European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 19, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday March 19 2007 stars and stripes j Page 29 Mcaa tournament West regional Nam y Kentucky Joe Crawford has his path to the Basket blocked by the hand of via Novas Curtis Sumpter during the first half of Friday nights Mcaa tournament game in Chicago Kentucky beat Villanova 6758 wow com shopping for tires has never been easier at tire Backcom we give you All the tools youll need to Purchase the right tire at the right Price no matter what you drive Tike decision guide if you need help finding the right tire our tire decision guide is a Quick  session designed to guide you to the tire performance category that accurately fits your needs Best Sellers shop for tires from our list of Best Sellers for your vehicle Side beside comparison compare tires of a specific size or for a specific vehicle Side beside using our tire compare feature no 1 on a Mission Kansas determined to avoid another first round exit dispatches Niagara and now gets ready for Kentucky the associated press Chicago Kansas played like a no 1 seed and eased the Dis appointment of the last two sea sons when the Jay Hawks were ousted in the first round of the Mcaa tournament Trust me we didst approach this As a no 1 is no 16 after whats happened to us the last two years Kansas coach Bill self said Friday night following the Jay Hawks 10767 rout of Nia Gara in the West Region we put a lot of emphasis and spent a lot of time on the scouting report and really emphasized this game self added we said we have to win a two game tournament and we cant win the second one unless we win the first one there was maybe More emphasis on this game for us than maybe what there is for other top his team answered the Chal Lenges with its highest scoring game of the season sent to the sidelines by Buck Nell and Bradley the past two sea sons Kansas 314 took Over Early and was simply too fast too deep and too talented for Niagara we heard a lot about last year and the year before that but that Over and done with Mario Chalmers who had 19 Points said the Jay Hawks built a 25point halftime Lead with their defense and fast break when they we rent running for Points the Jay Hawks were sinking shots from Long Range with ease in win Ning their 12th straight game they were 13for22 on three pointers while forcing Nia Gara 2312 to misfire on 17 of 19 attempts when Chalmers hit two three pointers and Russell Robin son one to open the second half we could have just lost to the National champions i truly believe it we didst play North Carolina we didst play Urcla but if there better than this Kansas team Ive got to see it f f Joe Mihalich Niagara coach the Jay Hawks led 6133 then it was pretty much Showtime the Lead went to 8140 with 10 minutes remaining after another steal and fast break Basket by Chalmers a Dunk by Reserve Brady Morningstar with left gave the Jay Hawks 101 Points Niagara which beat Florida 7769 in tuesdays playing game at Dayton had a 12game winning Streak ended after a Busy week of travel we could have just lost to the National champions i truly be Lieve it Niagara coach Joe Mihal Ich said we didst play North Carolina we didst play Urcla but if there better than this team Ive got to see it Mihalich knew Kansas making the schools 18th straight Mcaa tournament appearance would be ready to play it didst help us that they got bumped off the last couple of years he said they were pretty determined not to let that happen again Kentucky 67 Villanova 58 at Chicago Randolph Morris finished with 19 Points and 11 re Bounds As eight seeded Ken Tucky flexed its muscle in the Sec Ond half Kentucky 2211 advanced to the second round for the 16th straight year and on Sun Day will play to seeded Kansas Villanova Mike Nardi playing despite a badly sprained left ankle missed two wide open three pointers in the final 2 min utes one of which would have pulled Villanova within two Kentucky finished with a 3730 Edge in rebounds outscored vill Anova 2418 inside and held the wildcats to 29 percent shooting in the second half Scottie Reynolds the big East Rookie of the year led Villanova 2211 with 23 Points including 8for12 shooting from the free throw line Southern Illinois 61 holy Cross 51 at Columbus Ohio no rhythm no flow no open shots Southern Illinois got the exact Type of game it wanted letting their Gritty defense do the work the Salukis overcame a frontline injury and beat holy Cross Reserve Forward Tony Boyle scored a career High 14 Points in the second half including one banked in free throw As South Ern Illinois 286 matched its school record for victories holy Cross 259 had even big Ger problems keeping the crusaders in a deep tournament rut they won the National Champion ship in 1947 with a team mat Fea tured guard Bob Cousy but Haven won a tournament game since 1953 dropping their last nine a tech rally stuns Illinois 7101 Vorsten Parkway South Bendin 46628 cj005 the tire rack Western Union  5742872345 fax 574j367707 by Rusty Miller the associated press Columbus Ohio an ugly shot in an ugly game was a masterpiece for resilient Virginia tech Deron Washington banked runner with 455 seconds left Fri Day night completed the homies rally from a 13point deficit for a 5452 Victory Over Illinois in a first round game in the Mcaa tournament West regional the homies didst Lead in their first Mcaa tournament game in 11 years until Washington shot clanked in off the Glass everyone deserves to have something Good to happen to them coach Seth Greenberg said to see a smile on our kids at the end of that game was really special like a lot of things for his team which he called dysfunctional at times offensively the winning shot wont hang in an Art gallery i want trying to Bank it but ill take it Washington said with a wide Grin Illinois 2312 led by 10 with just Over 4 minutes left but didst score in the last As the Hok ies ran off the last 12 Points Illi Nois missed seven shots and committed three turnovers the homies 2411 pulled with in 5250 with Washington hitting a three Pointer Coleman Collins making two free throws and Washington dropping another three from the right Corner with left while the fighting Zillini continued to have problems at the Offen Sive end the homies suddenly had All the answers after Jamon Gordons free throw and a miss by Illinois the homies trailed 5251 with just under a minute left they moved the Ball around the perimeter be fore Washington drove the Lane and launched a 14footer that bounded off the backboard and fell in with 455 seconds left and Vassallo added a free throw after two More Illinois misses but Illinois had one last shot the Zillini cycled the Ball before settling for Brian Randles jumper from the left Corner with 7 seconds left the Ball chromed Back to him and he was fouled by Washington with 49 seconds left Randle a Junior shooting just 577 percent at the line for his Ca reer then missed the front end of the Bonus situation the Ball rolled Loose in a scrum Randle picked it up and tried to get off a shot while a defender also had his hands on it the Arrow favored Virginia tech because of the alternate pos session Rule and the homies Sim ply tossed the Ball to mid court As time expired