NCAA: Northern Iowa beats No. 1 overall seed Kansas 69-67; Panthers led almost the whole way

NCAA: Northern Iowa beats Kansas 69-67

Northern Iowa has never been in an NCAA tournament game that wasn’t decided in the closing minutes. The Panthers hadn’t won a tournament game since 1990, either, but now have won two to set up a regional semifinal with Michigan State or Maryland.

While the Panthers were celebrating at the Ford Center, Kansas senior Mario Little fell to his knees in front of the bench. He wouldn’t even get up when one of the Jayhawks’ coaches or trainers came over to attempt to console him, his title hopes coming to a crashing end far earlier than anybody would have anticipated.

Kentucky fans in New Orleans let out a roar when the Kansas score flashed in the arena.

Baylor reserve center Josh Lomers fouled out but got a huge ovation as he walked to the bench with head coach Scott Drew gesturing to a section of Baylor fans to give him a hand.

Lomers tied a career high with 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting, and had eight rebounds for the Bears. They’re advancing to the round of 16 after knocking off 11th-seeded Old Dominion 76-68, and will play 10th-seeded Saint Mary’s in Houston.

Northern Iowa has upset overall No. 1 seed Kansas 69-67, sending a Missouri Valley team to the round of 16 for the first time since Larry Bird was suiting up for Indiana State in 1979.

The Panthers led almost the whole way against the Jayhawks, who might never want to play at the Ford Center again. It was in the same building in Oklahoma City where Bill Self’s team lost to 14th-seeded Bucknell five years ago.

Ali Farokhmanesh had missed six straight 3-pointers in the second half, but he never stopped shooting, knocking one down from the wing with about 36 seconds left to deflate Kansas. The gritty guard added a pair of clinching free throws with 4.8 seconds to go.

Ali Farokhmanesh shows absolutely no fear. And absolutely never gets ahead of himself.

After knocking down the 3 that sent the Panthers out of the first round, he drilled a 3-pointer from the wing when nobody came over to guard him. It didn’t matter that Northern Iowa led overall No. 1 seed Kansas by one point with 36 seconds left, or that the prudent play would be to melt down the clock as much as possible.

The Jayhawk fans were just coming to their feet in the Ford Center, too, and Tyrel Reed was called for an offensive end on Kansas’ next possession.

Northern Iowa ball with 23.4 seconds left and a 66-62 lead.

Northern Iowa made a critical mistake by tossing an inbounds pass out of bounds at the other end, giving the Jayhawks the ball under their own basket because nobody touched it. Kansas got a decent shot inside but missed, and Marcus Morris ended up at the foul line.

His two free throws with 53.8 seconds left made it 63-60, and the Panthers promptly turned it over again — their fourth turnover in the closing minutes after a mostly error-free game.

Sherron Collins scored on a move to the basket to get within 63-62, and the 6-0 spurt has the Jayhawks as close as they’ve been since the early going.

Bill Self just blew his gasket on the sideline after Sherron Collins was whistled for charging with 1:53 left and the Jayhawks trailing Northern Iowa 61-56. Self’s face was about as cherry as the red striping on the KU jerseys.

UNI used up all the shot clock at the other end, and Adam Koch pulled down an offensive board after a missed 3-pointer and stuff it home. The lead is back to 63-56 with 1:07 left, and Jordan Eglseder is pounding his chest on the Panthers’ sideline.

Northern Iowa is beginning to implode in Oklahoma City, allowing the Jayhawks to get a couple of offensive boards to get the lead down to 59-56. Their pressure generated an easy turnover, and Xavier Henry headed to the line.

He missed the free throw though, yet another sign that nothing is going to come easy for Kansas in the round of 32.

Cole Aldrich is back in the game after limping off with what looked like a mildly twisted ankle, and so is Sherron Collins, who also got a breather. Kansas had trimmed it to 56-53 before Johnny Moran drilled a 3-pointer to restore the six-point advantage.

Kansas had scored on six straight trips down floor, but misfired twice, and all that momentum the Jayhawks had built up seems to be quickly dissipating.

Ohio State just finished practice about 15 minutes ago in Milwaukee and one of the security guards said over the radio that the Buckeyes are staying in the locker room to watch the rest of the Kansas-Northern Iowa game.

