18 rebounds as the Volunteers dominated the undersized Bears in NCAA tournament Midwest regional action in Raleigh, N.C.
Antonio Barton scored 18 points and Jordan McRae added 14 as 11th-seeded Tennessee (24-12) won its third NCAA tournament game in five days to advance to the Sweet 16 against No. 2 seed Michigan on Friday in Indianapolis. The Volunteers outrebounded Mercer 41-19, including an 18-7 margin on the offensive glass.
UCLA 77,
Stephen F. Austin 60
Jordan Adams led the way with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists as the Bruins advanced to the Sweet 16 by defeating the Lumberjacks in San Diego.
Norman Powell contributed 16 points and three steals and Kyle Anderson had 15 points and eight boards for fourth-seeded UCLA (28-8), which will face top overall seed Florida on Thursday in South regional action. The Bruins had 21 assists on 29 field goals and committed only four turnovers.
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No. 12 seed Stephen F. Austin was coming off a thrilling upset against Virginia Commonwealth on Friday - its 29th straight win - but was simply outclassed by a UCLA team that has won seven of its last eight games. The Lumberjacks (32-3) were led by Thomas Walkup's 22 points and 11 rebounds while Desmond Haymon chipped in 17 points.
Baylor 85,
Creighton 55
Isaiah Austin and Brady Heslip scored 17 points apiece as the Bears routed the Bluejays in San Antonio to reach the Sweet 16 for the third time in five years.
Cory Jefferson and Kenny Chery each scored 14 points for sixth-seeded Baylor (26-11), which will face No. 2 seed Wisconsin in the West regional semifinal Thursday in Anaheim, Calif. Royce O'Neale added 10 points and eight assists as the Bears shot a blistering 63.8 percent from the floor and were 11-for-18 from 3-point range.
National scoring leader Doug McDermott was limited to 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting to lead No. 3 seed Creighton (27-8). Austin Chatman (11 points) was the only other player in double figures for the Bluejays, who entered the game leading the nation at 42.1 percent from 3-point range but went 5-for-24 from outside.
