SEATTLE (AP) – The players who put Northern Iowa hoops on the map are all gone, replaced by others who are trying to leave their own successful stamp on the program.  The new group is reminded, almost daily, of the magic of 2010, when the Panthers knocked off Kansas to make it to the Sweet 16.  Northern Iowa hasn’t been that far since, and the players who are there now have to remind themselves that they are not trying to repeat the past.

Led by senior center Seth Tuttle, the Panthers are a No. 5 seed in the East Region. But they are still favored by 2 1/2 points in Sunday’s game against Rick Pitino and the fourth-seeded Louisville Cardinals, a coach and program that know a little bit about perennial success.

Tip-time for the game is 8:40-p.m., Sunday, Central Time.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Ohio State clinched its first NCAA wrestling title before the final round began.
The Buckeyes had 94 points and a 10-point lead over Iowa with an event-high three competitors remaining after lower places were decided earlier Saturday. Iowa had one competitor remaining and could earn no more than six points. Edinboro was third with 75 1-2 points followed by Missouri with 69 1-2, Cornell with 67 1-2 and four-time defending champion Penn State with 63 1-2. Sixteen schools had at least one competitor in the finals.

The match order starts at 149 points and concludes at 141 pounds, where Logan Stieber of Ohio State was attempting to be just the fourth to win four individual titles. He would join Kyle Dake of Cornell (2010-13), Cael Sanderson of Iowa State (1999-2002), and Pat Smith of Oklahoma State (1990-92, 1994).

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — After 15 years at Iowa, coach Lisa Bluder is just a win away from her first trip to the Sweet 16. But if the Hawkeyes don’t play better against Miami than they did against American, their season might end just like the previous 14 have.

Iowa (25-7) will host the 11th-seeded Hurricanes (20-12) on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Miami pulled off an upset Friday when it knocked off Washington 86-80. The Eagles nearly did the same to Iowa, which needed nine 3s to hold off American 75-67.

The 7:18-a.m. Sportscast w/Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Aaron White scored 13 straight points as part of an 18-3 run early in the second half of Iowa’s 83-52 pounding of Davidson in the second round of the NCAA South Division . White delivered 26 points for the seventh-seeded Hawkeyes Friday evening in Seattle, while Mike Gesell added 15 to help Iowa advance to play second seed Gonzaga. Game time in Seattle Sunday is 6:10-p.m. Central Time. Pre-game coverage on KJAN begins at 5-p.m.

The (Gonzaga) Bulldogs were 86-76 winners against North Dakota State behind Kyle Wiltjer’s 23 points. Kevin Pangos had 18 points to help Gonzaga move within one victory of their first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2009.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Ally Disterhoft scored 18 points, freshman Whitney Jennings had 16 and third-seeded Iowa held off American 75-67 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Iowa City. Melissa Dixon had 15 points with four 3s for the Hawkeyes (25-7), who will host 11th-seeded Miami in the second round on Sunday.

It wasn’t easy for Iowa though. American had the game tied at 36-all at halftime, and the Hawkeyes needed a 15-6 run after the break to start feeling comfortable. American rallied within 69-64 with 2:47 left, but couldn’t get any closer. Jen Dumiak had a game-high 23 points for the Eagles (24-9), who were making their NCAA Tournament debut.

SEATTLE (AP) — Paul Jesperson led five Northern Iowa players in double figures with 16 points, Seth Tuttle added 14 and the fifth-seeded Panthers held off the comeback of No. 12 seed Wyoming for a 71-54 victory in an East Region matchup on Friday. The Panthers (31-3) built a 21-point lead after scoring 11 of the first 12 points to start the second half. That huge lead was whittled to seven points twice but the Cowboys could get no closer. Wes Washpun scored eight of his 10 points in the final 9 minutes to help the Panthers advance.

Larry Nance Jr. led Wyoming (25-10) with 16 points, but was mostly invisible in the first half. Nance had one point and one shot in the first half before coming alive in the second half to try and lead Wyoming’s comeback bid.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Ally Malott had 18 points and 12 rebounds to help seventh-seeded Dayton beat No. 10 Iowa State 78-66 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. Nicole Kidd Blaskowski’s 3-pointer cut Iowa State’s 17-point deficit to seven with 2:32 remaining. But that was as close as the Cyclones would come before succumbing to Dayton. Iowa State also had nine of its 12 turnovers in the second half.

First in the Atlantic-10 conference this season in field goal percentage, Dayton continued that trend into the post-season; it shot 48 percent, including 16-of-28 in the first half. Malott was efficient in scoring her game-high 18 points, going 7-of-13 from the field.

Dayton will move on to the second round Sunday to play the winner between No. 2 Kentucky and No. 15 Tennessee State. The Cyclones finish their season 18-13.