The Buckeyes play Georgia Tech on Sunday, and are in the same region as the Jayhawks and Panthers. Think they have a rooting interest?

Old Dominion and Baylor are getting scrappy going after loose balls, but commend them for not getting chippy. Good, hard basketball in New Orleans, where they’re tied 58-all with 5:42 left in a game that Bears have had in hand most of the way.

Kansas is ratcheting up the pressure on Northern Iowa, and the Panthers are starting to feel the squeeze. The Jayhawks are doing a better of job of moving the ball, finding some mismatches that they can use to their advantage.

Ali Farokhmanesh, who hit the game-winning 3 for Northern Iowa in the first round, is 0 for 5 on 3s in the second half after making all three of his attempts in the first half. He missed three in quick succession as Kansas has pulled within 52-49 with 5½ left.

“Discombobulated” might a good word for New Mexico’s offense.

So is “ineffective.”

The Lobos can’t seem to solve Washington’s switching man-to-man defense, content to pass and dribble around the perimeter and then take wild shots. It has to be making coach Steve Alford, one of the best shooters in Indiana schoolboy history, positively miffed.

The Huskies have pushed the lead to 53-36 with 15:44 remaining, forcing Alford to call a timeout with things threatening to get out of hand.

More trouble for the Jayhawks: Cole Aldrich has limped off the floor after landing awkwardly following an offensive rebound. He’s 6 of 8 from the floor and has 10 rebounds, and his ability to clog the lane would be important for the Jayhawks down the stretch.

Kansas has trimmed the lead to 52-45 with 7 minutes left, and the Panthers — disciplined all game — are starting to take some ill-advised outside shots. Ali Farokhmanesh has missed five straight from deep after a hot first half.

Kansas is starting to force the issue against Northern Iowa, with some token three-quarter court pressure and a trap once the Panthers cross the midcourt line. The Jayhawks forced a timeout, but still trail 52-41 with 9:38 remaining.

Bryce Drew is in the house to see his brother Scott coach Baylor against Old Dominion in New Orleans. Bryce still looks he could throw on a yellow Valpo jersey, knock down a 3-pointer and slide across the floor in jubilation.

After his game-winning shot to beat fourth-seeded Ole Miss in 1998, Bryce went on to a short professional career with the Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets and Pamesa Valencia in Europe.

He’s now an assistant coach at Valparaiso.

Five years ago, in Oklahoma City no less, 14th-seeded Bucknell beat Kansas in what coach Bill Self called one of the most difficult things he’s ever experienced. This one wouldn’t be quite as stunning as that first-round ouster, but it would still send ripples through plenty of tournament brackets.

Of course, the Panthers must play 40 minutes to get it done. Kansas came out of a timeout and scored four quick points to trim the deficit back to single digits, forcing UNI coach Ben Jacobson to call a quick timeout of his own.

Kansas and bitter rival Kansas State are hunkered down in locker rooms just steps away from each other in Oklahoma City. They’re in different regions but both playing at the Ford Center for the first two rounds.

Don’t think that the purple-clad Wildcat fans are joining the purple-clad Panthers fans as the Jayhawks struggle against Northern Iowa, though. There was a “Let’s Go Jayhawks!” versus “Let’s Go Panthers!” back-and-forth, and the K-State fans appeared to sit it out.

Out on the floor, Jake Koch hit Northern Iowa’s seventh 3-pointer of the game to put the Jayhawks in a 47-35 bind with 12:34 to play. Timeout Kansas.

Ben Finney’s 3 has Old Dominion on a 7-0 run to open the second half, and Baylor’s lead is now 38-35. The Bears don’t have an inside presence, which means they’ll keep shooting. And keep giving Old Dominion chances to claw back into the game.

Kent Bazemore is 4 of 5 from the field for the Monarchs, who are slowly heating up.

Sherron Collins is perhaps the most decorated player — at least from a team perspective — in the long, storied Kansas basketball history. A slew of Big 12 titles, that win over Memphis a couple years back. But he’s sure struggling against Northern Iowa.

Collins is just 2 of 8 from the floor and hasn’t hit a 3. He also has three turnovers.

