Duke, Cal, Cornell, Wisconsin share common threads in NCAA tournament

Jacksonville NCAA survivors have plenty in common

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Take your pick: Duke, California, Cornell or Wisconsin?

Any of the four teams remaining in Jacksonville could serve as a model for NCAA tournament success, with each boasting talented guards, several seniors and plenty of tournament experience. They also have extra motivation that comes from ending recent NCAA tournaments sooner than they wanted.

Those common threads helped propel them to wins in the opening round Friday.

The No. 1 seed Blue Devils, behind seniors Jon Scheyer and Lance Thomas, dominated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 73-44. California seniors Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson carried the eighth-seeded Golden Bears past Louisville 77-62.

No. 12 seed Cornell, the Ivy League champions who have eight seniors living in the same house, upset Temple 78-65. And fourth-seeded Wisconsin used 19 points and some big plays from senior guard Trevon Hughes to edge Wofford 53-49.

Cornell (28-4) and Wisconsin (24-8) advanced to the second round of the East Regional. Duke (30-5) and Cal (24-10) will meet in the South Regional.

“It’s a great opportunity for us,” Cal coach Mike Montgomery said. “I mean, everybody watches them, everybody is going to watch that game or be aware of the fact that Duke is playing, so it’s a tremendous opportunity for us. … I think it’s just a great opportunity for us as much as anything else.”

The Bears showed all sorts of resiliency in beating the Cardinals (20-13).

That disappointing loss in the Pac-10 tournament? Getting sent across the country to open the NCAA tournament? The suspension of a starter? The Golden Bears overcame all of them and didn’t flinch when the Cardinals cut into double-digit leads twice.

“It’s a new seasons for us,” Christopher said. “Regardless of what’s happened, we’ve put it in the past. … The time to play well is now.”

Randle and Robertson scored 21 points apiece, Christopher added 17 points and eight rebounds, and the Bears responded to everything Louisville could muster.

They jumped out to an 18-point lead, watched Louisville whittle it down to six, then pulled back out front by 14. They endured a few anxious moments as the cushion got cut to 62-58 with 6:55 remaining, then stepped on the gas for good. Cal closed it out with a 15-4 run.

“They were determined to come out ready to play,” said Bears coach Mike Montgomery, whose team was eager to play better than it did in last year’s first-round loss to Maryland.

Duke has similar feelings after failing to get beyond the first weekend twice in the last three years.

The Blue Devils led from start to finish against play-in winner Arkansas-Pine Bluff (18-16). Kyle Singler had 22 points and had 10 rebounds, and coach Mike Krzyzewski picked up his 11th 30-win season.

“This was a springboard for us. We were limiting them to one shot and rebounding well,” Thomas said. “If we continue doing that we’ll beat anybody in the tournament.”

The Blue Devils have made 10 trips to the Final Four under Krzyzewski, though none since 2006. Duke survived a first-round scare against Belmont two years ago, and Krzyzewski and his players were determined to set the tone for what it hopes will be a strong run with a sharp performance.

“I thought we handled both halfs really well,” Krzyzewski said. “It wasn’t a sloppy game.”

Wisconsin enjoyed an even cleaner game, finishing with just four turnovers against undersized Wofford (26-9). The Badgers, who have advanced past the second round just once in the last four years, relied on defense for this victory.

Jon Leuer followed a huge jump shot with an even more critical steal on the other end. He also hit two free throws to seal it.

Cornell secured its billing as the best team to come out of the Ivy League in more than a decade against Temple.

Down to their last chance to experience success on college basketball’s biggest stage, seniors Ryan Wittman, Louis Dale and Jeff Foote paced the school to its first win in five NCAA appearances.

Temple (29-6) lost in the first round for the third straight year under coach Fran Dunphy.