The floor general is trying to do other things, though, hitting Xavier Henry with a nice pass to get the Jayhawks within 42-35 with about 14 minutes left.

Ali Farokhmanesh showed he can dish the ball, too, with a nifty behind-the-back pass that set up an easy layup for Northern Iowa. If anybody thought the Jayhawks were going to come out of halftime on fire, well, the Panthers are armed with extinguishers.

The lead swelled to 40-30 in the first 3 minutes out of the break, before gritty senior Sherron Collins finally took it to the rim for two. The Jayhawks have just four fastbreak points in the game as Northern Iowa keeps it at its favorite, grinding pace.

Duke is one of those programs where, if you don’t love ‘em, you probably hate ‘em. And former star Christian Laettner served as a microcosm of that, beloved by Blue Devil faithful and reviled by just about everyone else.

Even to this day.

Boos echoed throughout New Orleans Arena moments ago when they showed his turnaround game-winner for Duke in the 1992 tournament as part of a series of all-time NCAA highlights on the video board. Who would have thought Baylor and Old Dominion fans cared so much?

Oh, yeah, Kentucky is playing the late game in the Big Easy. Might have something to do with it.

Washington is trying to simply out-run New Mexico, especially behind Isaiah Thomas, their speedy little guard. He has nine points as the Huskies lead 34-25.

It’s a little surprising that President Barack Obama didn’t show much love for the Huskies and Thomas in his bracket. After all, among Thomas’ nicknames is “The Democrat” because he tends to go to his left. Funny stuff.

His other nickname, “Too Easy,” is a little more self-explanatory.

Tweety Carter’s runner in the lane beat the horn and put Baylor up 38-28 at halftime.

Baylor is shooting 56 percent (15 of 27), including 6 of 9 from 3-point range. LaceDarius Dunn is leading the Bears with 14 points, while Gerald Lee has scored 10 points for Old Dominion. The Monarchs are shooting 35.7 percent (10 of 28).

Suffice to say, the Bears are faring much better than some of their Big 12 brethren. No. 1 seed Kansas is losing to Northern Iowa at the half, while Oklahoma State and Texas went down in the opening round of the tournament.

Baylor has used exceptional 3-point shooting to lead throughout the first half against Old Dominion. Neither team has much size, so it’s no surprise jump shots have been plentiful.

LaceDarius Dunn, Tweety Carter and Anthony Jones have each knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, and the Baylor lead was 36-27 with 21 seconds left in the first half.

Kansas appeared to have the final shot of the first half against Northern Iowa, and star guard Sherron Collins let the clock melt down from 28 seconds to under 10 before making his move. Cole Aldrich set a high pick and … Northern Iowa promptly tied him up.

Jump ball.

It was the seventh Kansas turnover and a pretty good indication of the scrappy defense that the Panthers play. They’re on top, 36-28, after the first 20 minutes.

For all the success New Mexico has had, it’s hard to believe the Lobos have never made the round of 16. The last time they were this far was 1999, when Dave Bliss was still on the sidelines.

Ritchie McKay only made it to the NCAAs once before Steve Alford took over the program.

The success would feel all the sweeter for Alford considering he was basically forced out at Iowa, where fans became discontented with mediocrity. Alford went 17-14 in his last season there, after winning 25 games the previous year. He’s been to the round of 16 before, but that was with Missouri State — back then, Southwest Missouri State — in 1999.

Bill Self begged for a timeout, as if he were asking for mercy, after Ali Farokhmanesh hit again from about 15 feet to give Northern Iowa a 33-24 lead over the No. 1 overall seed. The Panthers are 6 of 11 from beyond the arc and shooting 52 percent from the field.

The nine-point lead feels much bigger considering Northern Iowa has one of the stingiest defenses in the country. And after the Jayhawks scored out of the timeout, they committed a foul at the other end to prevent themselves from getting any sort of momentum.

The Jayhawks need to quit stubbing their toe — talon? — if the heavy favorites to win the entire tournament wants to keep playing next week.

There are plenty of strange names in the NCAA tournament this season, and Tweety Carter might be the best of them. Demond Carvez can thank his grandmother for it. She gave the Baylor point guard the nickname “Tweety” because of the sound he made when he cried as a baby.

It stuck, as almost all embarrassing nicknames do.

Carter comes from quite the athletic family, too. His father, Herbert, played baseball in the Minnesota Twins organization.

New Mexico and Washington have tipped off from the Shark Tank in San Jose, where Steve Alford’s Lobos are trying to match Murray State with its 31st win.

Keep an eye on New Mexico star Darington Hobson, who has a tender left wrist, because Washington coach Lorenzo Romar is certain to be watching. Romar recruited Hobson.

Who said Ali Farokhmanesh is the only guy who can step outside for Northern Iowa?

Seven-footer Jordan Eglseder hit a 3-pointer from the left wing — his second of the season in only 10 attempts — and the Panthers are 5 for 8 from deep against Kansas.

The Panthers have a 28-23 lead with 5:28 left in the first half, and don’t think for a second that it’s a fluke. They’re outplaying Kansas at both ends of the court.

Kansas faithful let out a huge cheer as Northern Iowa was whistled for its first foul with 10:14 to play in first half, then two more within the next 20 seconds.

An interesting matchup to watch will be 7-footer Jordan Eglseder of Northern Iowa against Kansas big man Cole Aldrich. It’s a bit like seeing a couple of polar bears wrestling in the paint, and the little guys — Sherron Collins, Ali Farokhmanesh, Kwadzo Ahelegbe — had better wear a crash helmet when they try to drive the lane.

Kansas coach Bill Self said that Northern Iowa is one of the best defensive teams he’s seen in quite a while, and the observation is playing out. The Panthers led 19-12 with under 12 minutes to go in the first half.

Kansas has six early team fouls, while Northern Iowa had none.

Baylor isn’t about to bow down before the Monarchs, going on a 20-6 run over the first 8 minutes in New Orleans. The Bears hit 8 of their first 12 shots, including four 3-pointers.

LaceDarius Dunn had 10 points, including two of the triples.

Ali Farokhmanesh was overlooked coming out of high school, easy to do when you’re a 5-foot-9 guard. He ended up going to junior college before landing at Northern Iowa, where he hit two 3-pointers in overtime to help the Panthers win the Missouri Valley tournament.

It makes sense, then, that he was calm in the closing minutes against UNLV in the NCAA tournament. His 3-pointer from well beyond the arc beat the buzzer — and the Runnin’ Rebels.

His parents are volleyball coaches, and his father, Mashallah, played for the Iranian national volleyball team. Farokhmanesh said his dad claims a 42-inch vertical jump, something that would serve basketball players just as well as volleyball players.

Ohio finally ran out of energy, time, magic. After stunning third-seeded Georgetown and playing tough for about 30 minutes Saturday, Tennessee finally put the Bobcats away with a late surge in an 83-68 victory.

The Vols advance to play Georgia Tech or Ohio State in St. Louis next week.

Tommy Freeman ended up with 23 points for Ohio, while the Vols got 18 points from J.P. Prince and 17 from backcourt mate Scotty Hopson.

Baylor and Old Dominion have tipped off for the right to play in Houston next week. The Bears outlasted Sam Houston State for its first NCAA tournament win in 60 years — a big milestone for a program that only a few years ago was banned from playing non-conference games as part of NCAA penalties for numerous violations under former coach Dave Bliss.

Old Dominion shut down Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody in its victory Thursday, and in a tournament with plenty of upsets already, the thought of a double-digit seed reaching the round of 16 isn’t far fetched anymore.

Just ask Saint Mary’s.

A late-winter, early-spring blizzard hasn’t affected attendance in Oklahoma City too much. The Ford Center is nearly full to watch Kansas-Northern Iowa play for a spot in St. Louis. The intrepid Jayhawk fans represent about 80 percent of the crowd.

It’s a pretty easy drive from Lawrence to Oklahoma City, and most of the fans were on hand Thursday — before the storm hit — to see the Jayhawks give Lehigh a Big 12 beating.

Northern Iowa beat UNLV on Ali Faroukmanesh’s 3-pointer from about 10 feet beyond the arc in the closing seconds. The Panthers will do their best to slow down the high-flying Jayhawks, and if the game stays in the 60s they have a chance.